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The first 90 days of a new job can be the hardest, especially for nursing assistants. A Peer Mentor program has helped Grand Village in Grand Rapids increase their 90-day retention rate to 86 percent and decrease nursing assistant turnover by 20 percent in one year.  

The temporary protected status provided to immigrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and other countries is being terminated. Many of these foreign-born people, who work in the long-term services and supports field, will face deportation.

LeadingAge recently pointed out technical barriers to skilled nursing facilities’ compliance with quality reporting required under the IMPACT Act and requested a meeting with the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to discuss solutions that would improve their ability to comply. 

A hearing last week in the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight explored whether federal regulations for nursing homes were tough enough. 

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) plans to submit a revised State Transition Plan for the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings rule to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) after a 30-day public comment period. The comment period is now open and comments are due by 4 p.m. on Oct. 10. 

The Nominating Committee has presented its 2019 Nomination Slate for the LeadingAge Minnesota Board of Directors and recipients of Lifetime Honorary Memberships. Members will vote on the slate at this year’s Annual Business Meeting that takes place on Thursday, Sept. 20 from 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. in the Viking Room at Madden’s in Brainerd. See the slate and learn more about the candidates: 

Nearly half of all Americans are concerned that they will not have enough money to live on during retirement. President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order that could help expand access to workplace retirement plans for workers and extend their retirement savings. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has announced the adoption of the revised Minnesota Food Code that will be effective Jan. 1, 2019. We have invited MDH to join our Housing Committee meeting on Sept. 13 to share more details on the revised code and its implementation.   

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is conducting a survey on access to transportation services for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver recipients. The survey is part of a larger study of transportation services for HCBS waiver recipients that will inform a report to the 2019 Legislature.  

Time is running out to register for the 2018 Annual Meeting & Leadership Forum. Wednesday, Sept. 12 is the last day to pre-register for the conference, which features an incredible line-up of speakers on marketplace trends, technology, mental health, Medicare Advantage and special needs plans, succession planning, contract negotiation/management and much more! 

The Minnesota Department of Health is soliciting grant proposals from providers of adult day care, home care, and housing with services to provide educational scholarships for their employees. Applications are due by Friday, Oct. 19. 

The U.S. Senate last week passed a combined spending bill that contains some good news in terms of Fiscal Year 2019 funding for home and community-based services. 

The new AgingServicesJobs.Org platform continues to receive upgrades as the vendor, WorkFountain, follows a continuous improvement process. 

The OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training program is seeing high satisfaction among its users. A recent survey showed 96 percent were satisfied with the Student Curriculum delivered in the new online and on-demand program and 92 percent where satisfied with RN Train the Trainer program that is also online and on-demand. 

Attracting and retaining employees has been a significant challenge in recent years, and retention rates are a key indicator of the ability of care centers to meet staffing needs in a competitive labor market and to provide the continuity of care that is necessary for good client outcomes. In 2017, retention was relatively good news in that the gains that occurred in 2016 were maintained in the most recent year. 

Elder Circle in Grand Rapids and Volunteers of America recently received grants from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to support people with Alzheimer’s and those who care for them. 

Looking for tools to turn your standard new employee orientation into an engaging onboarding experience? Watch this 7-minute video to learn about an exciting new resource that is free to LeadingAge Minnesota members – our Onboarding Toolkit. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) last week convened approximately 40 stakeholders including providers, consumers, regulators, payors and other interested persons to discuss how to move forward in reaching consensus with respect to policy reforms to address abuse and neglect of vulnerable adults.  

The Ontrack Nursing Assistant Training program is receiving high praise from organizations using the program. In a recent satisfaction survey, 90 percent of respondents stated that they would recommend this program to others. When asked about the customer service from OnTrack staff, 96 percent of respondents were satisfied with their experience. 

LeadingAge Minnesota and Health Dimensions Group last week hosted a webinar on the new Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM), which is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2019 and will make dramatic changes in how Medicare pays for services in care centers.  

Staffing shortages continue to be a primary challenge for care centers, which are experiencing increased staffing ratios and higher use of temporary poll staff based on an analysis of data LeadingAge Minnesota completed on the 2017 costs reports filed with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS).  

Working with local high schools can provide some relief in filling positions and open shifts—and it can create a potential future pipeline for staff. Tips for successful outreach to schools are outlined in Solving the Workforce Puzzle: Lesson Learned from 42 Workforce Solutions Grants: Year One.  

It’s time to celebrate the amazing work Adult Day Services providers do every day! National Adult Day Services Week takes place Sept. 16-22 and is a great opportunity to highlight the impact Adult Day has on the people served and their family caregivers.

There is still time to register for the 2018 Annual Meeting & Leadership Forum, Sept. 18-21 at Madden’s in Brainerd. The annual conference features strategic-level speakers and education sessions, including our opening keynote looking at predictive technologies that will be the game-changers in the next few years. 

LeadingAge Minnesota has options that allow you train your staff from the comfort and convenience of your office. The popular five-part webinar series, Improving Behavioral Health Care in Older Adult Services, is available for purchase. 

How are Trump Administration policies likely to affect the social safety net for older Americans? Twelve articles in a recently published special issue of the Journal of Aging and Social Policy offer a variety of responses to that question, including articles authored by Robyn Stone and Marc Cohen, co-directors of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston. 

The new AgingServicesJobs.Org platform continues to receive upgrades as the vendor, WorkFountain, follows a continuous improvement process. 

LeadingAge Minnesota has options that allow you train your staff from the comfort and convenience of your office. 

With workforce pressures reaching unprecedented levels, the 2018 LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation Golf Fundraiser that took place Aug. 8 helped raise funds for our next round of caregiver scholarships. 

LeadingAge President & CEO Katie Sloan will lead a National Town Hall Conversation during this year’s Annual Meeting and Leadership Forum in September.