Clinical Staff Information

Nurses, medical providers, and therapists who work in nursing homes and assisted living facilities face a difficult task of managing the complex conditions affecting a person while simultaneously monitoring him/her for signs and symptoms of infections.

Medicare and Medicaid Program Participation Requirements for LTCFs

• Nursing Home Data Compendium 2015 Edition [PDF – 251 pages](CMS )
• Additional Nursing Home Data (CMS)
• CMS State Operations Manual, including Appendix PP. Interpretive Guidelines for Long-Term Care Facilities, F-Tag 441: Infection Control
• Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Reform of Requirements for Long-term Care Facilities October, 2016 [PDF – 185 pages]

Guidelines and Resources for Common Pathogens

Infectious Organisms

• Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE)
• Flu
  • Flu: Infection Control in Health Care Facilities
  • Flu: Prevention Strategies for Seasonal Influenza in Healthcare Settings
• Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
• General Information about Norovirus
• C. diff
  • Staff Fact Sheet [PDF – 2 pages] (National Nursing Home Quality Improvement Campaign)
  • Leadership Fact Sheet [PDF – 2 pages] (National Nursing Home Quality Improvement Campaign)
  • Dying from C diff: Who Is Most Vulnerable? (CDC Expert Commentary)
  • The following was presented in collaboration with American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination (AANA) during a webinar in January 2014.
    • Take Action to Prevent and Manage MDROs C. difficile in the Nursing Home
• Clostridioides difficile Infection

McGeer Criteria

• Surveillance Definitions of Infections in Long-Term Care Facilities: Revisiting the McGeer Criteria (CDC/SHEA )

Tracking and Reporting

• NHSN, Long-term Care Facility (LTCF) Component

Clinical Guidance on Evaluating and Managing Infections in LTCFs

Antibiotic Stewardship in LTCFs

• Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship for Nursing Homes
• Optimizing Antibiotic Stewardship in Nursing Homes: A Narrative Review and Recommendations for Improvement
• Development of Minimum Criteria for the Initiation of Antibiotics in Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities: Results of a Consensus Conference
• Antibiotic Stewardship Programs in Long-Term Care Facilities

Urinary Tract Infections

• Strategies to promote appropriate treatment of urinary tract infections in older adults [Video – 1:22:03]
• Exploring Challenges with Urinary Tract Infection Management [Video – 1:09:22]
• Exploring Challenges with Urinary Tract Infection Management [PPT – 32 pages]
• Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)

Suspected Infections – Communication Tools

• Suspected UTI SBAR [PDF – 2 pages]
• Suspected Lower Respiratory Infection SBAR [PDF – 2 pages]
• Suspected Skin and Soft Tissue Infection SBAR [PDF – 2 pages]

Infection Prevention and Control for LTCFs

• Guideline: Infection Prevention and Control in the Long-Term Care Facility [PDF – 32 pages](SHEA/APIC)
• Infection Control Guidelines & Guidance Library

Infections in LTCFs – Evaluation and Management

• Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation of Fever and Infection in Older Adult Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities

Things Physicians and Patients Should Question

• AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine
• AGS – American Geriatrics Society
• American Urological Association

Additional Links

• Quality Improvement Organizations
• A Toolkit for Long-Term Care Employers