News

Two new reference tools for assisted living facilities are now available in the Minnesota Department of Health’s Food Code Requirements section of the Resources and FAQs page. These documents give an overview of the Minnesota Food Code and outline the requirements that assisted living facilities must meet to serve food safely and prevent foodborne illnesses.

Minnesota’s new congressional and legislative district maps, which will govern for the next decade, were released yesterday.

The state's legislative and congressional districts are redrawn two years after every census to ensure each elected official represents an equal number of constituents. According to our state's constitution, the legislature is tasked with this duty.

This week, a bill introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives to impose workforce standards in nursing home settings would yield troubling unintended consequences if passed. HF 3405, introduced by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) and supported by SEIU, would establish the Minnesota Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board with broad authority to regulate employment standards for nursing home workers. 

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has announced an increase to the Housing Support rates effective mid-2022. On July 1, 2022, the Housing Support maximum monthly room and board rate will increase significantly to $1,041.

Assisted living licenses must be renewed annually. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) intends to send renewal notices to current licensees on or about May 1. Renewal applications must be submitted at least 60 calendar days before the license's expiration. The renewed licenses are effective Aug. 1. MDH will issue fines for licenses that are not renewed in a timely manner.

This week at Institute, we’ve asked thousands of senior services professionals to contact their lawmakers and ask them to support caregivers with the wages they deserve. If you missed our call to action at Institute, we invite you to join us today!

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.

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.

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 rules for Licensed Assisted Living Directors (LALD) require licensees licensed through the legacy pathways to complete within the first year of licensure at least seven hours of continuing education in topics related to assisted living settings. On an ongoing basis, a LALD must complete 30 continuing education credits in qualifying areas within two years of the license renewal.

Join us on April 5 for a day of virtual advocacy at the Capitol featuring expert training from our public affairs team, opportunities to meet with your legislator, and times to share with colleagues from around the state about your successes and challenges in serving seniors.

All rental property owners, managers or operators must provide a Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP) to each person who rented from them during the previous year by Jan. 31 if either of the following are true:

Effective next Wednesday, Jan. 5, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) will be implementing changes to the preadmission screening process for care centers.

Providers licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), including home care, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes, will not transition back to fingerprint-based background studies until Feb. 2, 2022. Until the transition occurs, these providers will continue to submit emergency studies, as we have been doing throughout the pandemic.

As we reported about a month ago, the Minnesota Department of Health (DHS) will not be posting care center rate notices before the start of the new rate year on Jan. 1. Rate notices not being available for the beginning of the rate year makes the billing of private pay residents much more complicated than usual. It also impacts the notice requirements.

The Minnesota Board of Executives for Long Term Services and Supports (BELTSS) has announced that there will be an open position appointment to meet Minn. Statutes 144A.19 for “one licensed nursing home administrator or health services executive member actively engaged in the management or operation of nonprofit nursing homes or assisted living facilities.”

Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) has updated many of the home and community-based provider (HCBS) enrollment forms.