COVID-19 Prevention in Nursing Homes

A study to define unmeasured transmission and estimate potential for protecting nursing home residents through serologic assessments of nursing home staff.

Study staff collecting dried blood spots for the sero-survey — In the field: Study staff collect dried blood spots (DBS) from nursing home staff to assess for serological evidence of past SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Study Description

Assessing COVID-19 incidence and prevalence

COVID-19 Prevention in Nursing Homes (COPING) is a prospective, longitudinal cohort study beginning in the Summer 2020 during the ongoing outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States. An estimated 1,700 front-line healthcare personnel (HCP) will be enrolled and followed over 6 months to assess seroprevalence and seroincidence of COVID-19, self-reported illness, and PCR test results.

Meet the Study Team

Co-Principal investigators Dr. Scott Fridkin, MD and Dr. Benjamin Lopman, PhD lead a multidisciplinary team of scientists, students, and administrators.

Why Nursing Homes?

30% Estimated case fatality rate (CFR) in Nursing Homes compared to 1-2% in the general population

Importation and Spread Healthcare workers in skilled nursing facilities can seed outbreaks among residents when they get infected in the community and introduce the virus to the patient population

1,700 Healthcare personnel within skilled nursing facilities will be tested multiple times

Modeling Parameters By estimating the rate of infection in nursing homes, investigators can build mathematical models to test different potential infection prevention strategies

Serology

Antibodies are proteins that the immune system develops during an active infection to help identify and mark foreign pathogens inside the body. For this study, investigators are using the EUROIMMUN SARS-COV-2 ELISA (IgG) antibody tests which can indicate the presence or absence of past infection with COVID-19.

Learn more about COVID-19 serology tests

Prevention Messages for Front Line Long-Term Care Staff Video: Keep COVID-19 Out! Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Learn what staff, vendors, and consultants should do to protect residents and keep COVID-19 out of your building. Understand the importance of wearing facemasks, using them in the right way, checking for symptoms daily and staying out of the building when sick.

Participating Facilities Across Georgia

COPING is partnering with 4 major long-term care and skilled nursing organizations, which include 14 participating facilities across the state of Georgia. These include:

Pruitt Health
SavaSeniorCare Consulting, LLC
AG Rhodes
Emory Healthcare

Additional Resources for Skilled Nursing Facilities

Additional Training

The Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Training Initiative

In partnership with the Baltimore City Health Department, JHU has launched two free online educational courses on Coursera.org for administrators, owners, and managers of assisted living and senior housing communities to help prepare for and respond to COVID-19:

Both courses include expert lectures, guest interviews, links to additional reading and resources, and assignments. The courses focus on best practices and guidance for learners to acquire immediate takeaways to actively change their community's policies and implement lessons from the assignments to keep residents and staff safe. Both courses cover infection and outbreak prevention, staffing considerations, communicating with stakeholders, promoting resident and staff well-being, and leveraging health departments and other agency resources. The assisted living course also covers testing, contact tracing, and cohorting; the senior housing course focuses on housing operations, including critical tasks to protect residents in these settings.