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The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has posted the instructions and goal sheet for the 2019 Quality Improvement Incentive Payment (QIIP) program. The deadline for care centers to submit their selected quality improvement topic is 11:59 pm on July 1.  

Last week’s first installment of the webinar series, Top 10 Life Safety Code Violations and How to Avoid Them, covered how to prepare for your federal life/safety recertification survey, and was met with great enthusiasm and accolade. Now, get ready for parts 2 and 3 – the Top 10 Violations and how to avoid them. 

Listening and connecting with the people you serve and actively using their feedback can drive performance excellence and quality care. Do you have an effective way to connect?  

The final Safe Care for Seniors workshop has been scheduled. It will take place Monday, May 13 at LeadingAge Minnesota in Saint Paul. See the Workshop Conference Brochure and Register Today!   

Calling all senior housing, assisted living, home care and adult day providers – let’s CONNECT this August! We’ve combined our most popular conferences into one unique and interactive experience to leverage the connections we all share in serving older adults. 

The deadline for submission of Payroll Based Journal (PBJ) data for the reporting period Jan. 1–March 31 is May 15. Timely and accurate submission of PBJ data is critical, because CMS uses the data to calculate staffing measures in Nursing Home Compare and the Five-Star Quality Rating System. The following rules apply: 

The OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training is excited to announce our expansion into North Dakota!  

Become an Early Adopter of Align’s Employee Engagement Solution (manager/supervisor evaluation and training!), and/or two Customer Experience Solutions and receive special pricing! The Early Adopter deadline has been extended to Monday, May 13!  

The Minnesota Legislature returned from its spring recess this week and wasted no time in getting down to business. Today in the Minnesota House, lawmakers will be voting on the House HHS Finance omnibus bill (HF2414). Tomorrow AARP will host a Telephone Town Hall with Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan on their key priorities for the remainder of the legislative session, which will include discussion on the protection of older adults in assisted living settings.  

As we reported previously in Advantage, the Nursing Home Compare Five Star Rating system has implemented some significant updates effective today (April 24) that could reduce scores for many providers. We have prepared an Issue Paper to help members understand how these scoring changes work as well as provide suggested talking points for use with external stakeholders.  

Our recent Housing with Services (HWS) legislative survey shows mixed results on the key workforce indicators we track annually. While employee vacancy rates declined for all HWS staff, employee turnover rose dramatically for home care aides. 

Get access to quality training via webinar anytime day or night. Visit our On Demand Webinar library for a current list of available webinars. Purchase them once, use them again and again for timely and relevant staff training. New webinars are added regularly. Topics included:  

Having an active social media presence is important for recruitment and community engagement. Social media is most impactful when it is shared with others - so get your staff involved! One LeadingAge Minnesota Workforce Solutions Grantee, Mother of Mercy in Albany, focused their Workforce Solutions Grant on a digital media campaign.  

The transition to the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) will require providers to fully understand the massive changes to Medicare part A payments and identify what actions they need to take to maximize the new model of value-based care. LeadingAge Minnesota is offering a series of training opportunities to help you get ready for the conversion: 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) late last week issued a Proposed Rule that provides details about the upcoming implementation of the new Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) that will take effect on Oct. 1, 2019. CMS will follow up with a final rule on the Oct. 1 rates around Aug. 1.  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator vowed this week to “push beyond the status quo” in its oversight of nursing homes. “[W’e’re] continuously looking for ways to improve our approach to nursing home safety and quality. We must never be complacent – we should always push ahead to continuously improve our efforts,” CMS Administrator Seem Verma wrote in a wide-ranging blog post published April 15.  

The House is scheduled to vote on the Health and Human Services Finance Bill (HF 2414) on Wednesday, April 24. This bill would have a serious and potentially devastating impact on senior care. It’s time to have one more conversation with your lawmaker – and the best time to do that is at the State Capitol on the day of the vote. 

Learn how to prepare for your federal fire/life safety recertification survey and know the top ten K-tags cited in Minnesota and how to avoid them. This three-part webinar series for care center interdisciplinary teams is April 24, May 15 and May 29.

The Assisted Living Certificate Program for Assisted Living/Housing-with-Services managers and home care nurse managers provides essential training on the most important core skills and knowledge for housing and home care nursing managers. A limited number of spots are still available for the Spring series, which starts next week (April 25 – June 5) and has a $100 savings incentive on registration. 

With the implementation of Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) less than six months away, time is of the essence in getting your organization and team ready for the changes it will bring. 

Our May 15 workshop, Successful Leadership Strategies to Prepare for PDPM, is a day designed for CEOs, corporate executive suite, care center Administrators and senior leadership to take a high-level examination of the changes and how to prepare.

Click here to register your executive team today for this one-day workshop. 

What is the most feasible way in the short term to finance affordable housing plus services?  Collaboration between housing providers and Medicare managed care plans, according to a new report from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston. 

The Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act, which provides a six-month extension for the Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) spousal impoverishment protections, has passed both bodies of Congress and now heads to the White House where it is expected to be signed into law. 

U.S. Representative Pete Stauber (R-MN) is co-sponsoring legislation to eliminate the rigid provisions of the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training lock-out and grant the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) greater flexibility in reinstating provider CNA training programs.  

Housing with Services and Assisted Living providers regularly find themselves in challenging situations, working to meet the needs and preferences of all residents, their families, and communities, while at the same time, assuring safe and secure settings and care, staffing in sufficient numbers and competencies to deliver the care promised, supporting staff to carry out their demanding jobs, and staying tuned to operate in a way that maintains the viability of the organization. As the demands swirl, how do we deal with the challenging situation that presents itself?  

Senior housing occupancy remains flat and new construction has slowed, according to a new report released last week by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). 

When lawmakers return to the State Capitol next week, they will be taking an important vote on issues that matter most to you, your staff and the people you serve. At a time when the State has a $1 billion surplus, our aging population is growing, and we face severe workforce shortages, the House Health and Human Services (HHS) Finance Bill cuts care center funding and fails to invest in housing and supportive services for seniors. We need your help in sharing the devasting impact this bill would have on the people you serve and the dedicated staff who provide them with care and support.  

A new toolkit from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides an inside look on how Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) select skilled nursing partners. The report indicates preferred partners are those that consistently provide high-quality care, dedicate staffers to care coordination and demonstrate a willingness to reform service delivery. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has announced that Michelle Larson was named the full-time Director for the Health Regulation Division. She had been serving as the interim director of that division. 

Are you promoting your organization on social media? For many, using Facebook and Instagram to build the workforce pipeline is a new concept. The good news is that social media is all about telling your story – and from big to small, aging services providers have so many fun stories to share!  

The Legislature is on its annual spring break this week, so we thought this would be a good time to update you with where things stand. There are several key issues at stake, with differing approaches taken in the House and the Senate. Now is a critical time for all lawmakers to hear from providers, caregivers, trustees and seniors about the concerns we may have with various proosals. Here is a summary of the key issues: