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CMS released the updated MDS 3.0 Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) user manual (version 1.18.11) in early April and will become effective Oct. 1. Watch for more information in the coming weeks on our training timeline.

On-demand content from this year’s Virtual Institute is available online for registered participants to view and earn CEUs through April 30. On-demand content includes 17 sessions for the Virtual Institute and the three keynote sessions from the in-person conference.

Documentation standards are critical in today’s healthcare settings to provide quality patient care and meet regulatory requirements. The SBAR technique provides a framework for communication between members of the healthcare team about a patient’s condition.

Statewide nurse aide test pass rates are rising, but OnTrack nursing assistant students continue to exceed these averages.

Several members of LeadingAge Minnesota attended LeadingAge's annual Leadership Summit in our nation’s capital city this week. LeadingAge Minnesota attendees visited with several members of Congress and their teams to discuss issues that our providers are facing all across the state.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released its 2024 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule. It includes several proposed SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) changes. 

In assisted living and assisted living with dementia care licensing surveys completed in the first quarter of 2023 by the Minnesota Department of Health, the average number of survey citations is 13.85. Analyzing the survey data can help assisted living settings provide safe, quality care and avoid citations on future surveys.

On April 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released simplified vaccine recommendations. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met yesterday to discuss updated COVID-19 vaccine changes after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended emergency use authorizations (EUA) for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech products earlier this week.

The Biden Administration outlined several new plans ostensibly targeted at supporting care workers and family caregivers. Continuing a framework set out early in the Biden campaign, the strategy targets caregivers and workers in childcare, aging services, and services for people with disabilities.

The Biden Administration outlined several new plans ostensibly targeted at supporting care workers and family caregivers. Continuing a framework set out early in the Biden campaign, the strategy targets caregivers and workers in childcare, aging services, and services for people with disabilities. 

The updated MDS 3.0 Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) user manual (version 1.18.11) was released in early April by CMS and will become effective Oct. 1. Watch for more information this month on our training timeline.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) have postponed the webinar scheduled for 1 p.m. on April 17 to provide information on nursing home topics including:

• Receivership
• Closure and emergency relocation procedures
• The role of governing board

On Wednesday of this week, a group of LeadingAge Minnesota members attended a “Mini Day at the Capitol” in an effort to continually share our stories and drive legislative action. They had the opportunity to meet with their lawmakers to discuss our long-term care policy priorities and share their stories.

On April 7, the Minnesota Department of Human Services released Bulletin #23-21-08: DHS Announces Key MHCP Eligibility Policies during the Unwinding Period (PDF), which announces timelines for restarting Medical Assistance renewals after Public Health Emergency continuous coverage requirements end. These timelines also apply to reassessments for waiver and AC programs, including financial eligibility redeterminations for the AC program.

The deadline for registering a team for this year’s ICan Quality Improvement Contest is May 1. The contest involves developing and implementing a Quality Improvement project identified and led by front-line staff.

In a recent bulletin, the Department of Human Services (DHS) reminded providers that effective Jan. 11, 2021, an age limitation was applied to new customized living (CL) services settings for Brain Injury (BI) and Community Access for Disability Inclusion (CADI) waiver programs. Customized living services settings operational on or after Jan. 11, 2021, are limited to serving people on the BI and CADI waivers who are age 55 and older. This change was announced in the Implementation of the HCBS rule tiered standards, effective Jan. 11, 2021.

LeadingAge Minnesota is launching a statewide digital advocacy campaign featuring a series of videos that tell the stories of caregivers and seniors. The goal of the campaign is to drive advocacy at a critical time in the legislative session.

New data shows that statewide nurse aide knowledge test pass rates have increased by over 8% in the first quarter of 2023. This means more nursing assistants have been successfully certified and placed on the registry.

The Minnesota Department of Health’s Health Regulation Division (HRD) will host the Board of Executives for Long-Term Care Services and Supports (BELTSS) for a webinar on Wednesday, April 19, at noon to present the most frequently asked questions about Licensed Assisted Living Director (LALD) licensure and practice requirements.

District Meetings are the perfect opportunity to build relationships with your regional colleagues, stay up-to-date on important issues that impact your work and community, and gain helpful resources to make your work easier. They also serve as an essential governance function of your association.

Our national partners at LeadingAge continue to push forward with the Aging Services Workforce Now advocacy campaign launched last year. A recent member workforce poll conducted by LeadingAge showed the shortage of caregiving professionals across aging services is still a true crisis that is not improving. That's why it's critical that we tackle our workforce challenges at every level of government, including in Washington, DC.

The Scheduling Software Playbook is the first in a series of workforce technology solution playbooks designed to assist you in identifying technology solutions to help address the workforce crisis.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation team will be using more than $72,000 to continue offering free Mental Health First Aid training to members, through the Minnesota Department of Health’s Mental Health Care Professionals Grant program.

On March 30, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released QSO-23-10-NH, which rescinds QSO-20-31-NH and provides updated guidance on enforcement for infection control non-compliance. As a result, enforcement actions are more severe than before when cited under F880 and/or F887.

WCCO political analyst Blois Olson hosted a new Fluence Forum, a conversation about the caregiving crisis in Minnesota.

LeadingAge Minnesota continues to use earned media to garner support for our legislative agenda and keep pressure on lawmakers. In addition, we’ve recently launched a paid media campaign in strategically targeted areas.

Earlier this week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the annual proposed rule that updates the Prospective Payment System (PPS) rates for care centers. The rule calls for an update in the rates starting Oct. 1, which averages 3.7%.

On Monday, the Senate Human Services Committee passed its omnibus finance bill with key differences from the House’s version.

On Thursday afternoon, several nursing home providers from across the state visited the Capitol to support funding for nursing homes in the House Human Services bill. 

This complimentary, members-only resource includes a short video with an accompanying exercise and discussion handout. Gather your nurses, particularly staff nurses and direct care nurses, to watch the Delegation and Assignment recording and work through the exercise together.