An Outbreak Preparedness and Mitigation Approach in Home Health and Personal Home
Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic
#MMPMID38602996
Mills WR
; Sender S
; Reynolds K
; Lichtefeld J
; Romano N
; Price M
; Phipps J
; White L
; Howard S
; Domico R
Home Health Care Manag Pract
2020[Nov]; 32
(4
): 229-233
PMID38602996
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The acute respiratory disease COVID-19, caused by the novel Coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2, is a worldwide pandemic affecting millions of people. The methodology
that organizations who provide home health and personal home care services are
using to respond to this pandemic has not yet been characterized. In this report,
we describe our approach to comprehensive outbreak suppression and report an
initial case series of COVID-19 positive patients receiving home-based services.
We implemented enhanced infection control procedures across our affiliates, and
we communicated these protocols to our offices using multi-faceted methods. Using
custom built software applications enabling us to track patient and employee
cases and exposures, we leveraged current public health recommendations to
identify cases and to suppress transmission. In the 100-day period between
January 20, 2020 and April 30, 2020, our affiliates provided services to 67
COVID-19 positive patients (<0.3% of census). Twenty patients were referred to
home health post hospitalization for COVID-19 related illness, whereas 47 were
found to have COVID-19 while living in community settings. Of those who were
found to have COVID-19 in the community, 17 (39%) required subsequent
hospitalization. Hospitalized patients had an average age of 74.5?±?18, and 53%
were male. There were 13 deaths (76%) among those hospitalized from the community
with COVID-19 related illness. A highly coordinated and frequently communicated
approach to infection control, case identification and employee screening can be
performed by home health and personal home care organizations. Studies that
further assess risks and predictors of illness severity in home-based COVID-19
patients are needed.