Hospital to Post-Acute Transfer Assessment and Guidance

The Indiana Department of Health developed a Hospital to Post-Acute Care Transfer COVID-19 Assessment form to aid hospitals and nursing facilities.  This form follows the guidance document regarding hospital discharges to long-term care facilities.

We encourage facilities to read both of these documents and use the guidance as you develop policies concerning the acceptance of new admissions.   As COVID-19 capacities in hospitals are reaching another peak, at the same time that staffing for LTC and hospitals are increasingly strained, LTC will be looked to for assistance.

As you make decisions on admissions, please keep in mind these key points:

• Admissions decisions should be based on local circumstances, including available staff and resources to handle current and new resident populations.
• LTC facilities communicate the reasons why admissions may be limited or periodically stopped due to staffing shortages and/or space limitations due to cohorting procedures and when those limitations may be lifted.
• Being clear about your facility’s limitations will help avoid confusion and misperception that LTC facilities are not following guidelines.
• 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.

For questions and concerns please contact Lori Davenport at ldavenport@ihca.org or Zach Cattell at zcattell@ihca.org.