PA Department of Health Chooses ECRI to Guide COVID-19 Response for Long-Term Care Facilities

April 8, 2020

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA–Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that the Department of Health signed a contract this week with ECRI, an independent nonprofit organization improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings worldwide, to provide COVID-19 response for long-term care facilities.

“It’s imperative that the state do all that we can to protect all Pennsylvanians, but especially those most vulnerable to COVID-19, and so the Department of Health made the right decision to enlist experts in the field of infection control to help protect those in the state’s long-term care facilities,” said Governor Wolf.

With decades of experience in assisting healthcare providers during outbreaks, ECRI will provide individualized infection control and prevention assistance to long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania as the pandemic continues. ECRI’s experienced patient safety and infection control staff will be on-call twelve hours a day, weekdays. They will coordinate with the Department Operations Center who is currently providing support to those working in coronavirus response.

ECRI will also help the department evaluate personal protective equipment (PPE) and research different ways to maximize available resources.

“ECRI is focused on keeping residents, patients, and healthcare workers safe as the coronavirus pandemic spreads. Vulnerable populations, like long-term care residents, are increasingly in harm’s way,” said Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, president and CEO, ECRI.

For decades, ECRI has worked closely with aging care communities in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation on emergency preparedness, disaster planning, and resident safety.

As part of its mission to advance effective, evidence-based healthcare globally, ECRI developed a public-access COVID-19 Resource Center to help hospitals, ambulatory care, and aging care facilities protect healthcare workers, residents, and patients. The site includes infection control guidance, medical device guidance on PPE, ventilators, and infusion therapies, and clinical evidence assessments on coronavirus-related treatments, therapies, and interventions.

ECRI is an independent, nonprofit organization improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings. With a focus on patient safety, evidence-based medicine, and health technology decision solutions, ECRI is respected and trusted by healthcare leaders and agencies worldwide. Over the past 50 years, ECRI has built its reputation on integrity and disciplined rigor, with an unwavering commitment to independence and strict conflict-of-interest rules.

ECRI is the only organization worldwide to conduct independent medical device evaluations, with labs located in North America and Asia Pacific. ECRI is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 2020, The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) formally became an ECRI Affiliate.