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CMS has approved modifications to alternative adult day services effective immediately.  The modifications will:

• Increase the maximum daily service duration for alternative adult day services (delivered remotely and/or in person) to one person at a time from 4 hours per day to 6 hours per day
•  Increase the maximum number of people attending online events.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has implemented changes to the vaccination reporting for long-term care providers. As mass clinics wrap up, MDH is implementing what they call “maintenance mode” for providers who have achieved a 70% vaccination rate for both staff and residents. At this point, 15% of providers meet that standard; therefore, they will be asked only to report monthly to show that they are maintaining high vaccination rates.

Minnesota’s 2021 legislative session is at the midpoint, as lawmakers are on break this week in observance of the Easter and Passover holidays. When lawmakers resume legislative activity on April 5, it will be full steam ahead as lawmakers will push to pass budget and policy bills before the legislative session adjourns on May 17.

Yesterday, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) published updated guidance which allows for more flexibility for dining and guidance in assisted living settings.

Activities and meals are a significant factor in combating social isolation and bringing a sense of normalcy and stability to our resident’s lives.

LeadingAge Minnesota’s acclaimed Leadership Academy is entering its twelfth year this June, and we are accepting applications through April 26. This 8-month program develops leadership capacity and core competencies of aging services professionals by tapping their natural talents and authentic leadership style. It blends leadership theory, applied learning, and personalized coaching to mentor current and emerging leaders in our field.

More than 30 organizations have already registered for the two-part virtual Governance Workshop, Next Gen Governance for a Next Gen World, on April 7 and 14. In the wake of the pandemic, it is important to shift focus from response to strategic recovery and resilience. The workshop is designed for executives and board members to identify risk areas and opportunities for strong operations in the short and long term. Participation includes a set of diagnostic assessments that will be used to create a roadmap for navigating disruption, change, strategy, opportunity and risk.

While Minnesota’s Assisted Living Licensure application form is not yet final and published, we expect it will be public on or about May 1. That leaves just a few short weeks for providers wanting to become licensed assisted living settings to complete their application in time to meet the June 1 deadline already in statute. MN Statute 144G.12 outlines several requirements that we expect to be on the application form, and you can start preparing now.

The Minnesota Veterans Homes’ four skilled nursing facilities in Fergus Falls, Luverne, Minneapolis and Silver Bay have all been recognized with the Pinnacle Customer Experience Award. The Homes’ “customer experience” is measured through Pinnacle monthly telephone interviews with residents and/or their families. Throughout the year, the survey results are reviewed to better understand residents’ needs and make improvements when necessary.

Listen in to CMS’ March 30 webinar to learn how you can receive the full SNF Quality Reporting (SNF QRP) Annual Payment Update. The webinar covers updates to elements of the MDS used to calculate measures for the SNF QRP program, data submission requirements, and the reconsideration process for providers identified as being noncompliant with the requirements.

Register to attend the March 30 webinar, or sign up to be notified when the recording of the session becomes available.

The Alzheimer's Association Minnesota-North Dakota invites you to a complimentary virtual event entitled "Human, Economic & Disproportionate Impact of Alzheimer’s & other Dementia" on April 19 at 1 p.m.

This webinar will discuss the human impact, the economic impact, and the disproportionate impact of this brain disease and bring to life the recently released facts and figures report and accompanying special report on Race, Ethnicity and Alzheimer's in America.

Since 2002, there has been a Needs Assessment Survey every ten years to better understand social determinants of health and individual health outcomes for aging LGBTQ Minnesotans. The 2022 Survey is getting underway, and JustUs Health and the University of Minnesota are joining together in a community-wide effort to provide actionable insight into the health needs of aging LGBTQ Minnesotans. They seek survey participation from LGBTQA Minnesotans 50 years and older to help inform policy and funding decisions at a state level for the estimated 48,000+ LGBTQ seniors living in our state.

The Minnesota Healthcare Engineers Association (MHCEA) has confirmed May 6-7 as the dates for its 2021 Spring Conference. This year’s event will be in virtual format due to the on-going impact of COVID-19, with programming from 8 – 11:30 a.m. each day.

This week, staff from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) new Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program joined LeadingAge’s Housing Advisory Group call to discuss how the new program could help affordable senior housing residents as well as housing providers.

LeadingAge has launched a member survey to gauge how much Provider Relief Fund (PRF) funding members have received to date, how much unmet need remains, and the reasons for the continued need for more funding. This information will help them advocate to Congress for additional PRF appropriations and articulate why providers still need this help.

The Minnesota Department of Health has scheduled two calls regarding assisted living licensure for providers on April 8 and April 29 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Office of Rural Health and Primary Care has confirmed that the Licensed Assisted Living Director (LALD) training program is eligible for funding through the Home and Community Based Scholarship Grant Program. Apply today!

The application deadline has been extended to April 6 at 11:59 p.m. Find the HCBS Scholarship Program details, application, and forms on the MDH website. Grants will run for 24 months, starting on July 1, 2021 and ending June 30, 2023.

As providers across the country work to absorb and implement updated visitation guidance, many questions are rising to the surface. To address these trending questions, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold a National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call this Thursday, March 25, from 3 – 4 p.m. CT.

According to Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) data collected through March 17, 97% of care centers and 50% of assisted living have completed a third clinic. By the next weekly update, the mass vaccination clinic program will likely be completed.

First dose staff vaccination rates were 57% in all reporting care centers and 51% in all reporting assisted living settings. Some of the difference is due to care centers being ahead of the curve on the number of clinics held; the staff vaccination rate in assisted living has room to rise with the completion of third clinics.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is continuing its efforts to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other congregate living facilities.

Knowing our settings will be completing third clinics over the next couple of weeks, MDH, in consultation with LeadingAge MN and other provider associations and existing long-term care (LTC) vaccine providers, has launched an interim process for staff and residents to access vaccine administration until more vaccine is made more widely available.

As we approach the midway point of the legislative session, LeadingAge Minnesota members virtually gathered for our largest advocacy event of the year, the Week at the Capitol. LeadingAge Minnesota members met with over 40 lawmakers from around the state, including Senate and House legislative leaders, to make their voices heard and advance important policy initiatives for seniors and their caregivers.

The Department of Health’s proposed rules governing assisted living facilities are pending before Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Ann O’Reilly. We anticipated that ALJ O’Reilly would issue her Rule Report last week. Instead, Chief Administrative Law Judge Jenny Starr issued an order extending the deadline allowing until Monday, March 29, to complete the Rule Report.

There is still time to register for the upcoming 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.

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.