CDC Releases Guidance on Nursing Home Strike Team Funding

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released long-awaited guidance for nursing home strike team funding. A total of $500 million, made available through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, is being awarded through the CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) Cooperative Agreement, for the Nursing Home & Long-Term Care Facility Strike Team and Infrastructure Project. It is intended to help assist recipients with funding to support long-term care facilities during their response to COVID-19 as well as to build and maintain infection prevention infrastructure necessary to support residents.

The CDC guidance will allow funds to be used on personnel, whether that be temporary, contract or overtime of clinical staff, facility non-clinical staff, and health department staff. Funds can also be used to procure needed laboratory equipment, PPE, and technology to help reporting among other allowable costs.

Recipients of the funding will have to submit performance reports and participate regularly on CDC/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) calls.

The Society continues to work with states to ensure successful strike team models and implementation of the funding. The Society wants to ensure that states are partnering with post-acute and long-term care clinical specialists to improve the nursing home response to COVID-19.