News

Guidance for activities, visitation, and large group gatherings has not changed significantly. However, as the summer is winding down, long-term care settings that host gatherings are seeking a guidance refresher for these events.

A recent survey of nursing homes conducted by the Long-Term Care Imperative found that several settings throughout the state are closing beds, considering a sale, or considering closing their doors. Due to lost capacity in the system overall, Minnesota seniors are losings access to care in the communities they call home.

Assisted living providers must issue a new version of the Assisted Living Bill of Rights (144G.91) to all residents and obtain a written acknowledgment of its receipt. The update is necessary because the Minnesota Legislature adopted several changes to the Assisted Living Bill of Rights earlier this year.

Over the next few weeks, the Minnesota Department of Health's (MDH) Collaborative Safety steering team members will begin inviting providers with closed Tuberculous and Individual Abuse Prevention Plan correction orders to collaborate, review and map these issues with the goal of learning and improving these systems.

As reported in last week’s Advantage, the Assisted Living Facility HFID must be on new assisted living contracts entered into on or after Aug. 1, 2022. Also, effective for contracts entered into on or after Aug. 1, 2022, the following changes were made to the required assisted living contract content in item (5) in 144G.50, subdivision 2, the (struck-out language deleted, new language in bold):

Late last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the annual final rule that updates the Prospective Payment System (PPS) rates for care centers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidance on enhanced barrier precautions designed to reduce the transmission of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO). MDRO are pathogens that cause infections and are resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat infections.

Providers will be required to make a few minor changes to the assisted living contract in the coming weeks. LeadingAge Minnesota is in the process of providing feedback to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) on a draft frequently asked questions document regarding assisted living contract language.

LeadingAge Minnesota has received new and welcome guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) concerning changes to assisted living contracts.

Cuyuna Regional Medical Center: Shift-to-Shift Team Safety and Dignity Rounds

Today, we highlight a successful Safe Care practice from Cuyuna Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Crosby – Change of Shift Nursing Team Rounds. Jenny Pederson, RN, Quality Care Coordinator for the Care Center, is leading this new practice. It takes approximately five minutes during shift change and prioritizes residents' safety and dignity.

Assisted living providers, effective Aug. 1, need to add specific language to any notice that is issued to a resident or their legal or designated representative due to a requirement in the Minnesota Statute 144G or the Assisted Living Rule 4659 that is required to include information regarding the Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care and the Office of Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires nursing homes to report facility resident and staff COVID-19 case numbers to the Center for Disease Prevention and Control’s (CDC) National Health Safety Network (NHSN) weekly.

It's not just the weather heating up: election season is upon us, and candidates seeking elected office in November are hitting the pavement to meet potential constituents. Under Minnesota law, political candidates should be granted access to multi-unit dwellings used as residences, including nursing homes, assisted living buildings, and independent living. Candidates are also permitted to leave materials behind, though nursing homes may require that materials are left at a central location.

LeadingAge Minnesota has worked with nurse partners to develop tools to assist members with side rail assessments in assisted living settings.

Are you interested in improving your mealtime safety practices but don't know where to start? LeadingAge Minnesota, as part of Safe Care, has developed a new video demonstrating two essential dietary safety practices – Pre-Meal Huddles and Dietary Safety Pauses.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) website now confirms the extension of the July 2 deadline by which employees with emergency background studies must clear fingerprint-based studies until the end of the year. Individuals who received emergency studies must have a fully compliant study by Dec. 31 to continue working after that date. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated recommendations for an additional COVID-19 vaccination booster (fourth shot) on May 24. The updates provide a recommendation for a second booster for those people 12 and older if they are moderately to severely immunocompromised and individuals 50 years of age and older.

On June 6, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will terminate the COVID-19 waiver that has allowed nurse aides to serve seniors without being on the Nursing Assistant Registry. Nurse aides hired or worked during the waiver have until Oct. 7 to be placed on the Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry.

On a monthly Nurse Assistant call, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) had previously communicated near-term deadlines for those working under the 1135 Waiver. With the termination of the waiver quickly approaching, we advocated strongly for flexibility and further clarity on the action required for those working under the waiver to ensure nurse aides can continue providing services for seniors throughout the state.

MDH has provided helpful clarification on the three different pathways to transition caregivers who have been working under the 1135 Waiver.

Three Pathways

Pathway 1: Enroll in a state-approved Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP) and complete the training program and pass the exam by Oct. 7.

Pathway 2: Enroll in a NATCEP training program, but take advantage of the transition pathway developed by MDH, allowing facilities to credit training received while working in a long-term care facility under the waiver towards the required 75-hours of training. Individuals taking this route must still enroll in a NATCEP program to ensure training requirements are met and assist in completing any additional training needs. The training and testing must be completed and passed by Oct. 7.

Pathway 3: Choose not to enroll in a NATCEP program, but challenge and pass the test before Oct. 7. The nurse aide will have three attempts to successfully pass the knowledge and skills exams. If they do not pass the test by Oct. 7, they cannot work as a nurse aide until completion of a NATCEP program.

Please refer to the updated MDH document Placement on Minnesota’s Nurse Aide Registry for Nurse Aides Working during the 1135 Waiver for more information on these pathways.

We will continue to work closely with our partners at MDH and Minnesota State Colleges to discuss strategies to ensure all caregivers working under the 1135 Waiver are successfully trained, tested, and transitioned to be on the registry by Oct. 6.

If you have questions or need assistance with this process, please reach out to Anna Mowry, Director of Workforce Solutions at LeadingAge Minnesota.

Although the Health and Human Services conference committee could not agree on new funding measures, the committee reached a consensus on a package of policy changes that passed both the Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives on the last day of the legislative session. The policy bill includes two provisions that provide some relief for providers relating to background studies.

It’s crunch time on the advocacy front! At the state level, we are in the final days of the legislative session and funding for aging services in still in play. Without our encouragement, funding could easily be left out of a final budget agreement.