Emergency Request Memo

D EPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC)

Atlanta GA 30341-3724

October 15, 2020

Dominic Mancini

Deputy Director

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Office of Management and Budget

Washington, DC

Subject: Request for Emergency Review and Clearance

Dear Mr. Mancini:

Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR Part 1320, Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, CDC requests that the proposed information collection project, “National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Coronavirus (COVID-19) Surveillance in Healthcare Facilities” be processed in accordance with section 1320.13, Emergency Processing.

CDC has determined that the information must be collected prior to the expiration of time period established under Part 1320, and that this information is essential to CDC’s ability, as well as that of state and local health departments, to effectively address the national public health crisis caused by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). As rates of infection and resulting deaths continue to rise across the nation, healthcare facilities and public health departments are facing significant strain on patient care and infection prevention efforts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) previously developed an Emergency OMB package titled “National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Patient Impact Module for Coronavirus (COVID-19) Surveillance in Healthcare Facilities (OMB Control No. 0920-1290).” This collection expired on 9/30/2020. A full ICR has since been developed to transition the Emergency Clearance into a standard package. This OMB Clearance package (0920-20LW National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Coronavirus (COVID-19) Surveillance in Healthcare Facilities) was submitted by CDC to OMB on 9/23/2020. However, following the expiration of the Emergency Clearance package, NHSN plans to introduce via a new data collection form to the NHSN COVID-19 Long Term Care Facility (LTCF) Module: Point of Care Testing Results form (CDC 57.1). This data will be used to identify COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes, add to the situational awareness of COVID-19 in jurisdictions, as well as to enable public health agencies to assist in infection prevention and control activities. NHSN has requested OMB approval of this form by 10/15/2020.

CDC cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures due to the public harm that could escalate if routine processing of this request is required. CDC requests authorization to collect information for 30 days, using the Long Term Care Facility (LTCF) Module: Point of Care Testing Results form (CDC 57.1) The data collected via this form will inform state and local health departments as well as federal public health entities about testing results for patients and staff in nursing homes. Data collected through this Emergency Clearance Request will be incorporated into the standard package upon approval by OMB. Absent this Emergency Clearance approval, CDC will not be able to implement COVID-19 healthcare surveillance with the urgency that is required.

Please provide an approval/disapproval determination of this request to collect information under an emergency clearance by close of business October 15, 2020.

Respectfully,

Rima Khabbaz, MD

Director, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID),

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC