Sigh. Raise your hand if you thought this virus would be gone by now. The healthcare community and public are being overloaded with information—masks or no masks, boosters or no boosters—and on and on. OSHA recently announced it is holding public hearings in the next 10 days regarding a final standard to protect healthcare…
Sigh. Raise your hand if you thought this virus would be gone by now. The healthcare community and public are being overloaded with information—masks or no masks, boosters or no boosters—and on and on. OSHA recently announced it is holding public hearings in the next 10 days regarding a final standard to protect healthcare and healthcare support services workers from occupational exposure to COVID-19. The National Association for Home Care and Hospice discussed this issue on a call this week and have released a draft letter that is to be sent to the OSHA. The letter requests that OSHA align its standards with other established rules such as the CMS COVID-19 vaccine mandate. This is in an attempt to reduce confusion and burden on the certified home health and hospice agencies. One thing is certain at this time, and that is, state surveyors are currently focused on agencies’ infection control. Home health, hospice and personal care services agencies need to ensure their QAPI plans for this year include a strong emphasis on emerging infectious diseases—namely COVID-19 infection control measures.
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