Project ECHO and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) are actively recruiting nursing homes across Virginia to join an interactive community of practice to advance improvements in COVID-19 preparedness, safety, and infection control. VCU would like to recruit three cohorts of 34 nursing facilities. There is a deadline the week of November 9 for all nursing homes interested in the project to take advantage of all the financial incentives and benefits.

Supported by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network is open to any Medicare or Medicaid-certified nursing home at no cost. Nursing homes eligible to receive funding from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) can receive $6,000 in compensation for participating. Each nursing home must commit two staff members to actively participate in the 16-week training (60 minutes per week).

Learn more about VCU’s Nursing Home ECHO

Register Your Nursing Home

The Approach. The Network will operate as a 16-week interactive virtual community of practice utilizing the ECHO model. Weekly sessions are designed to create space to hear directly from nursing home staff about the challenges they are facing through discussion of real cases. All participants are encouraged to share best practices and learn from their peers, while benefiting from the guidance of nursing home and quality improvement experts. Each Network session will include a short lecture combined with case-based presentations and discussion.

Topics include:

• Infection Prevention and Management: PPE, Cohorting, Testing, Screening
• Environmental Design: Cleaning and Disinfection Practices
• Advance Care Planning in COVID-19
• Staff Return to Work
• Care Transitions
• Safe Visiting Policies
• Social Isolation and Emotional Well-being

The Goals. Help nursing homes implement evidence-based best practices to:

• Keep COVID-19 from entering nursing homes where it has not entered.
• Identify residents and staff who have been infected with COVID-19 early.
• Prevent the spread of COVID-19 between staff, residents, and visitors.
• Provide safe and appropriate care to residents with mild and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.
• Ensure staff have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to implement best-practice safety measures to protect residents and themselves.
• Reduce social isolation for residents, families, and staff during these difficult times.