COVID-19 Facility Information

Facility Information and Alerts

Section	Date	Brief Description of Changes During the State of Emergency	Link to full Document
Reporting	October 23, 2020	AHCA E-blast Daily LTC Facilities Reporting Update	Alert
	October 23, 2020	AHCA E-blast Daily Hospital Reporting Changes	Alert
	October 21, 2020	Mandatory DOH COVID-19 Reporting Requirements – Laboratories and Point of Care Testing	Alert
	October 9, 2020	Mandatory COVID 19 Reporting: LTC Resident and Staff Deaths	FDOH Mandatory Reporting – LTC Resident and Staff Deaths - FDOH COVID-19 Reporting Portal Factsheet
	September 11, 2020	HHS COVID Hospital data certification letter	COVID-19 State Reporting - AHCA Certification to Submit Hospital Data to HHS - Alert
	May 26, 2020	New CMS nursing home reporting requirements	AHCA E-blast – New CMS Nursing Home Reporting Requirements
	May 19, 2020	Daily hospital reporting update related to numbers of patients admitted from long term care facilities	AHCA’s ESS: Daily Hospital Reporting Update
	April 19, 2020	Hospital ESS Data Entry of Federal Reporting Requirements	AHCA’s ESS: Federal Reporting Updates
	April 16, 2020	FEMA confirms state reporting system (ESS) as acceptable alternative to direct hospital submissions	FEMA ESS Acceptance Letter
Testing	Continuous Updates	CMS Nursing Home COVID Testing	Interim Final Rule, CMS-3401-IFC - DOH County Positivity Rate - DOH Positivity Rate Archive
	Continuous Updates	Information on COVID-19 Testing and Laboratory Director Qualifications	Information on COVID-19 Testing and Laboratory Director Qualifications
	Continuous Updates	CDC Guidance for Healthcare Professionals about Coronavirus	Latest CDC Guidance
	Continuous Updates	Antigen Testing in Nursing Homes	Latest CDC Guidance
	October 12, 2020	AHCA E-blast – Nursing Home Update on County Positivity Rate	Alert
	October 9, 2020	HHS Point of Care Device Fact Sheet	Abbott BinaxNOW Fact Sheet
	October 1, 2020	AHCA E-blast – Testing of ALF and ICF-DD Staff and Residents	Alert
	September 23, 2020	FAR Notice for Emergency Rule 59AER20-7	Emergency Rule 59AER20-7 Withdrawal Notice - Alert
	September 11, 2020	AHCA E-blast – Updates on nursing home and ALF testing requirements and end of Curative State Contract 9/15	Alert
	August 6, 2020	Rule 59AER20-10 Mandatory Entry for Testing and Infection Control for Nursing Homes	59AER20-10 Mandatory Entry for Testing and Infection Control for Nursing Homes - Q&A
	August 6, 2020	Rule 59AER20-9 Mandatory Entry and Testing for Assisted Living Facilities	59AER20-9 Mandatory Entry and Testing for Assisted Living Facilities - Q&A
	August 5, 2020	Rule 59AER20-8 Hospital Screening Requirements for Long-Term Care Facility Residents	59AER20-8 Hospital Screening Requirements for Long-Term Care Facility Residents
	August 3, 2020	Curative State-Sponsored Testing for Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled Staff	Curative State-Sponsored Testing for ICF-DDs
	April 13, 2020	E-blast Florida Department of Health (FDOH) Emergency Order - Practitioner and Laboratory Testing for COVID-19	FDOH Emergency Order COVID-19 Testing
	March 26, 2020	E-blast with guidance on diagnosing and clearing patients for transfer and assigning Person Under Investigation Numbers to suspected cases	Hospital Testing Update- Person Under Investigation
	March 18, 2020	E-blast: Current Hospital and Physician COVID-19 Testing Criteria for Elderly and Medically Vulnerable Individuals	Hospital and Physician COVID-19 Testing: Elderly and Medically Vulnerable Individuals
	March 18, 2020	E-blast: Flyer Hospital and Physician COVID-19 Testing Criteria for Elderly and Medically Frail	Hospital and Physician COVID-19 Testing: Elderly and Medically Frail
Screening	August 6, 2020	Governor's LTC Re-Opening Task Force Announcement	Governor’s LTC Facility Re-Opening Task Force
	May 1, 2020	Employee Screening Tool and Criteria Not-Met Log	Employee Screening Tool - Employee Criteria Not Met Log
	Apirl 25, 2020	Visitor Screening Tool and Criteria Not Met Log	Visitor Screening Tool - Visitor Criteria Not Met Log
	March 23, 2020	Department of Business and Professional Regulation PPE use	DBPR Emergency Order No. 20-002
	March 12, 2020	FHCA industry recommended tool kit for screening and notice	Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Visitor Screening Toolkit Alert
PPE	June 28, 2020	CDC guidance for wearing and making cloth masks	Use of Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19
	April 10, 2020	PPE Webinar Training for Long-Term Care Facilities Flyer	PPE Webinar Flyer
	March 23, 2020	DBPR Emergency Order 2020-02 waives s.499.006, F.S.	DBPR Emergency Order 2020-02 - s. 409.006 F.S.
	March 18, 2020	Universal Face Mask Use in Long Term Care Facilities	Universal Face Mask Use: Residential and Long-Term Care Facilities - Clarification
Independent Residents / Retirement Communities	July 31,2020	CDC prevention and guidance for retirement communities and independent living facilities	Retirement and Independent Living Communities: Interim Prevention Guidance
	June 29, 2020	CDC prevention guidance at senior living communities	Retirement and Independent Living Communities: Prevention Guidance
	March 21, 2020	List of prohibited activities at senior living communities	Independent Living: Guidance for Senior Living Communities
Emergency Orders	October 23, 2020	Emergency Order revising visitation restrictions at long-term care facilities	Department of Emergency Management (DEM Order No. 20-011) - Alert
	September 9, 2020	AHCA E-blast – Long Term Care Facility Visitation Expectations	AHCA E-Blast – LTC Facility Visitation Expectations
	September 1, 2020	Emergency Order revising visitation restrictions at long-term care facilities	Department of Emergency Management (DEM Order No. 20-009) - Alert - Q&A
	September 1, 2020	AHCA E-blast – Task Force on Safe and Limited Re-opening of LTCs Visitation Recommendations	AHCA E-blast – Task Force on Safe and Limited Re-opening of LTCs Visitation Recommendations
	May 13, 2020	Extension of quality assessment payment deadline for nursing homes and intermediate care facilities	Temporary Extension of Nursing Home and Intermediate Care Facility Quality Assessment Reporting for Medicaid (Emergency Order AHCA No. 20-003)
	May 4, 2020	Emergency Order outlining Phase 1 Recovery guidance for individuals, businesses, and institutions	Phase 1: Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step. Plan for Florida’s Recovery (Emergency Order No. 20-112)
	April 10, 2020	Coronavirus (COVID-19) added to practitioner and laboratory reporting requirements	Department of Health Emergency Rule No. 64DER20-26
	March 23, 2020	Waives PPE requirements outlined in section 499.006, Florida Statutes	Department of Business and Professional Regulation (Emergency Order 2020-02)
	March 20, 2020	All practitioners shall immediately cease performing medically unnecessary, non-urgent or non-emergency procedures or surgeries	Non-essential Elective Medical Procedures (Executive Order No. 20-72)
	March 11, 2020	Screening requirements of persons under investigation and/or confirmed cases at LTC facilities	Department of Emergency Management (DEM Order No. 20-002)
	March 9, 2020	Pharmacists may dispense up to 30-day emergency prescription refill of maintenance medication	Declaring a Public Health Emergency (Executive Order No. 20-52)
	March 1, 2020	Measures necessary to protect public health	Declaring a State of Emergency (Executive Order No. 20-51)
	March 1, 2020	Florida Department of Health Declaration of Public Health Emergency	Department of Health Declaration of a State of Emergency (Emergency Order)
Regulatory Information	September 15, 2020	CMS Prioritization and Survey tools for Hospital Infection Control Visits.	QSO 20-20 CMS Infection Control Survey Tool – Hospitals and non-LTC
Regulatory Information	Current Law	Overcapacity Authority	Overcapacity 408.821(2), Florida Statutes
Staffing	July 20, 2020	Return to work criteria for essential personnel, confirmed or suspected COVID cases	Return to Work Criteria Updated 7/20
	March 28, 2020	Health Care Provider Background Screening - interoffice memorandum	Health Care Provider Background Screening
	March 27, 2020	Employment background screening when fingerprint vendors are unavailable	Emergency Order AHCA No. 20-001 - Background Screening
	March 17, 2020	Staff curfew letter to travel during curfew periods	Curfew Letter for Health Care Workers
Transfer	September 15, 2020	AHCA E-blast - Updates to COVID isolation facility admission protocols and other changes effective 9/18 and 10/1	Alert
	July 20, 2020	E-blast Long-Term Care Facilities Transfers and Testing Updates	Long-Term Care Facilities Transfers and Testing Updates
	May 5, 2020	E-blast nursing home COVID-19 transfers	Nursing Home COVID-19 Response/Resident Transfer
	March 19, 2020	Notify hospital EDs of COVID-19 status prior to transfer	Transfer Form: SNF to Hospital
	March 15, 2020	All hospitals assess for COVID-19 prior to transfer	Transfer Form: Hospital to SNF
General Facility Resource Information	Continuous Updates	CDC COVID-19 LTC Preparedness Checklist	Nursing Home and Long Term Care Facilities: COVID-19 Preparedness Checklist
	Continuous Updates	Federal Waivers: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid certification waivers	CMS Current Emergencies: Waivers and Flexibilities
	Continuous Updates	Discontinuation of transmission-based precautions and disposition of patients in long term care facilities	CDC discontinuation of transmission-based precautions guidance
	October 19, 2020	CDC Pharmacy/Long Term Care Vaccination Initiative	Program Overview - FAQ - Alert
	July 28, 2020	How to disinfect your facility properly	Facility Disinfection for Sick Persons
	June 12, 2020	CDC guidance on mass gathering events	Resources: Large Community Events & Mass Gatherings
	May 27, 2020	Additional disinfection guidance for community facilities	Cleaning and Disinfecting Community Facilities: Recommendations
	May 13, 2020	Agency extends Quality Assessment payment deadline for nursing homes and Intermediate Care Facilities	AHCA E-blast Extension of Quality Assessment Payment Deadline for Nursing Homes and Intermediate Care Facilities
	May 11, 2020	CMS Grants Expanded Ability for Hospitals to Offer Long-term Care Services (“Swing-Beds”) for COVID-19 Patients	CMS Grants Expanded Ability for Hospitals to Offer Long-term Care Services (“Swing-Beds”) for COVID-19 Patients
	May 8, 2020	CDC COVID-19 Community Checklist	COVID-19 Checklist: Older Persons
	May 6, 2020	Guidance for essential businesses operating during COVID-19 pandemic	Guidance (Interim): Business and Employer COVID-19 Response and Planning
	May 4, 2020	Updated AMA Special coding advice during COVID-19 public health emergency	Updated AMA Special Coding Advice During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Document
	April 17, 2020	Long-term care and Residential Facility Notification Requirement Reminder	Long-Term Care and Residential Facility Notification Requirement Reminder
	March 21, 2020	Agency guidance to facilities to call local law enforcement in case of emergency	Local Law Enforcement: Summoning to Facilities
	March 2, 2020	Agency directs nursing homes and residential healthcare facilities to immediately review facility protocols	Health Care Facilities and Providers: Novel Coronavirus Update
Food Safety	April 1, 2020	Best practices on safe food handling and employee health in retail settings during COVID-19 Pandemic	Best Practices for Retail Stores, Restaurants, and Pick-up/Food Delivery Services
Food Safety	April 1, 2020	Food/delivery service fact sheet	Fact Sheet on Best Practices for Retail Stores, Restaurants, and Pick-up/ Food Delivery Services
Building and Physical Plant	April 10, 2020	Office of Plans and Construction (OPC) updates	OPC COVID-19 Updates
Building and Physical Plant	April 10, 2020	Hospital Isolation Room Conversion	Guidance for Temporary Isolation Rooms
CDC and DOH Guidance	Continuous Updates	Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 Information	Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 Website
	Continuous Updates	Florida Department of Health COVID-19 Information	Florida Department of Health COVID-19 Website
	Continuous Updates	Antigen Testing in Nursing Homes	Latest CDC Guidance
	August 12, 2020	Florida Department of Health (FDOH) Important Updates for Health Care Providers for COVID-19	FDOH Important Updates for Health Care Providers for COVID-19
	April 17, 2020	CDC trainings for health care providers	CDC trainings for health care providers – E-blast

Health Care Facility Updates

The Agency requires all licensees providing residential or inpatient services to use an approved database for reporting its emergency status, planning or operations. Log into the Emergency Status System (ESS) to update information regarding census, available beds, and all other reportable event-related information. The system serves as a monitoring tool, so if you must make a request for assistance, please contact your local Emergency Operations Center--a link is available at: https://www.floridadisaster.org/counties/. For information and user guides on gaining access to ESS, logging in, or updating your emergency status, visit this webpage: http://ahca.myflorida.com/MCHQ/Emergency_Activities/index.shtml. Please call 850-412-4462 outside normal business hours for ESS support.