In January 2022, a nursing home that had not had any COVID-19 cases for more than a year was referred to Health Quality Innovators (HQI) for assistance with improving its resident COVID-19 booster rate and responding to a sudden COVID-19 outbreak.
During initial conversations with the nursing home leadership team, HQI identified two challenges: 1) The facility was struggling to address the COVID-19 outbreak as a result of not having any cases in more than a year; and 2) As a result of the outbreak, limited administrative staff was available to educate residents and receive consents for a booster vaccine.
As a first step in the outbreak response, HQI worked with the nursing home to perform a root cause analysis. During this process, the facility identified that the lack of staff masking, due to mask fatigue, likely contributed to spreading the virus. In response, HQI helped the nursing home administrator and director of nursing develop a quality improvement initiative that included interventions focused on masking-specific infection prevention strategies and refreshed signage about the importance of masking. Within three to four weeks of implementation, COVID-19 case numbers declined from six to zero.
While the nursing home was still managing the outbreak, HQI worked with the facility’s leadership team to improve their resident COVID-19 booster rate. First steps included conducting a root cause analysis and developing an action plan. Following the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle, the nursing home and an HQI quality improvement advisor identified opportunities for improvement, chose goals and selected specific actions to implement.
HQI also recommended the nursing home assemble a team to educate residents about the booster vaccine and collect signed consent forms in a matter of hours, or in a single day. This approach allowed the nursing home to schedule a vaccination/booster clinic following the reduction in COVID-19 case numbers and quickly administer booster vaccines to all residents who had signed a consent form.
While the nursing home has achieved success, HQI’s support continues with monthly check-ins to learn about challenges the facility may be facing and provide assistance, if needed.
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