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We are pleased to reintroduce our popular Dementia Care Certificate Program, recently updated, streamlined and retooled for 2019. This three-part program is designed for efficient learning and meets the requirements outlined in the Elder Care and Vulnerable Adult Protection Act of 2019.

In less than two weeks, more than 350 professionals in home- and community-based service settings will converge on Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center for the first annual Connect Conference for two days of networking, learning and meaningful dialogue about the future of service and care for older adults.  

Annual Meeting 2019 will be here soon. Friday, Aug. 16 is the deadline for early bird registration and scholarship applications for our annual leadership conference that takes place Sept. 17-20 at Madden’s. 

A new toolkit to help management unemployment risk is now available.  

“A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”  -Dale Carnegie. Yet one thing we hear periodically on staff satisfaction surveys is, “my supervisor doesn’t even know my name.” 

As the numbers of veterans who will need nursing home care is anticipated to increase by 16% between 2017 and 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is calling for stricter oversight of their care – particularly in state veterans’ homes.  

The White House and Congress reached a deal to raise the federal budget caps for fiscal years 2020 and 2021.  

Do you understand the Value-Based Purchasing Performance Score Card? Are you interested in results from payment year one? Join the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for a call on Tuesday, Aug. 27 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. for a high-level summary of the program and a review of the FY2019 program year.   

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided clarifications to questions about the heightened scrutiny process for newly-constructed presumptively institutional settings. The information can be found in the Informational Bulletin issued last week. 

The Minnesota Board on Aging has issued a Request for Proposals for local and regional projects that will increase awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, increase the rate of cognitive testing, promote the benefits of early diagnosis, or connect caregivers of persons with dementia to education and resources.  

The Minnesota Department of Health is soliciting grant proposals from providers of adult day care, home care, and housing with services to provide educational scholarships for their employees. Find the HCBS Program detail, application, and forms here.  

With workforce pressures reaching unprecedented levels, the 2019 LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation Golf Fundraiser helped raise funds for our next round of caregiver scholarships. The golf event was held on July 30 at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury. View foursome photos sponsored by CBS Construction Services. 

It’s happening in less than 60 days. The new Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) goes into effect on Oct. 1. Are you prepared for this major change in how you document and are reimbursed for care?  

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has issued Information Bulletin 19-03 informing the public about the home care and assisted living protections strengthened by the Minnesota Legislature as part of the Elder Care and Vulnernable Adult Protection Act of 2019. 

Recognition is the greatest motivator! We are launching a Recognition Challenge as part of our Safe Care for Seniors program. Between now and Sept. 15, we challenge you to nominate individuals and/or staff teams in your setting for a Make Zero Harm Possible award. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) earlier this week released the final Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Payment Rule, which is the last step before implementation of the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) that will take effect on Oct. 1. In addition to transitioning to the new case mix system, the Oct. 1 rates also include an inflation update of 2.4%. The rule makes few changes from the proposed rule that come out earlier this year, but it does finalize a definition of group therapy that allows up to six clients to be part of a treatment group as well as updating some requirements around ICD-10 coding that is a major driver of rates under PDPM.  

As first reported by McKnight’s Senior Living, the 2019 Milliman Long Term Care Insurance Survey shows average individual long-term care insurance claim amounts for care in assisted living settings are much higher than claim amounts for home care or care in nursing homes.  

Nominations are now open for two elected Director-at-Large positions on the LeadingAge Minnesota Board of Directors. The Nominating Committee is also accepting nominations for Lifetime Honorary Memberships. 

Four months remain before the Phase 3 of the Requirements of Participation take effect, and Nov. 28 is approaching faster than some of us would like! If you have not implemented a plan to meet regulatory compliance with F882: Infection Prevention and Control, now is the time to identify or hire someone to assume responsibilities for the vital Infection Preventionist position and get them the specialized training they need. LeadingAge MN is here to help through our new Certificate Program, Effectiveness & Core Components for the Infection Preventionist.  

To better assist home care agency, Housing with Services/Assisted Living and care center staff meet Minnesota’s current dementia care training requirements, LeadingAge MN is offering a four-part certificate program series beginning in August and running through October 2019. There are two live webinars and one two-day workshop that focus on the critical must know topics outlined in legislation.

Whether you hang a whiteboard in a break room, create an online forum on your organization’s intranet, or establish a staff-focused Facebook page, consider giving staff a modern forum to express their ideas, suggestions and opinions. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that property owners/agents and Public Housing Authorities across the country can pre-register one or more of their properties to be considered for selection in the demonstration to develop and test a new format for conducting the physical inspection of HUD-subsidized properties. 

LeadingAge has been informed by HUD officials that 202 PRAC funding availability is very tight right now and will remain so for the remainder of FY19.  

LeadingAge is supporting a bill that would nearly double the number of employment visas granted annually and increase access to qualified health care workers. 

A proposed rule announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on July 23 would change eligibility rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and lower the number of older adults eligible for SNAP benefits.  

Acting Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Pam Wheelock tnamed Bob Jacobson to manage the Office of Inspector General on an interim basis.  

Starting Aug. 1, laws protecting Minnesotans from exposure to deadly secondhand smoke will expand to include the use of e-cigarettes and vapes.  

Home Care Matters, a provider webinar sponsored by the Home Care and Assisted Living Program at the Minnesota Department of Health, takes place on Wednesday, Aug. 7 from 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.  

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has released a short document that summarizes new statutory requirements around documentation for waiver services. 

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule on arbitration agreements that nursing facilities must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.