COVID-19 in Pediatric Long-Term Care: How Infection Control and Prevention Practices Minimized the Impact of the Pandemic on Healthcare Providers and Residents
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Natalie Neu1, MariCris Nee2, Joseph Savitt2
1Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
Insights
Implementing rapid infection control practices for COVID-19 in pediatric long-term care (LTC) significantly reduced resident and staff infections. These enhanced protocols protected vulnerable children from respiratory virus transmission.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare
- Infectious disease epidemiology
- Long-term care facility management
Background:
- Pediatric long-term care (LTC) residents have high-risk comorbidities, increasing susceptibility to respiratory viruses.
- Healthcare staff are a common source of infection transmission to vulnerable pediatric populations in LTC settings.
- Prompt implementation of infection control practices is crucial for mitigating infectious disease spread.
Observation:
- Sunshine Children's Home and Rehabilitation Center adapted to federal and state COVID-19 infection control mandates.
- The facility implemented changes in practice, including staff and resident screening and testing.
- Outcomes for pediatric COVID-19 cases contrasted sharply with adult nursing home data.
Findings:
- Proactive infection control measures led to a notable decrease in COVID-19 cases among pediatric LTC residents and staff.
- The study details practice modifications, screening protocols, and testing results during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Pediatric LTC settings demonstrated a different trajectory of COVID-19 outcomes compared to adult facilities.
Implications:
- Effective infection control strategies are vital for protecting high-risk pediatric populations in long-term care.
- The findings highlight the success of tailored infection prevention in pediatric LTC during a pandemic.
- This study provides a model for managing infectious disease outbreaks in specialized pediatric healthcare environments.
Abstract:
Children in pediatric long-term care (LTC) facilities are commonly infected with respiratory tract viruses as they have many high-risk co-morbidities and require significant interactions with the healthcare team. From previous studies, we know that infected staff can often be the source of transmission of infection to the children. If instituted quickly, infection control practices can help mitigate the spread of infection. We will describe how Sunshine Children's Home and Rehabilitation Center responded to federal and state infection control and prevention mandates in LTC for COVID-19. We will report our practice changes, staff and resident screening, and testing results as well as outcomes of the COVID-19-infected cases. The outcomes for COVID-19 infection among pediatric LTC staff and residents are in stark contrast to the data available for the adult providers and residents in adult nursing homes. Implementation and change in infection control practices and procedures resulted in much fewer cases of COVID-19 infection in our pediatric LTC residents.
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