The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH), in collaboration with the Indiana National Guard (INNG), is pleased to announce the availability of long-term care support teams (LTCST) to provide short-term assistance to long-term care facilities facing critical staffing challenges and outbreaks during the current COVID-19 Omicron surge. The teams will enable eligible LTCFs to receive additional general staffing support so facility clinical staff and administrators may focus on resident care. The LTCST teams are comprised of up to six non-clinical general support personnel per team. Support includes 40 work hours per week for two weeks, including any shift up to 12 hours per day in any given 24-hour period. Please refer to the LTCST scope for additional details.
Nursing facilities and residential care facilities may submit requests for support beginning Monday, Jan. 24, by submitting the LTCST request form via email to outreach@probarisystem.com. Consideration for support will be given to facilities that:
- Are experiencing staffing shortages such that resident care could be compromised or residents may need to be discharged or transferred; AND
- Facilities that have exhausted all potential staffing solutions. Priority will be given to facilities that are actively signed up as COVID-19 Ready through FSSA and EMResource.
Initially a limited number of teams will be available (fewer than 10). IDOH and INNG will continue to evaluate need and train additional teams as personnel are available. Since LTCST is a limited resource, not all facilities that submit a request will receive support.
Probari and IDOH will review requests and schedule a virtual meeting with the requesting facility within 24 hours of the request to determine the next steps based on facility needs, information provided on the LTCST request form, statewide demand and team availability. Before requesting LTCST support, facilities will be expected to have a plan for how INNG personnel can be used to immediately support the facility and residents.