Dear Providers:

April 9, 2020

On behalf of the PA Department of Human Services (DHS), we appreciate all the support you and your staff have been providing to your residents in assisted living and personal care residences. DHS is working hard to identify ways to support you during this pandemic. To illustrate, DHS, in partnership with a number of health care systems, and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) is launching the Educational Support and Clinical Coaching Program to help you during the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The Educational Support and Clinical Coaching Program includes weekly webinars hosted by JHF on important topics for you and your staff. This week, the first two webinars reached more than 350 attendees. DHS will be sending additional information shortly; however, we do encourage all providers to sign up now at Tomorrow’s HealthCareTM Community, by visiting https://www.tomorrowshealthcare.org/.

DHS has contracted with five health systems – Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, the Wright Center, and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – to provide Clinical Coaching to providers, using clinical staff to provide additional information and support to assist providers in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. This will include, but is not limited to, explaining the latest guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on infection control, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), or a new outbreak of COVID-19 in their facility. These five health systems will be making out-going calls beginning April 10, 2020, and will also have scheduled office hours for providers that would like to schedule a call to discuss their concerns. Please note that, during these calls, there are certain triggers for health systems to notify DOH about identified urgent needs, such as an urgent need for PPE or a new outbreak in a personal care home or assisted living residence. This would allow DOH to provide their guidance in managing outbreaks in these vulnerable settings, both through their infection control experts and a new contract with ECRI.

We appreciate your commitment to your residents during this difficult time. Collectively, we believe that with the additional educational support and clinical coaching that we are providing, personal care homes and assisted living residences can be better prepared to address their emerging needs.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consult, we encourage you to contact your regional office, the RA account at RA-pwarlheadquarters@pa.gov, or give us a call at the Operator Support Hotline at 866-503-3926. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kevin Hancock
Deputy Secretary, Office of Long-Term Living

Click HERE for information to register on the website and register for upcoming webinars.