Comagine Health would like to encourage skilled nursing facilities to utilize the All-Cause Harm Prevention in Nursing Homes change package prepared by Telligen and offered by the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program.
The change package offers key points to aid in preventing all types of infections for nursing home residents. The change package recommends to map out infections in the building, current and over time, to observe trends, containment or spread, and to assist in decision-making for potential resident placement. Use color coding or other indicators for easy visualization of the types and locations of infections that residents have.
To assist with implementing such practices, check out Lesson 6: Investigating an Outbreak from Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice, Third Edition (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Click on Step 6 Perform descriptive epidemiology hyperlink and scroll down to the section labelled “Place” for a description of using a “spot map.” This is a very helpful and simple tool that can be added to what you are already doing. Use this in combination with your line list to identify clusters or patterns; it provides clues about how the infection is spreading.
What can you do today?
- Contact your facility manager and get a copy of your organization’s floor plan.
- Choose one infection or organism type reported in the past three months (respiratory and GI illnesses are good choices; COVID-19 is a current priority to avoid spread).
- Show the resident location on your organization’s map.
This practice will assist you in identifying an outbreak and investigating immediately.