Discusses CDC recent announcement of a new POC Laboratory Reporting Pathway; ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Webinar on Coronavirus Testing, 1 Day Remaining to File Final Filing for the MassHealth COVID-19 Supplemental Payment; DPH Weekly Call Reminder .

The Massachusetts DPH Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality has updated the memo on Anterior Nares (Nasal Swab) Specimen Collection by Unlicensed Healthcare Personnel.

A memo on testing for nursing homes in EMS Regions 3 & 4

EOHHS has issued a reminder that the Final Filing for the Nursing Facility COVID-19 Supplemental Payment is due no later than September 30, 2020, to account for the manner in which the MassHealth COVID-19 Supplemental Initial Payment for the Up to 50% Program was spent, which provided up to $130 million.

On September 23, 2020, Mary McKenna, the Massachusetts State Long-Term Care Ombudsman announced her retirement. Mary has been the State Long Term Care Ombudsman for almost 30 years and has worked with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program since 1982 at the local, national and state level.

The MA e-MOLST Web Portal offers health care providers and seriously ill, high risk and frail adults an effective communication approach to engage in proactive planning conversations and document patient care choices. The Ma e-MOLST Web Portal, is a joint initiative of the MA Coalition for Serious Illness Care, Ariadne Labs and Honoring Choices MA.

ASPR (HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response) has released a new toolkit on COVID-19 Considerations for Long-Term Care Facilities.