In this Issue

Best Practice of the Week/ Center Highlight of the Week

• Lunch and Learn in Louisiana

• Give the Boost a Shot events continuing into April! We want to hear from you on topics!
• CDC COVID-19 Response Staff Deployed Across America
• CDC report: mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Highly Effective at Preventing Death, Mechanical Ventilation During Omicron Surge
• Pfizer, BioNTech file for emergency authorization of second COVID booster for people 65 and older​​​​
• COVID-19 Can Shrink the Brain as Much as a Decade of Aging, Study Finds
• The Biden Administration Launches Effort to Improve Ventilation and Reduce the Spread of COVID-⁠19 in Buildings
• The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Recommendation for Use of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in Adults Aged ≥18 Years and Considerations for Extended Intervals for Administration of Primary Series Doses of mRNA COVID-19
• The White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Transition
• CMS Makes Nursing Home COVID-19 Booster Vaccination Data Available Online, Increasing Transparency for Consumers
• COVID-19 at-home test good news!
• CDC: Get Vaccinated Even If You Had COVID
• OSHA Announces COVID-19 Focused Inspection Initiative

• The Adult Vaccine Assessment Tool
• Flyer: Visitor Talking Points
• Poster: Attention Vistors
• Poster: Why I Got Vaccinated **Now available in Spanish**
• Click HERE or visit https://bit.ly/GiveTheBoostAShot to download helpful resources and materials.

• Education on Wednesdays *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded*
  • Wednesday, March 23, 2022 from 2-2:30 p.m. ET/ 1-1:30 p.m. CT: Join Carol O'Connell, Assistant Vice President of Long Term Care and Support Services at Wellstar Paulding Hospital & Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to learn how they managed the roll-out of the vaccines and what they are doing to encourage the booster. REGISTER
• Clinician Office Hours on Thursdays *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded*
  • Thursday, March 24, 2022 from 2-2:30 p.m. ET/ 1-1:30 p.m. CT: Join BOOST Office Hours: Focus on Primary and Booster Update with Swati Gaur, MD, MBA, CMD, AGSF and recently named Medical Director of the year for PALTC. Turn your cameras on and join in the conversation! REGISTER 
    

Best Practice/Center of the Week

Lunch and Learn in Louisiana
Columns Community Care Center in Jonesville Louisiana. Vannessa Houck, the Nursing Home Administrator, shared that in February they initiated "Lunch and Learn" with new staff to better assist with onboarding and ensuring they know the "why" behind the best practice infection prevention rules. These are small group meetings so staff can be comfortable asking questions. Lunch is provided by the facility and is catered.

Share your best practices! Email Leighann: Leighann.Sauls@allianthealth.org

Latest Guidance/Updates

• CDC COVID-19 Response Staff Deployed Across America
  The map on this website page shows CDC deployments and CDC field staff.
• CDC Report: mRNA COVID-19 vaccines highly effective at preventing death, mechanical ventilation during Omicron surge, CDC study suggests
  The Washington Post (3/18, Shepherd) reported “the coronavirus vaccines most widely used in the United States remained highly effective at preventing the worst outcomes from infections even in the face of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in January,” according to a CDC study. Although “protection against mild illness waned over time, the mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech provided a robust shield against death and needing mechanical ventilation, the study...found.” The Hill (3/18, Sullivan) reported the study found “three doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines were 94% effective in preventing death or the need for a ventilator during the Omicron surge,” while “effectiveness against death or ventilation was significantly lower for people who only had two shots, at 79%.”
• Pfizer, BioNTech file for emergency authorization of second COVID booster for people 65 and older
  The Washington Post (3/15, A1, McGinley, Pager, Johnson) reports “Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, filed Tuesday for emergency authorization of a second booster shot of their coronavirus vaccine for people 65 and older, an effort to bolster waning immunity that occurs several months after the first booster, the companies announced.” The companies’ submission to the FDA “includes ‘real world data’ collected in Israel, one of the few countries that has authorized a second booster for older people.” The FDA’s decision “could come relatively quickly, especially if officials conclude the data is straightforward and does not have to be reviewed by a panel of outside vaccine experts.” Read More
• COVID-19 Can Shrink the Brain as Much as a Decade of Aging, Study Finds
  Even a mild case of COVID-19 can damage the brain and addle thinking, scientists found in a study that highlights the illness’s alarming impact on mental function. Researchers identified COVID-associated brain damage months after infection, including in the region linked to smell, and shrinkage in size equivalent to as much as a decade of normal aging.
• The Biden Administration Launches Effort to Improve Ventilation and Reduce the Spread of COVID-⁠19 in Buildings
  The Biden-Harris Administration launched the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge, a key component of the President’s Plan, that calls on all building owners and operators, schools, colleges and universities, and organizations of all kinds to adopt key strategies to improve indoor air quality in their buildings and reduce the spread of COVID-19. The Clean Air in Buildings Challenge is a call to action for leaders and building owners and operators of all types to assess their indoor air quality and make ventilation and air filtration improvements to help keep occupants safe. As part of the Challenge, today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a best practices guide for improving indoor air quality and reducing the risk of spreading dangerous airborne particles.
• The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Recommendation for Use of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in Adults Aged ≥18 Years and Considerations for Extended Intervals for Administration of Primary Series Doses of mRNA COVID-19
  CDC released an MMWR on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation for use of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in adults aged ≥18 years and considerations for extended intervals for administration of primary series doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in the United States in February 2022. On February 4, 2022, after a systematic review of the evidence, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issued a standard recommendation for use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in persons aged ≥18 years. CDC provided guidance that an 8-week interval between primary series doses of mRNA vaccines might be optimal for some persons. Use of the FDA-approved Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for persons aged ≥18 years; benefits of the prevention of infection and associated hospitalization or death outweigh vaccine-associated risks.
• The White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Transition
  The Biden-Harris Administration named Dr. Ashish Jha as the new White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator. Dr. Jha is one of the leading public health experts in America, and a well-known figure to many Americans from his wise and calming public presence.
• CMS Makes Nursing Home COVID-19 Booster Vaccination Data Available Online, Increasing Transparency for Consumers
  As part of its commitment to improve transparency and help families and caregivers find the best nursing home care for their loved ones, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is now posting data on COVID-19 vaccine booster shots administered to nursing home residents and staff on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website. The data will show resident and staff booster rates at the facility level and will include national and state averages.
• COVID-19 at-home test good news!
  Even if you already ordered 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests from COVIDtests.gov, now you can get 4 more free at-home tests shipped to your home. Visit COVIDtests.gov again to place your second order. As before, just enter your name and mailing address (you can also give your email address if you want status updates on your order). If you haven't yet ordered any at-home tests, you can get a total of 8 tests shipped to your home. You'll just have to place 2 separate orders — each order equals 4 tests. At-home tests, or "self tests," give rapid results and can be taken anywhere, regardless of your vaccination status or whether or not you have symptoms. Visit CDC.gov to learn when to test yourself, how to use an at-home test, and what your test results mean.
• CDC: Get Vaccinated Even If You Had COVID-19
  You should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if you already had COVID-19. No currently available test can reliably determine if you are protected after being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine after you recover from infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 provides added protection to your immune system. People who already had COVID-19 and do not get vaccinated after their recovery are more likely to get COVID-19 again than those who get vaccinated after their recovery. Read More
• OSHA Announces COVID-19 Focused Inspection Initiative
  The intent of this initiative is to magnify OSHA’s presence in high-hazard healthcare facilities over a three-month period (March 9, 2022 to June 9, 2022), to encourage employers in these industry sectors to take the necessary steps to protect their workers against the hazards of COVID-19. These focused, partial-scope inspections shall be conducted following the procedures below, at establishments within the four North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes listed in Attachment 1: two NAICS codes representing Hospital sectors and two NAICS codes representing Nursing and Residential Care sectors. Inspections opened under this initiative shall comprise 15% of all inspections per Region for the designated three-month period. However, this goal may be adjusted or terminated based on COVID-19 case rates, establishment density, or similar criteria present in a particular Region, or based on new information or developments regarding COVID-19. Read More

New Materials & Resources

• The Adult Vaccine Assessment Tool
  CDC’s Adult Vaccine Quiz helps you create a list of vaccines you may need based on your age, health conditions, and more. Click here to take the quiz now!
• Flyer: Visitor Talking Points 
  This one-page flyer outlines how to talk to visitors about ensuring the safety of nursing home residents and staff while visiting. Download 
• Poster: Attention Visitors
  This poster outlines practices to help visitors keep nursing homes residents and staff safe. Download 
• Poster: COVID-19 Vaccine Booster: Why Should I Get Boosted? Download |*Now in Spanish*
• Click HERE or visit https://bit.ly/GiveTheBoostAShot to download helpful resources and materials.

Upcoming Give the Boost a Shot Events *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded* ​​​​​​

Join us and invite clinical colleagues every Wednesdays for an educational event. On Thursdays, we'll take a deeper dive into your challenges and questions during Clinician Office Hours. Each week we will focus on the concerns and questions from different clinician groups. ​​​​​

Date/Time	Event		Registration Link
Wednesday, 3/23/22 2-2:30 ​​​​p.m. ET/  1-1:30 p.m. CT	BOOST Education Event: Join Carol O'Connell, Assistant Vice President of Long Term Care and Support Services at Wellstar Paulding Hospital & Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to learn how they managed the roll-out of the vaccines and what they are doing to encourage the booster. *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded*		Register
Thursday, 3/24/22 2-2:30 ​​​​p.m. ET/  1-1:30 p.m. CT	BOOST Office Hours: Clinician Office Hours: Focus on Primary and Booster Uptake Audience: Facility leadership, MD, PA, Advance Practice staff - all are welcome! Turn your cameras on and join in the conversation!   Led by Swati Gaur, MD, MBA, CMD, AGSF *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded*		Register Download Flyer
Wednesday, 3/30/22 2-2:30 ​​​​p.m. ET/  1-1:30 p.m. CT	BOOST Education Event: Join Sherri Creel, Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Quality Advisor supporting Alliant's work within the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN) and Shanika Jones, LMHC, MA and Quality Advisor for the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN) for a session on Effective ways to Manage the Traumatic Experience of COVID-19. Objectives: Have a better understanding of trauma and trauma responses.​ Learn ways a person's culture may impact their response to trauma. ​ Learn ways leadership can support staff who are experiencing trauma. ​ Learn practical ways to manage personal trauma and distress. *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded*		Register
Thursday, 3/31/22 2-2:30 ​​​​p.m. ET/  1-1:30 p.m. CT	BOOST Office Hours:  Clinician Office Hours: Panel Discussion with the Alliant Boost Team Audience: All are welcome! Turn your cameras on and join in the conversation! *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded*		Register
Wednesday, 4/6/22 2-2:30 p.m. ET/  1-1:30 p.m. CT	BOOST Education Event:  Join Nimalie Stone, MD, MS, Medical Epidemiologist for Long-term Care in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a special session to look at all we’ve accomplished as a spring board to positively transforming the experiences of residents and staff in nursing homes.   *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded*		Register
Thursday, 4/7/22 2-2:30 ​​​​p.m. ET/  1-1:30 p.m. CT	BOOST Office Hours:  Clinician Office Hours: Focus on Primary and Booster Uptake Audience: NH Admins, DONs, Direct Care Staff - all are welcome! Turn your cameras on and join in the conversation! Led by Jeremy Bischoff, LHNA, BA – Alliant Quality Improvement Initiative Advisor *ANCC Contact Hours Awarded*		Register

About the Give the Shot a Boost Program

Alliant Health Solutions received a direct change order from CMS to provide support to nursing homes to help accelerate resident vaccination rates. This intensive 12-week program includes the following services and activities:

• Tuesdays: You will receive a weekly email bulletin dedicated to this program with the latest updates and tools you can use to help increase vaccination and booster rates.
• Wednesdays: Participate in a weekly educational event for all nursing homes to provide the latest information and tools to help accelerate rates.
• Thursdays: Take advantage of weekly office hours sessions for clinicians to share best practices, updates in clinical guidance, and science. 
• A dedicated website page with resources and materials.
• Access to experts in epidemiology, quality improvement, and infection control. 
  • Assistance Hotline: 1-888-519-4128
  • Email: Booster@allianthealth.org 

For more information about Alliant Health Solutions, visit the website: quality.allianthealth.org.

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