Improving Quality of Nursing Home & Long-Term Care Facilities in PA

FACULTY AT THE Dornsife School of Public Health (DSPH) received a grant from the Long-Term Care Transformation Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DoH) in July 2023 to develop training programs in infection control and emergency preparedness for front-line staff in nursing home and long-term care facilities (LTCF) throughout the state.

The “Long-Term Care Facility Quality Investment Pilot—Workforce Interventions to Build Resiliency” project will continue through June 2025. It is part of a pilot project targeted to 125 facilities selected by PA DoH that participate in the state’s Long-term Care Resiliency Infrastructure Supports and Empowerment (LTC-RISE) program, which was created to support LTCFs during the COVID-19 pandemic and to foster their recovery and resilience.

Esther Chernak MD, MPH, FACP, director of the Center for Public Health Readiness and Communication and clinical professor at DSPH and in the College of Medicine, directs the project. Melissa Kaufman, EdD, associate dean of education and executive director of instructional design and educational operations at DSPH, is a co-investigator. Additionally, faculty from Drexel's College of Nursing and Health Professions, DSPH, and external subject matter experts have developed the courses, which complement the LTC-RISE initiatives and provide opportunities for workforce development and enhanced capacity to address emergencies and infectious disease threats.

The team has designed a series of short courses or “micro-credentials” for clinical, patient-facing staff, and managers who are on the front lines in these care facilities. Course topics encompass infectious diseases, vaccines, emergency management in LTCFs, and clinical topics relevant to patients in long-term care.

The program is delivered virtually, with both asynchronous and live components. The format allows learners to progress at their own pace and work independently and provides opportunities to interact with faculty and colleagues in LTC facilities, sharing experiences and best practices to respond to emergencies and infectious disease outbreaks and address other clinical challenges in long-term care. They have also collaborated with the Drexel CNHP Center for Interprofessional Clinical Simulation and Practice (CICSP) to create brief videos that enhance instruction and engage students.

“We have enjoyed working with the state health department on this important initiative, and partnering with colleagues at Drexel and across the commonwealth to contribute to a program that makes a difference for the long-term care workforce, and the residents and patients they serve.” said Chernak.

The Long-Term Care Transformation Office invested funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create this program as part of a quality investment initiative to improve quality of care on LTCFs through workforce development and retention, infection prevention and control, emergency preparedness, and infrastructure enhancement.