— College of Medicine — Department of Internal Medicine — Divisions — Infectious Diseases — Project ECHO — Nursing Home ECHO Program

Nursing Home ECHO Program

In collaboration with the ECHO Institute at the University of New Mexico in addition to the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ), UNMC’s ID department has successfully completed the ECHO Institute’s one-year long Nursing Home COVID-19 Program. The National Nursing Home COVID-19 program was designed to offer nursing homes that are certified to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs the opportunity to participate in a training program using a standardized curriculum developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as a foundation. Training and mentorship were provided through the Project ECHO model of tele mentoring, and more than 9,000 nursing homes in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have been part of the program. Subject matter experts with different specialties have been part of the program, presenting weekly didactics and case-discussions on various topics including preventing COVID-19 from entering nursing homes, vaccination, and supporting nursing home teams during the pandemic.

Find out more about this program:

The Problem

The Goal

It is estimated that almost 50,000 nursing home residents and staff have died from COVID-19, representing nearly one-quarter of the nation’s known COVID-19 deaths.
Nursing home residents are especially vulnerable due to their age, their underlying frailty, and their communal living conditions.
Nursing home staff members who care for our seniors are among the most needed and most at-risk essential workers.

The AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network aims to rapidly assist nursing homes in consistently implementing evidence-based best practices to protect residents and staff. The goals of the Network are to help nursing homes:

Keep SARS-COV-2 from entering nursing homes where it has not already entered.
Early identification of residents and staff who have been infected with SARS-COV-2.
Prevent the spread of SARS-COV-2 between staff, residents, and visitors.
Provide safe and appropriate care to residents with mild and asymptomatic cases of SARS-COV-2.
Ensure staff have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to implement best-practice safety measures to protect residents and themselves.
Reduce social isolation for residents, families, and staff during these difficult times.