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St. Louis County's Department of Public Health has been recognized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for its work to protect nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CMS cites St. Louis County's work twice in its May 2020 publication, Toolkit on State Actions to Mitigate COVID-19 Prevalence in Nursing Homes.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY (May 18, 2020) – St. Louis County’s Department of Public Health has been recognized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for its work to protect nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CMS cites St. Louis County’s work twice in its May 2020 publication, Toolkit on State Actions to Mitigate COVID-19 Prevalence in Nursing Homes. This toolkit catalogs the many innovative solutions designed at the state level to protect our nation’s vulnerable nursing home residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Nursing homes in St. Louis County and across the country are particularly vulnerable communities for the spread of COVID-19,” said County Executive Dr. Sam Page. “I am proud of St. Louis County’s Department of Public Health’s implementation of thoughtful, compassionate, and effective guidelines that are being recognized on a national level.”
This report’s release comes out the same week that County Executive Dr. Sam Page announced the County’s Quick Reaction Team, an extension of the High-Risk Task Force focused on responding to identified COVID-19 hot spots in the community. The team goes in with testing, training, PPE and to do a deep cleaning. They are in and out in a day and the team can be deployed 24-7.
St. Louis County’s Department of Public Health is recognized under the “Workforce and Staffing” and “Personal Protective Equipment: Actions to improve utilization of PPE” sections of the CMS toolkit on nursing home actions.
In particular, the report cites the County’s establishment of a High-Risk Task Force, composed of volunteer doctors and registered nurses:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a governmental office of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) focused on helping states build “smarter and healthier system[s] so that these programs will continue as the standard bearers for coverage, quality and innovation in American health care”.
The full report can be found on cms.gov here: Toolkit on State Actions to Mitigate COVID-19 Prevalence in Nursing Homes.