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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today released the long-awaited rule requiring COVID-19 vaccination of staff working in a wide-range of Medicare and Medicaid-certified provider types.

SAINT PAUL, MN (Nov. 4, 2021) - Vaccination is a critical part of combatting COVID-19. Alongside health care providers and public health officials, we have strongly encouraged vaccination through education, counseling, public information campaigns and monetary incentives. Despite widespread efforts to improve vaccination rates, many people, including health care workers in long-term care settings, remain unvaccinated. Our greatest hope is that this mandate may be the nudge they need to get the shot. We know that there are strongly held feelings about vaccination, and we are deeply concerned that in the midst of a record level worker shortages, some of our devoted caregivers may leave careers in our field rather than be vaccinated.

LeadingAge Minnesota nursing home members interested in utilizing the CMS Five Star Report to improve the quality of their services and their ratings will want to attend a free webinar on Thursday, Nov. 18 from 11 a.m. – noon.

As we approach the new year, we invite all members to get involved in LeadingAge Minnesota committees in 2022. We are tackling the challenges you face on numerous fronts, and we need you to help shape the critical work ahead.

The Minnesota Health Care Loan Forgiveness program cycle opens Nov. 1 and is accepting applications through Jan. 17, 2022. The Loan Forgiveness program is available for various health care professionals serving in high-need areas, including nurses in nursing homes, assisted living, and home care settings. Please join the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) team for a webinar to learn more about this program on Wednesday, Dec. 8 from 9-10 a.m. Register here.

Care centers have access to an engagement, retention, and leadership building platform for free through a grant for Align’s Employee Engagement Solution. A new grant window opened on Sept. 22 and closes on Nov. 23. Subsequent cycles will open over the next two years.

Do you want to bring more joy to your workplace? One way to start is the way you begin meetings.

This week, LeadingAge sent all care center members updated Five Star Analysis reports reflecting data through the second quarter of this year for staffing and MDS measures and through the first quarter of this year for claims-based measures.

As members are acutely aware, Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) citations for nursing homes have increased significantly compared to prior years, and 2021 is proving to be no exception.

For care centers participating in the Medicaid program, the annual cost report for the year ended Sept. 30, 2021 is due Feb. 1, 2022 under the current statute.

Due to “exceptional circumstances” attributed to the pandemic and staffing shortages, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is offering a grace period for submitting the cost report and associated schedules of 150 days. The grace period makes the effective due date of the cost report July 1, 2022. The cost report instructions are currently posted on the DHS nursing facility portal; the actual cost report form and other schedules will be posted later.

For the next six months, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is trying a new process when care centers change their number of beds.

After a four-week delay, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is proceeding with the transition from emergency background studies back to studies with fingerprints and photographs. 

In a meeting with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) this week, staff from the Environmental Health Division provided information on early findings regarding the food code during assisted living surveys. Most findings are in basic food handling safety measures.

The Institute & Expo returns to RiverCentre in Saint Paul February 9-11, 2022, and virtually Feb. 22-24.

The 2022 Institute will be a blended conference model, with three days of education, events, and exhibits in person at RiverCentre, and additional educational sessions offered virtually later in the month.

Are you using the CMS 5-Star Report to your best advantage? Receiving a better-than-average 5-star rating has never been more important to nursing homes. These ratings are increasingly used by consumers, regulators, insurers, and other payers and provider networks to select which facilities they will consider having relationships with.

Care centers have access to an engagement, retention, and leadership building platform for free through a grant for Align’s Employee Engagement Solution. A new grant window opened on Sept. 22 and closes on Nov. 23. Subsequent cycles will open over the next two years.

To help raise awareness of sexual assault, an issue that can be difficult to address, the State Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Committee has developed a set of materials that you can use to train on this serious topic.

Looking for a way to grow caregivers within your organization or help staff advance in their career path? Northwest Technical College is offering an online course to advance the specialty of caregivers in aging services. The Gerontology and Aging Care program is a two-semester online course that is appropriate for any staff member. Caregivers, culinary staff, housekeeping, administration, and other team members can benefit from specializing in gerontology.

Argentum officially kicked off its latest awareness campaign directed at policymakers in the Biden Administration and Congress. The theme of this campaign is "Don’t Leave Assisted Living Behind, Again," underscoring the continued disparities in relief and support that has been made available to senior living and the need to rectify it moving forward, including with the Phase 4 PRF payments.

The Minnesota Health Care Loan Forgiveness program cycle opens Nov. 1 and is accepting applications through Jan. 17, 2022. The Loan Forgiveness program is available for various health care professionals serving in high-need areas, including nurses in nursing homes, assisted living, and home care settings.

Since early August, several LeadingAge Minnesota members across the state have invited federal and state lawmakers from both political parties into their communities to raise awareness around the growing workforce crisis in long-term care.

The Midwest Coordination Center, in partnership with U.S. Health and Human Services Department is rolling out a free, federally funded COVID-19 reflexive testing program for congregate setting, including skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, and adult day services.

LeadingAge Minnesota has launched the second of six Self Care for Safe Care activities called Three Good Things. We invite you to write down three good things that happened to you each day to practice gratitude and build resilience throughout November and December.

If your organization has utilized Basic Care Aides (BCAs) during the public health emergency, please complete this two-question survey to identify the next steps for BCAs in your organization. The results of this survey will help determine the tools needed to help organizations upskill BCAs as required.

Findings during initial surveys of assisted living settings show a range of compliance with most providers well underway with incorporating new requirements. Several themes are evident in these initial findings. Learning more about these themes can assist providers in auditing their facilities for compliance. 

The Frontline Worker Pay Work Group met for the final time yesterday. Unfortunately, the legislators could not find a consensus on a proposal for Hero Pay bonus distribution. After meeting over a dozen times, lawmakers sent a DFL-supported report, known as the majority proposal, and a Republican report, known as the minority proposal, to be reviewed by the legislature if a special session were to be called by Gov. Walz, an increasingly unlikely scenario.

After weeks of discussions, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added booster vaccinations to the emergency use authorization (EUA) for both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The CDC endorsed recommendations for booster injections.

This is the last chance to register for next week’s 2021 Connect Conference. The two-day virtual event connects assisted living, senior housing, and home care providers for two days of education, updates, and learning.

Receiving a better-than-average 5-star rating has never been more important to nursing homes. Consumers, regulators, insurers, and other payers and provider networks increasingly use these ratings to determine which providers they will have relationships with.

In Sept. 2021, 13 new members joined the ranks of LeadingAge Minnesota. Of the new members, ten are housing/assisted living providers, and three are business partners.