1. Quality Assurance and Prevention of COVID-19 Before Admission in Geriatric Rehabilitation Unit in Long-Term Care Facilities.
- Author
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Kergoat, Marie-Jeanne, Leclerc, Bernard-Simon, Bolduc, Aline, Liu, Jia, Cailhol, Agnès, and Langevin, Stéphanie
- Subjects
RISK assessment ,HEALTH services accessibility ,HOSPITAL utilization ,ELDER care ,PATIENTS ,RESEARCH funding ,HOSPITAL admission & discharge ,LONG-term health care ,HAND washing ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,GERIATRIC rehabilitation ,NURSING care facilities ,LONGITUDINAL method ,TRANSITIONAL care ,MEDICAL records ,QUALITY assurance ,MEDICAL screening ,COMPARATIVE studies ,INFECTIOUS disease transmission ,COVID-19 pandemic ,TIME ,DISEASE risk factors ,OLD age - Abstract
Background This quality assurance study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic to describe the profile of patients aged 65 years and older admitted to a transition unit in a long-term care (LTC) facility and to evaluate the impact of admission modalities, compliance with screening and hand hygiene practices, risk of COVID-19, and time to access a geriatric rehabilitation unit (GRU). Methods A prospective study was conducted using administrative and medical records from three Montreal public LTC facilities offering a rehabilitation program for 312 patients admitted between May 2020 and February 2021. The results are reported for the entire sample and compared according to the mode of admission. Results The incidence of COVID-19 during the transition unit stay was estimated to be 11 cases or 3.5% in 14 days. Assessment of screening compliance showed deficiencies for 41.3% of patients, and the frequency of hand hygiene audits was not strictly adhered to. More COVID-19 cases were recorded in patients admitted to the transition unit by bed availability than in the cohort mode. The time to access a rehabilitation unit was 7.2 days or 23.5% shorter for patients admitted by bed availability. Conclusions The study, conducted from a continuous practice improvement perspective, showed that the implementation of a transition unit in the LTC facilities helped control the transmission of COVID-19, but also revealed flaws in screening and hand hygiene practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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