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With winter upon us, it's an excellent time to consider the risks that heating units can potentially create for residents in nursing homes and assisted living settings. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-developed drug Paxlovid, the First Oral Antiviral Treatment of COVID-19.

Gov. Tim Walz announced a new initiative to recruit, train, and deploy at least 1,000 new certified nursing assistants for Minnesota long-term care facilities experiencing staffing shortages by the end of January. LeadingAge Minnesota and our Long-Term Care Imperative played a critical role in advocating for this initiative.

You have various emergency staffing resources available should you need to utilize them during the holidays.

This time of year, your senior care communities are full of fun and festivity as family and friends celebrate with the residents you serve. While joyous, vigilance is essential; the increase in visitors during this period of high transition and increased prevalence of the Omicron variant poses potential complications.

Our team is keeping a close watch for news about the CMS staff vaccination mandate and the OSHA vaccine-or-test emergency temporary standard. Here is the latest information about the status and enforcement of these two requirements.

The 2022 Institute & Expo features the return of the Leadership Intensive on Wednesday, Feb. 9 – a half-day session for executives and leaders to help strengthen their organizations and build the momentum necessary to propel past the pandemic and beyond.

LeadingAge Minnesota has announced its 2022 District Meeting schedule.

In January, we are kicking things off with a virtual connection with plans of being in person for the other two meetings.  We plan to bring you a slate of relevant topics, including our legislative overview, resiliency resources, and a workforce-related CEU.

Have you had the opportunity to connect with our technical experts? They stand ready to assist you on the phone, through email, at our offices or in your community. They can help guide you through questions about regulations, operations, payment, quality and best practices.

The Minnesota Health Care Loan Forgiveness program cycle is accepting applications through Jan. 17, 2022. The Loan Forgiveness program is available for various health care professionals serving in high-need areas, including nurses in nursing homes, assisted living, and home care settings. You can find general program information for long-term care on the MDH website.

"Tis the season to be jolly" – but this can be easier said than done.  While the holidays bring many joys, they can also add extra stress.

Experts point to two exercises that are highlighted in Self Care for Safe Care to help us successfully navigate the holidays:

This week the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) began distributing the $17 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 funding to a broad range of health care providers, including care centers, assisted living, and adult day providers who experienced revenue loss and increased expenses associated with the pandemic.

The Build Back Better Act (BBB) currently being debated in the Senate requires nursing homes to have a registered nurse on staff 24 hours a day.

The latest Request for Proposal for the Home and Community Based (HCBS) Scholarship Grant will be released on Dec. 20. Applications are due on Jan. 31, 2022. 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 on the MDH website.

With assisted living licensees several months into the new licensing structure, several directors have transitioned from one position to another. When a director leaves an assisted living setting or the setting gets a new director, they must notify the Board of Executives for Long-term Services and Supports (BELTSS).

$50 million in American Rescue Plan funding will be sent to care centers soon to provide retention and recruitment bonuses for employees. Although the initial announcement indicated the money would arrive in December, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) plans to send the funding out on the Jan. 4 remittance advice due to red tape within the agency. Each care center will receive $10.97 times their number of Medicaid resident days on the 2020 cost report.

Over the next six months, three critical hours of your time can positively impact resident safety and your organizational culture. A new opportunity is available to participate in a learning collaborative designed to provide the support you need to build and strengthen your processes for responding to urgent and emergent situations.

Following an order yesterday by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the CMS staff vaccination mandate is no longer subject to an injunction in Minnesota and 25 other states. CMS has not yet issued a statement in response to this development.

Starting this week, Minnesota National Guard teams arrived in selected nursing homes to fill staffing needs. On Nov. 22, 2021, Gov. Tim Walz announced an emergency relief package for nursing homes that included a plan to deploy 400 national guard soldiers in small teams to nursing homes that have crisis staffing needs. Starting this week, teams arrived in selected nursing homes to fill staffing needs.

Attend the 2022 Institute & Expo in February for timely education and updates on the issues that matter most.

This year’s Institute is a blended conference model – three days of in-person education, expo, and events Feb. 9-11 in St. Paul, and three days of virtual education Feb. 22-24. Over 100 education sessions have been carefully selected and developed to address top-of-mind issues and opportunities. Here is a sampling:

The newest cohort of emerging leaders have completed their coursework and will graduate from the 2021 Leadership Academy at the Institute & Expo in February.

A special message from Erin Hilligan, Chair of the LeadingAge Minnesota CEO Search Committee

LeadingAge Minnesota's CEO Search Committee has been hard at work participating in a very thoughtful search process to select the next CEO. The committee has begun conducting candidate interviews, and committee members have been impressed with the interest level and caliber of candidates.

LeadingAge Minnesota has developed a new Safe Care for Seniors resource to help you ensure safe and consistent I’m Okay and Resident Safety Checks.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) shared a checklist to help guide assisted living providers in self-auditing compliance with physical environment requirements. The checklist covers the details from 144G that surveyors are looking for in the areas of:

Earlier this week, the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget released an updated state budget forecast projecting a $7.7 billion surplus of revenue over expenses in its general fund. The surplus shows that the state is weathering the pandemic well and allows lawmakers to make permanent investments in professional caregivers.

The holidays are upon us, and several members asked questions about musicians in our settings. MDH published recommendations for music activities and performances during COVID-19 on May 28. The document is not healthcare specific, but it is the document that MDH references when asked about musicians in our settings.

Aging services providers across the country are closely following the status of the federal staff vaccination mandates as legal challenges work their way through the courts. 

This week, Gov. Tim Walz announced a new initiative to recruit, train, and deploy at least 1,000 new certified nursing assistants for Minnesota long-term care facilities experiencing staffing shortages by the end of January. LeadingAge Minnesota and our Long-Term Care Imperative played a critical role in advocating for this initiative.

Thanks to actions taken by the legislature earlier this year and the availability of federal funds targeted to home and community-based services, Elderly Waiver (EW) rates will be increasing this year for the first time in several years. The Long-Term Care Imperative has been advocating for a reform plan for many years that would tie those rates to the actual cost of providing care, which is especially important now as providers face workforce shortages and increasing costs to attract and retain caregivers.

Momentum is the force that propels us forward and fuels growth. That is the theme and promise of the 2022 Institute & Expo in February. Our annual conference offers a blended event model for the first time – three days of live education, exhibits, and special events in Saint Paul and three additional days of virtual education programming. 

Care centers may apply for a moratorium exception project for approval by the Minnesota Department of Health. A webinar on Dec. 10 provides information and guidance to submit a successful application.