Office of Health Care Assurance

OHCA State Licensing Section e-Bulletins 

Licensed and Certified Facilities Pandemic Response Guidelines, Policy & Procedures – The following are guidelines for care homes to follow with the onset of a pandemic as declared by government authorities. Read more, 2020-0501_OHCA P&P

Personal Protective Equiment (PPE) Resources for Hawaii – Licensed care homes and elderly care facilities are expected to have personal protective equipment (PPE) on hand for appropriate use as part of their infection control program and to ensure the health, safety and welfare of residents and caregivers.  We urge you to acquire PPE from your supplier or from agencies on the attached list or from other agencies of your choice.  This list of sources for PPE was created and distributed by others to health care providers.  To ensure all of you have the same information on where PPE can be acquired, a copy of that list of sources is attached and may be kept as a reference.  The list is not intended to be an exhaustive list of PPE sources, and by providing the list the Department does not endorse any particular source, nor guarantee the efficacy of the products listed. You might already be acquiring PPE from your own supplier or someone not on the list and that’s fine. This list will be posted on the Department of Health, Office of Health Care Assurance (OHCA) website.  In addition, with growing concerns over the community spread of COVID-19 and the limited availability of PPE, OHCA coordinated among private and public agencies to provide to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HiEMA) an order amount for HiEMA to bulk purchase PPE for distribution to elderly care facilities including residential care homes. HiEMA anticipates the distribution to take place sometime by or in October 2020. Meanwhile, as emailed to you on August 17, 2020, OHCA will provide emergency PPE kits to residential care homes if or when they have a COVID positive case. Nevertheless, we trust you all have already acquired appropriate PPE for use in your homes.

State of Hawaii, Free PPE Program.  Get yours TODAY!

Free PPE for Hawaii _Ilocano and resources

Free PPE for Hawaii-Tagalog and resources

Free PPE for Hawaii – Japanese and resources

Free PPE for Hawaii-KOREAN and resources

Free PPE for Hawaii – Chinese and resources

E-Bulletin No.	Important Update Information	Date
1	Unannounced Annual Inspections, effective July 1, 2019 Plan of Correction (POC) Follow-up, effective January 1, 2019 Hawaii Background Check System (HI BCS), the launch of the HI BCS has been delayed.	2020-10
2	Suggested preventative actions to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in addition to the general Adult Residential Care Home polices standard emergency plans.	2020-03
3	Learn about ways to improve infection control through enhanced social distancing while together, we continue essential business and operation requirements for your State Licensed facility.	2020-04
4	Office of Health Care Assurance and Public Health Nursing Branch have prepared materials, education and tips to prevent and respond to COVID-19.	2020-06
5	Official written communications between the Office of Health Care Assurance (OHCA) and licensees is moving from paper to paperless electronic communications.  We are happy to report that 438 of the 447 licensed ARCHs are now able to receive electronic communications from OHCA.  This means that timely information on COVID, sources of PPE, and this newsletter are instantaneously received by the great majority of ARCHs. Only 9 ARCHs have not submitted an official email address to OHCA.  Thank you for helping us get news and updates out to you all much faster and more efficiently than traditional mail. This newsletter contains up-to-date news and helpful tips.  The Hawaii DOH thanks Hale Nani Rehabilitation and Nursing Center for valuable input on what to do before and after a case of COVID-19 occurs “Long Term Care and COVID-19: What to Expect If There is a Case in Your Facility”	2020-09

 

Community Ties of America Newsletters

Newsletter No.	Important Update Information	Date
58	Sent to all Community Care Foster Family Homes (CCFFH) and Adult Day Care Center (ADCC) Providers in March 2020 regarding temperature checks.  There is nothing on the Department of Health’s website to indicate temperature check is necessary.  However, as a business you can enact that requirement.  Community Ties of America (CTA) suggest that you give notice such as posting signs at the entrance.  Each of you already have isolation precautions in place per the Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR).  Please continue to get accurate information using the links found in newsletter 58 as there is a lot of misinformation.  Do not panic as the risk for COVID-19 in Hawaii is deemed low at this point in time.  Continue to be vigilant using standard precautions and good infection control procedures.	2020-03-13
58	CTA received several emails and calls regarding ADCC and whether or not to remain open.  At this time, CTA’s March 13, 2020 email still stands.  DOH has not mandated closure of any ADCC.  That is a business decision and no DOH directive has been issued nor is anticipated at this moment.  Should that change you will be informed.  Some of you have decided to close, others remained opened and some remained open but decreased the number of participants attending.  Those are business decisions.  If you choose to remain open, you are to abide by all HAR and CDC guidelines outlined in the last email to take all proper precautions to protect your participants.  Understand that police are stopping people to determine if the travel is necessary and the state is not responsible for any citations issued.  We understand that some of your participants are attending because their caregivers are essential personnel and without ADCC services they would not be able to report for work.  Others are attending because their caregivers are unable to provide 24/7 care for other reasons and ADCC services are necessary to preserve your participants health, safety and welfare.  The risk of staying at home unattended is riskier than taking proper precautions and attending ADCC.  CDC guidelines include, but are not limited to:  1) Screen clients/visitors and post signs; 2) Practice Social distancing between participants and staff as much as possible; 3) Utilizing your isolation precautions/areas as outline in the HAR; 4) Wash hands frequently for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer; 5) Avoid touching eyes, mouth and nose; 6) People must stay home if they are sick; 7) Cover coughs and sneezes; and 8) Frequently clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.  Stay up to date by regularly visiting: 1) https://hawaiicovid19.com; 2) https://www.cdc.gov; and 3) https://www.who.int	2020-04-02
66	Sent to all CCFFH, ADCC, and CMA in June 2020	2020-06-17
69	Sent to all CCFFH, ADCC, AND NATCEP in July 2020	2020-07-09
71	COVID-19 Resources (https://comties.com/covid19.html) – a) COVID Scam Alert; b) sequence for putting on and taking off Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); and c) how to use PPE when taking care of COVID suspected or confirmed clients.	2020-08-04