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Minnesota’s new congressional and legislative district maps, which will govern for the next decade, were released yesterday.

The state's legislative and congressional districts are redrawn two years after every census to ensure each elected official represents an equal number of constituents. According to our state's constitution, the legislature is tasked with this duty.

This week, a bill introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives to impose workforce standards in nursing home settings would yield troubling unintended consequences if passed. HF 3405, introduced by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) and supported by SEIU, would establish the Minnesota Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board with broad authority to regulate employment standards for nursing home workers. 

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has announced an increase to the Housing Support rates effective mid-2022. On July 1, 2022, the Housing Support maximum monthly room and board rate will increase significantly to $1,041.

Assisted living licenses must be renewed annually. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) intends to send renewal notices to current licensees on or about May 1. Renewal applications must be submitted at least 60 calendar days before the license's expiration. The renewed licenses are effective Aug. 1. MDH will issue fines for licenses that are not renewed in a timely manner.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines.

This week, the Minnesota Senate discussed two bills aimed at helping to resolve the workforce crisis in long-term care. The proposals contain funding for the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), hiring and retention bonuses, education and training grants, temporary regulatory changes for retired and out-of-state nurses to practice, modification of training requirements in long-term care settings, and a correction program for sites to work with MDH on technical issues.

The Next Generation Nursing Assistant Training Program has successfully recruited over 1000 individuals into its no-cost training programs throughout the state. Providers should begin to position themselves to connect with students as they complete their training in the upcoming weeks.

The Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) helps workers stay at or return to work when an injury or illness impacts employment. RETAIN supports these individuals as they safely return to work as soon as possible.

We celebrated the 2021 Class of Leadership Academy Fellows today at the Institute & Expo – one of the largest classes in this program's twelve-year history. Applications are being accepted for the 2022 class.

Join LeadingAge, our national affiliate, for a workshop focused on strategies to move the public perception of the aging services field.

Want to take your advocacy to the next level? We encourage you to consider attending one – or more – of the upcoming advocacy days at the State and Federal levels.

HR 6530 was introduced in the US House of Representatives directly at Argentum’s request and includes two primary components. If passed, the legislation would create a $10 billion caregiver sustainability fund similar to the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) and establish $1.25 billion in federal grants for workforce development that would provide four-year grants of up to $1 million per entity.

This week at Institute, we’ve asked thousands of senior services professionals to contact their lawmakers and ask them to support caregivers with the wages they deserve. If you missed our call to action at Institute, we invite you to join us today!

Governor Tim Walz has signed Chapter 32, HF 1203, into law, renewing and extending presumptive workers’ compensation eligibility for emergency first responders and front-line workers.

Mohamed Wasuge from Augustana Regent in Burnsville, MN, was named the Caregiver of the Year by LeadingAge Minnesota at our annual Institute & Expo. 

We are excited to see you at the 2022 Institute & Expo in St. Paul next week! More than 1,700 people are registered to attend in person Feb. 9 – 11. It’s going to be a great week. Here is some of what we have in store:

CMS has issued a Second Edition Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) COVID-19 Public Reporting Tip Sheet to help providers understand CMS' public reporting approach to the SNF QRP to account for CMS quality data submissions that were either optional or excepted from public reporting due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has approved EduCare’s 5-part Dementia Series and test as an option that may be used to meet 144G.83 statutory training requirements for assisted living with dementia care providers. The statute requires that persons providing or overseeing staff training in a facility licensed as assisted living with dementia care must have experience and knowledge in the care of individuals with dementia, including:

In their second ALL Together newsletter, the Health Regulation Division of MDH shared the top ten tags in assisted living and assisted living with dementia care licensed settings.

On Jan. 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine; the approved vaccine will be marketed as Spikevax to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) held a national stakeholder call on Feb. 2 to update its listeners regarding COVID-19, revisions to nursing home guidance, and best practices. The following is a summary for those who could not listen in on the call.

On Jan. 6, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Minnesota Board on Aging updated the pre-admission screening criteria for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities before admission to a nursing home.

On Monday, lawmakers gathered back in Saint Paul to begin the 2022 legislative session with a projected $7.7 billion surplus top of mind for most at the Capitol. About four months before adjournment on May 23, LeadingAge Minnesota and our partner in the Long-Term Care Imperative are seeking support from the state to pay caregivers the wages they deserve and ensure access to care in all the places seniors call home.

Applications are being accepted for the 2022 Leadership Academy.

Since 2010, LeadingAge Minnesota’s Leadership Academy has mentored and cultivated more than 350 emerging transformational leaders in our field. During their year-long program, Leadership Academy provides an opportunity to explore and practice ideas, tools, principles, and theories that they leverage to strengthen their leadership and foster an organizational culture to lead in normal and not-so-normal times.

Please join our volunteer crew as an Institute Session Host.

It takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work to make the Institute run as smoothly as possible.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking proposals for the Live Well at Home grant program. The purpose of this initiative is to develop and provide services for older Minnesotans to live and age in the community of their choice by improving the capacity to develop, strengthen, integrate, and maintain culturally competent home- and community-based services for individuals aged 65 and older at risk of long-term nursing home use or spending down into Medical Assistance. Proposals may also include strengthening services for the caregiver support network.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation’s 2022 Silent Auction is just two weeks away! This annual Institute tradition raises funds to provide higher education scholarships to help our dedicated caregivers and other staff access the education they need to pursue careers in aging services.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is offering free, five-minute learning modules designed to address the stresses and challenges frontline staff face during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Wednesday, Jan. 26, CMS is posting new information to the public-facing Care Compare website for nursing homes.

First, CMS has added data about the level of weekend RN staffing and total nurse staffing (e.g., RN, LPN, and CNA), reported in terms of the average number of RN and total nurse hours worked per resident per day on weekends. As presented, the data compares a specific facility’s weekend staffing to the national average and the Minnesota average.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Health Regulation Division has posted an updated provisional assisted living license application for providers interested in becoming an assisted living facility. The revised form has added instructional information and links to helpful statutory references.