COVID-19 continues to strain our healthcare delivery system. Federal and state governments continue to create new statutes, regulations, initiatives and guidance to assist healthcare providers.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response (ASPR) have issued another toolkit in the effort to control the effects of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Healthcare Workforce Toolkit is designed to put in one place the existing resources to help healthcare decision makers manage the healthcare workforce in their particular environment and circumstances. The Toolkit is found in the ASPR Technical Resources Assistance Center and Information Exchange (TRACIE). ASPR TRACIE is an emergency preparedness information source and provides ways to share information among the healthcare community. The COVID-19 Healthcare Workforce Toolkit can be found at: https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/Workforce-Virtual-Toolkit. The Toolkit has gathered information regarding virtually every issue regarding expanding and adapting the healthcare workforce, including regulatory changes, funding, training, liability protection, volunteer usage, EMS and practice expansion. At the present time, the Toolkit contains the following resources:
- COVID-19 Federal Regulatory and Funding Flexibilities
- COVID-19 Healthcare Workforce Training Resources
- COVID-19 Licensure
- COVID-19 Liability Protections
- COVID-19 Matching Volunteer Workforce Needs
- COVID-19 Pre-Hospital/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Resources
- COVID-19 Scope of Practice Expansions
- COVID-19 State, Territorial, and Local Resources
- COVID-19 Workforce Protection Resources
- COVID-19 Workforce Resilience/Sustainability Resources
- COVID-19 Additional Healthcare Planning Resources
The Toolkit is a helpful source for a variety of important information from CMS. Providers would be well-served to continue to check for updates to the Toolkit as well as staying apprised of developments in the state(s) in which they provide services. It is a rapidly changing environment. Stay healthy, and thank you for the continued efforts of all healthcare providers and staff during this unprecedented time.
