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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.  

No matter what setting you’re in, TB Prevention and Control is one of the highest cited deficiencies. It has risen steadily to land as the most frequently cited in Comoprehensive Licensed Home Care survey this past quarter. Also, in the past quarter, F880 Infection Control has taken the number one spot in citations for care centers. Bumping TB Prevention and Control out of first place should be an easy fix as the reasons for the correction orders are basically:  

The Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Grant Application Workshop webinar and handouts are now available. To deadline to apply for a HCBS Grant is Friday, Sept. 27, so take some time to watch and learn how to apply for a grant that will help you recruit and retain staff and help them advance in their career pathways.  

We are now less than one month from implementation of the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) that will take effect on Oct. 1.  LeadingAge MN has worked with other state affiliates and our national association to develop some new tools, including a rate calculator and case mix system, that are posted on our PDPM web page.  

Care centers interested in applying for a Moratorium Exception will require a full team effort to meet the Dec. 20 application deadline. A webinar on Sept. 11, The Moratorium Exceptions Process: What Care Centers Need to Know, will review the application process, what is needed by the deadline and options outside the application process.  

LeadingAge MN and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will host a Sept. 27 webinar on the important new requirements by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for management of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals that became effective Aug. 21. 

Don’t wait for a disaster to strike before you plan how to prepare, respond and recovery. New resources from LeadingAge will help members find the most appropriate resource for them in any phase of disaster planning, response or recovery.  

Knowing staff as individuals means knowing about their major personal accomplishments. Is a staff member running a marathon? Graduating from nursing school? Welcoming a new baby (remember new moms and dads)? Congratulate them!  

As we have earlier reported, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule that would lighten some existing regulatory burdens for nursing facilities and delay implementation of certain Phase 3 requirements. Recently some LeadingAge MN members have asked whether the proposed rule – if it becomes final – would delay all Phase 3 requirements, and the answer is no. 

The rulemaking process to establish directives related to licensure of assisted living directors is currently underway. An Assisted Living Rules Development Team is developing draft rules and the process is moving quickly. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will visit six to nine Adult Day Services and Customized Living settings in Minnesota that are subject to “heightened scrutiny” under the Home and Community-Based Settings rule at the end of September. 

A recent analysis of Comprehensive Home Care licensed providers surveys for the past quarter (April 1, 2019 – June 30, 2019) revealed several trends. Of the top 10 correction orders written, Tag #1035 Individualized Treatment/Therapy Mgmt Plan has risen to the top of the 52 initial surveys conducted. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued a final Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds rule  that goes into effect Oct. 15. This rule applies prospectively to determine the eligibility of persons wishing to immigrate to the US, obtain a green card to authorize employment or to obtain certain visas. It will not be applied to immigrants currently in the country unless or until they seek to change or extend their immigration status. 

The 2019 Annual Meeting & Leadership Forum is Sept. 17-20 at Madden’s in Brainerd. We are sharing an update on lodging accommodations and asking you this important question -- Will You Be at The Happening?  

There is still time to register for the 2019 Dementia Care Certificate Program, which meets Minnesota’s current mandatory dementia care training requirements for home care agency, Assisted Living/Housing with Services and care center staff.

The deadline to register for the Infection Preventionist certificate program, Effectiveness and Core Components for Infection Prevention in SNFs, has been extended to Aug. 30. This program, which takes place Sept. 4 and 5, will help care centers meet the new Infection Preventionist specialized training under the Requirements of Participation that will take effect in three months.   

There are two things that make your organization special - the people you serve and the staff who serve your people. Make sure to share the great work that is being done every single day!  

LeadingAge Virginia will soon release a playbook designed to help senior living and care providers determine whether and how to serve middle-income older adults. The playbook provides a template that can be customized based on your market, your customer and what you need to design a product for the middle market.   

Gov. Tim Walz issued a proclamation naming Aug. 14 as Lawrence Massa Appreciation Day in Minnesota in honor of Massa’s distinguished career in advance of his retirement Sept. 6. Massa has been the president and CEO of MHA for the past 11 years and served as chief executive officer of Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar from 1994 to 2008.  

LeadingAge will submit comments to a new proposed rule from the U.S Housing & Urban Affairs Department (HUD) that would make drastic changes to the current process for asserting Disparate Impact.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) last week posted the FINAL version (V3.00.1) of the MDS 3.0 Data Specifications for Skilled Nursing Facilities, which take effect Oct. 1. They also released the file of the allowable ICD codes in item I0020B of the MDS.   

The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) notified Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) on Aug. 22 that there was a calculation error in the FY2016 baseline period performance data that excluded certain SNF stays erroneously. CMS will be issuing corrected FY2020 Performance Score Reports no later than Aug. 31. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will host a Sept. 5 webinar to help Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) providers learn more about application process for the HCBS scholarship program and provide best practices for completing an application.  

Nursing homes, board and care, and licensed basic and comprehensive home care providers have been added to the list of authorized entities that may obtain, store, and use epinephrine auto-injectors for emergency administration in cases of anaphylaxis, according to two new bulletins from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).

New resources to prevent drug diversion in long-term care are now available. The Minnesota Pathway to Prevent Diversion of Controlled Substances in Long-Term Care features a pathway and support tools to help you increase awareness, assess your processes, create individual plans for intervention implementation, and measure your outcomes. 

National Adult Day Services Week, which takes place Sept. 15-21, is a great opportunity to highlight the important work these valued providers do every day. Our theme this year is focused on raising public awareness on how Adult Day Services can help prevent loneliness and social isolation.  

The 36th Annual MN-DONA “THE FUTURE IS US” Fall Conference, which is designed for nurse leaders in long-term care and assisted living, takes place Oct. 9 – 11 at Breezy Point Resort. 

The Minnesota Department of Health will host a Workshop Webinar on the Home and Community-Based Services Scholarship Program and Application Process on Sept. 5. Make plans now to participate and then apply for tscholarship grants that will help you recruit, retain and create career pathways for your staff. 

Need financial support to invest in needed construction at your care center? Join us for a webinar on Sept. 11 that will equip you with the information and resources to apply for the Moratorium Exceptions Process through the Minnesota Department of Health.