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LeadingAge National's LTSS Center @UMass Boston released a report titled Feeling Valued Because They Are Valued, describing “a vision for professionalizing the caregiving workforce in the field of long-term services and supports.”

An extension to Housing Support payments for days absent was included in legislation passed during the legislative session.

The change requires that an agency must continue to pay an additional 74 days per incident, not to exceed a total of 92 days in a calendar year, for a person who is temporarily absent due to admission at a residential behavioral health facility, inpatient hospital, or nursing facility.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) omnibus budget bill passed by lawmakers last month included important policy provisions that ensure that licensed assisted living providers and those providers exempt from assisted licensure will be eligible to receive customized living payments. This legislation paves the way for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to issue the Assurance Form for settings that are exempt from assisted living licensure and will ensure residents receiving services in these settings are not disrupted.

Legislation approved during the special session that wrapped up last week made a couple of changes to resident assessment practices that care center members know. The first is the implementation of the requirement for a significant change assessment after therapy services end or after the completion of a period of required isolation for an infection. Those changes are effective Aug. 1.

Three additional certification cohorts are now available after the first sessions were filled within a week. The new registration deadline is Aug. 16 by noon.

This week, the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) initiated a plan to demobilize COVID-19 emergency services for long-term care providers over the next several months. Noting significant progress in the fight against the virus, the SEOC has set a timeline for winding down services relating to crisis staffing support, personal protective equipment (PPE), testing/swabbing services, and vaccination administration support. 

With the conclusion of the state peacetime emergency agreed to by lawmakers last week, one of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) policies that ends with it is a waiver of specific requirements around single rooms. Because of the frequency of quarantining of residents during the pandemic, DHS released a memo in November of 2020 that waived two policies around single rooms for quarantine situations:

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

Undoubtedly, everyone has been impacted by COVID-19. For those of us in senior care facilities, the likelihood that we've experienced trauma is high—the pandemic provided "collective" traumatic experiences.

With a final push and some surprise twists, Minnesota lawmakers dodged the threat of state agency and services shutdowns, just barely meeting their deadline to pass a $52 billion state budget. Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. was lawmakers' deadline to get all 13 of their state budget bills through both chambers of the Legislature and to Governor Walz's desk for his signature. Governor Walz has signed the 12 budget bills and the tax bill, averting the potential disaster of state agency shutdown.

With Minnesota's COVID-19 Peacetime Emergency ending July 1, a question on members' minds is what waivers are still in place and for how long. We do not have a lot of detail yet, but here is a summary of what we currently know.

Board of Directors Begins National Search for a Successor

SAINT PAUL, MN (July 1, 2021) – LeadingAge Minnesota recently announced that Gayle Kvenvold, the association's long-time President and CEO, will retire at the end of 2021.

For 40 years, Kvenvold has led dramatic change in services and supports for Minnesota’s senior population. She spent 32 years of her 40 years at the association as the organization’s president and CEO. Under her leadership, LeadingAge Minnesota – once named Minnesota Health & Housing Alliance and then Aging Services of Minnesota – has grown into one of the largest associations addressing senior care in the nation.

Thousands of people have continued to access the 2021 virtual Institute content that includes more than 100 educational sessions. On-demand access is available to registered individuals for viewing and earning CEUs through July 31.

The Assisted Living Licensure Sampler is a curated selection of 11 sessions from the Institute related to Assisted Living Licensure (ALL) and is available for purchase.

You’re invited to a webinar with your LeadingAge Minnesota public affairs team to learn more about the outcomes of the 2021 legislative session and our advocacy work to come. We’re hosting a legislative wrap-up call on July 14 from 1–2:30 p.m.

The new assisted living licensure rules include extensive requirements for disaster planning and emergency preparedness. The Minnesota Department of Health rule incorporates federal preparedness standards that take effect on Aug. 1.

LeadingAge Minnesota’s popular annual conference for business office professionals, Billing University for Care Centers, will be offered in virtual format on Aug. 10 and 11.

In May and June, the LeadingAge Minnesota Board of Directors officially approved 46 new members into the Association's ranks. Of the new members, 33 are provider members, 2 are associate members, 2 are individual members, and 9 are business partners.

Our Lady of Peace, a LeadingAge Minnesota member, has begun a capital campaign to expand the 21-bed residential hospice center at Cleveland and St. Anthony avenues. According to a recent Pioneer Press story, “the administration is looking at a $4 million expansion that could tentatively begin in December and allow for single-room occupancy.”

Our team has created a new resource to support assisted living facilities with understanding and implementing the emergency preparedness requirements contained in the so-called "Appendix Z."

Last week, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) clarified the final steps providers need to complete to receive their assisted living license by Aug. 1.

The requirement for an assisted living licensed setting to inform a prospective resident of the availability of and contact information for long-term care consultation services continues as we transition to assisted living licensure.

The most recent Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) update on long-term care vaccination shows slow progress toward the goal rates continuing for staff, while resident rates remain outstanding.

Many skilled nursing facilities are planning ahead to transition caregivers and Basic Care Aides into Registered Nursing Assistant positions. The 1135 Waiver and corresponding Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) approvals that allow nursing assistants to work without being on the Registry still apply. However, there is growing concern amongst members regarding transitioning in advance of the waiver’s discontinuation.

The Minnesota State Legislature has passed the Health and Human Services (HHS) budget bill for the next biennium, and the bill has been signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz. The passage of this legislation, a bill that lawmakers heavily debated, is a critical step in finalizing a state budget before the new fiscal year on July 1. Since the bill is now law, there will be no shutdown of health and human services programs even if lawmakers fail to agree in other budget areas.

A top legislative priority for LeadingAge Minnesota this year has been to secure hero pay bonuses to employees in senior care settings. Last week, legislative leaders announced an agreement to set aside some funding for hero pay bonuses. But until recently, we had few details. This weekend, lawmakers adopted an amendment that laid out a process to finalize hero pay bonuses this summer.

After nearly 16 months, the State’s Peacetime Emergency will end on July 1. A deal was struck between legislative leaders to end emergency powers in exchange for several stipulations related to food benefits, state COVID-19 staffing, and vaccination efforts. Just last week, Gov. Walz announced at a press conference that he intended to end the emergency peacetime declaration on Aug. 1, but this end-of-session bargaining moved up the timeline.

The 2021 virtual Institute included more than 100 educational sessions, all available for viewing and earning CEUs through July 31.

On June 29 and 30, a two-part virtual webinar series, Assisted Living Licensure Clinical Workshop, provides nurses an in-depth review of the new clinical requirements for the assisted living license.

The Assisted Living Licensure Sampler is a curated selection of 11 sessions from the Institute related to Assisted Living Licensure (ALL) and is available for purchase.

AARP Minnesota's state director, Will Phillips, is pursuing a new leadership opportunity as the regional vice president for the AARP West Region, effective June 28. To fill his position, AARP Minnesota is seeking a new state director.