Category Archives: Staffing

CHWs – Community Health Workers

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Learn about Community Health Workers (CHWs), the support they can provide to patients, and how to locate CHWs in your community on the poster below and at https://nachw.org/. Find local resources at:

The Oregon Community Health Workers Association will present two educational programs:

CDC HAN Alert re Healthcare Personnel & Omicron

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CDC has issued a HAN Health Alert on Rapid Increase of Omicron Variant Infections in the United States: Management of Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure, providing new instructions for healthcare personnel managers on dealing with testing, vaccination, quarantine, and clearance to treat patients. Find the HAN at https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2021/han00460.asp.

New Vaccine Requirements for Facility Staff

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CMS announced on September 9, 2021 that “The Biden-Harris Administration will require COVID-19 vaccination of staff within all Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities to protect both them and patients from the virus and its more contagious Delta variant.  Facilities across the country should make efforts now to get health care staff vaccinated to make sure they are in compliance when the rule takes effect.

“CMS, in collaboration with the CDC, announced today that emergency regulations requiring vaccinations for nursing home workers will be expanded to include hospitals, dialysis facilities, ambulatory surgical settings, and home health agencies, among others, as a condition for participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The decision was based on the continued and growing spread of the virus in health care settings…

“CMS is developing an Interim Final Rule with Comment Period that will be issued in October.  CMS expects certified Medicare and Medicaid facilities to act in the best interest of patients and staff by complying with new COVID-19 vaccination requirements.  Health care workers employed in these facilities who are not currently vaccinated are urged to begin the process immediately. Facilities are urged to use all available resources to support employee vaccinations, including employee education and clinics, as they work to meet new federal requirements.”

Find the CMS press release that’s quoted above at https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-expand-vaccination-requirements-health-care-settings.

The most recent CDC guidelines can be found in the following places:

There’s no assurance that these Recommendations will be the same, in form or content, as what CMS plans to propose in October. CDC Project Firstline is also hosting a 45-minute September 17, 2021 virtual town hall for healthcare workers, where CDC experts will discuss the updated IPC guidance and answer questions, starting at 11:15 am PST. Register at https://cdc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_9YVQwF9RThSbxC4-JHdABw .

3RNet Rural Jobs Network

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3RNet, the National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network, is a nonprofit organization that connects health care facilities in rural or underserved areas and health professionals looking for work.  They have representatives or “members” in all fifty states, the Mariana Islands, the Veterans Administration, and the Indian Health Service.   Find these representatives, and full details about the organization for both facilities and professionals, at https://www.3rnet.org/.  The web pages specific to Networks 16 and 18 states are:

The Office of Rural Health at the Washington Department of Health is subsidizing the 2020 series of introductory 3RNet Academy courses so Washington healthcare facilities can attend for no charge:

  • October 6, 2020 – Recruiting for Retention: Using Candidate Motivations to Strategically Market
  • October 20, 2020 – Combating Isolation in Rural and Underserved Recruiting
  • November 3, 2020 – Compensation Trends for Providers: Balancing Financial and Lifestyle Needs
  • November 17, 2020 – Avoiding Burnout through a Managed Scope of Practice
  • December 1, 2020 – Recruiting for Team Based Care in Rural and Underserved Communities
  • December 15, 2020 – Building Support for Your Recruitment Efforts at the Local Level

Find more information about the 3RNet Academy and courses at https://academy/3rnet.org/why-attend.html and https://academy.3rnet.org/agenda.html.  Register at https://academy/3rnet.org/register.html using coupon code 2021WA at checkout.  The webinars will be recorded, so registrants can watch them on their own schedule.  For questions about 3RNet: info@3rnet.org or 800-787-2512.  For questions about the Washington program: Faith Johnson at faith.johnson@doh.wa.gov or 360-236-2815.

Summer Provider Newsletters

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Network Provider Newsletters for Summer 2020 have been published.  They include articles on:

  • Network Support for COVID-19.
  • The ESRD QIP.
  • New QIP website interface.
  • Staff Burnout.
  • Patient Psychosocial Needs.
  • NCC “Web Hub” for Patients (Network 16 only).
  • Seeking Volunteers for Spanish-Speaking PAC (Network 18 only).
  • Data Currency in CROWNWeb.
  • Links to Network Patient Newsletters.
  • Patient Emergency Preparedness.
  • Interruptions in Service.
  • KCER Newsletter.
  • Staff Changes.
  • Link to Events Calendar (Network 18 only).
  • Network email Updates.

Find them at:

HDC on Safe Social Work and COVID-19

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Home Dialysis Central has published a blog post on Dialysis Social Work During a Pandemic: Caring for Patients Safely, thoroughly reviewing what are permitted and required by:

  • CMS Conditions for Coverage,
  • Social Work licenses and training,
  • Medicare reimbursement rules and waivers,
  • Patient and staff safety,
  • Home dialysis,
  • Effective communication,
  • PPE,
  • Telehealth,
  • Comparative advantage,

all in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Find the post at https://homedialysis.org/news-and-research/blog/361-dialysis-social-work-during-a-pandemic-caring-for-patients-safely.

CDC 5/3 COVID-19 Guidance Updates

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In the last few days, CDC has published updated versions of various guidance.  The web pages listed below include new changes that may impact how dialysis facilities operate:

We will continue to review revisions and new guidance as they become available.  Many links to important COVID-19 information can be found on the Network websites at https://www.nwrn.org/Emergency-Prep (Network 16) and http://www.esrdnetwork18.org/emergency/ (Network 18).

5/26+ CMS Shareholder Engagement Calls

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CMS is hosting weekly Stakeholder Engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19.  These sessions are open to the healthcare community and provide updates, share best practices, and offer attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.  Conference lines are limited so we encourage you to join via audio webcast on your computer or smartphone web browser.  You are welcome to share this invitation with your colleagues and professional networks, but these calls are not intended for the press.  Call recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page at: https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/PodcastAndTranscripts.

Targeted Updates for Dialysis Organizations on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance, also featuring leaders in the field sharing best practices, with an opportunity to ask questions if time allows.  Wednesday May 27, 2020, 2:30-3:00 pm PDT, toll-free 833-614-0820, passcode 6152699, audio webcast link https://engage.vevent.com/index.jsp?eid=5779&seid=2123#/main/simplify.

COVID-19 Office Hours Calls are an opportunity for providers to ask questions of CMS officials about temporary actions that allow increased capacity, expanded workforce, patient priority, and telehealth.  Tuesday May 26, 2020, 2-3pm PDT, toll-free 833-614-0820, passcode 8977438, audio webcast link https://engage.vevent.com/index.jsp?eid=5779&seid=2012#/main/simplify.

Lessons from the Front Lines with representatives from CMS, FDA, and the Coronavirus Task Force, along with front-line clinicians.  Friday May 29, 2020, 9:30-11:00 am PDT,  toll-free 877-251-0301, passcode 6350189, audio webcast link https://engage.vevent.com/index.jsp?eid=5779&seid=2075#/main/simplify.

New 4/8 CDC Guidance on Essential Worker Exposure

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On April 8, 2020 CDC “issued new guidelines aimed at getting workers who have been exposed to the coronavirus in critical fields back to work faster.  Under the old guidance, workers were told to stay at home for 14 days if they were exposed to someone who had tested positive for the coronavirus.  The new guidelines will allow critical workers who have been exposed [to] go back to work as long as they are asymptomatic and follow conditions like taking their temperature before going to work, wearing a face mask at all times and practicing social distancing at work as much as possible” (The Hill, 4/8/20, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/491912-cdc-issues-new-guidance-for-essential-workers-exposed-to-coronavirus).  Find the CDC Guidance itself, Implementing Safety Practices for Critical Infrastructure Workers Who May Have Had Exposure to a Person with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19: Interim Guidance, at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/critical-workers/implementing-safety-practices.html.

CMS Summary of COVID-19 Waivers as of 4/9

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On April 9, 2020 CMS published a document on COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers, summarizing relief during the current emergency from normal requirements, with the intention to allow healthcare facilities to focus more attention on treating COVID-19 patients.  Waivers for dialysis facilities are summarized on pp.17-19, and include adjustments to regulations for water quality testing, fire inspections, patient assessments, plan of care, rounds, home visits, special purpose facilities, PCT certification, transferability of professional credentials, dialysis in nursing homes, and many other details.  Find the document at https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMDA0MTAuMjAwMTg1NTEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5jbXMuZ292L2ZpbGVzL2RvY3VtZW50L3N1bW1hcnktY292aWQtMTktZW1lcmdlbmN5LWRlY2xhcmF0aW9uLXdhaXZlcnMucGRmIn0.NmtjnP-P1fvfNYld0nlhqMouY3FZb10Xx7Aull2AIwA/br/77281657281-l.