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CMS has issued a Second Edition Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) COVID-19 Public Reporting Tip Sheet to help providers understand CMS' public reporting approach to the SNF QRP to account for CMS quality data submissions that were either optional or excepted from public reporting due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has approved EduCare’s 5-part Dementia Series and test as an option that may be used to meet 144G.83 statutory training requirements for assisted living with dementia care providers. The statute requires that persons providing or overseeing staff training in a facility licensed as assisted living with dementia care must have experience and knowledge in the care of individuals with dementia, including:

In their second ALL Together newsletter, the Health Regulation Division of MDH shared the top ten tags in assisted living and assisted living with dementia care licensed settings.

On Jan. 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine; the approved vaccine will be marketed as Spikevax to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) held a national stakeholder call on Feb. 2 to update its listeners regarding COVID-19, revisions to nursing home guidance, and best practices. The following is a summary for those who could not listen in on the call.

On Jan. 6, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Minnesota Board on Aging updated the pre-admission screening criteria for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities before admission to a nursing home.

On Monday, lawmakers gathered back in Saint Paul to begin the 2022 legislative session with a projected $7.7 billion surplus top of mind for most at the Capitol. About four months before adjournment on May 23, LeadingAge Minnesota and our partner in the Long-Term Care Imperative are seeking support from the state to pay caregivers the wages they deserve and ensure access to care in all the places seniors call home.

Applications are being accepted for the 2022 Leadership Academy.

Since 2010, LeadingAge Minnesota’s Leadership Academy has mentored and cultivated more than 350 emerging transformational leaders in our field. During their year-long program, Leadership Academy provides an opportunity to explore and practice ideas, tools, principles, and theories that they leverage to strengthen their leadership and foster an organizational culture to lead in normal and not-so-normal times.

Please join our volunteer crew as an Institute Session Host.

It takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work to make the Institute run as smoothly as possible.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking proposals for the Live Well at Home grant program. The purpose of this initiative is to develop and provide services for older Minnesotans to live and age in the community of their choice by improving the capacity to develop, strengthen, integrate, and maintain culturally competent home- and community-based services for individuals aged 65 and older at risk of long-term nursing home use or spending down into Medical Assistance. Proposals may also include strengthening services for the caregiver support network.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s 2022 Silent Auction is just two weeks away! This annual Institute tradition raises funds to provide higher education scholarships to help our dedicated caregivers and other staff access the education they need to pursue careers in aging services.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is offering free, five-minute learning modules designed to address the stresses and challenges frontline staff face during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Wednesday, Jan. 26, CMS is posting new information to the public-facing Care Compare website for nursing homes.

First, CMS has added data about the level of weekend RN staffing and total nurse staffing (e.g., RN, LPN, and CNA), reported in terms of the average number of RN and total nurse hours worked per resident per day on weekends. As presented, the data compares a specific facility’s weekend staffing to the national average and the Minnesota average.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Health Regulation Division has posted an updated provisional assisted living license application for providers interested in becoming an assisted living facility. The revised form has added instructional information and links to helpful statutory references.

The Board of Executives for Long-term Services and Supports (BELTSS) provided updates on the progress of licensing directors at the Jan. meeting held earlier this week. The Board also reviewed the first months of assisted living surveys and discussed potential implications for licensees.

Thursday, Jan. 27, marks Minnesota's Phase 1 compliance deadline for the CMS staff vaccination rule. Surveyors are now reviewing for nursing home compliance with this requirement on all initial certification, standard recertification surveys, and all complaint surveys, regardless of what issue the complaint involves. 

OSHA has officially withdrawn its Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision forbidding OHSA from enforcing it. The standard would have applied to all employers with 100 or more employees and required businesses to implement a vaccine mandate or weekly testing option for all employees.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has postponed the Wednesday, Feb. 2, transition date for Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) providers to return to fingerprint-based background studies.

The application for the 2022 Leadership Academy is now open!

Leading well through an extended crisis requires having solid skills and team relationships already in place. During their year-long program, Leadership Academy provides an opportunity for its participants to explore and practice ideas, tools, principles and theory that they leverage to strengthen their leadership and foster an organizational culture to lead in normal and not-so-normal times.

Investing in the professional development of the aging services workforce is more critical now than ever. The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation is excited to offer educational scholarships to eligible caregivers and other employees of our member organizations for 2022.

Following billions of dollars in broadband investments approved by Congress in the fall of 2021, federal and state governments have begun making plans to distribute funds and increase connectivity, potentially for affordable housing communities.

The Minnesota Legislature will convene for the 2022 session on Jan. 31, and a strong grassroots network is an essential part of our strategy to drive action. We've created a tool to help you engage members of your community to add voices that can help us share the importance of increasing wages for caregivers and ensuring access to care for seniors.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has made the Change of Information Form available on the Assisted Living web page.

The CDC released revisions to their Interim Guidance for Managing Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and Strategies to Mitigate Healthcare Personnel (HCW) Staffing Shortages on Dec. 23, 2021, significantly changing the return to work guidance for staff who experience high-risk exposures. Several questions have come up in the past few weeks regarding the complexities of the guidance.

Abbott labs petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week to extend the use life of their BinaxNOW antigen testing cards, and the FDA approved the change.

The 2022 Institute & Expo is less than three weeks away, and we are looking forward to seeing so many of our members again after two years. There is still time to register your organization and staff for this multi-day conference which is in person at RiverCentre in St. Paul Feb. 9-11 and virtually Feb. 22-24. The registration deadline is Monday, Jan. 31.

As we all know, the U.S. Supreme Court has blocked OSHA from enforcing the OSHA Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) proposed in Nov. 2021. In addition, the June 2021 OSHA Healthcare ETS expired on Dec. 21, 2021, except for all of the non-recordkeeping provisions. 

Last week, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) issued a Notice to Minnesota Health Care Providers of Optional COVID-19 Relief with relevance for hospitals and nursing homes.

Licensed Assisted Living Directors (LALDs) are required by the Minnesota Board of Executives for Long-Term Services and Supports (BELTTS) to earn 30 clock hours in the two years before their license renewal.

The 2022 Institute & Expo includes a selection of education sessions designed to assist your organization's post-pandemic strategic planning. These sessions include: