CDC Resources

  • Prevention Process Measures (PPM) - Hand Hygiene, Gown and Glove Use Adherence

    This page provides procedures, data collections forms and instructions relating to PPM.

  • Serious COVID 19 Algorithm 2023

    A shareable, printable infographic on the risks for developing severe COVID-19.

  • Long-term Care Facility Component (LTCF) Training

    This site provides different training resources including videos, slides, and modules.

  • Identification of Candida auris

    C. auris can be misidentified as a number of different organisms when using traditional phenotypic methods for yeast identification such as VITEK 2 YST, API 20C, BD Phoenix yeast identification system, and MicroScan.

    The table below summarizes common misidentification based the identification method used. If any of the species listed below are identified, or if the species identity cannot be determined, use appropriate methodology for further characterization.

    Please note that this list is based on current knowledge about C. auris misidentification. It may change as we learn more about misidentification of C. auris.

  • Candida auris: A drug-resistant fungus that spreads in healthcare facilities

    Candida auris is a fungus that causes serious infections and spreads in healthcare facilities. Infection preventionists, healthcare personnel, and laboratory staff can all help prevent it from spreading.

  • Educational Resources for Healthcare Professionals

    This page contains multiple educational resources from handouts to posters and even social media graphics.

  • My Mobility Plan - What Can You Do to Stay Independent?

    You might not have mobility problems now, but you could in the future. You may even know others who already do—perhaps a parent, relative, friend, or neighbor. While it may not be possible to prevent all of these changes, there are actions you and your loved ones can take today, and as you age, to help keep you safe and independent tomorrow.

  • Quick Reference Guide: Re-Submitting COVID-19 Vaccination Data using the Person-Level Vaccination Forms

    This Quick Reference Guide (QRG) will provide information on using the Re-submit all changed weeks button for your facility’s person-level COVID-19 vaccination data (Residents/Healthcare Personnel [HCP]) if the summary counts for Residents/HCP have changed since you previously submitted using the COVID-19 person-level vaccination forms.

  • Instructions for Completion of the Person-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Form for Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities

    The optional Person-Level Vaccination Form for Residents was developed to assist facilities with managing and tracking person-level vaccination data directly in NHSN and having the weekly summary totals automatically calculated and entered to the main Weekly Resident COVID-19 Vaccination Modules by the application

  • NHSN Person-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms

    The Person-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Forms are optional tools developed to assist facilities with entering, managing, and tracking person-level data on COVID-19 vaccination directly in NHSN. These tools capture changes in individuals’ vaccination status over time and calculate how many individuals fall into each vaccination category on the weekly summary form.

HHS Resources

  • Tips for Engaging Diverse Partners

    Building relationships with external partners that reflect the lived experience of individuals served by your organization can help you understand how best to meet those individuals’ needs and ultimately end disparities. Thoughtful outreach, feedback mechanisms, and engagement are foundational to building long-term, reciprocal relationships with diverse communities

  • Tips on Equitable Communication Practices in a Policy Context

    This tip sheet highlights the importance of using equitable communication practices in a policy context. It also includes tips and guiding questions for consideration as well as a list of additional resources.

  • National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease: 2022 Update

    The National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease offers a historic opportunity to address the many challenges facing people with AD/ADRD and their families. Given the great demographic shifts that will occur over the next 30 years, including the doubling of the population of older adults, the success of this effort is of great importance to people with AD/ADRD and their family members, caregivers, public policy makers, and health and social service providers.

  • Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services

    For us, CLAS is a way to improve the quality of services provided to all individuals, which will ultimately help reduce health disparities and achieve health equity. CLAS is about respect and responsiveness: Respect the whole individual and Respond to the individual’s health needs and preferences.

  • Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans - 2nd edition

    This second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provides science-based guidance to help people ages 3 years and older improve their health through participation in regular physical activity.

  • Pharmacologic and Nonpharmacologic Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

    This update adds 48 newly published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid PTSD/substance use disorder (SUD) to the previous Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) report1 and National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD) PTSD Trials Standardized Data Repository (PTSD-Repository);2 the new total of included RCTs is 437.

  • How To Create a My Medicines List

    A My Medicines List can remind you when, how, and how much medicine to take. Here are step-by-step instructions to create a My Medicines List for yourself, a family member, a friend, or anyone you take care of.

  • Developing and Assessing the Validity of Claims-based Indicators of Frailty & Functional Disabilities in Electronic Health Records

    AHRQ conducted a study to address the operational gap between CFIs and EFIs. This project focused on validating an established CFI using linked claims-EHR databases of multiple large health systems. The project provides a systematic approach that health systems can use to examine the quality of the EHR data and prepare it for the application of EFI measures.

  • COVID-19 Vaccination Quick Links

    ASPR TRACIE created this list to assist clinicians in quickly finding the most relevant and current information about COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States, their intended populations, recommendations for their use, effectiveness and safety issues, potential adverse events to be aware of, the effects of SARS-CoV-2 variants, and resources to help communicate with patients. Additional resources are also listed to access more detailed information. 

  • Topic Collection: Healthcare Facility Evacuation/Sheltering

    The resources in this Collection include plans, guidelines, lessons learned from recent events, and promising practices that can help healthcare facility staff develop evacuation and sheltering plans, and facilitate their training and exercise development.

CMS Resources

  • CMS Framework for Health Equity 2022–2032

    The CMS Framework for Health Equity provides a strong foundation for our work as a leader and trusted partner dedicated to advancing health equity, expanding coverage, and improving health outcomes. This includes strengthening our infrastructure for assessment, creating synergies across the health care system to drive structural change, and identifying and working together to eliminate barriers to CMS-supported benefits, services, and coverage for individuals and communities who are underserved or disadvantaged and those who support them.

  • Improving COVID-19 Outcomes in Nursing Homes Across America

    This is an audio series that gives you a closer look at the projects and the people who are improving health care quality and outcomes. These brief conversations include detailed show notes for even more insights into the process behind health care quality improvement – and how you might adapt these to your own organization.

  • SNF Quality Reporting Program FAQs

    This document contains the answers to frequently asked questions about The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP

  • Medicare Parts C and D Oversight and Enforcement Group - Division of Audit Operations
    This document outlines the program audit process for 2022. CMS will send engagement letters to initiate routine audits beginning February 2022 through July 2022. Engagement letters for ad hoc audits may be sent at any time throughout the year. The program areas for the 2022 audits include: CDAG-Part D Coverage Determinations, Appeals, and Grievances; CPE: Medicare Part C and Part D Compliance Program Effectiveness; FA--Part D Formulary and Benefit Administration; MMP-SARAG--Medicare-Medicaid Plan Service Authorization Requests, Appeals, and Grievances; MMPCC--Medicare-Medicaid Plan Care Coordination; ODAG--Part C Organization Determinations, Appeals, and Grievances; SNP-CC--Special Needs Plans – Care Coordination
  • Quality in Focus—Resources for Addressing LTC Medication Error Citations – For Providers (LTC-QIF-4) - CMS
    This QIF provides resources that may aid LTC providers in recognizing potential medication error deficiency citations and developing a Plan of Correction.
  • Quality in Focus Resources for Addressing LTC Treatment and Prevention of Pressure Ulcer Citations Training for Providers (LTC-QIF-3) - CMS
    This QIF provides resources that may aid LTC providers in recognizing potential prevention of pressure ulcer deficiency citations and developing a Plan of Correction.
  • Quality in Focus Resources for Addressing LTC Free of Accident Citations Training for Providers (LTC-QIF-2) - CMS
    This QIF provides resources that may aid LTC providers in recognizing potential free of accident deficiency citations and developing a Plan of Correction.
  • Medicare Parts A & B Appeals Process - CMS
    This booklet informs health care providers about Medicare’s 5 appeal levels in Fee-for-Service (FFS) (Original Medicare) Parts A and B and includes resources on related topics. It also describes how providers, physicians, and suppliers apply the appeals process to their services. It doesn’t cover Medicare Parts C or D appeals
  • Introduction to Language Access Plans – Training Course
    This 1-hour training is about language access plans and how they can affect health care services for those with limited English proficiency.
  • CMS LTCF RoP Policies & Procedures Detailed Checklist
    This Tool provides a list of required Policies and Procedures and a checklist of required information in the P&P.

NIH Resources

  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines
    The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines is published in an electronic format that can be updated in step with the rapid pace and growing volume of information regarding the treatment of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) is committed to updating this document to ensure that health care providers, patients, and policy experts have the most recent information regarding the optimal management of COVID-19 (see the Panel Roster for a list of Panel members). New Guidelines sections and recommendations and updates to existing Guidelines sections are developed by working groups of Panel members. All recommendations included in the Guidelines are endorsed by a majority of Panel members (see the Introduction for additional details on the Guidelines development process). Major revisions to the Guidelines within the past month are as follows:
  • NIH - Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Infection
    Everyone who has symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19 and people with known high-risk exposures to SARS-CoV-2 should be tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Such testing should employ either a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) or an antigen test to detect SARS-CoV-2. Testing may also be used for screening, determining the length of a patient’s isolation period, and other nondiagnostic purposes.
  • COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines – What’s New in the Guidelines
    The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines is published in an electronic format that can be updated in step with the rapid pace and growing volume of information regarding the treatment of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) is committed to updating this document to ensure that health care providers, patients, and policy experts have the most recent information regarding the optimal management of COVID-19 (see the Panel Roster for a list of Panel members). New Guidelines sections and recommendations and updates to existing Guidelines sections are developed by working groups of Panel members. All recommendations included in the Guidelines are endorsed by a majority of Panel members (see the Introduction for additional details on the Guidelines development process). Major revisions to the Guidelines within the past month are as follows:
  • Pain Assessment in Hospitalized Older Adults with Dementia and Delirium
    Pain can have negative effects leading to prolonged hospital stays. Determining the presence of uncontrolled and untreated pain in patients with cognitive impairments such as delirium, dementia, and delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD) is challenging. One tool commonly suggested for use in assessment of pain in older adults with cognitive impairment is the Pain Assessment In Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) scale. Proper use of the PAINAD scale as part of a comprehensive pain management plan can help reduce the likelihood of a patient experiencing unrecognized and untreated pain. Using an individual example, this article illustrates best practices in pain assessment and management for a woman experiencing DSD during an acute hospitalization.

Other Outside Resources

  • COVID-19: The Latest in Testing and Treatment

    This PDF covers a wide range of treatments for COVID-19.

  • Keeping A Good Run Going in 2023

    Download this e-book to learn what a trio of top marketplace executives on a recent McKnight's Power Panel recommend to fly high in 2023, and beyond.

  • A Patient-Centered Fall Prevention Toolkit

    The Fall TIPS Collaborative has created this site to guide you through the complete process of implementing Fall TIPS, assessing results, providing feedback to staff, and making ongoing improvements. 

  • SHEA/IDSA/APIC Practice Recommendation: Strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections through hand hygiene: 2022 Update

    The purpose of this document is to highlight practical recommendations to assist acute-care hospitals in prioritization and implementation of strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections through hand hygiene. 

  • What Is an Age-Friendly Health System?

    Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), designed to meet this challenge head on.

  • If Dehydration is Preventable, why is it so Prevalent?

    Assessment and delivery of adequate hydration is an essential component of the nutrition care process in all patients, but those receiving long-term enteral nutrition are particularly at risk of under- or overhydration without proper care, monitoring and intervention.

  • Falls Prevention by Design

    One of the best ways to reduce falls is to build or modify senior living spaces to minimize falls in the first place. Whether it’s lighting, automation, AI or furniture designed for falls prevention, environmental modification was found in a review of peer-reviewed literature to be among the most effective ways to prevent falls.

  • Incident Investigation in Aging Services - A Systems Thinking Approach

    Aging services providers can take many steps to support effective incident reporting and initial investigations. This white paper provides guidance from a systems thinking perspective on performing these critical steps

  • Facilitators Guide for the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Method

    The purpose of an RCA is to find out what happened, why it happened and determine what changes need to be made. Facilitating RCA takes skill. Practice is needed to build proficiency and confidence. The steps below outline the process for conducting an RCA

  • 2023 Gold Report

    Evidence-based strategy document for COPD diagnosis, management, and prevention, with citations from the scientific literature.