News

SBI Accepting LTC and Home Care Walk-ins for Fingerprinting During August

August 5, 2020 — For the month of August, the State Police is accepting LTC and Home Care as walk-ins at their Dover location. Monday-Friday 8:30am-11:45am and 12:30pm-3:00pm. Walk-ins will be seen after their scheduled appointments, so there may be a wait. If the new hire already has an appointment they should either keep it or when arriving at... Read More

SBI Opens Saturday Fingerprinting For Healthcare Staff

July 17, 2020 — The State Bureau of Investigation will be offering Saturday walk-in services at their Dover Blue Hen Corporate Center location for healthcare staff on the below dates/times: Saturday, July 18th 8:00am – 12:00pm Saturday, July 25th 8:00am – 12:00pm Saturday, August 1st 8:00am – 12:00pm Upon arrival, clients must: Maintain social distancing guidelines, which includes maintaining... Read More

Delaware Reopening Phase 2 Set for June 15, Extends State of Emergency

June 8, 2020 — Governor John Carney announced that Delaware’s Economic Reopening Phase 2 will go into effect on June 15.  During this phase, locations currently operating at 30% of fire occupancy requirements may move to 60% of fire occupancy requirements, indoor gatherings are permitted with a 50-person limit with social-distancing measures, and fully outdoor gathers can have up... Read More

AHCA/NCAL Statement in Response to CMS, CDC Data on Nursing Homes and COVID-Related Cases

June 1, 2020 — The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), representing more than 14,000 nursing homes and assisted living communities across the country that provide care to approximately five million people each year, released the following statement in response to data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on... Read More

Governor Carney Releases Phase 1 Reopening

May 18, 2020 — Governor John Carney on Friday released guidance  for Phase 1 of Delaware’s rolling reopening. Delaware’s Phase 1 reopening plan provides general and sector-specific guidance for Delawareans and Delaware businesses. Phase 1 of Delaware’s economic reopening will begin on June 1. Delaware has been implementing a rolling reopening of the economy — permitting establishments to open,... Read More

Delaware Division of Public Health Issues Plan for Universal Testing

May 7, 2020 — The Division of Public Health has posted its plan to implement universal testing for COVID-19 for all long-term care facilities, residents and staff.  Key points to the plan include: Current CDC guidelines allows asymptomatic health care workers who have ad exposure to a person infected with COVID-19 after all options to improve staffing have been... Read More

CDC Launches NHSN Long-term Care Facility COVID-10 Module for Reporting

May 6, 2020 — The Center for Disease Control has launched its Long-term Care Facilities COVID-19 Module for reporting as part of its National Health Care Safety Network. CMS is requiring that long-term care facilities report weekly using this module, beginning May 8. This means the first report is due May 17 by 11:59 pm. Facilities have been granted... Read More

CMS Issues Additional Blanket Waivers

May 5, 2020 — CMS has  issued another series of additional blanket waivers that address requirements for: Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) In-service training for nursing assistants Detailed information sharing for discharge planning in long-term care facilities Clinical records Inspection, testing, and maintenance (ITM) under the physical environment These waivers are retroactive to March 1 2020 and will... Read More

CMS Increases Medicare Payment for High-Production CCOVID-19 Tests

April 15, 2020 — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced Medicare will nearly double payment for certain lab tests that use high-throughput technologies to rapidly diagnose large numbers of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. This is another action the Trump Administration is taking to rapidly expand COVID-19 testing, particularly for those with Medicare, including nursing... Read More

Gov. Carney Announced Stricter LTC Measures to Protect Residents and Workers

April 15, 2020 — Governor John Carney on Wednesday issued the eleventh modification to his State of Emergency declaration, requiring stricter guidelines to prevent COVID-19 infections in nursing facilities and other long-term care facilities. Click here for Governor Carney’s eleventh modification to the State of Emergency. Governor Carney’s updated emergency order requires nursing facilities to immediately ensure they are in full... Read More