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The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is seeking partners for Child Care Economic Development Grants. The grant program may provide up to $100,000 per award to help implement solutions to reduce the child care shortage in the state.  

Aug.14-15 marks the return of Billing University, our annual two-day conference for care center business office staff designed to improve the financial health of care centers. 

In a response to a request for comments on how the federal government measures poverty, LeadingAge provided insight on how potential changes to the poverty threshold’s calculation could negatively impact older adults and aging services. 

When Lake Ridge Care Center in Buffalo found itself close to the bottom of the rankings in Minnesota on the Quality Measure for Percent of Residents who were Walking as Well or Better, they set out to improve that score.

Out-of-pocket nursing home costs grew as much as 30% between 2005 and 2010, according to new research from Georgetown University as reported by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News.  

We have scheduled two new webinars in our countdown to Oct. 1 PDPM Implementation: Common MDS Coding and Scheduling Errors and Diagnosis Coding for Payment in PDPM. And don’t forget to register for one of four workshops specifically focused on a Team Approach to Operationalizing PDPM.  

We have scheduled two new webinars in our countdown to Oct. 1 PDPM Implementation: Common MDS Coding and Scheduling Errors and Diagnosis Coding for Payment in PDPM. And don’t forget to register for one of four workshops specifically focused on a Team Approach to Operationalizing PDPM.  

Congress is getting down to business and moving funding and policy issues that impact aging services providers. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expecting a three to 10-month nationwide shortage of APLISOL®, which is one of two purified-protein derivative tuberculin antigens that are licensed for use in performing tuberculin skin tests. This shortage will impact assisted living, home care, boarding care, care centers, supervised living facilities, and supplemental nursing services. 

Perhaps you heard about the success Bethesda in Willmar had with its Cycling Without Age program, which was recognized by LeadingAge Minnesota with a Stars Among Us award at this year’s Institute. Or maybe you have been following PioneerCare in Fergus Falls as they launch a similar program. Now, thanks to grant funding from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), up to 30 care centers will have the opportunity to start their own program and bring joy to residents, inspire relationships and create community connections.  

LeadingAge has provided an overview of recent developments in Housing & Urban Development policies that affect providers of affordable housing. This update features the latest news on the voluntary NSPIRE initiative, HUD instructions on enforcement actions if a property refuses to be inspected, instructions to inspectors to collect information only on carbon monoxide detectors, 14-day scheduling of inspections, and the four reasons HUD Multifamily field offices can delay inspections.  

AgingServicesJOBS.Org is a cutting-edge employment marketplace that matches employers with job-seekers based on skills, interests and job requirements. LeadingAge Minnesota launched this new platform one year ago with generous financial support from the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation.  

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.