COVID-19 Information and Resources

Read a message from the AAACN President Anne Jessie and scroll down for links to COVID-19 information, resources, webinars, and more.

Dear Ambulatory Care Nurses,

As we continue to navigate the unprecedented health care crisis that is the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to share a note of encouragement and support and highlight the resources for coronavirus management that AAACN is providing to you.

We recognize that you continue to face the uncertainty of COVID-19 outbreaks, requiring you to expand and contract services while developing innovative ways to care for your patients. Your work must continue as you provide quality patient care and provide ongoing support for the staff that you lead.

Anne Jessie The AAACN Board of Directors and staff want you to know we are thinking of you constantly, wishing you health, safety, strength, and perseverance. We’re so thankful for the work you do under normal circumstances, and even more grateful for your incredible leadership during these challenging times.

The pandemic has intensified the need for ambulatory care nurses like you to maintain a connection to AAACN and to our community. We encourage you to continue to access your AAACN member benefits, including the Connected Community, Special Interest Groups (SIGs), AAACN publications, and online members-only resources. See how you can get involved with AAACN member activities!

We also encourage you to watch the webinar Telephone Triage and COVID-19 that is available free to everyone.

At AAACN ‘s first virtual conference, we infused COVID -19 content into key conference sessions. We also showcased how ambulatory care nurse leaders, representing diverse care settings, have led their organizations in pandemic response during our virtual Town Hall on August 11, 2020.

Following the conference, all sessions are available in the AAACN Online Library where conference attendees are able to earn CNE contact hours for 2 years.

Poster Presentations from the conference are now available as well!

In the Connected Community, AAACN's online networking community, you can connect with fellow ambulatory care nurses who are facing the same challenges as you right now. Members are sharing their experiences providing care post-COVID, setting up flu clinics, planning virtual skills days for staff, implementing COVID-19 telehealth protocols, and so much more.

Go to the Connected Community now to read and participate in these discussions. If you are not already part of a SIG community, you can join immediately when you log in.

AAACN is here for you, now and as we transition to ambulatory care nursing practice that is the future. Should you have questions or if there are other ways we can help you, please don't hesitate to contact us at aaacn@aaacn.org.

Update Nov. 18, 2020: AAACN President Anne Jessie urges President-Elect Biden to consider adding registered nurses, particularly ambulatory care nurses, to the Coronavirus Advisory Board to strengthen and augment the team of experts that has been gathered to address this public health crisis. The letter is also being posted on AAACN social media channels and we encourage you to share widely. Read the letter.

AAACN President Anne Jessie
AAACN Board of Directors
AAACN National Office Staff

COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19 Information and Resources

Resources on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): The AHA and AONL are closely monitoring COVID-19 information and working with the CDC, HHS as well as other federal, state and local partners to respond to this challenge and to make sure hospitals and health systems have the most up-to-date information.
From the NIH: New Online Resource Shows How You Can Help to Fight COVID-19
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines
From the CDC: “Living document” expected to be updated often as new clinical data accrue. A panel of U.S. physicians, statisticians, and other experts has developed treatment guidelines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These guidelines, intended for healthcare providers, are based on published and preliminary data and the clinical expertise of the panelists, many of whom are frontline clinicians caring for patients during the rapidly evolving pandemic. The guidelines are posted online and will be updated often as new data are published in peer-reviewed scientific literature and other authoritative information emerges.
American Nurses Association (ANA) COVID-19 Resource Center – Up to date news, what nurses need to know to stay safe, and what ANA is doing to protect nurses and patients.
ANA COVID-19 Legislative, Regulatory, and Advocacy Updates
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Coronavirus (COVD-19) Partner Toolkit
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Current Emergencies – Information, Updates, Clinical and Technical Guidance.
Department of Health and Human Services Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Information Gateway - Novel Coronavirus Resources
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) COVID-19 Information
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) COVID-19 Guidance and Resources
Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Coronavirus Information
Johns Hopkins University Map of Global COVID-19 Cases
Joint Commission Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance and Resources
National Academy of Medicine Coronavirus Resources
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
NIH Director's Blog
Reducing Mental Health’s Stigma in Healthcare (White Paper)
White House Task Force on COVID-19
World Health Organization (WHO)

Covid-19 Videos

COVID-19 Vaccine Education Effort: Content for Healthcare Providers

For Physicians & Nurses: Answers to COVID-19 Vaccination Questions for HCPs | Ad Council

Calls to Action and Surveys

Letter to President-Elect Biden Advocating for Nurse Representation - AAACN President Anne Jessie urges President-Elect Biden to consider adding registered nurses, particularly ambulatory care nurses, to the Coronavirus Advisory Board to strengthen and augment the team of experts that has been gathered to address this public health crisis. Read the letter.
American Nurses Association (ANA) Health Policy and Government Affairs Latest Call to Action - Please Help Amplify this Messaging Nurses have been experiencing severe shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE) as they work on the frontlines to provide vital care to #COVID19 patients. The American Nurses Association calls on you to tell your member of Congress to support the Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act to fully exercise the #DPANOW to #GetMePPE & keep nurses safe! p2a.co/aniIqgT
ANA/NFA: Pulse on the Nation’s Nurses: A COVID-19 Survey Series (Updated 01.28.2021).
The American Nurses Foundation wants to learn more about your knowledge of and attitude toward a COVID-19 vaccine. Your participation in this brief Vaccine Survey (5 minutes) will inform decisions about how to best support the U.S. nursing workforce as you prepare to take on the critical role of protecting the nation’s health.
ANA: From salary reductions and work furloughs to lost wages due to unpaid sick or family medical leave or a partner’s job loss, most of us are or will experience the financial impact of COVID-19. The American Nurses Foundation wants to help nurses, but first we need to better understand the financial impact of COVID-19. Please take a few minutes to complete the Financial Impact Survey, the second survey in the Foundation’s Pulse on the Nation’s Nurses: A COVID-19 Survey Series.
From the NIH: Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Study - Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) are conducting an online research study to learn about how stressors related to the COVID-19 virus affect mental health over time. We hope to better understand the experiences of participants during this difficult time.
RNAction: Tell Congress to Provide Mental Health Services Now - Nurses and essential health care workers are exhausted--physically and emotionally drained from the months of serving on the frontlines on the COVID-19 pandemic, even as resources remain scarce. But as they continue to put themselves and their families in further harm, Congress has yet to provide them with the mental health support they so desperately need. Tell your members of Congress to provide mental health services--including hazard pay--for all nurses and other essential health care workers immediately.

Self-Care

AAACN Online Library: Resilience and Empowerment During a Crisis - Complimentary CNE Package.
Advances in Skin and Wound Care Article: Preventing Facial Pressure Injury for Health Care Providers Adhering to COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment Requirements/9000/Preventing_Facial_Pressure_Injury_for_Health_Care.99919.aspx
American Nurses Association (ANA) COVID-19 Resource Center – Up to date news, what nurses need to know to stay safe, and what ANA is doing to protect nurses and patients
ANA - Nurses Month Week
ANA COVID-19 Self-Care Package for Nurses
ANA Special COVID-19 Webinar Series - Be Confident Protecting Yourself and Providing the Best Care to Your Patients During This COVID-19 Pandemic.
ANA: The Well-Being Initiative
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Virtual Learning Hour - COVID-19: Caregiver Mental Health and Wellbeing
Managing Stress and Anxiety - NIMH conducted and recorded a livestream event on managing stress and anxiety.
Nurse PTSD/Suicide; Effect on America’s Health Care System
Ohio State University - Staying Calm and Well in the Midst of the COVID-19 Storm Webinar Series
Relias Webinar - Nurse Self-Care: Learning How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Team
Resources to Support Health and Well-Being of Clinicians

Telehealth and Telephone Triage Resources

AAACN's webinar (the recording, handout, and contact hour evaluation), Telephone Triage and COVID-19, presented by Carol Rutenberg, MNSc, RN-BC, C-TNP, is now available free to anyone who will benefit in the AAACN Online Library.
COVID-19 Pediatric Protocols: New July Release. Here's a summary of some of the significant pediatric changes:
- COVID-19 guideline definition expanded to include CDC's expanded list of symptoms. Differentiates main symptoms from less common symptoms.
- Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) related to COVID-19: Background Information was added and triage question modified.
- Testing: FAQs covered.
- Isolation information added for asymptomatic patients who test positive but don't develop symptoms: Stay at home until 10 days have passed since the date of their positive COVID-19 test. For patients with symptoms, the CDC recently changed criteria for release from isolation to 24 or more hours without fever (rather than 72 hours).
- Background Information expanded to include information about recognizing Child Abuse during the pandemic and the lack of evidence for Repeat Infections.
  - Schmitt Pediatric Guidelines LLC - Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Exposure (updated 11/11/2020)
  - Schmitt Pediatric Guidelines LLC - Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Diagnosed or Suspected (updated 11/11/2020)
    - View letter explaining the two 11/11/2020 updates
  - Schmitt-Thompson Clinical Content - COVID-19 Adult and Pediatric After Hours and Office Hours Protocols
ClearTriage Free COVID-19 Nurse Telephone Triage Tool
CMS General Provider Telehealth and Telemedicine Toolkit
CMS Medicare Telemedicine Health Care Provider Fact Sheet
University of Pennsylvania Free Online Telehealth and Telemedicine Course
US Dept of Health and Human Services FAQs on Telehealth and HIPAA during the COVID-19 Nationwide Public Health Emergency

Webinars/Recordings, Events and Education

AAACN's webinar (the recording, handout, and contact hour evaluation), Telephone Triage and COVID-19, presented by Carol Rutenberg, MNSc, RN-BC, C-TNP, is now available free to anyone who will benefit in the AAACN Online Library.