VCU Health Nursing Home ECHO

Welcome to the VCU Health Nursing Home ECHO, a member of the National COVID Action Network, supported by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and the ECHO Institute. 

We are actively recruiting nursing homes around the state to join this interactive community of practice to collaboratively advance improvements in COVID-19 preparedness, safety, and infection control. Any nursing home in the state can participate in this initiative. Participation in the network is free. COVID Action Network benefits include:

• COLLABORATION — collaborate with your peers, share real-world cases
• IMPROVEMENT — improve your IPAC procedures which will help with key metrics designated by CMS in quality reimbursement: 1) COVID-19 infectious rate, and 2) COVID-19 mortality
• FINANCIAL INCENTIVE — full participation will earn your nursing home $6,000 

Recognizing that taking time away from caring for residents to participate in training is an expense for nursing homes, those that actively participate in the 16-week training and mentoring program will receive $6,000 in compensation*.

*Only the nursing homes that were eligible to receive funding from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) and who agree to the terms and conditions of the PRF are eligible to receive compensation for participation in this program.

An ECHO model connects professionals with each other in real-time collaborative virtual sessions on Zoom. Participants present de-identified cases to one another, share resources, connect to each other, and grow in their expertise. This ECHO will train and support nursing home staff on best practices for protecting patients, staff, and visitors from deadly coronavirus infection and spread.    

Network, Participate and Present

• Engage in a collaborative community with your peers. 
• Listen, learn, and discuss informational and case presentations in real-time.
• Submit an anonymous case study for feedback from subject matter experts and peer colleagues.

Benefits

As of Fall 2020, nearly one-quarter of the known COVID-19 deaths in the United States have been nursing home residents and staff. Advanced age, underlying frailty, and communal living conditions make nursing home residents especially vulnerable, and their reliance on nursing home staff members put these essential workers at high risk.

COVID-19 is a challenging disease that effects both residents and staff of all nursing homes. Participating in the Network provides nursing homes with practical, useful information, skills, and resources. It also connects them with both specialists and their peers to ask and answer immediate challenges.

By improving your COVID-19 safety practices, participating nursing homes not only will protect their residents and staff, they may increase the chances of receiving value-based payments this fall.

Partners in this national program agree to work with the VCU Health Nursing Home ECHO toward the following goals:

• Preventing COVID-19 from entering nursing homes via staff, visitors and residents. 
• Should the virus enter the nursing home, preventing greater spread among patients, staff and visitors. 
• Providing the best-practice care and treatment for residents who test positive for COVID-19. 
• Protecting staff from infection and ensuring best-practice safety measure, to help staff build confidence in their work, feel safe from infection and support staff retention.
• Ensuring that residents who are dying from COVID-19 can safely receive visitors.

For more information on the AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID—10 Action Network, register here for a webinar session

For more information from CMS on COVID-19 Nursing Home Data

For more information from Virginia Department of Health on nursing home outbreaks

For more information from Virginia Department of Health on Community Test Positivity Rates