ESRD and Nursing Facilities collaboration to decrease the spread of COVID-19

To: All ESRD and Nursing Facilities From:Margaret Mohan, Branch Chief, Acute Care and Nursing Facilities As all of Colorado continues to work on decreasing the spread of COVID-19, CDPHE specifically would like to address ways ESRD facilities and Nursing Facilities can work together for this vulnerable population. Nursing Facilities and ESRDs use a ‘Communication Tool’. The Communication Tool is a required document shared between Nursing Facilities and End Stage Renal Dialysis Centers as a way to update each respective facility on the patient’s status. This required tool is now more important than ever to ensure facilities are communicating the most up to date patient information. Adding COVID-19 information to the tool may be helpful to increase communication, assist in screening and help ensure staff and patient safety. Suggestions to add to the communication tool: - Is the patient COVID-19 positive: yes or no - Is the patient in a COVID-19 positive building: yes or no - Has the patient been exposed to COVID-19 in the past 14 days: yes or no Any questions answered yes by the Nursing facility would need to be followed up by the ESRD facility to ensure the patient is getting dialysis treatment in the proper setting. This may be in a COVID-19 positive facility or during an alternative shift for presumptive positive patients. ESRD facilities can be proactive by reviewing the State data on Nursing Facilities' outbreaks daily at: https://covid19.colorado.gov/outbreak-data Reaching out to Nursing Facilities prior to the patients shift to prescreen the patient may also be helpful. Along with the CMS QSO memo, there is a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outpatient Dialysis Facility Preparedness Assessment Tool from the CDC located at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/COVID-19-outpatient-dialysis.pdf