Michigan DHHS and its Region 2 North Healthcare Coalition Support Skilled Nursing Facility with Staffing and PPE Needs Related to Infusion Treatment for COVID-19

Michigan 
December 2020

Situation:

In December 2020, Regency on the Lake, a Skilled Nursing Facility in Fort Gratiot in St. Clair County, Michigan, had an outbreak of COVID-19 among its residents and needed support to provide COVID-19 therapeutics to help prevent the need for hospitalization. After exploring alternatives, the facility reached out to its partners through the Region 2 North Healthcare Coalition and requested monoclonal antibody therapeutics and additional staffing support to provide the infusion treatment.

Intervention

On December 10, 2020 various partners from the health care coalition enthusiastically provided support to the emergency response team, under the direction of the Regency on the Lake administration. This support included the following:

• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which provided additional staffing support, medical treatment knowledge, and the therapeutic treatments;
• Tri-Hospital EMS in Port Huron, which provided staffing support to administer the therapeutics;
• Region 2 North Healthcare Coalition, which helped make connections for the potential need for additional personal protection equipment (PPE);
• St. Clair County Emergency Management, which provided additional PPE; and
• Legal department of Regency on the Lake corporate offices, which ensured all processes were followed and family notifications were completed.

Impact:

The emergency response team was in place, and the therapeutics were delivered the following day. This demonstrated the power of working together to address and immediate need, help save lives, reduce potential trips to the hospital, and utilize the resources available. “The entire process of coming together and working together was great!” recalls Kathy Leverenz, Administrator at Regency on the Lake. “We were able to give 19 of our residents the antibodies with mostly positive results.”

This story was developed and submitted by the Amber Pitts, the HPP Coordinator for the state of Michigan.