News

A study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that pandemic-related closures of adult day services left older adults and caregivers without critical support. The magnitude of the impact of adult day closures on well-being, particularly among members of racial/ethnic minority groups, has yet to be measured because nationally representative data sets associated with adult day center participation do not yet exist.

Lifeline and the Telephone Assistance Program are two programs that help make communication services more affordable.

With workforce pressures reaching unprecedented levels, the 2022 LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation Golf Fundraiser helped raise nearly $60,000 to benefit the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation. The golf event was held on Aug. 2 at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury.

The Minnesota State HealthForce Center of Excellence has created a new Nursing Program Openings webpage to show which colleges and universities around the state of Minnesota have available seats in their nursing programs for the Fall 2022 semester.

Opening Doors to Aging Services is a national LeadingAge initiative to introduce the aging services sector to millions of Americans and positively shift perceptions of our field.

Our last Self Care for Safe Care topic is Mindfulness and Self Care. Mindfulness is a practice and a way of being present in the moment. Being present in the moment can help you to gather the inner resources you need to take better care of yourself and be more efficient.

As part of the Opening Doors to Aging Services Initiative, our national partner, LeadingAge, has developed a research-based language guide intended to be used as a resource to aid in understanding aging services’ depth and breadth.

Community grants of up to $99,000 are being offered by the Age-Friendly Minnesota Council in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Human Services. As the first step in this process, communities can submit an interest form by Aug. 1. A virtual Responders Conference will be held during the application period to address applicant questions.

In honor of CNA week, we are excited to announce that OnTrack recently released the most up-to-date nursing assistant training curriculum to align with new Headmaster state testing!

Have you posted your open positions on the AgingServicesJobs.org platform? LeadingAge MN’s job board, AgingServicesJobs.org, is the premier resource for long-term care employers to post their critical to fill positions and get connected with qualified applicants.

Mental and behavioral health are increasing challenges for many residents of our settings. Tools to equip staff to serve individuals with these challenges and be knowledgeable in de-escalation techniques are valuable. You can better understand older adult mental illness and learn new skills with this free, three-episode video training series funded by a grant from the Stratis Health Building Healthier Communities Program.

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!

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.

Free sign-up for Minnesota Geriatrics ECHO is now open to LeadingAge Minnesota members.

Humans are wired for genuine social connection. People who are more isolated than they want to be find they are less happy, their health declines earlier in midlife, their brain functioning declines sooner, and they live shorter lives than people who are not lonely. To realize the benefits of our social connections, we need to be our true selves and take off the figurative masks of who we think we need to be and be who we are.

This week, April 17-23, is Careers in Aging Week! The Gerontological Society of American hosts Careers in Aging Week every year to bring greater awareness and visibility to the wide-ranging career opportunities in the aging services field.

Workforce challenges have become even more acute in the wake of COVID-19. One way to retain the caregivers and staff you have is to help them achieve their higher education goals and advance their careers within the aging services field where they are so needed. To that end, the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation offers educational scholarships to eligible caregivers and other employees of our member organizations for 2022.

If you ask anyone what they want more than anything for themselves or their loved ones, they will likely say happiness. We all seem to chase happiness throughout our lives. But did you know that the keys to long-lasting happiness, health and longevity come from these three components: being grateful, being content, and having quality relationships.