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Health Facilities News & Updates
The Health Facilities Program is committed to ensuring excellent communication with acute and continuing care providers and suppliers in Kansas. This page contains information about current events, trends, resources, best practices and updates affecting our day to day health care work.
Public Health Emergency Resource Update 2/23/23
On February 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 will end on May, 11, 2023. During the PHE, CMS has used a combination of emergency authority waivers, regulations, enforcement discretion, and sub-regulatory guidance to ensure easier access to care during the PHE for health care providers and their beneficiaries.
Some of the flexibilities that were created during the pandemic were recently expanded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Others, while critical during our initial responses to COVID-19, are no longer needed. CMS has made further updates to the CMS Emergencies Page with useful information for providers – specifically around major telehealth and individual waivers – that were initiated during the Public Health Emergency (PHE).
Please reference the following guidance in response to the PHE ending May 11, 2023:
CMS COVID-19 Waivers and Flexibilities for ACC providers include:
- End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Facilities
- Hospitals and CAHs (including Swing Beds), ASCs
- Home Health Agencies
- Hospice
- Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
- Long Term Care Hospitals & Extended Neoplastic Disease Care Hospitals
- Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
New Releases CMS QSO Memos
- Revision to State Operations Manual (SOM), Hospital Appendix A -Interpretive Guidelines for 42 CFR 482.21, Quality Assessment & Performance Improvement (QAPI) Program 3/9/23
- Revisions to Hospice-Appendix M of the State Operations Manual Released 1/27/23
- Guidance for Rural Emergency Hospital Provisions, Conversion Process and Conditions of Participation 1/26/23
Public Health Emergency Resource Update 02/06/2023
On January 30, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its intent to end the national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) declarations related to the COVID-19 pandemic on May 11, 2023. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has resources available to help you prepare for the end of the PHE, some of which have been updated based on recent action by Congress.
Infection Prevention Control Guidance
Effective September 23, 2022 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated the following infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance documents for U.S. healthcare settings:
- Infection Control: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) | CDC
- Interim Guidance for Managing Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 | CDC
- Strategies to Mitigate Healthcare Personnel Staffing Shortages | CDC
These updates have been made to reflect the high levels of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity and the availability of effective treatments and prevention tools. Additionally, to streamline and consolidate existing healthcare IPC guidance, the Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Spread in Nursing Homes | CDC was archived. However, relevant information for nursing homes not otherwise covered in Sections 1 and 2 of the main healthcare IPC guidance have now been incorporated into Section 3: Setting-specific considerations.
CDC recommends healthcare facilities reference updated Community Transmission metrics on a weekly basis to inform facility-level actions. Community Transmission remains the metric used to guide select actions in healthcare settings, which is different than the COVID-19 Community Levels used for non-healthcare settings. Community Transmission is used to allow for earlier intervention, before there is strain on the healthcare system, and better protect the individuals seeking medical care in these settings.
These updates provide additional protection measures for patients and healthcare workers, especially in hospitals and nursing homes, where COVID-19 is more likely to spread quickly or cause severe disease if introduced.
Refer to the guidance documents for the full updates. KDHE has adopted the CDC guidance documents in full with no modifications.
Survey & Certification Quality, Certification & Oversight Reports
August 22, 2022 - To increase transparency, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) offers a website releasing information to access data to providers, suppliers, and stakeholders relative to survey and certification. This website provides access to the results of CMS survey and certification activity over the last ten years.