State Support Still Available for PPE, Testing, Staffing

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Jonathan Lips

While COVID-19 cases in aging services settings have fallen sharply in recent months, we know the virus is still having a serious impact on many providers.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) wishes to remind providers that it continues to have resources available for nursing homes and assisted living providers that need support:

Personal Protective Equipment: To request PPE from the state cache, complete this REDCap survey (COVID-19 Supply Chain Resource Requests). Providers may request masks, respirators, gowns, gloves, and eye protection, which are distributed on a prioritized needs basis.  Email questions to the PPE team contact at health.r-hcs@state.mn.us.

Testing: To request assistance with testing, such as a swab team or testing supplies, complete this  REDCap survey (COVID-19 Testing Requests and Allocations for Long Term Care). For questions related to testing assistance, email the Long Term Care Testing Team at seoc.covid.testing@state.mn.us.

Emergency Staffing: A provider that is experiencing a staffing crisis may request State assistance after exhausting other options within your emergency staffing plan.  Contact the State Healthcare Coordination Center Minnesota Healthcare Resource Call Center at 1-833-454-0149 or 651-201-3970 to request assistance, or email health.COVID.SEOC-LTC.staffing.response@state.mn.us.

The State Emergency Operations Center reviews weekly reports from the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) to evaluate how many Minnesota care centers are reporting a current shortage of PPE, limited testing capacity or staffing shortages.  Occasionally, the SEOC may reach out proactively to those providers to see if any assistance is needed.

Please contact Jonathan Lips or Kari Everson if our COVID team can be of any help with these issues.