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We are proud to introduce a new Safe Care for Seniors virtual workshop designed for those of you who are new to the program. The 3-part program will begin on Tuesday, April 6 and continue weekly with subsequent sessions on April 13 and 20.

Lifesprk been named a Top USA Workplace and #1 in healthcare for mid-size companies in the Top Workplaces Industry and Culture Excellence Awards.

Ecumen, a nonprofit provider of housing and services for older adults, has announced that Jim McAlpine has joined its senior management team as senior vice president, legal affairs and corporate general counsel.

The Aging and Adult Services Division at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking proposals from providers to improve the overall quality of customized living services. Qualified responders must have provided customized living services in calendar year 2020 (i.e., between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020) to people on the following waivers:

Two grant opportunities are available to support community-based services and dementia care: Live Well at Home Grants through the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and Dementia Grants through the Minnesota Board on Aging.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation (LAMF) has just been awarded $475,000 in funding to provide COVID grants to rural LeadingAge Minnesota members.

The CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) team will offer trainings to review updates to the LTCF COVID-19 Module, Resident Impact & Facility Capacity Pathway, that took effect in late November 2020.

Congress is now in the process of considering the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package proposed by President Biden. This legislation, being considered through a budget-reconciliation vehicle that only needs simple majorities in both the House and the Senate and may be passed exclusively with Democratic-votes.

Last week, the Board of Executives for Long Term Services and Supports (BELTSS) updated the projected time frame for licensed assisted living director (LALD) applications to be available. We now anticipate that the applications will be available in April for those eligible as legacy directors.

With Governor Walz announcing a loosening of social and business restrictions, the legislature is giving greater attention to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. This week, lawmakers will be focusing on how the vaccine is affecting virus infection rates as well as its disbursement to vulnerable population groups, especially seniors. Here is what you need to know about what’s happening at the Capitol:

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

Grief and resilience: you can have both!

You probably understood that going to work in a senior care facility meant you would experience death more often than people working in other environments. However, expecting this and going through it are quite different things – especially when death rates are (sometimes significantly) higher than usual as we’ve seen during the COVID pandemic.

According to data collected by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), resident vaccination rates remain high and staff vaccination rates are improving.

A recent Star Tribune story on Minnesota OSHA inspections raised questions from a few LeadingAge Minnesota members. The story was not specific to health care or to long-term care, but it did note that MNOSHA had fined a nursing home for not reporting that one of its employees had been hospitalized with COVID-19.

While COVID-19 cases in aging services settings have fallen sharply in recent months, we know the virus is still having a serious impact on many providers.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) wishes to remind providers that it continues to have resources available for nursing homes and assisted living providers that need support:

On Feb. 16, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released a new document COVID-19 Recommendations for Health Care Workers that reviews diagnostic testing of health care workers (HCW), management of HCW exposure to COVID-19, HCW return to work, guidance for ill HCW and travel recommendations for our staff. Additionally, within the guidance document, MDH cites several already existing documents that informed the creation of this resource.

LeadingAge Minnesota President & CEO Gayle Kvenvold announced this week in a President’s Message that the 2021 Institute will be a virtual conference from May 18-21.

Respiratory disease is one of the leading causes of death and disability. During COVID-19, respiratory therapists are treating even greater numbers of clients with compromised lung function. Two complimentary webinars hosted by Select Rehabilitation provide strategies for treatment interventions and in-room therapy.

Next Gen Governance for a Next Gen World is a two-part workshop for executives and board members to explore proactive and agile governance in navigating your organization through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explores reputation management to restore consumer confidence and includes a study of top trends impaction senior living.

The Governance Workshop is April 7 and 14, 4 – 6 p.m. each day. Find complete details and register here.

This month, Friendship Village of Bloomington will officially open the first phase of its new health center to area seniors. The project adds 16 assisted living apartment homes and five memory care suites to the senior living community, bringing the total communitywide capacity to 42 assisted living apartments and 32 memory care suites. The three-story building is equipped with a secure memory care courtyard, game and activity room, and spa bath.

Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm visited Jones-Harrison to highlight Minnesota’s successful vaccination effort in long-term care settings on the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 9.

LeadingAge Minnesota recently mailed out complimentary copies of the 2020 compensation reports for nursing facilities and senior housing providers to members who participated in those surveys. Copies of those reports are now available for purchase by members who did not participate.

We noted two newsworthy items from CDC this week relating to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data collection system.

Monoclonal Antibodies
CDC has added data fields for monoclonal antibodies to the NHSN COVID-19 surveillance module.

Earlier today, LeadingAge sent all care center members Five-Star Analysis reports that reflect updates to the data implemented by CMS a couple weeks ago. For more details on the scoring updates, go to this recent Advantage story that covers the changes in depth.

The Minnesota Department of Health is offering a webinar on Thursday Feb. 18, 2021, from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Information will be provided regarding changes to the laws that affect home care, assisted living and housing with services providers in relation to assisted living licensure.

With about a month to go until the first of three lawmaking deadlines, policy makers are shepherding numerous bills through the committee process, in particular, legislation that allows for providers to have extra time to get background reviews completed for their employees following the expiration of the public health emergency. Here is what you need to know about what’s happening at the Capitol:

Join us starting March 15, 2021 for a week of virtual advocacy at the Capitol featuring expert training from our public affairs team, inspiring conversations with aging services leaders, opportunities to meet with your legislator, and times to share with colleagues from around the state about your successes and challenges in serving seniors. 

The public comment period on the proposed rules for assisted living closed on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 4:30 p.m. In addition to comments provided during the public hearing held Jan. 19 and 20, over 275 were submitted to the administrative law judge (ALJ) on the topic of assisted living licensure.

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

You are in good company if you have noticed changes in your sleeping patterns during COVID-19. Because of factors like extra screen time, change in routines and increase in stress, we are prone to poor sleep at this time. Sleep is important not only for our well-being and stability of mood, but it is also linked to immune system function.

Evan Shulman, Director of the Division of Nursing Homes, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will answer questions about how CMS is approaching any changes in visitation guidance on Thursday, February 11 at 2:30 on the Coronavirus Update Call hosted by LeadingAge, the national partner of LeadingAge Minnesota.

This week, the Minnesota Association for Geriatrics Inspired Clinicians (MAGIC) launched a new video resource to help providers address vaccine hesitancy in long-term care settings.