ALTSA: ALL #2023-001 Staff Vaccinations

ALTSA: ALL #2023-001 Staff Vaccinations

On September 20, 2022, Residential Care Services (RCS) and the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) published a Dear Provider/Administrator/Superintendent Letter to remind long-term care professionals of the importance of protecting residents, clients, and staff from COVID-19, Influenza, and pneumonia this season. The letter provided information on current vaccines and encouraged everyone to stay up to date on their vaccinations. The letter also provided detailed guidance for additional prevention measures, including hand washing, masking, following infection prevention standards for your setting, and reporting communicable disease outbreaks.

This letter is to reemphasize the importance of these strategies as we enter the winter season. You can minimize the impact of COVID-19, Influenza, and pneumonia by encouraging ALL residents/clients and staff to stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations, get the flu vaccine, and get the pneumococcal vaccine as needed.

Nursing homes and ICF-IID facilities must also follow federal regulations. Additional requirements for COVID-19 vaccination in those settings are outlined below. Adherence to the regulations is required, and you can find detailed information in the links to the letters referenced below.

On November 15, 2022, RCS published a Dear Administrator letter, referencing QS0-23-02- ALL. This letter shared guidance about COVID-19 vaccination requirements in nursing homes. Nursing homes must be in 100% compliance with 42 CFR §483.80(i), COVID-19 facility staff vaccinations.

Read full letter here.

 

Questions?

Contact:

Laura Hofmann, MSN, RN – Director of Clinical and Nursing Facility Regulatory Services
c: 425-231-4804

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