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Two Pre-Conference Intensive Sessions on Tuesday, Feb. 8, provide deep-dive learning on essential issues. They offer excellent add-on value to the Institute experience and can be attended whether you are registered for the Institute or not. Separate registration and fee are required.

As 2022 begins, LeadingAge Minnesota wants to make sure you know about all our educational resources and events throughout the year.

Our professional education programs are designed around proven research-based best practices. They don't just focus on what members need to comply with regulations. Regulations are the minimum; best practices go above and beyond.

With the return of the Institute to RiverCentre in February, we are excited to announce that the Experience Expo is SOLD OUT with 145 exhibit booths of products, services, and other goods to help make your work easier. Our exhibitors are very much looking forward to seeing you in person after a two-year absence. Make plans now to spend some time connecting with exhibitors.

Jenna Kellerman, LeadingAge Minnesota's Director of Workforce Solutions, has accepted a position at LeadingAge, our national partner based in Washington, DC. In her new role as Workforce Strategy and Development Director, she will apply her many talents to impact the long-term care workforce at a national level and tackle federal barriers and solutions that will benefit all states.

Register by Jan. 14 to join your colleagues in building effective Rapid Evaluation Teams that can save lives and provide support and assurance to staff. By joining the Rapid Evaluation Team (RET) Implementation Collaborative, you will participate in six monthly 30-minute sessions designed to support you in implementing or strengthening one step of your rapid response process each month.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently opened the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) reporting portal for providers to begin entering data to submit their second period PRF reports. Second period reports cover PRF payments from July 1 – Dec. 31, 2020, including Phase 2 and Phase 3 general distributions and nursing home infection control distributions and incentive payments. The deadline to submit the second period report is March 31, 2022.

All rental property owners, managers or operators must provide a Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP) to each person who rented from them during the previous year by Jan. 31 if either of the following are true:

Have you ever noticed how it warmed your heart when someone appreciates you? Research shows that expressing gratitude to someone who has done something to enrich your life (no matter how big or small) significantly impacts both the giver and the receiver.

As previously reported, CMS has announced that it will begin enforcing its Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination mandate for facilities located in all states where the rule is not currently blocked by a legal injunction, including Minnesota. CMS has not published new information over the past several days, but we wanted to share what we know for any readers who missed our story last week.

We continue to monitor the status of the OSHA emergency temporary standards relating to COVID-19, and here is the latest available information.

Effective next Wednesday, Jan. 5, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) will be implementing changes to the preadmission screening process for care centers.

On the Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) long-term care call this week, the Department discussed the updated CDC guidance released on Dec. 23. It appears the CDC guidance will be adopted for our settings. MDH reported it is the intention of CMS to revise the current memos to be in alignment with this guidance. The publication timeline for updated CMS memo(s) is unknown.

Updated return-to-work guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has significantly changed from its last release. In the updated information, return to work is based upon several different variables including those who test positive, those who have been exposed, the staffing situation within the organization, and the vaccination and booster status of the health care worker (HCW).

The Early Bird Registration Deadline for the 2022 Institute & Expo is Tuesday, Jan. 4. Register your organization and team by the deadline to lock in early-bird fees.

LeadingAge Minnesota has selected Kari Thurlow as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. She will begin her new role on Jan. 3. 

LeadingAge recently mailed complimentary copies of the 2021 compensation reports for nursing facilities and senior housing providers to members who participated in those surveys.

CMS announced on Dec. 28 that it will begin enforcing its Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination mandate for facilities located in all states where the rule is not currently blocked by a legal injunction, including Minnesota.

Providers licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), including home care, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes, will not transition back to fingerprint-based background studies until Feb. 2, 2022. Until the transition occurs, these providers will continue to submit emergency studies, as we have been doing throughout the pandemic.

As we reported about a month ago, the Minnesota Department of Health (DHS) will not be posting care center rate notices before the start of the new rate year on Jan. 1. Rate notices not being available for the beginning of the rate year makes the billing of private pay residents much more complicated than usual. It also impacts the notice requirements.

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that it is withdrawing the non-record keeping portions of the COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard ETS (the “Healthcare ETS”) the agency issued in June 2021. This standard establishes various protections for workers in settings where healthcare and health support services are provided and is separate from the vaccination or testing requirement issued by OSHA in early November.

Board of Directors Concludes National Search; Names New Association Leader

SAINT PAUL, MN (Dec. 30, 2021) – LeadingAge Minnesota has selected Kari Thurlow as its new President and Chief Executive Officer.

Thurlow, who currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Advocacy at LeadingAge Minnesota, begins her role with LeadingAge Minnesota on Jan. 3, 2022.

The Institute & Expo in February includes a full Quality & Patient Safety Conference-within-a-Conference within the conference, plus a full day Foundations of Quality Improvement Boot Camp as a pre-conference option.

The LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation is excited to announce our sixth annual silent auction, which returns to the 2022 Institute this year. Thanks to the generosity of the LeadingAge Minnesota community, our previous auctions have raised over $40,000 to support the critical work of the Foundation. With your help, we can make this year's auction even more successful!

We hope you can join us for our virtual district meetings next month. We have some phenomenal content that we know will be of relevance and value to all our members!  You can see the District Meeting Agenda Here.

We are looking forward to the 2022 Institute and delivering the in-person education and networking experience that we have not offered since the onset of COVID-19. We want everyone interested in attending Institute to do so safely. To that end, we developed health and safety protocols in accordance with CDC guidelines and association industry best practices for large events. As circumstances warrant, we may modify our requirements.

Senate Majority Leader Schumer has committed to a procedural vote on the Senate Build Back Better Act, which is still being drafted. On Dec. 20, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) acknowledged the deep discontent and frustration in a Dear Colleague letter by the decision to delay floor consideration of the Build Back Better Act because Senator Manchin could not agree with President Biden.

The Minnesota Board of Executives for Long Term Services and Supports (BELTSS) has announced that there will be an open position appointment to meet Minn. Statutes 144A.19 for “one licensed nursing home administrator or health services executive member actively engaged in the management or operation of nonprofit nursing homes or assisted living facilities.”

Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) has updated many of the home and community-based provider (HCBS) enrollment forms.

Care centers have access to an engagement, retention, and leadership building platform for free through a grant for Align’s Employee Engagement Solution. The final grant window closes on Jan. 30. Previous messages indicated that subsequent grant cycles would open over the next two years; however, this will be the last opportunity.

The latest Request for Proposal for the Home and Community Based (HCBS) Scholarship Grant is currently open, with applications due on Jan. 31. This grant is offered through the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Office of Rural Health and Primary Care. You can find the HCBS Scholarship Grant details, including the RFP, on the MDH website.