AGS and AMDA-PALTC Launch Parallel Initiatives to Improve Vaccination Rates

As 2022 winds down, the American Geriatrics Society and AMDA,-the Society for Post-Acute and Long-term Care (AMDA-PALTC), are working in parallel to achieve one common goal: increase vaccination rates among older adults and those who care for them via two separate initiatives that are funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The AGS is one of seven specialty medical societies to be granted a subaward under a Council of Medical Specialty Societies contract with the CDC to increase adult vaccination rates (across all vaccines) in this country, called Specialty Societies Advancing Adult Immunization. Under this contract, we are working on an expanded portfolio of professional education and clinical tools with an initial focus on COVID-19, Flu, Pneumonia, and Zoster. This work builds upon a wealth of easy to access information for the general public that is available at our AGS Health in Aging Foundation website, www.healthinaging.org. AGS has recently updated our vaccine app (one of several free apps included in iGeriatrics, which are available for download at www.geriatricscareonline.org). Finally, you can learn about new professional and public education resources as we launch them here.

Concurrently to the work that AGS is doing to increase vaccination rates among older adults, AMDA–PALTC has partnered with CDC on its 5-year Moving Needles initiative focused on setting LTC industry-wide standards for staff and resident immunizations. The pilot program, which launched on July 13, is engaging clinicians at 9 sites (3 each) operated by 3 chains—University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Senior Communities, ALG Senior, and Saber Healthcare Group. The first round of the pilot program will focus on influenza, COVID-19, and Hepatitis B vaccinations for staff and influenza, COVID-19, pneumococcal, Tdap, and shingles for residents. Sites will implement one intervention to improve resident immunization rates and one intervention to improve staff immunization rates with the goal of developing evidence-based interventions aligned with the National Vaccine Advisory Committee Standards for Adult Immunization Practice. Participants will submit monthly data, contribute to group calls and initiate individual check-ins.

Initiative leaders have also started a cost benefit analysis—collecting data on the financial costs and benefits of investing in an immunization program—and encouraging electronic health record (EHR) companies to build system supports for the pilot. Easy-to-use assessments, reminders, standing orders, and measurement dashboards are potential partnership opportunities. AMDA is also encouraging organizations to link their EHRs to immunization information systems.

The AMDA-PALTC project’s goal is to improve at least one vaccination rate per site when the LTC pilot program finishes in June 2023. In July 2023, AMDA-PALTC will move to another 1-year test program targeting providers of home and community-based services, and Institutional Special Needs Plans. The organization hopes to have an immunization standards “change package” containing tested interventions, implementation support, and measurement tools available to AMDA-PALTC members and partners by years 4 and 5 of the program. At the same time, AMDA-PALTC is committed to sharing information while the project is underway and a website for the project www.movingneedles.org has updates on the project, resources and materials for any other facilities or chains interested in increasing both staff and resident immunization rates.

Elizabeth Sobczyk, MSW, MPH, AMDA project director with the CDC Cooperative Agreement on Immunization, said, “This pandemic funding stream opened up an opportunity for us to take action on a critical issue we’ve been discussing for many years. Right now, our focus is on the pilot sites but the goal is to set new standards and create meaningful change in LTC on a wider scale.”

Both initiatives tackle the challenge of reaching all of us as we age by increasing immunization for vaccine-preventable diseases. They are a part of a larger national effort to address long-standing barriers to improving low vaccination rates.