Kokua Mau Webinar: What We Learned in the Pandemic: Compliance & Operational Lessons from COVID-19

Dec. 8, 10 am - 11:30 am

The COVID-19 health crisis brought many changes and concerns to light. Emergency preparedness plans did not adequately prepare agencies for a pandemic of this nature. Take time to review the lessons learned and create a solid plan as PHE comes to an end, waivers expire, and infection control policies and procedures take priority in the home and office.

AFTER THIS WEBINAR YOU’LL BE ABLE TO:

Understand how the federal regulatory waivers operate and when they expire
Unwind operations based on federal and state waivers
Consider telehealth’s use during the pandemic and its role moving forward
Review concerns raised in the pandemic that will influence emergency preparedness planning
Recognize how COVID-19 impacts agency infection control protocols
Appreciate that infection control is no longer just a field staff issue
Understand how the FFCRA court ruling and rule changes affect leave policies

WEBINAR DETAILS

With the announcement of a public health emergency in March, COVID-19 eclipsed PDGM as the homecare industry’s primary concern. Most emergency preparedness plans (EPPs) were woefully inadequate for an event of this magnitude. Although agencies have adapted to the “new normal” of COVID-19, it won’t be with us forever. Agencies must prepare for 2021 and beyond, but also memorialize the lessons learned, especially for EPP. Below are some of the major pandemic-related changes that should be reviewed and considered.

Hospitals ceased elective procedures and physicians suspended practice, leading to reduced home health and hospice referrals
Patients refused visits, fearing that agency staff would bring COVID-19 into their homes and SNFs and ALFs refused to allow agencies access to patients
Insufficient PPE supplies and global demand made obtaining more extremely difficult, if not impossible
Infection control protocols and new office standards were developed on the fly and implemented quickly
Implementation of telemonitoring and other technology strategies reduced patient contact and helped control the spread of COVID-19
PPP loans, HHS funds, and other government programs were designed to support operations during the resulting economic downturn

How will these changes continue to affect your agency? What can be gleaned to create a better emergency preparedness plan? How will your agency cope when the PHE ends in 2021 and waivers expire? This webinar will help you unwind operational changes made due to state and federal flexibilities and create a solid plan moving forward.

Attendance certificate provided to self-report CE credits.