The Tobin Center at Yale University partnered with the University of California, Los Angeles and the U.S. Digital Response to create a tool measuring staff connections between nursing homes. The free tool, ProtectNursingHomes.org, presents data allowing public health officials and decisionmakers to:
- Activate an early warning system to let connected nursing homes know when outbreaks occur in facilities with shared staff,
- Identify hyper-connected nursing homes where levels of connectivity risk may justify elevated monitoring and protective measures, and
- Prepare for future outbreaks by developing infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines for staff visiting multiple sites.
Nursing homes traditionally share staff across facilities. Research shows staff interconnectivity is a significant driver of infection in nursing homes and may contribute to the spread of COVID-19. People who live in nursing homes are at high risk of being affected by pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2 and Candida auris.
Local health departments (LHDs) play a growing role in IPC activities. LHDs are well-positioned to assess IPC practices, share resources with facilities, and provide education to facility staff.
An overview and demonstration of the tool is available here. More information about the data used in the tool is available here. For questions or comments, email [email protected].
