February 23, 2021
Mask mandate continues in health care settings:
https://covidblog.oregon.gov/mask-mandate-stays-in-place-for-oregon-health-care-settings/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
December 13, 2021
The links below are the Notices of Proposed rulemaking for OAR chapter 333, division 19, which includes the Oregon Administrative rules as follows. The Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division is proposing to permanetly adopt Oregon Administrative rules in chapter 333, division 19 regarding:
Masking and vaccination requirements to control COVID-19 in health care settings. (OAR 333-019-1010 and 333-019-1011).
Masking requirements in Schools; vaccination requirements for teachers and school staff. (OAR 333-019-1015 and 333-019-1030).
Adoption of a rule requiring masks to be worn in indoor spaces in Oregon. (OAR 333-019-1025).
333-019-1010,+1011+Notice+of+Proposed+Rulemaking+12.10.2021.pdf
333-019-1015+1030+Notice+of+Proposed+Rulemaking+12.10.2021.pdf
OAR+333-019+proposed+mask+and+vaccine+rules_notice+to+IPs_FINAL.pdf
To provide oral testimony during any of these hearings, please contact publichealth.rules@dhsoha.state.or.us to sign-up and receive the link for the Microsoft Teams video conference. Alternatively, for audio only, you may dial 971-277-2343 using the phone conference ID# as the password listed for each hearing above.
You may also file written comments on these proposed rules before 5:00 p.m. on January 24, 2022 to the Public Health Division Rules Coordinator at the following address:
OHA, Public Health Division
Administrative Rules Coordinator
800 NE Oregon Street, Suite 930
Portland, Oregon 97232
Email comments to: publichealth.rules@dhsoha.state.or.us. You may also send comments by fax to: (971) 673-1299.
Please indicate in your written comments which rule number(s) you are commenting on so they can be entered into the appropriate rulemaking record.
Final rules will be filed after consideration of all comments.
For more details, please see the attached Notices of Proposed Rulemaking, including the Statement of Need and Fiscal Impact and the full text of the proposed rules.
If you have any questions, please contact publichealth.rules@dhsoha.state.or.us.
Sept. 9, 2021: Mental and Emotional Health resource for Health Professionals: Safe+Strong: https://www.safestrongoregon.org/
August 27, 2021: OHA Vaccination Requirement FAQ's
August 26, 2021: OHA Covid Healthcare Partner Resources page
August 25, 2021: Due to the state's current hospital capacity crisis. nursing facilities may temporarily utilize the services of Occupational Therapists and other healthcare workers to account for up to 25% of the required minimum staff required at nursing facilities, effective immediately.
August 24th: Governor Brown announced a statewide outdoor mask requirement.
August 19th: Governor Kate Brown announced two new vaccination measures to address Oregon's hospital crisis, caused by the Delta variant surge, and to help keep Oregon students safe in the upcoming school year and minimize disruptions to in-person instruction:
· Oregon's vaccination requirement for health care workers will no longer have a testing alternative. Health care workers will be required to be fully vaccinated by October 18 or six weeks after full FDA approval, whichever is later.
· All teachers, educators, support staff, and volunteers in K-12 schools will be required to be fully vaccinated by October 18 or six weeks after full FDA approval, whichever is later.
Link to Press Release: Click here
Link to Press Conference: Click here
Link to the OHA rule: OAR 333-019-1010
The OTLB now accepts CE on Self-care:
339-020-0020 CE Categories and Points
(18) Personal Development/Self Care: Up to four points.
The OTLB readily recognizes the importance of mental health and the effects of the pandemic on their self-care. If audited, the licensee would be asked to explain how the course benefitted their role as a OTA or OTR.
Starting August 13: masks are mandatory in all indoor spaces to fight COVID-19 spread. For more information click here.
August 6: The Oregon Health Authority has published temporary rules requiring weekly COVID testing for all health care workers per direction from the Governor.
On August 4: Governor Brown announced that all health care workers will be required to submit to weekly testing for the coronavirus unless they are vaccinated and directed the Oregon Health Authority to promulgate rules. The Board will post additional information as it becomes available.
Masking still required in health care settings
On June 25, Governor Brown signed Executive Order 21-15, which eliminated most pandemic-related restrictions (many of which have now resurfaced in the wake of Oregon's recent surge in COVID-19 cases). However, the Executive Order also outlined where COVID-19 restrictions would remain in place.
Specifically, the Order states, “There will be some specialized settings like healthcare, public transportation, correctional facilities, and certain other congregate settings where enhanced COVID-19 precautions will be necessary for an additional period of time, following federal guidance."
Accordingly, the Mask, Face Covering, and Face Shield Requirements for Health Care Offices was updated on June 30 to reflect the need for continued COVID-19 precautions in health care settings.
You can read the full details of that guidance here.
Oregon Health Authority's Health Security, Preparedness and Response Division has several resources for guidance and preparation, including information on volunteering with the State Emergency Registry of Volunteers -- SERV-OR. OHA is actively seeking more volunteers.
OHA Health Security, Preparedness and Response Program
SERV-OR Frequently Asked Questions
Licensed/certified health professional in Oregon or another state, as well as retired health professionals who were licensed/certified in Oregon within the last 10 years, are all encouraged to register with SERV-OR.
Start your SERVOR application today and start receiving notifications of vaccination events that need your help!
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Interested in becoming a COVID-19 Vaccinator?
Read if and how you are eligible to vaccinate as a:
- Licensed/certified health professional in Oregon
- Retired health professionals in Oregon
- Out of state licensed/certified health professional
Learn more
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VACCINE ELIGILIBILITY
At this time, all health care practitioners are already eligible to receive the vaccine, and Oregon is currently implementing phase 1b of the Oregon sequencing plan. Individuals eligible under phase 1a continue to be eligible to receive the vaccine as new groups are added.
The best ongoing source of information from OHA regarding the vaccine distribution and to register for the vaccine via the link below:
Other ways to get information on the vaccine and vaccination registration:
Text ORCOVID to 898211
Email ORCOVID@211info.org
Call 211
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COVID-19-Health-Talking-Points (5).pdf
Links to the next phases for vaccines recipients:
OHA 3527C Vaccine Sequencing secondary.02.25.2021.UPDATE.v13.pdf
OHA 3527A Vaccine Sequencing Infographic.02.25.2021.UPDATE.v12.pdf
Helping Adults Get COVID-19 Vaccinations: OHA_Partner_Toolkit_2.4.21.pdf
COVID-19 Vaccine Availability for Phase 1a
OHA Website on COVID-19 Vaccine in Oregon:
Telehealth Listening Sessions:
Recording from the OHA and the Department of Consumer and Business Services Nov. 17 Telehealth Listening Session for Health Care Providers. Learn about the current telehealth landscape and the concerns shared by Oregon providers.
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April 2, 2020 Special Board meeting - OTs / OTA's can work as assistants to respiratory therapists with proper training.
Online course for ICU and Vent Patients:
This course will help to arm them with the information they need to treat and care for critically ill patients. Effective immediately, ERI is offering the online course Lines, Tubes, Ventilators, and Diagnostic Screening for Stability v. Instability at no cost to therapists. Use promocode ERISTANDS at checkout to receive this course. It will be available through June 1, 2020. Please pass this along to your staff or colleagues who could benefit from this material.
Below is the link to our other online courses in the event you have staff who need their CEUs for renewal.
Link to Education Resources online courses
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Elective and Non-Urgent Procedures
Governor's Executive Order 20-22
Framework for Restarting
Guidance on Resumption of Non-Emergent and Elective Procedures
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Important Links:
The Oregon Health Authority, under direction of the Governor's office, is coordinating the State response and guidance including guidance for health professionals. The primary landing page for information is here, where you can also sign up for updates.
OHA also includes links to CDC guidance, or you can go here directly. CDC recently published guidance and communication tools for clinics here.
The Governor has issued several Executive Orders relating to COVID-19, and additional direction for health care professionals is expected later today. All Executive Orders are published here.
Increasingly, city governments are also publishing mandates that may apply to you. We recommend taking a moment to reference their websites and signing up for notifications.
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Oregon Coronavirus Information & Resources:
Coronavirus/COVID-19 Information and Resources
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OHA - Guidance related to delaying elective procedures:
https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/le2284.pdf
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AOTA FREE CE
**To help all OT practitioners, educators, and students navigate through this uncertain time, AOTA has lifted member-only access to all COVID-19 & OT webinars.
Medicare Telehealth Success During COVID-19: What You Need to Know About Providing Telehealth to Medicare Clients
Tuesday, May 12: 3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. ET
FREE
To register and see all available programs, visit AOTA's COVID-19 & OT Online CE series page. Earn up to 1.5 contact hours per session. Webinars will be live-tweeted using #COVID19andOT and available on the AOTA Store within 24 hours of the live event. Here are a few of the recently recorded COVID-19 & OT courses: |
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TELEHEALTH:
For Board rules and FAQ's on telehealth:
https://www.oregon.gov/otlb/Pages/Telehealth.aspx
Oregon Health Plan coverage of Telephone/Telemedicine/Telehealth Services:
https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HSD/OHP/Announcements/Oregon%20Health%20Plan%20coverage%20of%20telemedicine%20services.pdf
OHA - COVID-19 Expanded Telehealth/Telemedicine Provider Webinar:
-- For a video recording of the webinar, please visit https://youtu.be/h3A7IeTidso.
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Nationally, there have been several actions to ease the utilization of telehealth; if you are new to telehealth or are considering expanding your use of telehealth temporarily, we recommend regularly reviewing information published at HHS.gov and CMS.gov. Here are two relevant links published earlier this week relating to billing and HIPAA compliance:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Telemedicine Fact Sheet
US Dept. of Health and Human Services Emergency Response Information
From the AOTA website (www.aota.org):
Q: Telehealth is an emerging practice area that I need to learn more about. What resources are available to get me started?
AOTA's Telehealth Resources page contains a variety of articles, webinars, charts, and practice documents to help OT practitioners to navigate this emerging area, including professional guidance on ethics.
Q: Am I eligible to provide occupational therapy services via telehealth?
While additional flexibilities for telehealth have been incorporated into both federal programs and private insurance, these flexibilities don't always expand the definition of who can provide telehealth services. Read: OT and Telehealth in the Age of COVID-19.
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Other Resources
Business Oregon has put together a resource for businesses impacted by COVID-19 here.
Oregon Health Authority's Health Security, Preparedness and Response Division has several resources for guidance and preparation, including information on volunteering with the State Emergency Registry of Volunteers -- SERV-OR.
OHA Health Security, Preparedness and Response Program
SERV-OR: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Preparedness/SERV-OR/Pages/index.aspx