Virginia COVID-19 Long-Term Care Task Force

In response to increasing cases of COVID-19 in Virginia's long-term care facilities, Governor Northam established the Virginia COVID-19 Long-Term Care Task Force on April 10 to:

  1. Ensure long-term care facilities have the resources they need to combat the virus;
  2. Strengthen staffing, testing and infection control measures at long-term care facilities; and
  3. Keep stakeholders informed about the impact of COVID-19 on long-term care facilities.

Issue areas being reviewed by the Task Force include facility staffing and financing, infection control, personal protective equipment and supplies,  COVID-19 testing, communications, and discharge planning.

Membership of the task force is broad based, including:

  • State agency representatives
  • Long term care facility representatives
  • Medicaid managed care organizations
  • The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association
  • Family members of long-term care facility residents and their advocates

Contact Information

If you have any additional input or suggestions pertaining to the task force, please contact Brenden Rivenbark at brenden.rivenbark@vdh.virginia.gov

Education & Training Resources

 

Virginia LTC COVID-19 Data

 

COVID-19 PCR Test Positivity Rates by Locality in Virginia

PCR Positivity Rates Data

LTC Facilities Reporting Outbreaks of COVID-19

LTC Outbreak Data

 

Guidance for Long-Term Care Facilities

  • VDH: COVID-19 Testing, Laboratory and Therapeutics
  • VDH Interim COVID-19 Antigen Testing Recommendations
  • VDH Portal for Reporting Point-of-Care COVID-19 Lab Results
    • Instructions: This portal will assist testing sites in meeting the requirement of the CARES Act to report every diagnostic and screening test performed to detect SARS-CoV-2 or to diagnose a possible case of COVID-19. This portal allows the rapid entry of person-level test results for positive and negative point-of-care results, and provides the ability to enter aggregate negative results as necessary for high-volume testing sites. All COVID-19 test results should be reported to VDH within 24 hours.  Testing sites that are not conducting POC tests, should report results per standard protocols.

    • Nursing Homes - Reporting POC results into VDH Portal versus NHSN 

      • On January 8, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) updated their Reporting Guidance for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). Language in the document was modified to state that the National Healthcare Safety Network’s (NHSN) Point of Care (POC) Test Reporting tool is the preferred (but not required) method for CMS-certified LTCFs (i.e., nursing homes) to submit COVID-19 POC test results to state health departments and HHS. Additionally, on January 8th, CMS released a memo (page 14) with this update.

      • CMS-certified nursing homes may use NHSN or the VDH Portal to report COVID-19 POC test results. Facilities will only need to report to one system, as results from NHSN will be directly sent to state and local health departments. If facilities choose to report to NHSN, they must first upgrade their SAMS access to Level 3. Facilities should report COVID-19 POC test results (positive and negative) within 24 hours regardless of the system that is utilized.  Information on reporting in NHSN, including POC Testing Reporting Tool FAQs, can be found on the NHSN LTCF website.

  • CMS Nursing Home Testing Requirements
  • CDC Considerations for Interpreting Antigen Test Results in Nursing Homes
  • CDC – Testing for Coronavirus in Nursing Homes

SARS-CoV-2 Guidance for Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities (3/29/21)

Please be advised there is new CDC guidance as of March 29, 2021 for nursing home and long-term care facilities, Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Spread in Nursing Homes, found here.

VDH recommends Virginia facilities follow the new CDC guidance which supplements the CDC’s Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, found here.  The guidance specific for nursing homes, including skilled nursing facilities, may also apply to other long-term care and residential settings.

Noting the importance of a strong infection prevention and control (IPC) program, this guidance has been updated and organized highlighting IPC practices that should remain constant whether or not long-term care facilities are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks. Even as nursing homes restore more normal practices and relax restrictions, VDH reaffirms that we must remain vigilant in order to protect residents and healthcare providers from infections, hospitalizations, and death. 

Unless noted in the Updated Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations in Response to COVID-19 Vaccination, this guidance applies regardless of vaccination status and level of vaccination coverage in the facility.

CMS

 

Testing Guidance for LTCFs

Guidance for all LTCFs

NHSN

Template Letters to Residents and Families – from VHCA and LeadingAge