Mass Senior Care is pleased to announce that, in recognition of long term care providers extraordinary efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, New Kids on the Block and the Dell Technologies Heroes Program have made available 200 complimentary tickets to nursing facility staff to attend the New Kids on the Block concert on Friday, August 6th at Fenway Park.

The second iteration of the Healthcare Cybersecurity Monthly Calls series hosted on July 8th by the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) and the MassCyberCenter, in collaboration with Massachusetts Senior Care Association, saw our attendance more than double from the first call in June. 58 representatives from across the Massachusetts provider landscape came to hear from our discussion leaders Ron Ford – Cybersecurity Advisor for CISA New England and Sergeant Brian Gavioli of the Massachusetts State Police and Commonwealth Fusion Center, both of whom provided updates on recent cyber threats and trends. Stephanie Helm, Director of the MassCyberCenter, led a discussion around our attendees’ monthly topic of choice – Cyber Incident Response Planning.

CDC’s National Training Collaborative for Healthcare Infection Prevention & Control provides foundational knowledge of infection control training for health care workers in all settings.

For a study of how nursing home palliative care was impacted by COVID-19, a recent Brandeis graduate is seeking Directors of Nursing to participate in a 30-minute Zoom interview, and will thank participants for their time with a $25 Amazon gift card. Your first-hand accounts of what is happening during the crisis can contribute to support for nursing home palliative care moving forward.

CMS has recently rescinded its July 2017 guidance that CMPs should be imposed for prior non-compliance on a per-instance basis only.

The DPH Weekly COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Bulletin released 7/23/2021 has important updates related to Ordering COVID-19 Vaccine in Smaller Increments. The updated guidance includes: As of 7/26/21, providers will be able to order COVID-19 vaccines in smaller increments. Providers should continue to place their orders in the Massachusetts Immunization Information System(MIIS). Only order doses that you will use within 30 days.

As the number of Covid-19 cases rise in communities across the Commonwealth, Mass Senior Care would like to remind nursing facilities to review and assess their infection prevention systems including redoubling efforts to increase vaccination rates; consider testing visitors and all unvaccinated staff prior to each shift using BinaxNow kits; and to develop staffing contingency plans in the event of an outbreak.

AHCA/NCAL will host a webinar on August 11 at 3 PM Eastern focused on the recent report, Invest in Trust: A Guide for Building COVID-19 Vaccine Trust Among Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). The report’s lead researcher will share key findings from the report that was commissioned by the AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network.

The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) announced updated guidance for fully vaccinated individuals yesterday. This policy is aimed at preventing transmission levels of the highly communicable and now predominant Delta variant.