Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Tool for Nursing Homes Preparing for COVID-19

CDC’s COVID-19 Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) tool was developed to help nursing homes prepare for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities can take steps to assess and improve their preparedness for responding to COVID-19. This ICAR tool should be used as one tool to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 response plan. This tool may also contain content relevant for assisted living facilities.

Health departments can use this tool to assess infection prevention practices and guide quality improvement activities (e.g., by addressing identified gaps). This tool may be used for remote (e.g., by telephone or video chat) or onsite assessment. This tool may also be used by healthcare facilities to conduct internal quality improvement audits.

Items assessed in the ICAR support the key strategies of:

Keeping COVID-19 out of the facility
Identifying infections as early as possible
Preventing spread of COVID-19 in the facility
Assessing and optimizing personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies
Identifying and managing severe illness in residents with COVID-19

Areas assessed in the ICAR include:

Visitor restriction
Education, monitoring, and screening of healthcare personnel^{[ 1 ]} (HCP)
Education, monitoring, and screening of residents
Ensuring availability of PPE and other supplies
Ensuring adherence to recommended infection prevention and control (IPC) practices
Communicating with the health department and other healthcare facilities

^{[ 1 ]}Health care personnel (HCP) are defined as paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials

Infection Prevention and Control Assessment and Response Tool (ICAR)