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A 14-day quarantine after admission is daunting for many residents.  Transitions may already be difficult and are now compounded by the necessary infection prevention and control practices in place during the pandemic.

The Minnesota Senate’s Human Services Licensing Policy Committee has advanced a proposal designed to address challenges with Minnesota’s background studies system.

Leadership Academy is returning in June 2021. The acclaimed leadership development program will begin in a virtual setting with plans to resume in-person meetings as soon as it is safe to do so. Leadership Academy blends leadership theory, applied learning, and personalized coaching to groom leaders in our field. Now entering its 12^th year, the program boasts over 300 graduates.

Preparing for Minnesota’s Assisted Living Licensure is a three-part webinar series to help prepare providers with a basic knowledge and understanding of the Assisted Living Licensure requirements which will be implemented in Minnesota on August 1, 2021. The series is facilitated by attorneys from business partner firm Fredrickson & Byron, PA.

Respiratory disease is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States and with the emergence of COVID-19, therapists are treating even greater numbers of clients with compromised lung function. Select Rehabilitation is offering two complimentary webinars that provide strategies for treatment interventions and in-room therapy.

How do we maintain our not-for-profit values and missions of service, while performing and competing at levels that position us to emerge from the pandemic as strong, long-term players in the field of senior services?

LeadingAge Minnesota extends our deep appreciation and gratitude to Sue Voigt, partner at Voigt, Rode, Boxeth & Coffin Law Firm, for her years of dedicated service to our field and our association. Sue has announced she has stepped away from her practice as of Feb. 1, 2021.

Livanta, the Quality Improvement Organization for Minnesota, announced a change in how it will communicate with providers on appeals cases. What follows is an alert Livanta issued on Feb. 1.

Ahead of the Jan. 31 expiration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ordered the extension of the current eviction moratorium for non-payment of rent.

The order prevents residential evictions until March 31; tenants must self-certify eligibility for the protections. The extension keeps the moratorium largely unchanged, and tenants who previously submitted the self-certification should not have to resubmit.

In the meantime, we are advocating to quickly provide rent relief for senior housing communities impacted by COVID-19.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is making some changes to the timeline and process for the Performance Incentive Payment Projects (PIPP) program, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next PIPP Request for Proposals will be posted in a couple of weeks. PIPP proposals for this year will be due to DHS by June 1, 2021 to allow eligible settings more time to research and submit projects.

The assisted living licensure rule comment period ends Tuesday, and it is not too late to make your voices heard! We strongly encourage you to submit comments before the public comment period closes. The deadline to submit comments is 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 9, 2021. You can submit a comment electronically, found at https://minnesotaoah.granicusideas.com/.

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

As helpers, we pride ourselves on assisting those who have lost control of their lives in some manner. Residents may have memory loss, an injury, a loss of independence or feeling they’ve lost control of decisions made about their lives. For leaders, it’s important to guide staff with a sense of control that’s flexible and also conveys confidence and security.

The Hennepin Healthcare ECHO Training Center is recruiting an additional cohort for the AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network. The first session will start Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. They will be enrolling 33 nursing facilities in this cohort.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently released a report on COVID-19 vaccination rates under the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program (PPP) using data submitted to the CDC from the pharmacies enrolled in that program. The report shows rates of vaccination for both residents and staff in care centers in Minnesota that exceed the national averages.

Over the past six months, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has been issuing “Directed Plans of Correction” (DPOC) to nursing homes cited for deficient infection control practices. Care centers have raised questions and concerns about the DPOC process, and we worked recently with MDH to clarify two key issues.

With one month of the legislative session complete, lawmakers are in full swing putting together a budget for 2022-2023 Governor Walz introduced his budget proposal last week and lawmakers have turned their attention to examining the details of that proposal this week. Here is what you need to know about what’s happening at the Capitol:

The first quarterly meeting of the Assisted Living/Home Care Nurse Leaders Network (ALNET) is scheduled for Feb. 25 from 10 – 11:30 a.m. These meetings provide time and space to receive important updates on trending topics in clinical care. Participants experience valuable networking and with peers to share experiences, challenges, solutions and best practices.

Hosted by Kari Everson, Director of Clinical Care and Clinical Consultant, standing topics include regulatory and survey updates, quality improvement and more. This quarter’s meeting combines all regions. Register here

Respiratory disease is one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States and with the emergence of COVID-19, therapists are treating even greater numbers of clients with compromised lung function. Select Rehabilitation is offering two complimentary webinars that provide strategies for treatment interventions and in-room therapy.

Part 1 – Managing Therapy Needs for the Client with Compromised Respiratory Function

Feb. 24, 11 a.m. – Noon. click here to register

Part 2 – Treatment and Documentation for In-Room Therapy Sessions

March 3, 11 a.m. – Noon. click here to register

This webinar series is hosted by LeadingAge Minnesota, Select Rehabilitation and LeadingAge Savings and Solutions.

Preparing for Minnesota’s Assisted Living Licensure (ALL) is a three-part webinar series beginning on Feb. 16, 2021 to equip providers with essential knowledge and understanding of the proposed rule ahead of the licensure requirements which will be implemented on Aug. 1, 2021.

Just last week, Matt Steele joined the LeadingAge Minnesota advocacy team. We want you to get to know Matt so we asked him five questions:

As we turn the page on a new year, we invite you to get involved in LeadingAge Minnesota committees in 2021. Ongoing COVID-19 response and recovery, implementation of new Assisted Living Licensure requirements, protection of Value Based Reimbursement for care centers—just a few of the impactful issues facing senior care in the coming year. Through it all we have a tremendous opportunity to improve the aging experience for those we serve, and we encourage everyone’s involvement in our committees to shape the important work ahead.

A new job board is launching soon on LeadingAge Minnesota’s AgingServicesJobs.Org website. Recruitment is a key initiative of our workforce strategy, and the new vendor will provide this important service for members within the next few weeks.

Featuring Susan Hildebrandt, VP of Workforce Initiatives at LeadingAge

There is still time to complete your survey! In 2021, LeadingAge National is helping provider members focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a key component of its recently adopted strategic plan. Over the next 3 years, LeadingAge aims to offer all member organizations the tools and resources they need to develop a more diverse and inclusive workforce, and this effort begins with you.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today released updated Five-Star quality ratings for care centers. Beginning with this month’s update, all three domains (Survey, Staffing, and Quality) will again operate as they did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. All care centers should review the new ratings posted at Medicare Care Compare. As described in this revised Technical Users’ Guide, updates to the specific domains are as follows:

The Department of Human Services (DHS) Aging and Adult Services Division announced this week that they are working with the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging and Community and Knowledge Services to conduct a telephone survey of new Elderly Waiver (EW) participants. The purpose of the survey is to learn about new EW participants’ long-term care needs and decision-making leading up to enrollment.

The Disability Division of the Minnesota Department of Human Services has announced that effective Jan. 11, 2021, there are new tiered standards for HCBS settings that provide the following services through the disability waivers (BI, CADI, CAC, DD waivers):

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently released the application materials for an unexpected round of the nursing facility moratorium exceptions process, which are available on the MDH web site. Care centers interested in applying will need to complete all of the required application materials and return them to MDH by June 25. Following a presentation to a review committee later this year, MDH will have a list of approved projects by Sept. 3, 2021.

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

COVID-19 has been making our work and personal lives more difficult for close to a year now. During that time, you’ve probably hit a few walls of exhaustion. You might not be sure how you’ll keep going. And you’ve maybe hit this kind of wall more than once throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The deadline is fast approaching for nursing facilities that have not already applied for the COVID-19 Communicative Technology Grants available through the Minnesota Department of Human Services utilizing Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) funding. Facilities have until March 1, 2021 to submit an application.

Nursing facilities are eligible to receive up to $3,000 in Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) funds to purchase equipment that facilitates in-person visitation during the COVID-19 emergency. Facilities that have not already applied have until June 1, 2021 to submit an application.