Currently, there are a couple of questions on the RCFE Certification test on epidemics and pandemics. There are also questions that test your knowledge of MRSA and various safety protocols for the influenza virus. There are no questions, at least not yet, about the CoronaVirus or how to prevent its spread within a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly. However, this knowledge will be mandatory soon if you wish to receive your RCFE Certification.
Residential care facilities and nursing homes are among the hardest hit during the coronavirus crisis. This of course is due to the fact that our most vulnerable, the elderly, reside there. As people get older and have health problems and are unable to care for themselves, many end up in residential care facilities for the elderly. That makes sense because if they could take care of themselves, they would already be doing it. Those with underlying health conditions made up the bulk of CoronaVrius deaths, which is not surprising, but very serious.
This is why you can expect that, very soon, the RCFE Certification test and the required education will include a lot about how to deal with epidemics and pandemics, such as the CoronaVirus. You can bet your bottom dollar that the state of California will ensure that no one becomes RCFE certified without first understanding how viruses spread, how to prevent their spread, and how not to become the human vector that spreads the virus from room to room. . in a residential care facility.
There is probably nothing more serious or important than learning to get the RCFE Certification. It is literally a matter of life and death. And, it should be, right? RCFE-certified staff and facilities will need to demonstrate that they are following all proper procedures to prevent the spread of a pandemic virus. It cannot be allowed to enter the premises and must be kept at bay if it does.
How soon will the CoronaVirus crisis change the way RCFE works? Well, things are already changing. Industry professionals are creatively coming up with new ways to overcome these challenges and sharing their best online management practices with other facilities. The RCFE Certification will soon change too, and there is already talk of it.
The State of California will implement temporary measures now, and many of those practical procedures will become mandatory regulatory mandates, which every RCFE nurse and staff member will know and follow every day so that this type of thing never happens again.