中華頤養院參與協調全美頤養院防治COVID-19培訓

馬薩諸塞州長者護理協會和希伯來老人院在全國范圍內領導

300所療養院發起對抗COVID-19感染的倡議

新英格蘭社區醫療服務和中華頤養院（Quincy Point）

協調大波士頓地區的工作 

馬薩諸塞州長者護理協會和希伯來長者生活正在合作開展一項全國性培訓計劃，以幫助防止COVID-19在地區的療養院中傳播，並為員工提供準備和裝備，以便他們可以更好地保護院民和自己。這是打擊COVID-19的全國重要舉措。

該計劃是國家護理之家COVID-19行動網絡的一部分，該網絡由聯邦醫療研究與質量局（AHRQ）與醫療改善研究所（IHI）和ECHO項目合作提供支持。馬薩諸塞州長者護理協會和希伯來長者生活以正式的“Hub”身份參加了該網絡，負責對馬薩諸塞州的療養院進行感染控制培訓。

“我們很高興能有300個療養院加入馬薩諸塞州長者護理院和希伯來長者生活，以支持國家護理院COVID-19網絡。我們將護理院工作人員，長期護理領導者，醫生以及感染控制和老年病學專家聚集在一起共享最佳實踐並建立療養院在遏制病毒傳播方面取得的巨大進步，療養院及其員工一直處於這一流行病的最前線，並努力為病患提供專業，優質，富有同情心的護理他們關心的弱勢群體。”馬薩諸塞長者級護理協會主席塔拉·格雷戈里奧（Tara Gregorio）說。 “提供這種額外的支持將加強我們的感染控制工作。”

醫學博士，Hinda和亞瑟·馬庫斯（Arthur Marcus）衰老研究所所長，希伯來大學SeniorLife首席學術官，醫學博士Lewis A. Lipsitz說： “在COVID-19春季熱潮中受到嚴重打擊的療養院繼續努力，以阻止COVID-19的傳播。儘管今年秋天的病例有所增加，但最近的報告表明，這種擴散主要發生在家庭中，而不是療養院或其他長者生活設施中。這顯示出令人鼓舞的進展。療養院需要保持警惕，不斷學習降低風險並保護患者和員工的方法。與馬薩諸塞州長者護理協會一起，在該州的療養院和學術醫療中心，我們期待在英聯邦建立一個學習社區，我們在彼此之間學習如何防止這種破壞性病毒在脆弱的長期護理人群中傳播。”

這300個護理設施將分為幾組，每組由臨床醫生和療養院操作員領導。作為指定的培訓中心，馬薩諸塞州COVID-19感染控制中心還將為遇到COVID-19突然增加的任何療養院提供快速響應諮詢。

該計劃有六個目標： 

·       防止病毒進入療養院。

·       及早發現院民和員工是否受到感染。

·       防止病毒傳播給工作人員，院民和訪客。

·       為患有輕度和無症狀病例的院民提供安全和適當的護理。

·       確保員工具備實施最佳實踐安全措施以保護院民和自身的知識，技能和信心。

·       減少院民，家庭和員工的社會隔離。

為此，國家療養院COVID-19行動網絡秉承“一起教，一起學”的理念，在該理念中，療養院參與者從知名專家那裡獲得專業知識，又要向同行學習。馬薩諸塞州COVID-19感染控制中心將在9個同期隊列中與療養院團隊一起進行16次虛擬學習課程。每次會議均設計為互動式的，旨在聆聽療養院工作人員所面臨的挑戰並提供切實可行的解決方案。每節課將包括一個簡短的講座或課程，以及案例演示和討論，然後是一個問答論壇。

“如果這種病毒告訴我們的是一件事，那就是它具有極強的傳染性，直到我們擁有廣泛可用的經過驗證的疫苗後，它才能得到控制。針對COVID-19的最佳防禦方法是預防並採取適當而一致的預防措施。” 新英格蘭社區醫療服務公司合夥人Asif Merchant醫師表示。 “隨著我們對COVID-19及其不同菌株的了解越來越多，當務之急是我們必須領先並減輕任何可能擴散到我們的長期護理機構中的潛能。該計劃將有助於我們努力保護在療養院居住的人和工作人員。”

“我們很榮幸能與馬薩諸塞州長者護理協會和希伯來長者生活一起參與該計劃。保護我們的院民和員工是第一要務，該計劃將使療養院社區提供者分享最佳做法，這將有助於為我們提供必要的和院民應得的護理。在整個大流行中，中華頤養院成功地確保了院民和員工的安全，我們非常高興與其他提供者社區分享我們的成功。” 中華頤養院總裁兼首席執行官Bill Graves說道。

邀請所有符合Medicare和Medicaid資格的療養院參加此免費的自願性計劃。國家療養院COVID-19行動網絡將向每個機構提供6,000美元的津貼，以成功完成該計劃，並為參與人員提供結業證書。有興趣參加或對參加有疑問的療養院，請通過 JChen@maseniorcare.org 與Jennifer Chen聯繫。

MASSACHUSETTS SENIOR CARE ASSOCIATION AND HEBREW SENIORLIFE TO LEAD 300 NURSING HOMES IN NATIONWIDE INITIATIVE TO FIGHT COVID-19 INFECTION IN NURSING HOMES 

NEW ENGLAND COMMUNITY MEDICAL SERVICES AND SOUTH COVE MANOR AT QUINCY POINT TO COORDINATE EFFORT IN GREATER BOSTON AREA 

Massachusetts Senior Care Association and Hebrew SeniorLife are collaborating in a nationwide training program to help keep COVID-19 from spreading in area nursing homes and to prepare and equip staff so that they can better protect residents and themselves. This is an essential nationwide initiative in the fight against COVID-19.

The program is part of the National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network supported by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Project ECHO. Massachusetts Senior Care Association and Hebrew SeniorLife are participating in the Network as an official “Hub,” responsible for training nursing homes across Massachusetts in infection control. 

"We are pleased to have 300 nursing homes join Massachusetts Senior Care and Hebrew SeniorLife for the National Nursing Home COVID-19 Network. We are bringing together nursing home staff, leaders in long-term care, physicians, and experts in infection control and gerontology to share best practices and build upon the great progress nursing homes have made in containing the spread of the virus. Nursing homes and their staff have been on the frontlines of this pandemic and have worked diligently to provide professional, high quality, compassionate care to the vulnerable population they care for," said Tara Gregorio, President, Massachusetts Senior Care Association. "Bringing this kind of additional support will enhance our infection control efforts."

Lewis A. Lipsitz, M.D., Director, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research & Chief Academic Officer, Hebrew SeniorLife, said, “Nursing homes, which were particularly hit hard during the spring surge of COVID-19, continue to work hard to stop the spread of COVID-19. While there has been an increase in cases this fall, recent reports indicate the spread is primarily in households, not nursing homes or other senior living facilities. This shows promising progress. Nursing homes need to remain ever vigilant, ever learning about ways to reduce risk and protect their patients and staff. Together with the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, the State’s nursing homes, and academic medical centers, we look forward to building a learning community in the Commonwealth in which we learn from each other how to prevent the entry and spread of this devastating virus in our vulnerable long-term care population.”  

The 300 nursing facilities will be cohorted into groups, each led by a clinician and a nursing home operator. As a designated training center, the Massachusetts COVID-19 Infection Control Hub will also provide rapid response consultation for any nursing home that experiences a sudden increase in COVID-19.

This program has six goals:

·       Keep the virus from entering nursing homes.

·       Find out early if residents and staff have been infected.

·       Prevent the spread of the virus to staff, residents, and visitors.

·       Provide safe and appropriate care to residents with mild and asymptomatic cases.

·       Ensure staff have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to implement best-practice safety measures to protect residents and themselves.

·       Reduce social isolation for residents, families, and staff.

To do this, the National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network embraces an “all teach, all learn” philosophy in which nursing home participants both receive expertise from renowned experts and learn from their peers. The Massachusetts COVID-19 Infection Control Hub will lead 16 virtual learning sessions with nursing home teams in nine simultaneous cohorts. Each session is designed to be interactive—to hear from nursing home staff about the challenges they are facing and provide practical solutions. Each session will include a brief lecture or lesson paired with case presentations and discussion, followed by a Q&A forum.

"If there's one thing this virus has taught us, is that it is highly contagious and will not be under control until we have a proven vaccine that is widely available. The best defense against COVID-19 is prevention and taking appropriate and consistent precautions "said Asif Merchant, MD, Partners at New England Community Medical Services.  "As we learn more about COVID-19 and its varying strains, it's imperative that we stay ahead of, and mitigate, any potential spread into our long-term care facilities. This program will help our efforts to protect individuals who live and work in nursing homes."

"We are proud to participate in this initiative with Mass Senior Care and Hebrew SeniorLife. Protecting our residents and staff is the number one priority, and this initiative will allow the nursing home provider community to share best practices which will help provide the necessary care our residents deserve. South Cove Manor has been successful in keeping our residents and staff safe throughout this pandemic, and we are more than happy to share our success with the rest of the provider community," said Bill Graves, President and CEO, South Cove Manor at Quincy Point.

All Medicare and Medicaid eligible nursing homes are invited to join this free, voluntary program. The National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network will provide a $6,000 stipend to each facility for successful completion of the program and a certificate of completion for participating individuals. Nursing homes interested in participating or have questions regarding enrollment, can please contact Jennifer Chen at JChen@maseniorcare.org.