LeadingAge Washington, WHCA, the Adult Family Home Council and the Washington Hospital Association met with Vice Admiral Bono, the Governor’s appointed Healthcare lead for COVID-19, earlier this week.  The purpose of the call was to discuss the ongoing issues LTC has been facing during this Pandemic.

All LTC associations agreed the most pressing issues were;

• Lack of PPE
• Lack of testing 
• Funding and 
• Inconsistent guidance from federal, state and local agencies

Vice Admiral Bono was very receptive to our concerns and agreed to expand her portfolio of responsibilities to now include long-term care, in addition to hospital acute care.  The Vice Admiral promised to elevate the long term care concerns, starting with the prioritization of PPE supplies and testing. We have already seen the results of her efforts, as evidenced by the Dear Provider letter dated 4/9/2020 stating a new focus on allocating PPE and testing to long-term care facilities.  Bono is also spearheading waivers on various LTC laws and regulations that would otherwise limit discharge capabilities to COVID dedicated facilities.

We discussed the potential of developing COVID (+) units within nursing facilities and COVID only nursing facilities.  This is in line with the CMS physical environment waiver that was issued last week.  A process has been developed and is now in place to permit dedicated wings or floors within skilled nursing. If interested, please refer to the Dear Provider letter for information on how to apply through RCS.

We will have weekly calls with Vice Admiral Bono as she works to understand our needs and how she can best support you to care for staff and for staff to care for residents.

Questions? Contact:

Laura Hofmann, MSN, RN
Director of Clinical and Nursing Facility Regulatory Services
c: 360-691-9281