All News

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across Minnesota, we have developed a COVID-19 External Communications toolkit to help communicate with the media and other external audiences about the importance of prevention precautions as well as your plan for visitation modification.

On August 17, 2020 CMS released a memo, QSO-20-35-ALL, describing expansion of survey activity and new guidance around enforcement.

LeadingAge Minnesota recently learned that Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is proposing to return to fully-compliant, fingerprint-based background studies process sometime in the near future.

Strategies for Diffusing Challenging Situations
Webinar - Friday, August 14: 9 – 10 a.m.

2020 Virtual Connect Conference
August 19 – 20

2020 Annual Meeting & Leadership Forum
September 16-18

MN licensed LTC administrators interested in kick starting their earned clock hours for the 2020/21 licensure cycle are in luck. The following LeadingAge Minnesota virtual events have been approved for clock hours.

As we have pivoted in the past several months to focus on COVID-19 and put practices in place to combat this virus, we are reminded of our Safe Care for Seniors pledge for respect, safety and dignity and the shared commitment we made together to prevent harm in the course of caregiving.

With the release of the Minnesota Department of Health guidance on visitation modification on Monday, you’ll find new tools in our COVID-19 Resource Library.

The results of the Long-Term Care Imperative’s annual nursing facility financial indicators survey were recently prepared by CliftonLarsonAllen. The 2019 data shows that financial performance continued a trend of improvement

On August 3, HUD’s Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC) released a fully updated set of NSPIRE Inspection Standards for the physical inspection demonstration program.

Earlier this year, the Minnesota Department of Health waived the 8-hour training requirement for Paid Feeding Assistants, in accordance with a waiver from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 

The Metropolitan Council has issued Metro Mobility COVID-19 safety measures. The safety measures cover topics including service, fare payment, riders, drivers, bus cleaning, and more.

As part of the DHS Waiver Reimagine project, DHS has requested public comments on Summer 2020 federal waiver plan amendments before they are submitted to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for approval. These amendments apply to the following waivers:

The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division of DHS is partnering with State Services for the Blind's Aging Eyes Initiative. Through this partnership older adults with both hearing and vision loss can access specific vision loss-related and assistive listening devices.
 

This week the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released long-awaited recommendations on modifying visitation policies in aging services settings. The recommendations are effective August 29, 2020 and apply both to nursing homes and housing with services/assisted living settings.
 

Leading Change. Changing Lives. That is more than our promise. It is our purpose. During our recent LeadingAge Minnesota Board of Directors meeting, we re-committed to positive and lasting social change through not only our words but our actions.
 

The Annual Meeting & Leadership Forum is virtual this year and much of the educational content focuses on strategic approaches related to COVID-19. Back-to-back sessions on Thursday, Sept. 17 will help leaders explore financial scenario planning in the COVID-19 world. 

This year has taught us the devastating impact when human connection is lost. Dr. John Brose, Director of the Associated Clinic of Psychology, and Jane Danner, Director of Resident Engagement and Development for Volunteers of America, are teaming up for the first time on Aug. 20 to deliver Combatting the Negative Impact of Isolation and Loneliness of Resident Wellbeing. This general session kicks off the second day of the two-day Connect Conference. 

Strategies for Diffusing Challenging Situations, a webinar on Aug. 14, will explore practical strategies designed to help staff diffuse the highly and emotionally charged situations so that difficult conversations about what can be done occur and enable the parties to move forward together.  

LeadingAge MN is working on a new resource to help members plan, implement and communicate visitor modifications based on guidance the Minnesota Department of Health is the process of finalizing,

eMenuCHOICE®, a leading dining management and point of sale (POS) application for senior living communities, now offers a time-saving integration for its customers who use the electronic health record solution ECS from American Data.

The U.S. Housing & Urban Development Department (HUD) updated its Q&A for Multifamily Housing programs. The July 31 Q&A document relays HUD’s guidance on operational and procedural questions related to the safe administration of HUD-assisted programs during COVID-19. In the Q&A, HUD provides clarity on mask requirements for residents, testing requirements for residents, and management and occupancy reviews. Included in the updates: 

As we previously reported, the Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) Form CMS-R-131 and instructions have been approved for renewal.  

A reminder that the temporary reporting relief outlined in the March 27 CMS memo for the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP) and SNF Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) program has expired as of June 30, 2020. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will share information on fiscal year 2021 skilled nursing facility payment policies during a Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)/Long Term Care Open Door Forum this Thursday, Aug. 6 at 1 p.m.  The full agenda will include:     

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is still accepting applications from Medicaid-certified nursing facilities to receive up to $3,000 in Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) funds to purchase communication technology.  

LeadingAge Minnesota and its partner in the Long-Term Care Imperative submitted comments on behalf of older adult service providers on the draft final report of the Blue Ribbon Commission of Health and Human Services. 

A recent survey of LeadingAge Minnesota members illustrates the negative impact of the nearly four-month mandated closure of Adult Day Services on participants and family caregivers. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week issued a proposed rule that announces and seeks public comments on proposed policy changes for Medicare Part B payments, on or after January 1, 2021.  Click here for fact sheet describing the proposed rule.  While policy analysts are still combing through the 1300-page proposal, several issues stand out as important for aging services providers. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final version of the annual Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Payment Rule that updates rates for the second year of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) which starts on Oct. 1. The Oct. 1 rates include an inflation update of 2.2% based on a formula in existing law.  

We have gathered additional details about the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ initiative to supply rapid point-of-care antigen testing instruments and tests to nursing homes throughout the country to aid in identification and mitigation of COVID-19.