All News

Recently, we announced that registration was open for our Operations Certificate Program. As we look ahead to our April 1 start date, we want to share more about what participants can expect and why this program comes at the right time for our members.

Join us March 3-5 for the Virtual Institute. Three days of all-new sessions on topics to help you serve your residents. All virtual sessions will be recorded and available for viewing through April 30.

Are you looking for additional funding this year to expand the great work you’re already doing? LeadingAge Minnesota’s Grant Grid is a practical, at-a-glance tool designed to help aging service providers quickly identify funding opportunities that align with their program and strategic goals.

The Food Code Compliance Toolkit was developed to support assisted living facilities in meeting—and exceeding—Minnesota food code requirements.

We’re excited to announce the launch of our new five-part, documentary-style video series designed to both welcome and support New Americans exploring careers in Minnesota’s aging services workforce.

For years, skilled nursing facilities have told their quality story primarily through the MDS. If it wasn’t coded on the assessment, it often didn’t exist in the eyes of CMS quality measures. That framework is now changing—decisively.

Minnesota’s Assisted Living Report Card is designed to help consumers make informed decisions when choosing an assisted living community. The online tool provides quality ratings for individual assisted living settings across several key categories, including resident quality of life, family satisfaction, resident health, safety, and staffing.

Legislators need to hear directly from long-term care providers and Day at the Capitol is your opportunity to make that happen.

On January 28, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued Quality, Safety, and Oversight memo QSO-26-01, revising the criteria used to select nursing homes for the Special Focus Facility (SFF) program. This update carries meaningful implications for all member facilities, and we want to make sure you understand what changed and what steps you should be taking now.

The 2025 Legislature created a new rate exception program under Elderly Waiver (EW) to help hospitals discharge high need residents to assisted living and other EW settings. The new program allows for rates that would otherwise exceed the EW budget caps.

The change doesn’t stop when we leave St. Paul. After this week’s inspiring in-person Institute & Expo, LeadingAge Minnesota invites you to continue the experience with three days of Virtual Institute programming on March 3–5.

A longtime LeadingAge Minnesota member organization is celebrating a milestone year as its founder receives statewide recognition for leadership in aging services and health care. Dr. Mary Tjosvold, founder and CEO of The Mary T Family of Companies, is being honored by three Minnesota business publications as the organization marks its 50th anniversary in 2026. Congratulations, Mary T and companies!

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has announced a new funding opportunity for 2026: the Assisted Living Competitive Grant Program.

On February 10, 2026, LeadingAge Minnesota proudly honored the very best of aging services at our annual Stars Among Us Awards Banquet. For more than 35 years, our Stars Among Us Awards have recognized the individuals and organizations whose leadership, compassion, innovation, and dedication elevate the lives of older adults across Minnesota.

On February 11, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard oral arguments in the matter of the legal action that LeadingAge Minnesota, along with our partner in the Long-Term Care Imperative (LTCI), filed in late 2024 challenging the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board (NHWSB) and the Holiday Pay Rule.

Beginning April 1, this 10-day interactive program is designed specifically for administrators, site leaders, and operational staff in assisted living and care center communities to build essential knowledge and practical skills to manage operations effectively. 

Benedictine has welcomed Mother of Mercy Senior Living, 230 Church Avenue, Albany, Minn., to its family of senior living communities.

LeadingAge Minnesota is launching a new Regional Operations Network to connect members who want to share ideas, discuss challenges and learn from peers focused on day-to-day operations.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our January virtual district meeting. We appreciated the strong turnout and the opportunity to connect with LeadingAge Minnesota members from across the state to kick off the year with timely updates, learning, and discussion.

2025 was a remarkable year of growth for LeadingAge Minnesota, and 2026 is already shaping up to continue that momentum.

Adult Day Services providers have an important revalidation step to complete in 2026. Last month, high-risk providers, including Adult Day Services, were informed they must complete an off-cycle revalidation by May 31, 2026.

Is quality improvement or staff retention on your 2026 to-do list? Then don’t miss the kickoff of the 2026 ICan Quality Improvement Contest!

As the January 30 funding deadline for Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations nears, we are monitoring federal agency activities and potential impact on providers to help members navigate a government shutdown, should one come to pass.

On January 23, 2026, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) posted a press release directing federally-assisted housing providers to immediately “audit” tenant eligibility based on immigration status.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published a final rule updating its civil monetary penalty (CMP) amounts to reflect inflation, under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. This change ensures that penalties retain their deterrent effect by adjusting them annually based on changes in the Consumer Price Index.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Project Firstline offered a webinar on Tuesday focused on preventing and responding to respiratory infections and outbreaks in long-term care. During the webinar they covered approaches to recognizing illness early, testing, treatment, vaccination, and infection prevention and control (IPC).

Did you know that Minnesota law allows skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to provide adult day services without obtaining a separate Adult Day Services license? Under Minn. R. 9555.9610, subp. 2, a licensed SNF may serve up to five individuals from the community who do not reside in the facility through an adult day program operating under the facility’s existing license.

This morning (Thursday, Jan. 29), U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar officially announced her candidacy for Governor of Minnesota, stepping into a high-profile contest to succeed outgoing Gov. Tim Walz. 

As communities across Minnesota respond to increased immigration enforcement activity and related events, many organizations are navigating heightened concern, questions, and uncertainty. To support members during this time, LeadingAge Minnesota has developed and compiled a set of resources designed to help organizations prepare, respond thoughtfully, and communicate with care.

For years, skilled nursing facilities (SNF) operated in a system where data submitted through the Minimum Data Set (MDS) was largely accepted at face value. Facilities reported, measures were calculated, and reimbursement and public reporting followed. That is ending.