Hospital to Post Care Transfer COVID-19 Assessment – Updated 2/24/21

As the Pharmacy Partnership for LTC program comes to an end, it is important to ensure LTCFs have continued access to COVID-19 vaccine for new or unvaccinated residents.  Communication of a resident’s COVID-19 status will need to be exchanged openly and accurately throughout the continuum of care.

The Indiana State Department of Health has updated the Hospital to Post-Acute Transfer Form – COVID-19 Assessment to include COVID-19 vaccination status.

Recommendations:

• Utilize the revised form or incorporate vaccine status information into your exchange of information with all transitions of care with service providers.
  Hospital to Post-Acute Care Transfer Form – COVID-19 Assessment(updated 2/24/21)
• https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/files/Hospital%20to%20Post-Acute%20Care%20Transfer%20Covid-19%20Assessment%20Form%2002.20.2021.pdf

The document upgrades include:

• Digital pdf for saving, sending, or uploading without printing, if desired,
• Documentation of vaccine manufacturer and dates, if applicable,
• Hyperlinks to 2/14/2021 updated “CDC Discontinuation of Transmission Based Precautions Guidance,”
• Hyperlink to complementary IDOH “COVID-19 Guidance for Hospital Discharge to Long-Term Care Facilities.”

Reminders:

• The  transfer guidance does not reference how admissions are to be treated upon arrival at LTC facilities, new admissions are required to be placed in 14-day quarantine in transmission based precautions due to likely exposure (See Unknown COVID-19 Status (Yellow) section of the IDH Infection Control Guidance).
• The transfer guidance was slightly revised in December with language for Category 4 transfers, to remove outdated direction on testing, and include the most current link for requesting an IDH Strike Team if testing assistance is needed.  Strike Team requests can now be made here.
• Communicate the reasons why admissions may be limited or periodically stopped due to staffing shortages and/or other limitations due to cohorting procedures and when those limitations may be resolved. Being clear about your facility’s limitations will help avoid confusion and misperception that LTC facilities are not following guidelines.