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We encourage care centers to participate in a letter-writing campaign targeted at payment cuts proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

It’s crunch time on the advocacy front! At the state level, we are in the final days of the legislative session and funding for aging services in still in play. Without our encouragement, funding could easily be left out of a final budget agreement.

On June 6, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will terminate the COVID-19 waiver that has allowed basic care aides and caregivers to serve seniors without being on the Nursing Assistant Registry.

On May 4, Knute Nelson, a LeadingAge Minnesota member, announced a partnership with K4Connect, a mission-driven health-tech company integrating technology to serve and empower older adults and individuals living with disabilities.

Emergency preparedness plans continue to be an area of concern for providers and are a frequently cited item in assisted living surveys. To assist in developing thorough plans and content for Emergency Preparation by assisted living facilities and as a helpful self-audit tool, the MDH has updated its Emergency Preparedness survey tool and posted it to their Assisted Living webpage this week.

The Minnesota Department of Health has new tools to assist providers in completing the license renewal process, which is underway this month. As you prepare for your assisted living license renewal, the Assisted Living License Renewal page has videos, checklists and other resources for providers preparing their license renewal application.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is temporarily waiving mandatory direct contact supervision requirements for new hires while their fingerprint-based background studies are being processed. The waiver remains in effect until June 30.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has been notified by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of their plans to conduct site visits of several provider settings this summer to review their compliance with the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings Rule. Site visits will occur the week of July 25.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has recently released new guidance on using side rails in assisted living communities.

After almost 44 years with LeadingAge Minnesota, Heidi Simpson has announced she will be retiring this year effective Aug. 1. While she will be deeply missed, we are also excited for Heidi and her family as they embark on this new journey!

LeadingAge Minnesota members have been lifting their voices in support of caregivers and the seniors they serve to advocate for higher wages and access to care for Minnesota’s seniors.

There is still time to register for the Senior Living Executive Conference happening May 16-18.   

Thousands of senior living professionals, operators, owners, executives, and community leaders will gather in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the next edition of the Senior Living Executive Conference & Expo, the official meeting of Argentum.

Registration closes soon for LeadingAge Minnesota’s Nurse Leadership Certificate Program – the premier training program for new and emerging nurse leaders in skilled care and assisted living settings. The series begins May 17 and is scheduled over five months, including in-person and virtual sessions.

We respect and value your opinion, and we ask you to share your thoughts in our 2022 Annual Membership Survey.

Looking back at the past two years, we can all agree it hasn’t been easy. We faced a global pandemic head-on and continue to work together to address the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and the severe workforce crisis plaguing our settings. But we also must look ahead. Minnesota is now home to one million seniors, and we are seeking new, innovative ways to serve all those who need care in our settings.

May is Older Americans Month (OAM), a national celebration established in 1963 to acknowledge the contributions of past and current older persons to our country, in particular those who defended the nation. We celebrate and honor older adults and all their contributions every day.

Every year, the American Nurses Association (ANA) celebrates National Nurses Week, May 6-12, to promote, support, and honor the varying roles of nurses and the positive impacts they make in our communities every day. This year, ANA expanded National Nurses Week to National Nurses Month in May to show gratitude for the invaluable contributions of nurses all month long.

After over two years of COVID-19, we invite you to join us in the latest Safe Care Living the Pledge activity, called “Living the Pledge Every Day.” In a few weeks, we will share easy-to-use tools and resources to refocus on the key components of the Safe Care Pledge through monthly activities that you can bring to your community. They will help your organization celebrate and renew your commitment to respect, dignity, safety, and quality of life for those we serve.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently closed Phase Four of the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments to health care providers. Now providers are dealing with both reporting requirements and the last opportunity to review what they have received and request reconsideration of the amount or not being paid.

In a recent national stakeholder call, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previewed changes coming to the COVID-19 Long-Term Care Facility module and vaccination reporting module in NHSN. Beginning May 23, reporting in both modules will be streamlined to simplify some reporting.

Several of the CMS blanket COVID-19 waivers are expiring on May 7.

In a memorandum released last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will terminate several temporary emergency declaration blanket waivers that have provided nursing facilities and other provider types with flexibilities designed to support the COVID response.

In Minnesota, landlords cannot prohibit a tenant from having a legal firearm. This is, at times, a safety concern within assisted living and housing communities. Several tools have recently been developed that may be helpful in related discussions with residents or potential residents.

License renewals for assisted living are now open. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) received 115 applications during this first week. If you have not received your renewal information, contact MDH at health.assistedliving@state.mn.us.

The Long-Term Care Imperative recently completed an analysis of care center occupancy for the first quarter of this year. Compared to last year, it shows some improvement but nothing close to a return to pre-pandemic occupancy levels.

With the 1135 waiver ending on June 6, members will have until Oct. 6 to place Nursing Assistants on the state registry. Minnesota State and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) communicate weekly updates to LeadingAge Minnesota regarding nursing assistant test sites as they open and increase their capacity.

On Friday, April 29, the legislature passed a bill to provide frontline workers a bonus check for their commitment to serving our community during the height of the pandemic. The measure will use $500 million of federal funds to provide "hero" payments to an estimated 667,000 frontline workers in specified sectors, including long-term care and home care settings like nursing homes and assisted living.

Aging services providers across the state face dire financial conditions that jeopardize access to care for Minnesota's seniors, according to a recent survey conducted by the Long-Term Care Imperative.

LeadingAge Minnesota’s Nurse Leadership Certificate Program is the premier training program for new and emerging nurse leaders in skilled care and assisted living settings. It begins May 17 and is scheduled over five months, including in-person and virtual sessions.

Fellows for LeadingAge Minnesota’s 2022 Leadership Academy have been selected.

This year, 56 leaders will comprise the largest cohort in this program's history. They represent the diversity of the profession, service settings, geographic regions, and organizational profiles within our membership.

Jon Lundberg, CEO of Ebenezer, was named Executive of the Year by the Minnesota Real Estate Journal in an awards ceremony held on April 21, 2022.

Mary Krueger will be retiring as the CEO of Glenwood Retirement Village on May 6.

Her career has spanned 48 years, most of it spent serving older adults in long-term senior care settings. Mary began as a nursing assistant in 1974 at the age of 16. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mankato State University in 1980 and served as director of nursing at St John's Lutheran Home in Springfield, MN.