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A critical COVID-19 waiver allowing Basic Care Aids to serve seniors through the pandemic is expiring; caregivers must be on the Nursing Assistant Registry by Oct. 6.

In public comments filed last week, Argentum and LeadingAge urged the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) not to make the agency's Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19 a permanent part of the regulatory landscape.

Legacy Licensed Assisted Living Directors (LALD) are nearing their first license renewal. The Board of Executives for Long Term Services and Supports (BELTSS) will soon send information about the renewal process to those who must renew.

As part of Leading Age Minnesota’s Assisted Living Director Licensing Course, we are seeking assisted living settings to serve as field experience sites for assisted living director (ALD) students.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will be sending you renewal information on or before May 1 for your assisted living license renewal for conversion licenses. MDH developed materials to help you prepare your assisted living license renewal application on the MDH website.

On Tuesday, April 26, the Minnesota Senate passed SF 4410, its Health and Human Services (HHS) Omnibus Bill on a strong bipartisan vote (60-5). The measure includes $358 million in investments for nursing homes and improves Minnesota's Elderly Waiver rate phase-in (from 18.8% to 27.2%).

On Monday, May 2, LeadingAge Minnesota will launch an exciting new resource to allow members to track and benchmark critical workforce data. In LeadingAge Minnesota's data portal, members can access a new workforce data application containing data entry and comparison reports on employee turnover, employee retention, and vacancy rates for each quarter. 

Legislative leaders reached a tentative deal today to restore the Unemployment Insurance Trust and issue frontline worker bonuses, a stalemate that has plagued elected officials for months.

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

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.

Barb Rode, President & CEO of Saint Therese, will be inducted into the McKnight's Hall of Honor, a distinction given to women at an executive level in the senior living industry who have had a significant effect on their organization or industry. On May 13 in Chicago, she will be inducted at McKnight's 2022 Women of Distinction awards celebration.

Health Dimensions Group, Argentum, ASHA, and NIC have teamed up with CARE to champion a philanthropic effort to raise funds to help seniors in Ukraine with desperately needed food and shelter.

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.

The latest LeadingAge quarterly survey of affordable housing providers shows lower COVID-19 cases among residents in senior housing communities across the country. However, the survey results also show higher rates of COVID-19 among staff and persistent challenges in hiring and retaining service coordinators and other staff.

Periodically, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) may update the Nurse Aide Candidate Handbooks and Mock Skills to reflect the most current guidance.

Recently members have raised questions relating to resubmitting background studies for individuals hired during the COVID-19 waiver period, and this article addresses some of the common issues we are seeing.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has more than enough funding to cover all currently moratorium exceptions projects proposed by nursing homes across the state.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its test reporting guidance, making reporting negative or inconclusive COVID-19 test results optional for nursing homes.

The Minnesota Legislature returned from a weeklong break on Tuesday, April 19. There are now just five weeks remaining for legislators to complete their work, including passing bonding and tax bills and finding a compromise on spending our state's $9.2 billion surplus.

The 2022 Governance Intensive is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26. The virtual program for executive and governing board teams of our not-for-profit providers will be from 3-6 p.m. Save the date and watch this space for more details as they are confirmed.

New and emerging nurse leaders in skilled care and assisted living settings will learn foundational skills and gain resources by attending LeadingAge Minnesota’s popular Nurse Leadership Certificate Program. Built on an exceptional 30+ track record, the series prepares newer leaders to fully understand the scope and responsibilities of the role and build the skills to be successful.

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.

The Minnesota Association of Geriatric Inspired Clinicians (MAGIC) completed the 2022 revision to the suggested nursing home standing house orders (SHOs).

Participate in Careers in Aging Week, April 17-23, by posting your organization's open positions to AgingServicesJobs.Org! Post today and receive a reduced rate of $39 per posting using the coupon code Aging2021 (typically $99 per posting). This discount will be available to all members for a limited time as we recognize this critical time in building our workforce.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and Public Consulting Group (PCG) are conducting policy research into the regulatory and financing issues affecting settings providing customized living services exempt from assisted living licensure law. affecting settings providing customized living services exempt from assisted living licensure law. The next step in the study is to conduct a survey to obtain additional stakeholder feedback on the Initial Research Report.

On Sunday, the Star Tribune ran a story covering the long-term care workforce crisis and the dynamics at the Capitol playing out this legislative session. The article outlines the $1 billion spent in Sen. Jim Abeler’s proposed human services bill. Specifically, it highlights the $358 million targeted at increasing the wages of professional caregivers in long-term care settings.

This week the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) provided LeadingAge Minnesota with an update on the status of care center rate notices for the rate year that began on Jan. 1. As expected, they will be releasing metro-area care center rate notices first and then sending out other rate notices as audits are finished.

Last week, the Office of the Ombudsman for Long Term Care (OOLTC) reached out to assisted living settings without a contract copy on file with the OOLTC per the requirement. The OOLTC asked each of these settings to submit a copy of the assisted living contract.