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By March 26, 10,000 people will have been vaccinated against the coronavirus by Cassia, a LeadingAge Minnesota Member organization

Cassia began administering coronavirus vaccines to residents and staff in December 2020 through the organization’s own A&E Pharmacy. To date, 10,000 people have been vaccinated by Cassia.

The Minnesota Association of Geriatrics Inspired Clinicians (MAGIC) is actively seeking a new executive director.

The Minnesota Association of Geriatrics Inspired Clinicians (MAGIC) is a membership association whose purpose is to support its members as they advocate for and serve those with complex medical needs.

The Twin City Healthcare Engineering Association (TCHEA) is offering a free webinar this Thursday, March 18 featuring Bob Dehler from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) speaking on minimum physical environment requirements for facilities that convert to the new assisted living license and additional design requirements for new licenses or new construction after Aug. 1.

LeadingAge National is offering a virtual event, “Shared Learning: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion—A Way Forward,” with Ayana King on Tuesday, March 23 from noon – 2:30 p.m. CT. Register here!

This highly interactive event will explore tangible ways LeadingAge member organizations are embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and making inroads to impact change within the aging services community.

We all have a role (regardless of our role) in this work!

On Monday, LeadingAge and the American Health Care Association (AHCA) released a federal legislative proposal designed to allow the nursing home sector to make key changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these issues were evident for years before COVID-19 but were never fully addressed by policymakers. Through the Care For Our Seniors Act, AHCA and LeadingAge are calling on lawmakers once again to help resolve systemic challenges, as well as reflecting on ways nursing home providers themselves can improve.

In response to an evaluation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG), CMS stated last week that it will continue working to publicly report on nurse staff turnover and tenure, as required by federal law.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently provided helpful responses to several questions posed by a group of stakeholders regarding assisted living licensure.

MDH convened a group of stakeholders, including LeadingAge Minnesota and many of our legal business partner members, to address legal questions related to licensure of assisted living settings. MDH recently provided answers in writing to many of the questions posed by the group. The responses from MDH offer helpful information to providers in preparing for their applications for licensure:

The Minnesota Senate Human Services Reform Finance and Policy Committee last week approved a bill that proposes a long-term solution to challenges with the fingerprinting and background study process in Minnesota. Senate File 1257, authored by Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake), tackles the issue  of fingerprinting capacity by authorizing the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to contract with up to three fingerprinting providers, rather than a single vendor.

Applications are due March 24 at 5 p.m. for two LeadingAge MN Foundation rural grant programs:

LAMF COVID-19 Courage Funds Grants
For staff support funds, LAMF is offering grants of up to $10,000 for each awarded site. Called the LAMF COVID-19 Courage Funds Grants, these applications can be for existing or new staff support programs that provide cash assistance and/or mental health support for staff of LeadingAge Minnesota senior care provider members across settings including assisted living, care centers, home care, and adult day programs.

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

This month marks the anniversary of when COVID arrived in Minnesota and began to ravage our facilities and dismantle our personal and professional lives.

The anniversary can leave us sad for what we have lost, angry that we are not over this yet and too exhausted from months of survival mode to feel good about our work. It can also cast doubt on whether the huge effort we have put into keeping things as good as possible even made a difference.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), 97% of care centers had completed their third vaccination clinics as of last week Wednesday, marking essentially the end of the mass vaccination effort in those settings. At that time, 97% of Assisted livings had conducted a second clinic. With only third clinics in assisted living remaining, the program is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

Last week, DHS postponed the special COVID-19 supplemental cost report schedule to track the receipt and use of state and federal funds related to pandemic response until May 3. However, after further reflection on the lack of federal guidance on the reporting of provider relief funds to the federal government, DHS has decided to postpone the submission of the COVID schedule by care centers indefinitely.

State and federal regulators provided updated guidance that allows for more visitors to enter our building with fewer restrictions and allows for vaccinated residents to leave our settings without the requirement of a 14-day quarantine in some instances. Just this morning, MDH posted updated Long-term Care Guidance for Non-medically Necessary Outings, Long-term Care Visitation Guidance for Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living–type Settings, and two flowcharts to inform congregate care settings of the guidance updates linked later in this story. In these guidance documents, MDH adopted the QSO 20-39-NH revised memo for assisted living communities; and, adopted the CMS recommendations for health care settings.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation has set aside additional funds this year to provide partial and full scholarships for participants in LeadingAge Minnesota’s 2021 Leadership Academy, which begins June 2. Scholarships will be awarded based on financial hardship of the organization.

Start planning now for your staff to attend the 2021 Virtual Institute – FORWARD.

Our annual conference is virtual this year and boasts four half-days of learning and peer connections.

The 2021 Institute features three general sessions and keynote speakers, 116 breakout sessions and virtual meetup groups for 14 interest groups. Preview this year’s content and watch this space for registration information coming soon!

To learn more about the COVID-19 Courage Fund grant program application process, register for Responders’ Call which will be held tomorrow, March 11 from 11 - 11:45 a.m.

Applicants must be LeadingAge Minnesota members that are located outside of the 7-county metro area based on the guidelines from the regional foundation that awarded LeadingAge MN Foundation these grant funds.

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) is hosting a webinar on "Developing talent through Mentoring” in their Dual-Training Pipeline Speaker Series. The featured speaker will be Deon Clark, owner of TCI Solutions and a military veteran.

The free webinar will take place on March 17, 2021, from 9 to 10 a.m. Register in advance to save your spot.

HUD is overhauling physical inspections and you have the chance to weigh in. LeadingAge, our national partner, is urging HUD to maintain a robust yet feasible approach to portfolio oversight. Using an easy online form, you can help us urge HUD to streamline the process while incentivizing well-performing properties. Add your voice in support of LeadingAge comments to HUD and customize your comments with a brief description of your community by March 15.

The Senate has finally released the complete version of the American Rescue Plan passed on Saturday, and the bill has now gone to the House. It is expected that the House will vote on that bill today – and passage is expected – so the President can sign the bill into law by the end of the week. Because this legislation will provide the State with additional financial support, we are optimistic that its passage will support our advocacy work at the state level to support a Hero Pay Bonus for all caregivers in congregate care settings during the pandemic. 

The Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, is soliciting grant proposals from providers of adult day care, home care, and housing with services to provide educational scholarships for their employees. MDH staff who oversee the scholarship program will be offering a webinar on March 17 at 2 p.m. to provide guidance on the application process and program management.

MDH has convened a group of stakeholders to discuss processes and concerns that may arise related to a need for a resident to relocate due to the upcoming assisted living licensure implementation. The Department anticipates that, in some situations, a current provider may decide to discontinue services rather than pursue licensure, and that some providers may close.

Governor Walz reported on Tuesday that Minnesota has nearly vaccinated 70% of its seniors, weeks ahead of the original deadline of April. In light of this progress, Walz announced that Minnesota will soon transition to Phase Two of vaccine distribution that prioritizes those that are chronically-ill and that qualify as essential workers. Here is what you need to know about what’s happening at the Capitol:

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

You’re in good company if you’ve noticed some extra discouragement or frustration during a time when we have some glimmers of COVID-19 hope: vaccines have arrived and been delivered, and rates of death and hospitalization are down. So why do we feel so discouraged, tired or overwhelmed again?

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has reminded providers about the importance of reporting COVID-19 point of care antigen test results.

Many providers, both care centers and assisted living, are administering antigen tests, using the Quidel Sofia or BD Veritor systems, or the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 card tests. The MDH epidemiology team recently shared with us that it believes some providers are not consistently reporting the results of those rapid, point of care tests, and so we wanted to share a reminder of the requirements.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), 63% of Minnesota’s care centers have completed their third vaccination clinics and 73% of assisted living settings have conducted a second clinic as of March 3. Both numbers rose dramatically in just the last week, keeping the program on track to complete all clinics soon.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) delayed the due date for the cost report for the year ended Sept. 30, 2020 from Feb. 1, 2021 to April 1, 2021. That date is now approaching so members will need to focus on completing that report.

In preparation for licensure of Minnesota’s assisted living settings on Aug. 1, LeadingAge Minnesota has prepared several new tools to help you prepare for implementation.

Assisted living settings will be required to apply for licensure by June 1. Although the rules have not yet been finalized and legislative discussions continue, it is important to prepare for your setting’s application for licensure and for implementation. To aid you in your efforts, we have launched tools and checklists to help you as you prepare for licensure:

Over the past several weeks, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has convened provider, consumer and agency stakeholders in a series of meetings to identify additional changes to the assisted living licensure law in order to pass a bill during the 2021 legislative session. The goal was to reach stakeholder consensus on a set of changes that are critical to the smooth, timely implementation of the assisted living licensure law later this year and work with lawmakers to pass those changes in this legislative session.

A two-part governance workshop series for executive and board teams explores how to position your organization for strength and growth as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Want to know more about Safe Care for Seniors? Join our 3-part virtual workshop A Practical Guide to Providing Safe Care for Seniors on April 6, 13 and 20. This series is for organizations wanting to learn about this initiative and staff in participating organizations who have not yet completed training.

Click here to see details and register.