Influenza
You can probably stop giving influenza vaccines now if you have not already done so.
COVID
Transmission levels high in Teller and Summit Counties. El Paso is at substantial transmission level. Kit Carson is Low.
Link to CDC COVID Data Tracker
Infection Control Tag Update
F880 + F887
The combination is now required to rise to the level of significant penalty. Individual infection control tags should not carry a significant penalty any longer.
Unrepresented Residents
Medical Decisions For Unrepresented Patients | Colorado General Assembly – docShepherd
Please consider developing a program that involves family or friends of previous residents that would be willing volunteer to act as a proxy decision maker for a resident that has no guardian or POA.
House bill 16-1101 outlines the requirements for a physician to become a proxy for a resident.
BILL SUMMARY
An attending physician may designate another willing physician to make health care treatment decisions as a patient’s proxy decision-maker if:
- After making reasonable efforts, the physician cannot locate any interested persons, or none of the interested persons are willing and able to serve as proxy decision-maker;
- The attending physician has obtained an independent assessment of the patient’s lack of decisional capacity by another health care provider;
- The physician has consulted with and obtained a consensus on the proxy designation with the medical ethics committee of the health care facility where the patient is receiving care; and
- The identity of the physician designated as proxy decision-maker is documented in the medical record.
The authority of the proxy decision-maker terminates in the event that an interested person is willing to serve as proxy decision-maker, a guardian is appointed, the patient regains decisional capacity, the proxy decision-maker decides to no longer serve as the patient’s proxy decision-maker, or the patient is transferred or discharged from the facility, if any, where the patient is receiving care (unless the proxy decision-maker expresses his or her intention to continue to serve as proxy decision-maker).
The act establishes guidelines to which an attending physician and proxy decision-maker shall adhere for proxy decision-making.
When acting in good faith as a proxy decision-maker, a physician is not subject to civil or criminal liability or regulatory sanction.
Candida auris
More to come in May.
Candida auris is an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat. CDC is concerned about C. auris for three main reasons:
- multidrug-resistant, meaning that it is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs commonly used to treat Candida infections. Some strains are resistant to all three available classes of antifungals.
- difficult to identify with standard laboratory methods, and it can be misidentified in labs without specific technology.
- It has caused outbreaks in healthcare settings. For this reason, it is important to quickly identify C. auris in a hospitalized patient so that healthcare facilities can take special precautions to stop its spread.
- Candida auris | Candida auris | Fungal Diseases | CDC