SNFs Encouraged to Participate in Quality Improvement Initiatives

September 8, 2020

This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has issued All Facilities Letter (AFL) 20-68, encouraging skilled-nursing facilities to confer Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Health Safety Health Network rights to the Health Services Advisory Group, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization for California. Under the direction of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the advisory group partners with nursing facilities throughout California to support improvements in quality of care and to help prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. To support this effort, the advisory group offers real-time data to SNFs using select NHSN data.

To ensure each facility’s data are updated, CDPH requests that all nursing facilities confer rights to the advisory group to view data in the health safety network by Sept. 30. There is no cost to participate. To learn how to confer rights, see the AFL and the advisory group instructions.

Summary of Sept. 1 CDPH Call
CDPH has provided a summary of its most recent weekly call with health care facilities.

Upcoming CMS Calls
CMS will host calls this week for nursing homes, dialysis organizations, and nurses. Call details are as follows:

  • Nursing Homes: Sept. 9 at 1:30 p.m. (PT)
    Dial: (833) 614-0820
    Passcode: 5475686
    Audio webcast
     
  • Dialysis Organizations: Sept. 9 at 2:30 p.m. (PT)
    Dial: (833) 614-0820
    Passcode: 6925269
    Audio webcast
     
  • Nurses: Sept. 10 at noon (PT)
    Dial: (833) 614-0820
    Passcode: 5767207
    Audio webcast