News

In a significant escalation of the federal government’s effort to increase vaccination rates, President Biden announced today that he has directed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop regulations requiring all nursing homes to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their staff, as a condition of receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.

Earlier today, LeadingAge sent all care center members updated Five-Star Analysis reports that reflect data from earlier this year during the height of the pandemic. In addition to showing the status of each of the measures and the overall score, the report also shows areas where care centers are close to gaining or losing points. To look at your care center’s performance over time on any of the measures, members should click on any of the red “trend” boxes on the Five Star report.

One of the Association’s most cherished and time-honored traditions is getting together each fall for LeadingAge Minnesota’s Annual Meeting & Leadership Forum at Madden’s Resort near Brainerd. The LeadingAge Minnesota Board of Directors voted to convert our planned in-person meeting to a virtual event.

In a Joint Statement issued today, Health and Human Services (HHS) officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and other agencies announced plans to begin offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to all Americans beginning the week of Sept. 20 and starting eight months after an individual’s second dose. 

In January 2021, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) temporarily waived the requirement during the peacetime emergency for lead agencies to complete OBRA Level II evaluations before a person’s nursing facility admission.

An essential requirement of assisted living is the provision of a Uniform Disclosure of Assisted Living Services and Amenities (UDALSA). The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has acknowledged that there can be more than one UDALSA per facility if there are varying services in different sections of the building.

On Tuesday, July 27, a select working group began hosting a series of hearings to determine how to allocate the money set aside during a special session for Hero Pay bonuses for frontline workers. Several different groups are vying for the $250 million set aside for the bonuses, and this week, the working group is hosting a hearing to discuss the effects of the pandemic on long-term care staff. Here is what you need to know about what is happening at the capitol this week:

During the June special session, legislation changed resident assessment practices that care centers now need to follow: the requirement for a significant change assessment after therapy services end or after completing a period of required isolation for an infection.

The Minnesota Department of Health has issued over 1,700 assisted living facility or assisted living facility with dementia care licenses as of Friday afternoon. For the remaining 286 conversion applicants who are waiting for background checks or who have final documents to submit, MDH has issued a conditional license.

As we transition to Assisted Living Licensure on Aug. 1, action is required to be a provider of Medical Assistance waiver programs in the Provider Enrollment record with the Department of Human Services.

Implementation of assisted living licensure is only days away, and there are many process changes to both operational and clinical work. A new Assisted Living Bill of Rights was created and posted on the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) website many weeks ago. Organizations are required to ensure all residents living in assisted living receive a copy.

We have experienced a significant decrease in COVID-19 cases in the spring and early summer compared to the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, during the middle of July, COVID-19 case numbers have spiked, with an approximately 300% increase in cases nationally.

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry published a notice on July 19 (Page 31) that it has adopted the federal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19. With this publication, the ETS is now effective in Minnesota and will remain in effect for up to six months. During that period, MN-OSHA invites comments about the standard, and LeadingAge Minnesota will submit a memo to the agency in the weeks ahead.

The Minnesota Department of Health has announced the Notice of Adoption for the Rules Governing Assisted Living Facilities was published in the State Register on July 19. You may review the Notice of Adoption on the Minnesota State Register website, State Register Volume 46, Number 3 (Page 33).

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently posted the application materials for a new round of the nursing facility moratorium exceptions process on the MDH website. Care centers interested in applying for approval to fund a construction project will need to complete all of the required application materials and return them to MDH by March 17, 2022.

As members are aware, federal OSHA issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) on June 21 to protect health care and health care support service workers from occupational exposure to COVID-19.

Assisted living settings are working diligently to have the necessary components in place by Aug. 1. 

Under the new assisted living license, which goes into place on Aug. 1, all assisted living residents must have an individualized abuse prevention plan (IAPP).

With a final push and some surprise twists, Minnesota lawmakers dodged the threat of state agency and services shutdowns, just barely meeting their deadline to pass a $52 billion state budget. Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. was lawmakers' deadline to get all 13 of their state budget bills through both chambers of the Legislature and to Governor Walz's desk for his signature. Governor Walz has signed the 12 budget bills and the tax bill, averting the potential disaster of state agency shutdown.

With Minnesota's COVID-19 Peacetime Emergency ending July 1, a question on members' minds is what waivers are still in place and for how long. We do not have a lot of detail yet, but here is a summary of what we currently know.

Board of Directors Begins National Search for a Successor

SAINT PAUL, MN (July 1, 2021) – LeadingAge Minnesota recently announced that Gayle Kvenvold, the association's long-time President and CEO, will retire at the end of 2021.

For 40 years, Kvenvold has led dramatic change in services and supports for Minnesota’s senior population. She spent 32 years of her 40 years at the association as the organization’s president and CEO. Under her leadership, LeadingAge Minnesota – once named Minnesota Health & Housing Alliance and then Aging Services of Minnesota – has grown into one of the largest associations addressing senior care in the nation.