Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) | Arkansas Health Care Association

Visit this website daily for the latest information that AHCA has to share about COVID-19. As concerns arise with the emerging coronavirus, officially named COVID-19, we are working with our state partners, including Arkansas Department of Health and Arkansas Department of Human Services to ensure nursing centers receive necessary guidance to prevent the spread of this disease.

Questions? Email covid19@arhealthcare.com.

Click here for PPE Survey.

Arkansas Updates

ALERT: ADH Guidance for Reducing Spread of COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities

August 4, 2020

Click here to read ADH Guidance for Reducing Spread of COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities. (Updated 8/4/2020)

ALERT: Requirements for Facilities to Expand Visitation, Activities, and Communal Dining

June 30, 2020

Click here to read full directive for SNFs, ALFs, RCFs, and ICFs. (Updated 7/22/2020)

Click here to access Checklist for Expanding Visitation, Activities, and Communal Dining.

Click here to access sample Visitor Screening Form.

AHCA

DHS

Payments for LTSS direct care workers only continue through June 30. The last day to submit direct care worker forms for payment through June 30 is July 15.

COVID-19 Focused Survey - Infection Control Survey Tool
Model Competency Checklist for Nursing Assistant Training
Link to PASRR Guidance and Rule Suspensions
Link to Guidance for Background Checks for Employees of LTC Facilities During COVID-19 Outbreak
CMP Grant Application for Communicative Devices
- Grant Application
- Submit grant applications to Sandra Broughton at Sandra.Broughton@dhs.arkansas.gov.
CARES Act Nursing Home Funding
- Cluster Payment Request Form
- Costs Above Cap Payments Request Form
DHS Rule Suspensions during COVID-19
- Procedures for Determination of Medical Need for Nursing Home Services
  - Rule I, concerning the prohibition on admission of applicants with diagnoses of mental illness or developmental disabilities prior to evaluation and approval by the Office of Long-Term Care is suspended.
  - Rule II, concerning the requirement to complete a Level 2 assessment within seven (7) to nine (9) workdays for applicants diagnosed with a mental illness or developmental disability under the initial screening is suspended.
- Rules for the Arkansas Long-term Care Facility Nursing Assistant Training Program
  - Sections IV, VII(A)(3), and VII(B), are suspended to the extent that they: (1) Require persons acting as nursing assistants to pass an examination, or (2) Prohibit facilities from employing individuals acting as a nursing assistant for more than 120 days unless the individual passes an examination.
  - Section IV.B.5 is suspended to the extent that it limits in-class instruction to one (1) instructor for every 24 students.
  - Section IV.B.4 is suspended to the extent that it requires 16 hours of non-classroom instruction be completed “in a facility”.
  - Use this Model Competency Checklist to document the competency of nursing assistants who are not able to complete their examination within 120 days. This checklist from DHS is based on the current Nursing Assistant Training Program curriculum for all of the knowledge and skills that CNAs would need to have to meet the needs of facility residents under that curriculum.
  - Documenting competency is required because even though rules relating to nursing assistant examination requirements have been temporarily suspended during this public health emergency, both state and federal rules still require that all nursing assistants become "competent" after 120 days. This means that facilities must still ensure that nursing assistants are able to demonstrate competency in skills and techniques necessary to care for residents' needs.
- Rules for Conducting Criminal Record Checks for Employees of Long-term Care Facilities
  - Section 304 requiring an applicant for employment at a Long-Term Care Facility to provide specific forms and a fingerprint card to law enforcement is suspended.
  - Section 304 requiring law enforcement to complete the forms, place the forms in a sealed envelope, and return the forms to the applicant is suspended.

ADH

Click HERE for June 30 directive that was updated July 22 regarding Expansion of Visitation, Activities, and Communal Dining.

Click HERE for Checklist for Expansion of Visitation, Activities, and Communal Dining.

Click HERE for Sample Visitor Screening Form.

CDC

CMS

Department of Labor

Wright Lindsey Jennings Resources

4.3.2020 Webinar Slides
Click here to listen to a recording of the 4.3.2020 webinar
DOL FFCRA Poster
Paycheck Protection Program & Other Business Support
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Summary
Question: As an employer, how do I know if my business is under the 500-employee threshold and therefore must provide paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave?
- You have fewer than 500 employees if, at the time your employee's leave is to be taken, you employ fewer than 500 full-time and part-time employees within the United States, which includes any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any Territory or possession of the United States. In making this determination, you should include employees on leave; temporary employees who are jointly employed by you and another employer (regardless of whether the jointly-employed employees are maintained on only your another employer's payroll); and day laborers supplied by a temporary agency (regardless of whether you are the temporary agency or the client firm if there is a continuing employment relationship). Workers who are independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), rather than employees, are not considered employees for purposes of the 500-employee threshold.
- Typically, a corporation (including its separate establishments or divisions) is considered to be a single employer and its employees must each be counted towards the 500-employee threshold. Where a corporation has an ownership interest in another corporation, the two corporations are separate employers unless they are joint employers under the FLSA with respect to certain employees. If two entities are found to be joint employers, all of their common employees must be counted in determining whether paid sick leave must be provided under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and expanded family and medical leave must be provided under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act.
- In general, two or more entities are separate employers unless they meet the integrated employer test under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). If two entities are an integrated employer under the FMLA, then employees of all entities making up the integrated employer will be counted in determining employer coverage for purposes of paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and expanded family and medical leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act.