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Join your colleagues in taking the Safe Lift: STOP for Safety Pledge – a shared commitment to protect residents and staff by reducing lift-related falls. By taking this pledge, your organization commits to implementing the Safe Lift: STOP for Safety 3-Step Process as a standard practice, ensuring every resident transfer is safe, respectful, and reliable.

The 2025 LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation Golf Tournament – held on Aug. 5 at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury – helped raise funds for the next round of caregiver scholarships. In total, thanks to golfers, sponsors, volunteers, and ticket sales, the event raised over $122,000 before expenses. It was a gorgeous day for golf. 

The LeadingAge Minnesota QUEST Report is now available for Q1 2025.

The fourteenth edition of the Really Big Book of Nursing Home Regulations is finally here and ready to go! It is now available for order.

As shared in last week’s Advantage, there are still several unknowns for how the federal budget bill, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, will impact older adults and the services they need. Minnesota budget officials estimate that the law will result in nearly $500 million in annual losses to our Medicaid program. Most of those reductions will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2027, or later, and will be subject to future state action by the Minnesota Legislature.

LeadingAge Minnesota is pleased to present its 2025 legislative report. More than a summary, this report is designed to help you lead with insight and intention. It provides a clear-eyed look at the session’s outcomes and a summary of the decisions that will directly impact your organizations and the people you serve.

The annual selection for the Quality Improvement Incentive Payment Program (QIIP) for nursing homes is due by July 18^th. The selection for this year has been delayed by technical issues at DHS, but they are now ready to accept QIIP selections through a new process.

The State of Minnesota recently announced that staff from the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) will be accompanying Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) surveyors during certain licensing surveys.

As reports of a measles outbreak linked to the Mall of America emerge, it serves as a timely reminder for nursing homes and assisted living facilities to revisit their infection control policies and ensure staff preparedness.

State legislative leaders have finalized the Human Services Budget Bill at the Capitol. As previously shared with members, the agreement includes several disappointing provisions.

A New Americans Resource Map is now available on the LeadingAge Minnesota website! This interactive map of Minnesota’s community organizations, resources, and support is a new tool designed to connect your staff with resources and support that they need outside of work, and to subsequently strengthen our long-term care workforce.

LeadingAge Minnesota recently completed an updated version of our Sector Trends Report, which you can now access on our website.

LeadingAge Minnesota received an increasing volume of inquiries over the past several months regarding the ongoing COVID-19 requirements in both nursing homes and assisted living communities. In response, LeadingAge Minnesota has updated its materials to encompass a broader respiratory illness framework that includes both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza.

The federal government is moving to end certain temporary immigration statuses, impacting compassionate caregivers in the aging services workforce.

On May 11, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released legislation aimed at fulfilling budget reconciliation requirements, following the House's adoption of a broader budget resolution in April. The Committee’s proposal includes sweeping policy changes to reduce federal spending by $916 billion over the next decade, with the majority of cuts targeting Medicaid.

Legislative leaders and Governor Walz announced this morning that they’ve reached a preliminary budget agreement, with details still being ironed out. As lawmakers shift their attention from policy to omnibus budget bills, LeadingAge Minnesota and our Imperative partner will continue to closely track impacts on aging services. As we learn more, we will share more detailed information on budget bills over the next several days.

In 2024, over 1,000 OnTrack nursing assistants attempted the state exam to be placed on the Minnesota Nurse Aide Registry. OnTrack learners’ pass rates continue to surpass the state average.

This week, lawmakers took significant steps on funding and policy for human services. On Monday, the House of Representatives heard HF2434, the Human Services Finance Omnibus Bill as well as HF2115, the Human Services Policy Omnibus Bill.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) uses the MN–ITS PRVLTR Mailbox as a primary method for communicating important updates.

Recent survey trends have revealed a notable uptick in deficiencies tied to the identification of resident changes in condition and the timely completion of follow-up comprehensive assessments.