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A new toolkit from LeadingAge provides resources for members to better understand the impact of Trauma-Informed Care and how to best serve residents with trauma histories. 

Help us break down training barriers! After launching LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training with great success, the OnTrack team is now vetting the needs of members to determine if the online, on-demand training platform should be expanded to include other key positions.  

Health care workforce shortage. Competition for wages. Retention issues. Employee morale. These are some of the top regional workforce issues that will be featured at the Northeast Regional Health Care Summit 2 on Nov. 9 from 12:30 – 4 p.m. 

Participation is now open for the 2018-2019 Assisted Living Salary & Benefits study, which is nationally recognized for reliable and comprehensive compensation data, including management salaries, nonmanagement wages and fringe benefits.

LeadingAge has launched the Center for Managed Care Solutions & Innovation, a one-stop shop of tools, resources, and education to help members succeed in managed care, integrated services and other alternative payment models. 

The OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training program hit another milestone this October – our 200^th student! 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officially published proposed changes to the public charge rule. The changes would deny entry to individuals seeking admission to the United States or adjusting their immigration status to become a permanent resident if there is any likelihood that the individual will become a public charge at any time in the future. Public comments are due by Dec. 10. 

The Minnesota Board on Aging and Minnesota Department of Health hosted a free webinar last week on how section Q of the MDS is used to target state resources towards assisting those nursing home residents who wish to return to a community setting. The webinar and handouts are now available for members to download.

Acquisitions will continue to be the most common way senior living providers expand their businesses in 2019, according to a new survey from Capitol One as featured in McKnight’s Senior Living. 

LeadingAge will host a call with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to discuss resources for current and new Adult Day Services providers, specifically how to begin working with Veterans Affairs and how to resolve ongoing concerns. The call takes place Nov. 5 from 1 – 2 p.m.  

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that close to 1,300 entities have signed up to participate in the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced) Model on a voluntary basis. A new blog post from Health Dimensions Group (HDG) provides basic facts, a fresh perspective on what this means and what providers should do next.   

EduCare has been the exclusive on-demand training partner of LeadingAge Minnesota for several years, providing online and DVD programs for all segments in the full continuum of older adult services. There are recent important upgrades and new features to the programs, making this an opportune time to evaluate using it for staff training. 

With the start of Medicare open enrollment on Oct. 15, the Senior LinkAge Line is prepared to help Minnesotans navigate significant changes to Medicare plans. Cost Plans, a type of Medicare plan popular in Minnesota, will no longer be available in 66 counties for 2019 due to change in federal law. This means that about 375,000 affected Minnesotans on Medicare will need to change plans. 

Help us break down training barriers! LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training launched in December 2017 with great success. At this time, the OnTrack team is vetting the needs of members to determine if OnTrack’s online, on-demand training platform should be expanded to include other key positions. 

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) has awarded a supplemental grant for $70,000 to the National Ombudsman Resource Center (NORC) to address two critical issues in long-term care settings: involuntary discharges and opioids. 

Have you ever considered how copyright law applies when movies are shown in your setting? You probably should, as motion picture showings held within communal areas on the property require a public performance license to comply with Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Act. Before you pop in that DVD or download a film for your next movie night, read this advice: 

As we have previously reported, the updated Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) PPS rates took effect for the year that began on Oct. 1. Since our last article, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a correction to the rates that impacted the wage index for some regions. The only Minnesota regions affected by this correction are Duluth and Rochester, and both by only pennies a day. 

Allina Health and Presbyterian Homes & Services (PHS) announced their newly formed collaboration in Genevive effective Jan. 1, 2019. Genevive is a geriatric medical practice and care management organization providing comprehensive care for 5,500 older adults throughout the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. 

A majority of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are feeling more optimistic about their ability to compete but some have expressed concerns about the impact Medicare Advantage plans will have on payment, according to a new study released by Ziegler. 

Applications for the HCBS Scholarship Grant are due by Friday, Oct. 19. Are you interested in applying? Get more information on how to write a successful application! Click here to listen to a recent webinar and here to access a slide deck from Lina Jau, Grant Manager, and Craig Baarson, Reimbursement Fiscal Analyst, with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). 

Health care workforce shortage. Competition for wages. Retention issues. Employee morale. These are some of the top regional workforce issues that will be the focus on in the Northeast Regional Health Care Summit 2.

The Dec. 6 Quality Conference will feature a general session about how to design physical environments for aging persons. Learn evidence-based design and research findings that can help inform design decisions. 

A bill that would end the mandatory nurse aide training lock-out and allow nursing homes to regain their nursing assistant training authority as soon as deficiencies have been corrected needs more support in Congress. We need your help! Read on to learn how you can urge your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor and advance this bill. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued guidance for Housing Trust Fund (HTF) grantees and the first report on the status of initial trust fund commitments in 2016. 

A new course is underway at Buffalo High School (BHS) bringing together the student’s young lives with those of older adults in the community. CIS Introduction to Gerontology is the study of aging and that’s just what students are experiencing in and out of the classroom.  

The Trump Administration is considering ways to strengthen enforcement of rules that require immigrants to demonstrate that they will not take advantage of public assistance programs after entering the United States. 

A recent webinar on a series of upgrades to AgingServicesJobs.Org is now available. View the webinar to learn more. 

Two new webinars have been added to LeadingAge Minnesota’s on-demand training library as part of a core knowledge series of topics that are essential and fundamental for senior housing managers to know to operate legally. 

Medicare Open Enrollment for 2019 coverage begins Monday, Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7, 2018.  The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period is when seniors can choose to enroll or switch to a new Medicare plan for 2019, including a Medicare Advantage plan or Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.  

LeadingAge has updated the Medicare Part A Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (PPS) calculator and the Medicare Part B therapy rate calculator to help members assess and estimate the impact of final payment changes for FY 2019, which began on Oct. 1, 2018.