Infection Prevention and Control Notification Letter
Maine Department of Health & Human Services sent this bulletin at 10/06/2020 07:22 AM EDT
Dear Assisted Housing Provider:
The Maine DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) is reaching out to Assisted Housing Providers to share information about an initiative for a Statewide Infection Prevention and Control (IP&C) consultation opportunity administered by OADS in partnership with Maine CDC, the Office of MaineCare Services and the Division of Licensing and Certification. The purpose of this offering is to improve IP&C in congregate residential settings (other than nursing homes) throughout Maine and to assist you in meeting new IP&C rules planned to take effect in 2021. These settings may include Private Non-Medical Institutions (PNMIs), Assisted Living Facilities, Residential Care Facilities, and licensed and unlicensed Group Homes. Currently these settings are not required to have the level of infection control practices mandated in nursing homes, and many lack access to regular clinical consultation on IP&C practices. This initiative is intended to strengthen IP&C awareness, practice, and resources in these settings.
The goal of this initiative is to ensure the health and safety of older persons and adults with disabilities by assisting all congregate settings in Maine to achieve and maintain an acceptable baseline of IP&C awareness, practice, and resources during the current COVID-19 pandemic, and in the future.
OADS will establish contracts with IP&C consultants to do the following:
- deploy qualified assessors to conduct in-person, on-site baseline assessments of IP&C policies, procedures and practices;
- provide recommendations for improvement of existing IP&C practices;
- create an initial IP&C plan with your agency or facility; and
- conduct follow-up consultation to provide education and resources as requested.
If you would like to schedule a consultation, please contact Gretchen Zeh-Higgins, Long-Term Care Facility Supervisor for the Office of Aging and Disability Services at (207) 287-8823 or at gretchen.zeh-higgins@maine.gov . Please title the subject line of the email “IP&C Consultation.”
If you require accommodations for you or your staff (language, sign language interpreters for example), to participate in this process, please e-mail Alexis Lull at Alexis.Lull@Maine.gov.
Sincerely,
Paul Saucier, Director
Office of Aging & Disability Services