Building community and resilience in Massachusetts nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Amy W Baughman, Marina Renton, Nizar K Wehbi, Eric J Sheehan, Tara M Gregorio, Mark Yurkofsky, Sharon Levine, Vicki Jackson, Chuck T Pu, Lewis A Lipsitz, Amy W Baughman, Marina Renton, Nizar K Wehbi, Eric J Sheehan, Tara M Gregorio, Mark Yurkofsky, Sharon Levine, Vicki Jackson, Chuck T Pu, Lewis A Lipsitz

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline nursing home staff faced extraordinary stressors including high infection and mortality rates and ever-changing and sometimes conflicting federal and state regulations. To support nursing homes in evidence-based infection control practices, the Massachusetts Senior Care Association and Hebrew SeniorLife partnered with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network (the network). This educational program provided 16 weeks of free weekly virtual sessions to 295 eligible nursing homes, grouped into nine cohorts of 30-33 nursing homes. Eighty-three percent of eligible nursing homes in Massachusetts participated in the Network, and Hebrew SeniorLife's Training Center served the vast majority. Each cohort was led by geriatrics clinicians and nursing home leaders, and coaches trained in quality improvement. The interactive sessions provided timely updates on COVID-19 infection control best practices to improve care and also created a peer-to-peer learning community to share ongoing challenges and potential solutions. The weekly Network meetings were a source of connection, emotional support, and validation and may be a valuable mechanism to support resilience and well-being for nursing home staff.

Keywords: AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home Action Network; COVID-19; nursing home; resilience; skilled-nursing facility.

Conflict of interest statement

The coauthors were cofacilitators, advisors, administrators, or subject–matter experts for the AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID‐19 Action Network Massachusetts Training Center and received small hourly stipends for their roles. No specific funding was provided to support this manuscript, and all effort was contributed independently of the program. Dr. Lipsitz is a member of the Advisory Committee for the AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID‐19 Action Network and Project Director at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center. Dr. Levine was on the External Advisory Board for AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID‐19 Action Network.

© 2021 The American Geriatrics Society.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Mary Ann Morse Quilt. This quilt was made by nursing home staff in memory of those who passed from COVID‐19 at the Mary Ann Morse Healthcare Center. Each star and initials represent a resident that died. Permission to share this photograph was provided by the Mary Ann Morse Healthcare Center

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Source: PubMed

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