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The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) review and correct reports are now available. The reports have been enhanced to include the following features: 

Become an Early Adopter of Align’s Employee Engagement Solution (manager/supervisor evaluation and training!), and/or two Customer Experience Solutions by April 15 and receive special pricing!  

View our complete library of pre-recorded webinars available for purchase here, including the popular five-part Behavioral Health series applicable to all service settings.

The OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training program 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?  

House File 2414, the House’s Omnibus Health and Human Services Bill, contains several sections that would have a serious and potentially devastating impact on senior care. The bill cuts nursing home funding, over-regulates assisted living, expands swing beds and fails to invest in Elderly Waiver.  

As unemployment rates remain low, the shallow labor pool can constrain your organization's success and growth. We cannot rely on static job boards alone to address talent issues. AgingServicesJobs.org can help tackle your workforce challenges. Join us on April 16 for webinar featuring the latest upgrades for AgingServicesJobs.org. Sign up today!  

The Administration for Community Living leads our nation’s observance of Older Americans Month each May. The 2019 theme, Connect, Create, Contribute, encourages older adults and their communities to: 

The two Minnesota Senate Committees that have oversight over the Health and Human Services (HHS) budgets unveiled their omnibus budget bills this week. We were very pleased that the Senate bills do not include the Governor's proposals to cut nursing home funding or create a new, but seriously flawed, property rate system for nursing homes.  

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced changes to Nursing Home Compare and the Five Star Rating system that include several changes to the Quality Measure (QM) Domain. Changes to the performance thresholds and methodology in the QM Domain may result in many nursing homes experiencing a decline in their ratings until further improvements are put in place within their organizations. Key QM Domain changes include: 

Great training for your interdisciplinary care center team – 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. 

Great training for your interdisciplinary care center team – 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. 

As noted in an earlier Advantage story, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced key changes to the Five-Star quality rating system and Nursing Home Compare effective April 24. The changes include:  

Great training for your interdisciplinary care center team – 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. 

Now, more than ever, today’s Assisted Living/Housing-with-Services Managers and Home Care nurse managers must have a solid foundation of core knowledge and skills to be successful and serve their clients and customers well. The LeadingAge Assisted Living Certificate program was specifically designed with that in mind. 

Responding to the Congressional Telehealth Caucus's request for information, LeadingAge recommended several changes in Medicare policy to expand access to telehealth services and remote monitoring, improve patient outcomes, and control health care costs.  

Don’t delay -- the deadline for the bonus round of the HCBS Scholarship Grant is April 19. You can find the application here.  

A free conference on caring for a person with memory loss will be held on June 1 from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the McNamara Alumni Center. The conference is sponsored by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. 

Get practical tools, strategies and resources to help reduce client absences from your program, and the related negative impact on revenue and staffing. Find details and registration for the April 22 webinar here.

The U.S. Housing & Urban Development Department (HUD) released a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for new Section 202 funds. There is $50 million for the construction and ongoing rental subsidy of Section 202 homes. HUD expects to make approximately 30 awards. The deadline to apply is Aug. 28.  

Employer applications for the 2019 Summer Health Care Internship Program are due April 12. Care centers, home care providers and adult day services providers are encouraged to participate. 

Do you know about the Golden Circle? As you think about workforce recruitment and retention, explaining to potential new hires what your organization does is easy – and explaining how you do it is helpful. But great organizations are effective at explaining why they exist. Learn how great leaders inspire action by listening to this TED Talk from Simon Sinek explaining the Golden Circle and the importance of your “Why.” 

Registration is now open for the fourth Safe Care for Seniors regional workshop that will take place in Owatonna on May 9. You may also register for the workshops in Duluth on May 1 and Redwood Falls on May 7. The Detroit Lakes workshop on May 2 is full. 

Registration is open for the Minnesota Health Care Engineers Association (MHCEA) Spring Conference, set for Friday, May 3 at the Grand Casino Hinckley Convention Center. 

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! 

Avinity and Presbyterian Homes & Services (PHS) have announced plans for a joint venture to preserve and expand affordable senior housing. 

The Minnesota House Health and Human Services (HHS) Finance Division yesterday unveiled its nearly 1,000-page budget bill, and it doesn’t contain a lot of good news for senior care providers. LeadingAge Minnesota and the Long-Term Care Imperative oppose this bill and are asking members to join us in turning up the volume on the devastating impact it could have on the growing number of seniors you serve and those who provide them with care. 

President Trump last week issued a memorandum extending Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) protections for Liberians living in the United States through March 30, 2020. It was set to expire on March 31. 

Special pricing is available for LeadingAge Minnesota members who become an early adopter of Align’s Employee Engagement Solution (manager/supervisor evaluation and training!), and/or two Customer Experience Solutions. 

The much-anticipated Assisted Living Certificate Program begins on April 25 for Assisted Living/Housing-with-Services managers and home care nurse managers. This combined training series capitalizes on shared learning for these two leadership positions and the critical intersections of their roles and responsibilities.  

Employer applications for the 2019 Summer Health Care Internship Program are due April 12. Care centers, home care providers and adult day services providers are encouraged to participate.