Home Health & Hospice Week

Even staff without symptoms may be affected.

Not sure how to determine who should come to work and who shouldn’t? The feds are offering help.

“Health care providers (HCP) who have signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection should not report to work,” says the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in a March 10 memo offering COVID-19 guidance to home health agencies.

Further, “staff that develop signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection while on-the-job, should”:

• Immediately stop work, put on a facemask, and self-isolate at home;
• Inform the HHA clinical manager of information on individuals, equipment, and locations the person came in contact with; and
• Contact and follow the local health department recommendations for next steps (e.g., testing, locations for treatment).

Employees who lack symptoms aren’t totally off the hook, though. “Refer to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidance for exposures that might warrant restricting asymptomatic healthcare personnel from reporting to work” at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/guidance-risk-assesment-hcp.html, CMS recommends.

For example: Workers who have prolonged contact with a COVID-19 patient without wearing a facemask or respirator should be excluded from work for 14 days after last exposure, CDC recommends.