News

The Department of Health’s proposed rules governing assisted living facilities are pending before Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Ann O’Reilly. We anticipated that ALJ O’Reilly would issue her Rule Report last week. Instead, Chief Administrative Law Judge Jenny Starr issued an order extending the deadline allowing until Monday, March 29, to complete the Rule Report.

Last week, DHS postponed the special COVID-19 supplemental cost report schedule to track the receipt and use of state and federal funds related to pandemic response until May 3. However, after further reflection on the lack of federal guidance on the reporting of provider relief funds to the federal government, DHS has decided to postpone the submission of the COVID schedule by care centers indefinitely.

State and federal regulators provided updated guidance that allows for more visitors to enter our building with fewer restrictions and allows for vaccinated residents to leave our settings without the requirement of a 14-day quarantine in some instances. Just this morning, MDH posted updated Long-term Care Guidance for Non-medically Necessary Outings, Long-term Care Visitation Guidance for Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living–type Settings, and two flowcharts to inform congregate care settings of the guidance updates linked later in this story. In these guidance documents, MDH adopted the QSO 20-39-NH revised memo for assisted living communities; and, adopted the CMS recommendations for health care settings.

In preparation for licensure of Minnesota’s assisted living settings on Aug. 1, LeadingAge Minnesota has prepared several new tools to help you prepare for implementation.

Assisted living settings will be required to apply for licensure by June 1. Although the rules have not yet been finalized and legislative discussions continue, it is important to prepare for your setting’s application for licensure and for implementation. To aid you in your efforts, we have launched tools and checklists to help you as you prepare for licensure:

Over the past several weeks, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has convened provider, consumer and agency stakeholders in a series of meetings to identify additional changes to the assisted living licensure law in order to pass a bill during the 2021 legislative session. The goal was to reach stakeholder consensus on a set of changes that are critical to the smooth, timely implementation of the assisted living licensure law later this year and work with lawmakers to pass those changes in this legislative session.

Heath care workers (HCW) and travel is a topic that continues to elicit questions because of the complexity and multivariate nature of the guidance. Current guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health recommends abstaining from travel due to the pandemic. If HCWs decide to travel, you should consider the following information as you create organizational protocols that best address your expectations regarding travel to keep staff and residents safe.

As March begins, state health officials reported a new vaccine milestone. As of March 2, 53% of Minnesota seniors received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Building off this announcement, Governor Tim Walz stated that his administration will not move on from the current vaccine distribution phase until 70% of Minnesotan’s ages 65 and over have been fully vaccinated. With the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine arriving in Minnesota this week, Walz believes the state can reach the 70% senior benchmark by April. Here is what you need to know about what’s happening at the Capitol:

The Minnesota Office of Management and Budget will release the February Forecast, a major indicator of the financial health of the state, this Friday afternoon. Lawmakers and policy experts anticipate an improved economic situation from the December Forecast and are beginning to have conversations on how it will influence the two-year budget-making process already well underway. Here is what you need to know about what’s happening at the Capitol:

The Department of Human Services is further amending temporary modifications to certain licensing requirements for Adult Day Services to allow more people to receive services and to allow license holders to increase daily shift hours.

Effective Feb. 17, the following licensing requirements are modified for adult day centers:

On Feb. 16, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released a new document COVID-19 Recommendations for Health Care Workers that reviews diagnostic testing of health care workers (HCW), management of HCW exposure to COVID-19, HCW return to work, guidance for ill HCW and travel recommendations for our staff. Additionally, within the guidance document, MDH cites several already existing documents that informed the creation of this resource.

LeadingAge Minnesota President & CEO Gayle Kvenvold announced this week in a President’s Message that the 2021 Institute will be a virtual conference from May 18-21.

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.

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:

As the legislature enters the last week of January, the pace of the legislative session has picked up and Governor Walz has released his proposed 2022-2023 budget, which holds senior services harmless. Here’s what you need to know about what’s happening at the Capitol:

Long-term care organizations work tirelessly to keep residents and staff as safe as possible during the pandemic. We know congregate living settings can have significant outbreaks when COVID-19 is brought into the building. These outbreaks impact the health and lives of our residents and staff. The CDC has long-reported small family gatherings increase the number of outbreaks in long-term care settings. 

Starting last week, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is conducting a weekly survey on vaccination in long-term care settings. The survey allows MDH and the provider associations to track the progress of vaccination of residents and staff in sites across the state. Providers are asked to visit the vaccine REDcap survey link each Wednesday to updated their information.

The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) conducted a remote-access public hearing on the proposed assisted living licensure rules on Jan. 19^th and 20^th. This is a critical step in finalizing the rules that will govern assisted living providers under the assisted living licensure law that takes effect later this year.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is urging long-term care settings, both nursing homes and assisted living providers, to complete a short weekly survey that will help the State track progress towards vaccinating residents and staff for COVID-19.