Dec. 2025

Featured News

Connected Communities: A Simple Idea Changing Rural Aging

On December 2, 2025 by Gina DiMaggio

Connected Communities is a statewide effort to help older adults live well, wherever they call home, by strengthening the relationships, services, and local supports that surround them.

It brings together senior care leaders, health care organizations, community groups, and neighbors to help people thrive as they age—especially in rural areas where resources are limited. What began as two pilots has now grown to a network of five, proving that rural health transformation is needed and possible.

Across Minnesota, Connected Communities partners are expanding access to care, reducing isolation, improving safety, and creating systems that help people stay healthy and connected.

Pilots Expanding in 2025

Three new pilots launched this year—each reflecting local priorities but sharing the same goal: helping older adults stay independent, supported, and engaged.

• Thryve (Guardian Angels Senior Services): Providing companion support, social activities, caregiving education, and help with navigating local resources.
• Freeborn County (St. John’s Lutheran Community): A countywide partnership improving transportation, safety, and access to services, including AI-powered passive remote patient monitoring to reduce falls and identify health concerns earlier.
• Bethesda: Building bridges across geography and cultures— in rural places, plus with those who speak Spanish, Somali, or Karen—to improve access to, understanding of, and support for aging and caregiving.

Impact of Legacy Pilots

The original two pilots are already showing what this approach can accomplish:

• Lakes Area Connected Communities – LACC (Vivie): In just nine months, partners closed nearly 4,000 care gaps and expanded access to care coordination, dementia navigation, and mental health coaching for more than 6,500 older adults, including the region’s first bilingual (Spanish) PEARLS program. LACC absorbed D-CAN staff after they closed to sustain dementia support groups regionally and have scaled from five to ten counties, with ripple effects reaching two-thirds of the state.
• Elevate (Perham Health): Filled 3,100+ volunteer opportunities since its launch, valued at over $575,000; strengthened neighbor-to-neighbor support; and reduced hospital readmissions by 5% for those engaged with the program, while beginning to track avoided healthcare costs. They even won the 2025 statewide Rural Health Award presented by the Minnesota Department of Health for their work.

These local successes are building lasting systems—healthier communities, stronger partnerships, and better care for older adults.

One Life, Changed

Minnesota’s 2025 Rural Health Award winner, Elevate, is seeing the older adults using their services, along with their families, reporting reduced anxiety, feeling less isolated, and avoiding impossible tradeoffs between health and the affordability of basic things like housing, food, and medicine.

One example of this comes from Elevate’s health coach, who began working with a man who needed transportation to dialysis twice a week—thirty minutes each way. What started as a transportation challenge turned out to be much more—he was also facing the threat of eviction.

The health coach didn’t stop at arranging reduced-cost rides. She built trust, listened, and helped him navigate the long and often confusing process of applying for income-based housing.

Today, he’s in a new apartment, driving himself to dialysis, and his health has noticeably improved. Living in a supportive environment where he can connect with others, he’s thriving.

This is what Elevate does best—seeing the whole person, not just the immediate need. Their team’s persistence, compassion, and problem-solving turn challenges into stability—and stability into well-being.

To view photos related to this story, check out our 2025 photo reel here.

Notable News

Safe Lift: Innovating Safety Where Change Has Stalled

On December 2, 2025 by Julie Apold

For years, resident falls during mechanical lift transfers have remained one of the most persistent—and preventable—safety risks in long-term care. Despite training and equipment updates, the problem has seen little improvement.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation is leading the charge with a bold, human-centered solution: a voice-guided, interactive display that attaches directly to existing mechanical lifts. This low-cost, real-time support tool guides staff, step-by-step, through the transfer process—acting like a co-pilot for safety. By reinforcing best practices during the moment of care, it helps reduce errors, build confidence, and improve outcomes for both residents and caregivers.

What makes this project different is that it's not just a new tool—it's the culmination of a broader Safe Lift Initiative aimed at transforming how mechanical lift safety is approached in long-term care.

The initiative began with on-the-ground research, including interviews and observations with frontline staff, residents, and families. Insights revealed that time pressures and unclear processes were common causes of unsafe transfers.

In response, a Safe Lift Roadmap was developed with best practices such as:

• Designating Safe Lift Champions

• Performing Safe Lift rounding

• Using a standardized STOP for Safety pause before transfers

Currently in development and slated for roll-out by Fall 2026, the voice-guided tool is being tested and refined with provider partners. Safe Lift aims to reduce injuries, boost staff confidence, and restore dignity to the transfer experience—setting a new standard for safety in nursing homes and beyond. Special thanks to the Shavlik Family Foundation for their grant investment which is making the development of this voice guided tool possible.

To view photos related to this story, check out our 2025 photo reel here.

OnTrack Reaches Major Milestones – 10,000 Aides Trained and New TMA Pathway Approved

On December 2, 2025 by Anna Mowry

This year, the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation reached a transformational milestone in our commitment to build and sustain a strong caregiving workforce.

More than 10,000 individuals have now enrolled in OnTrack, our hybrid-online nursing assistant training program designed to open doors, remove barriers, and empower people to begin meaningful careers in aging services. 

LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s OnTrack, powered by EduCare, is a model of nursing assistant training specifically designed for aging services. What began in 2018 as an innovative approach to nursing assistant training has become a statewide engine for opportunity—growing into one of the most widely used and trusted workforce development tools in Minnesota’s aging services sector.

New Curriculum—OnTrack TMA

This year also marks an important next chapter for our training ecosystem. We are pleased to share that the Minnesota Department of Health has approved our new curriculum, OnTrackTMA, expanding our pathway for future caregivers and supporting the professional growth of current staff. Beginning in January 2026, this new offering will help more individuals advance into Trained Medication Aide roles—an essential step in strengthening workforce capacity and enhancing the quality of care across aging services.

As we look ahead to 2026, the Foundation remains committed to strengthening the workforce pipeline—one caregiver at a time. We extend our gratitude to all members and partners who make this work possible.

Want to learn how OnTrack can support your workforce? Contact us at 651-425-1110 or email ontracktrainingonline@gmail.com.

To view photos related to this story, check out our 2025 photo reel here.

Centering Community: Our Impact This Year

On December 2, 2025 by Kirstan Ketter

In Minnesota, one in three long-term care workers is a New American, making this group a critical part of the LTC workforce. Yet many still face hurdles that extend far beyond their job descriptions.

• Language access gaps and confusion around long-term-care-specific terminology can make communication stressful
• Unfamiliar workplace culture can lead to isolation
• Systemic barriers can under-place New Americans in roles below their skill level despite their immense contributions, talents, and experience.

In the spirit of LeadingAge Minnesota’s mission to transform and enhance the experience of aging, our Foundation stepped in to help bridge a crucial gap to support workers and employers through a series of targeted, culturally informed initiatives. This work is being made possible by grant funding from the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Grant, Equity, Access, and Research (GEAR) Division.

This year, our foundation provided:

• Expanded language access and translanguaging supports:
  • Ongoing distribution of 143 Pocketalk translation devices to long-term care providers at no cost. These HIPAA-compliant devices provide on-demand interpretation and translation in more than 90 languages, making them a highly effective tool for both employees and employers navigating multilingual healthcare environments.
  • A clearer understanding of clinical and workplace terminology through the active development of a Multilingual Audio Glossary of more than 150 essential long-term care terms available in English and multiple high-need languages.
  • Translation of the OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training supplemental materials into Hmong, Somali, and Spanish, supporting more equitable learning for the hundreds of New Americans enrolled in CNA training programs each year.
• Culturally informed recruitment and retention tools:
  • A multilingual documentary-style video series featuring New Americans in long-term care, currently being produced in eight languages—English, French, Hmong, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, and Ukrainian—to support recruitment, onboarding, and retention.
  • Guidance for employers through a comprehensive Employer Guide focused on culturally informed prerecruitment, recruitment, inclusive onboarding, retention, and pathways to leadership—soon to be paired with an early-2026 Collaborative Learning Series to support real-time adoption.
• Improved access to culturally relevant community supports:
  • An interactive digital map showcasing more than 200 culturally specific resources across Minnesota in one centralized place. The New American Map of Resources has already recorded hundreds of user sessions from workers, employers, and community navigators seeking transportation, childcare, legal aid, and language support, and has drawn 555 views and 300 active users.

This work, and the development of these solutions, was grounded in community-centered collaboration and elevated the voices of the communities for whom these resources and solutions were created. In addition to launching our advisory councils, we partnered with more than 20 community-based organizations, culturally specific leaders, and professionals who serve Minnesota’s New American communities every day. We met with families in living rooms, gathered in community centers, talked with workers in break rooms, and learned directly from employers who champion New Americans in their facilities. These relationships shaped every tool we built and every solution we advanced.

Together, these tools are already being used across the state, fostering not only more accessible solutions to longstanding challenges, but also resources that are deeply responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of the communities they are designed to serve.

To view photos related to this story, check out our 2025 photo reel here.

Investing in the Future of Care

On December 2, 2025 by Gina DiMaggio

In 2025, the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation awarded $55,000 in scholarships to 23 students pursuing careers in aging services — a record high.

That generosity was matched by the enthusiasm of our community in our annual golf tournament, which helped raise $59,000 for the 2026 scholarship year, another new milestone.

Since 2014, the Foundation has awarded $327,000 in scholarships, supporting more than a decade of career growth, leadership development, and workforce stability across Minnesota’s aging services sector.

Our scholarship recipients embody commitment, compassion, and excellence in care. Their journeys remind us that when we invest in people, we invest in the future of aging services.

Scholar Spotlight: Mathew’s Journey

When Mathew walks into Gundersen St. Elizabeth’s in Wabasha each morning, he knows he’s not just entering a workplace, but people’s homes. This motivates him to provide top care and support for those he’s there to serve.

As a Registered Nurse in long-term care, Mathew advocates every day for residents to ensure their needs and rights are met. He supervises LPNs and CNAs, coordinates care plans, and is often the voice that brings families, providers, and residents together around the same goal: safe, compassionate care that enables older adults to live with dignity and respect.

But just a few years ago, this future seemed uncertain. While nursing school promised opportunity, the threat of financial strain loomed large. Mathew recalls, “The scholarship helped me during nursing school by reducing financial stress. It allowed me to focus on studying instead of worrying about tuition or bills. It also raised my confidence and motivation, showing that my hard work was recognized.”

Receiving LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation scholarships three years in a row gave Mathew more than financial support—it gave him momentum. With the Foundation’s help, he completed advanced training in mental health and crisis intervention, geriatric and dementia care, and emergency simulation labs. Those experiences strengthened his clinical skills and deepened his confidence in managing complex care situations.

Today, Mathew is a nurse leader—mentoring others, shaping care standards, and ensuring dignity for every resident he serves.

“Looking back,” he says, “the scholarships didn’t just help me pay for school. They helped me become the nurse I am today.”