New Guidelines Seek To Reduce Nursing Home Infections

Nursing home infection control problems were highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic several years ago, and facilities continue to fail to properly address the risks residents may face.

Health experts are calling for every nursing home to have a dedicated, full-time infection prevention staff member, along with other new measures aimed at reducing the risk of serious outbreaks in these facilities.

A series of new nursing home infection prevention and control recommendations were recently published in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, aiming to better protect residents from flu, COVID-19 and other infectious outbreaks. The guidelines were endorsed by five national professional societies, including the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

Nursing Home Infection Risks

Nursing home infection control issues came to national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Outbreaks devastated nursing homes nationwide, causing widespread death tolls, with reports indicating that low staffing levels were a main driver of COVID-19 outbreaks and nursing home patient fatalities.

However, since the end of the pandemic staffing shortages have continued to be a major problem for nursing home facilities across the U.S., with less than 5% of nursing homes meeting guidelines established by The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

As a result, maintaining adequate staffing levels to provide quality care to residents continues to be a major issue, according to numerous reports over the last five years.

Nursing Home Infection Guidelines

In this new report, Michigan Medicine researchers recommend that every nursing home employ at least one full-time infection prevention specialist whose sole responsibility is to reduce the spread of infections. Larger facilities, they note, may require multiple dedicated staff members to meet that standard.

Led by Dr. Lona Mody, the team also urges stronger training programs, expanded vaccination efforts, and closer coordination with public health agencies. The recommendations further call for involving at least one non-medical staff member, such as someone from custodial or IT, in infection prevention initiatives.

Researchers did not recommend restricting visitors during outbreaks, unlike the strict lockdowns seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they encourage added safety measures for visitors to help limit transmission, while still allowing residents to participate in activities whenever possible.

The guidelines also cover the role of regulating bodies like the CMS and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as infection control prevention leadership, effective hand hygiene, outbreak preparedness, improved training, and enhanced cleaning and disinfection for the care environment.

Authors noted that the details of the guidelines should serve as a resource for infection prevention control program leaders in nursing homes and replace national recommendations issued in 2008.

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