It’s “Spooky” Flu Season…by Katie Decker
October 28, 2022 | Uncategorized
It’s “spooky” flu season, but we have “tricks and treats” to navigate this forecasted spookiest flu season ever.
The Infection Preventionist: A real “treat” for our facility infection prevention programs!
October introduced the solidification of the role of our infection preventionist in our facilities. A role Nexion tackled the development of during the pandemic has become the center piece of driving our infection prevention and program success. The Infection Preventionist (IP) wears many hats and plays a vital role in creating a culture of infection control safety grounded in the unceasing monitoring and management for residents, families, staff, and the community. Our IP’s champion Infection Control and Prevention in the facility, and a few areas of focus include: Hand Hygiene and PPE compliance, Antibiotic Stewardship, Immunizations, Patient Safety, Quality Measures and Regulatory Compliance just to name a few! We also recognize that for an Infection Control program to be a success, it needs to be a complete team effort and a daily focus of everyone who steps foot inside the facility. We are so thankful for all our IP’s and infection control team members and the hard work they do every day.
The Flu Season: “Spooky” but not a new threat so we have plenty of “tricks” to be prepared!
2022-2023 Flu Season is upon us, and experts are predicting a more severe flu season! For the past two years, as the pandemic raged, the flu virtually disappeared. This was mainly due to the behavior changes people made to avoid COVID-19, such as staying home, avoiding public gatherings, wearing masks, and not traveling. (“Flu is expected to flare up in U.S. this winter, raising fears of a …”) These mitigation strategies prevented the spread of COVID-19 and put a halt on the flu viruses from spreading. At this time many of those measures have mostly been abandoned at a community level which is why we expect to see more flu activity this year.
The CDC is reporting that the flu is already starting to spread in parts of the south, such as Texas and Georgia. And experts caution very young kids may be especially at risk this year. Though COVID-19 generally has been mild for young people, the flu typically poses the biggest threat to both the elderly and children. The main strain of flu that is currently circulating, H3N2, tends to hit the elderly hard. But health experts are also worried about young children who have not been exposed to the flu since they were born.
Nexion, even before the pandemic, has always worked diligently to prepare for the Flu Season. With our innovative ways to enhance and expedite stakeholder communication refined during the pandemic, we are now able to spread weekly education via our multi-media and communication platforms. These communications remind our associates, residents, and families about the importance of Flu Vaccines, how to access these vaccines and emphasize precautions they can take to help prevent the flu.
Our infection preventionists and nurses are hard at work administering flu vaccines to residents and staff. They also have plans in place for what to do in the event of an outbreak. Another “trick” in our strategy to navigate this “spook” season is our partnership with Insight Therapeutics, LLC.; a clinical research and communications organization. Insight Therapeutics provides an Outbreak Management Kit with resources and supplies for testing and flu management in the event of an outbreak, as well as virtual check-in support at the facility level. They also assist in monthly tracking of vaccinations and positive cases, providing metrics to help Nexion better understand ways we can improve our infection control measures.
We hope that the incidence of flu remains low for Nexion, but if it is a “spooky” flu season- we know that our amazing clinical staff will be prepared with their bag of “tricks.”
Requirements of Participation: Combining our “tricks” and “treats” to be compliant!
Skilled nursing centers and nursing facilities are required to follow extensive rules under the Requirements of Participation (ROP) to receive payment under the CMS Medicare or Medicaid programs. These requirements are contained in the Federal Regulations for Nursing Facilities, which also state each center must comply with all applicable Federal, State and Local laws, regulations, and codes with accepted professional standards.
On June 29, 2022, CMS released new guidance for Requirements of Participation Phase 3. Over the past few months, a committee of Nexion associates from a variety of disciplines have worked hard to review, update and in some cases create new policies so that we are compliant with all phase 3 requirements. As expected, a significant theme of phase 3 is on Infection Prevention and Control- specifically highlighting the importance of the Infection Preventionist, Antibiotic Stewardship Programs, and Influenza and Pneumococcal Immunizations.
We know that the world on Infection Control is one that is constantly changing and without an effective infection control program it is impossible to achieve quality health outcomes. Nexion’s commitment to strategic quality improvement ensures we are prepared to be successful during and after this “spooky” season!
Katie Decker, RN, BSN is the Director of Clinical Integration and Analytics for Nexion Health.