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In case you missed it, MPR last week featured a one-hour program focused on the care and housing needs of Minnesota’s rapidly-growing population. Kari Thurlow, Senior Vice President of Advocacy for LeadingAge Minnesota, was a featured guest on the program that also touched upon the new package of legislative reforms to protect elderly and vulnerable adults.   

By popular demand, we will hold a Safe Care for Seniors workshop on Monday, Aug. 5 in Saint Paul. Register Today! 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has updated the Tuberculosis (TB) regulations page for health care settings with the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, the updated Facility Tuberculosis Risk Assessment Worksheet for Licensed Health Care Settings, and the notice of the Nationwide Shortage of Tuberculin Skin Test Antigens that includes the department’s recommendations for prioritizing tuberculin use in specific settings.   

Wage theft occurs when employers do not pay their workers what is owed them for the work they have performed. The new Minnesota Wage Theft law that goes into effect on July 1 creates additional protections for workers, including adding criminal penalties for employers who commit wage theft.   

Many organizations have not yet registered their teams for the July workshop to prepare for Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) implementation that goes into effect Oct. 1, 2019. A Team Approach to Operationalizing PDPM is a full day workshop that takes place at four different locations in July. It is designed to equip interdisciplinary teams with the knowledge and tools to prepare for the sweeping changes in Medicare Part A payment classification system.  

Peter B. Schuna, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pathway Health, has been appointed by Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm to serve as Co-Chair of the Minnesota e-Health Advisory Committee.  

Are you doing great work to reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections or combat antibiotic resistance? If so, CHAIN would like to hear about it and recognize your excellent work with its 2019 Award of Excellence. Examples of great work include:  

The wait is over! The Connect Conference is open for registration. The first annual event, Aug. 20-21 in Brooklyn Center, brings together providers from across the home- and community-based continuum for two days of integrated and interactive learning and forming partnerships to better serve our communities and customers.  

Have you listened to the latest Workforce Innovators Podcast? The newest episode, featuring Sue Misiorski, Vice President of Workforce Innovations at PHI in New York, focuses on creating career paths for nursing and home health workers.  

The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) presented Scott Riddle, CEO and President of Walker Methodist, with their Patriot Award. The award reflects efforts to support citizen servicepeople through a wide range of measures, including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, care for families, and leaves of absence as needed. 

If your housing wait list has become unruly, ineffective or maybe it’s nonexistent, we have just the webinar for you. Attend Future Resident Program: Effective Housing Waiting List Management, a one-hour webinar on July 10.  

Effective June 8, 2019, Livanta replaced KEPRO as the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care (BFCC) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Minnesota. This serves as an important reminder that skilled nursing facilities need to take action in relation to the transition to Livanta.  

Is it time to move beyond your checkbox-driven orientation to an engaging onboarding experience? 

While the Elder Care and Vulnerable Adult Protection Act of 2019 focuses particularly on Assisted Living licensure, there are several sections directly affecting nursing homes. One section prohibiting retaliation in nursing homes is effective Aug. 1, 2019. 

The OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training progam continues to see success in its second year of operation, and we see many different types of organizations deploying OnTrack onsite. Does your organization qualify to offer OnTrack? 

Have you heard – the all-new Connect Conference in Brooklyn Center on Aug. 20 and 21 is the summer event that brings together senior housing, assisted living, home care and adult day providers – and registration is opening later this week. 

A maltreatment compensation fund has been established effective July 1, 2019 as a new section of the Comprehensive Home Care Law. The fund, which will be funded by fines for Level 2 through 4 violations, will be available to home care clients with a finding of substantiated maltreatment until it closes on July 31, 2021 when the new Assisted Living Licensure becomes effective.  

LeadingAge Minnesota has established a new partnership with Align, bringing you access to an Employee Engagement Solution (manager/supervisor training!) and two Customer Experience Solutions.

The AgingServicesJOBS.Org is a cutting-edge employment marketplace that matches employers with job-seekers based on skills, interests and job requirements. With generous financial support from the LeadingAge MN Foundation for the first year of its operation, members have been able to post jobs at a discounted rate and build a robust job board that job seekers found to be full of opportunity. 

Common sense tells us that retaliation is prohibited against someone who makes a complaint or asserts their rights. The Elder Care and Vulnerable Adult Protection Act of 2019 provides additional clarity on who is protected from retaliation, in what situations they are protected, and defines what may be considered as retaliatory actions. The new requirements apply to both assisted living and nursing home settings. Nursing home providers should be sure to read the related story in this week's newsletter. 

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation Golf Fundraiser takes place July 30 at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury. Sell-out is expected. Our tournament is already 1/3 full, so register early to ensure you are part of the fun. Golfer registration deadline is July 8. 

Allison Floberg, Social Services Director at Fair Oaks Lodge in Wadena, has received the Make Zero Harm Possible Award from LeadingAge Minnesota. 

In a ceremonial bill signing that took place today during the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, Governor Tim Walz cited the collaboration that took place among stakeholders to draft legislation that will improve the lives of seniors, move Minnesota forward in assisted living licensure, and help ensure safety, respect and dignity for people as they age.  

To help you learn more about the new Assisted Living Licensure law and stay informed about the rulemaking process, we’ve created a one-stop web page where you can easily access information about the new law, how it impacts you, ways to engage in the rulemaking process, and resources to help you comply with the new requirements.  

The 2019 version of our annual salary survey was recently emailed to all members and human services contacts. The survey, a project of LeadingAge Minnesota, Care Providers of Minnesota and the Healthcare Human Resources Association of Minnesota, results in two comprehensive reports on employee compensation in care centers and senior housing settings.  

A team of program assistants from the Minnesota Veteran’s Home – Minneapolis Adult Day Center are the first recipients of the Make Zero Harm Possible award from LeadingAge Minnesota. Olubunmi Gbadamosi, Mary Falkowski, Maggie McGown and Gloria Smith were recognized for their work to reduce falls among clients who attend the Adult Day Center.  

Check your inboxes on June 6 for the 2019 LeadingAge Member Survey. The national survey is designed to produce meaningful data that LeadingAge and its members can use to conduct data-driven planning and decision making.  

Want to know the three most common mistakes communities make in building and maintaining wait lists and how to easily correct them?

As we have been anticipating, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Home Care and Assisted Living Program has released the new and updated survey forms for the Comprehensive and Temporary license. The forms are available on the MDH web site, and members will have a great opportunity to learn more about them and how surveyors will use them to determine your compliance at the June ALNET meetings.  

Make your plans now to attend the first annual Connect Conference on Aug. 20 and 21 in Brooklyn Center -- designed specifically for senior housing, assisted living, home care and adult day providers to come together to form new connections and work together to build services for those we serve, breaking down silos that separate our work.