All News

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) convened the first meeting of the Adult Day License Stakeholder Group, which will provide input on the development of new licensing standards for adult day services.  

We are now less than two weeks from implementation of the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) that will take effect for Medicare Part A skilled nursing facility clients on Oct. 1. LeadingAge MN has developed a number of key resources to help members with this transition. Below are five key steps for members to be sure they have taken before the new payment system goes into effect:  

Morshed (Mo) Alam, has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Ecumen, effective Sept. 30. 

Does your staff know the right thing to do when they find a resident unresponsive? Is your team prepared to rapidly and effectively respond to urgent or unexpected situations? Join us on Oct. 8 for our first Safe Table in the Safe Care for Seniors program to learn how a Rapid Evaluation Team (RET) process can improve how your staff call for and receive support to in these situations.   

CAST has updated its Medication Management Selection Tool with two new products CuePath Innovation and Nexusera. The tool also includes an updated Product Matrix and Online Selection Tool.   

If you tried to nominate your Safe Care for Seniors kick-off event last week for our Free Banner contest and received an error message – the link is fixed!   

Hospital and Healthcare Compensation Service, in cooperation with LeadingAge National, is currently conducting its 22nd annual Assisted Living Salary and Benefits Report and invites LeadingAge members to participate.  

Virtual reality, predictive analytics, sensors, and other artificial intelligence (AI) solutions are helping keep older adults from falling, according to a recent HealthTech article.  

Applications for the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Scholarship Grant Program are due Friday, Sept. 27. To help you complete your application, check out the following resources:  

A summary of key strategies from a two-year Workforce Solutions Grant pilot project funded by the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation can now be found on www.workforcegrants.org.  

A recent article in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News shared that long-term nursing home residents enrolled in UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) are 112% more likely to use skilled nursing services than those with Medicare fee-for-service plans.   

Staff at all levels should be considered the expert in their roles. Serving on internal committees and task forces are ways to uniquely engage staff in the organization’s vision while tapping into their personal strengths and positional expertise.   

Are you up to speed on the MDS? One of the benefits of being a member of LeadingAge National is access to Judy Wilhilde Brandt, our MDS-expert consultant.  

The forecast is set for a spectacular week at Annual Meeting & Leadership Forum next week in Brainerd. 

Our two-day dementia care workshop, Person-Centered Care and Strategies to Avert Challenging Behaviors, Sept. 24-25 or Oct. 22-23, is specifically designed to equip hands-on caregivers with practical information and knowledge they need to care for individuals with dementia and the necessary problem-solving skills for dealing with challenging behaviors. 

Registration is open for a Sept. 27 webinar covering important new requirements for management of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals that were effective Aug. 21. 

PDPM. It's just a few weeks away. Are you ready? Don't forgot to check out our Rate Calculator and Case Mix tool. We've also updated our PDPM resource library with a webinar that will help you make sure you are ready to go on Oct. 1. 

The Nominating Committee has prepared its 2020 Nomination Slate for the LeadingAge Minnesota Board of Directors and 2019 Honorary Membership nominations. Meet the candidates:  

At the beginning of this month, the Minnesota Department of Human Services began implementing a new federal requirement for Medicaid long-term care eligibility. Clients will have 10 days to return the form. If they do not return the form, they will get a second notice about returning it. If they do not respond to that second request, the county will terminate their Medicaid enrollment.  

Technology for independent living is the theme of this year’s 4th Annual Reimagine Aging Conference that place on Oct. 3 in Golden Valley. One highlight of the conference is the breakout session on Aging with Technology - Something for Everyone featuring Cassia’s Learning Lab.  

How will senior living attract more residents and cultivate new revenue streams? The American Seniors Housing Associated (ASHA) has released a new issue brief that challenges the status quo and provides guidance for how senior living can improve.  

Did you host a Safe Care for Seniors kick-off event? We’d love to hear about it! And – as an added bonus for sharing your story – we will select two member sites to receive a FREE Safe Care for Seniors banner that can be branded with your logo.  

Effective immediately, HUD providers of Section 202 Housing for the Elderly with Project Rental Assistance Contracts (202/PRACs) can begin to leverage private capital to preserve their affordable housing over the long-term.  

Congress returned from recess on Sept. 9 with a long to-do list, which LeadingAge national has unpacked to help you stay up-to-date on key issues affecting our field.   

NTAs. You’re hearing a lot about them as part of the new Payment-Drive Payment Model that goes into effect Oct. 1. What are NTAs? Non-therapy ancillaries (NTAs) are a long list of diagnostic categories and clinical support services needed to care for residents in a skilled nursing facility that may be more medically complex or demonstrate a higher acuity. Under PDPM, 50 conditions and extensive services are considered for NTA classification.  

Experience mapping is an excellent tool to improve an organizational policy, procedure or practice. It provides a visual example of what a person experiences while completing an activity.

Aging services providers in Minnesota have said that one of the biggest needs in communities is training for staff on behavioral health. We listened, and it’s coming soon and it’s free!   

The Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) has posted their planned visits to Minnesota to visit select Adult Day Services and Customized Living providers subject to heightened scrutiny.

What experience are you selling? Does your sales process give decision makers - the eldest daughter, family, and the future resident - a realistic picture of what life will be like, should they choose you?  Dayta Marketing, a valued partner in the LeadingAge Savings & Solutions Center says organizations who focus on experience and create a sales and marketing funnel that’s customized, responsive, and caring will emerge as winners who have gained natural advocacy from their residents and families.  

Does your staff know what to do when they find a resident unresponsive? Having a policy and procedure in place is not enough. In our assessment of OHFC substantiated reports, we continue to see system failures and staff behaviors that hinder an effective response to urgent situations. Join us on Oct. 8 for a Safe Table on DNR Status and Response.