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The Minnesota Department of Human Services has posted the Jan. 24 webinar that featured Elderly Waiver (EW) rate reform, the rate study that occurred in 2018, and their recommendations to the Legislature; along with updates and training on the Residential Services Tool.  

The Veterans Health Administration has announced a monthly webinar on its Community Care programs and policies. The webinars are geared toward all providers with a contract or provider agreement to provide VA paid services.  

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Licensing and Certification Program is offering a free one-day MDS class, Basic Training for New MDS Nurses, on March 20. The class is intended for new MDS nurses with less than one-year experience. Space is limited, so register early!  

Employer applications are being accepted for the 2019 Summer Health Care Internship Program (SHCIP). Hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities, home care providers and adult day services facilities are encouraged to participate on behalf of qualified students in their community.  

It’s Careers in Aging Week! This is the perfect time to highlight three LeadingAge Minnesota members – Augustana Regent, Eventide and Ecumen -- who received Stars Among Us awards last month for their work to proactively address our field’s workforce challenges through innovative partnerships that will expose and recruit people to the rewarding, valued careers in aging services. 

Mark your calendars for LeadingAge Minnesota’s Assisted Living Certificate Program. 2019 program dates have been announced (see below), with increased capacity to meet the unprecedented demand for this training series which graduated over 100 professionals in 2018. 

It’s Careers in Aging Week, and we just received great and timley news from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to help with your recruitment and retention efforts -- a bonus round of the HCBS Scholarship Grant. There is approximately $360,000 to distribute. The application deadline is April 19. You can find the application here.   

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the freeze on health inspection ratings at care centers that was instituted in February 2018 will be lifted in April. This is among several changes CMS is making to provide greater support to consumers looking to compare the quality of nursing homes via Nursing Home Compare. Major changes include:   

Join your fellow providers on Thursday, Feb. 28 from 1 p.m. - 1:30p.m. for a free, 30-minute webinar explaining Governor Walz’s budget recommendations and what they mean for senior services.

Do you know about all of the scholarship programs available in Minnesota? Do job applicants know about these opportunities when you are recruiting new staff? 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) surprised all aging services providers on Feb. 21 by releasing version 12 of the MDS 3.0 Quality Measures (QM) User’s Manual. The most significant revisions focused on these key areas: 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has integrated responsibility for federal surveys and federal complaints into the Licensing & Certification (L&C) Program. What does this mean for care centers?  

Barb Rode, President & CEO, Saint Therese was recently honored by LeadingAge Minnesota with the Ray Johnson Pioneer Leadership Award. 

Kathy Olson, Executive Director at Millstream Commons in Northfield, was recently honored by LeadingAge Minnesota with the Kal Michels Outstanding Leadership Award. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced they are piloting a new Federal Monitoring Survey to replace the existing FOSS/FOQIS surveys. Under this pilot, federal oversight of surveys done by state agencies will be conducted primarily in three ways: 

Congratulations to the following LeadingAge Minnesota members for being named Infection Prevention and Control Data Champions by Lake Superior Quality Innovation Network: 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) granted Minnesota final approval of its statewide transition plan to bring settings into compliance with the federal Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) settings regulations. 

This is a watershed year for how services are regulated for seniors in Minnesota. Bills are being introduced, and while there is broad consensus on concerns and principles, there is also divergence on areas that will affect the lives of seniors, their access to services, and your functioning as a provider. It is essential for those providing care and services in assisted living settings to be a part of the conversation at the Capitol. Register today for our Day at the Capitol on March 12!  

Did you know you can train your staff on important regulations and requirements that affect your operations as well as emerging needs like behavioral health without having to leave your setting? LeadingAge Minnesota’s On-Demand Learning Library features quality training for care centers, assisted living and adult day providers right at your fingertips that you can access at a time and place most convenient for you. 

Have you tried recruiting through LeadingAge Minnesota’s job board AgingServicesJOBS.org? Check it out! Email Jenna Kellerman for a promo code to post your first job for FREE! 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), on last week’s statewide regulatory call, reviewed top deficiency trends for nursing homes and focus areas to be targeted during CMS oversite surveys. MDH highlighted the increase in deficiencies on both complaint and survey being cited at Immediate Jeopardy level (I/J) in 2019. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), on last week’s statewide regulatory call, reviewed top deficiency trends for nursing homes and focus areas to be targeted during CMS oversite surveys. MDH highlighted the increase in deficiencies on both complaint and survey being cited at Immediate Jeopardy level (I/J) in 2019. 

From Jan. 1, 2019 – Feb. 20, 2019, 14 I/Js were cited. A majority were the result of complaint investigations. Some of the areas identified that resulted in I/Js in 2019 are:

Free of Abuse and Neglect:

• Suspicious bruising in groin, breast and neck area not identified, reported or investigated
• Rough handling by staff
• Inappropriate physical touch and yelling at resident

Free of Accident Hazards/Supervision/Devices (also #1 deficiency cited at I/J on standard and complaint survey and #1 deficiency cited at G on complaints, #2 deficiency cited at G on standard surveys in 2018)

• Transfer with a mechanical lift – straps not properly connected to sling and sling too large
• Failure to supervise residents at risk for falls, repeated self-transfers resulting in falls with multiple fractures
• Smoking while using oxygen

Treatment/Services to Prevent/Heal Pressure Ulcers (also #1 deficiency cited at G on standard surveys in 2018)

• Did not provide treatment for prevention of stage 3-4 pressure ulcers

Quality of Care

• Did not notify the physician for a resident with bloody stools and on Coumadin resulting in hospitalization and transfusion

MDH also summarized the top 2018 tags related to surveys, complaints, and E tags.  A complete breakdown of deficiencies with a scope of D, G and J are posted on the MDH website.  Here is a sampling of that data.

Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan yesterday released the One Minnesota budget that proposes to spend $49 billion in the next two years on a wide range of priorities. The budget contained mixed news for older adult services. While it supports the interim work on older adult protection, the budget does not include increased Elderly Waiver funding, only partially funds the DWRS increase for adult day providers, assumes a fee-driven approach for assisted living providers and reduces Value-Based Reimbursement for care centers. 

Hosting intergenerational events are a fun way to get young people engaged with the aging services field. Invite young people (all ages! Small children to young adults) to spend time with the people you serve. Consider activities such as: 

The momentum for Safe Care for Seniors continues to build – from the 700 people who took the Safe Care for Seniors pledge at Institute & Expo earlier this month to the members who have since made their public commitment to respect, safety and dignity via the Make the Pledge link on our web site. This week, we provide a more detailed review of Safe Care for Seniors and what members can anticipate receiving from LeadingAge Minnesota to effectively implement the program in their organization or setting. 

Are you looking for Manger/Supervisor Training? Does your organization need tools to promote a culture of engagement, service excellence, and continuous improvement? We are thrilled to announce a new partnership with Align, bringing you access to an Employee Engagement Solution (manager/supervisor evaluation and training!), and two Customer Experience Solutions.  

A bipartisan bill to modify the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training lock-out that is currently mandated in law was introduced this week by U.S. Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN) and U.S. Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI). The bill eliminates the statute’s rigid provisions and grants CMS greater flexibility in reinstating providers’ valuable CNA training programs.  

Responding to provider concerns, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is updating its new website for the Patient-Driven Payment Model and planning an earlier release of the RAI manual. 

To help provide a representative picture of the current state of senior housing, your input is needed for the annual State of Seniors Housing. All organizations that complete surveys will receive a complimentary copy of The State of Seniors Housing 2019, which compiles the survey results for comparisons to your own operations.  

Faye Baylor, a volunteer with the Minnesota Veterans Home in Fergus Falls, was honored by LeadingAge Minnesota with the Volunteer of the Year Award at this month’s Institute & Expo.