All News

The policy enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic waiving the requirement for a 3-day prior hospitalization for coverage of a SNF stay remains in effect.

This week, LeadingAge Minnesota releases its 2022 Election Guide in advance of the 2022 General Election on Nov. 8. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released several changes to COVID-19 guidance over the past two weeks. Members have several questions about the nursing home vaccine mandate, source control and eye protection use, antigen testing of asymptomatic individuals, and resident screening.

The nation's highest court has declined to weigh in on a case involving nursing homes and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) arbitration rule that nursing home industry groups argue places "burdensome" requirements on facilities. In other words, the Eighth US Circuit Court of Appeals' October 2021 decision will remain intact.

As of Oct. 3, nurse aide candidates have a maximum of two hours to complete the knowledge test and have up to four chances to pass the knowledge test. We have answers to several frequently asked questions about the nurse aide test.

A section on Assisted Living Contracts was recently added to the FAQ section of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Assisted Living webpage. Included are responses to questions on liability waivers, renter's insurance, and arbitration provisions posed by providers.

The assisted living statutes (144G.52) define an emergency relocation and state that an assisted living facility "may remove a resident from the facility in an emergency if necessary due to a resident's urgent medical needs or an imminent risk the resident poses to the health or safety of another facility resident or facility staff member."

Pandemic frontline workers will begin to see $487.45 in one-time bonuses from the State of Minnesota this week. Applicants who chose direct deposit of their payment should see it in their accounts in seven to ten days. People who choose to be mailed a prepaid debit card should receive them in three to four weeks.

On Sept. 23, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updates to multiple COVID-19 infection prevention and control practices. One of the areas that required further clarification was screening practices for residents, staff, and visitors. On yesterday's call, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) clarified these practices for providers.

September is National Workforce Development Month and to celebrate a new member resource,  A Guide to Effective Individual Development Plans, is now available.

Federal requirements to be a qualified long-term care facility director of food and nutrition services are changing Saturday (Oct. 1) to ease training and staffing obstacles while keeping standards high, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

An announcement from MDH of a new assisted living license requirement has caused some confusion among providers who have just completed their first AL license renewal. The new provision applies to AL licenses renewed beginning August 1, 2022 and requires evidence showing that at least one resident was served during the previous licensing period to the renewal process.

DHS announced in August that they had opened the selection process for all care centers in the Medical Assistance program to select a new goal to work on for another round of the Quality Improvement Incentive Payment Program (QIIP). Each year, based on their progress toward the goal they select, care centers receive a rate increase of $0 to $3.50 per resident day for QIIP. 

The revalidation process has begun for providers enrolled with DHS as a Home and Community Based Service (HCBS) provider which includes waiver services for Adult Day Services, Assisted Living (Customized Living), as well as Home Health Agencies.

Late on Sept. 23, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published updated COVID-19 guidance for nursing homes and assisted living. The updated guidance reflects the increased prevalence of vaccine-acquired and disease-acquired immunity. The updated information includes:

Ecumen, a LeadingAge Minnesota member organization and one of the country’s leading nonprofit providers of housing and services for older adults, announced that Scott Bjerketvedt has been promoted to senior vice president, chief financial officer.

September is National Workforce Development Month, and one of the most proven member resources to grow your workforce is OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training.

A study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that pandemic-related closures of adult day services left older adults and caregivers without critical support. The magnitude of the impact of adult day closures on well-being, particularly among members of racial/ethnic minority groups, has yet to be measured because nationally representative data sets associated with adult day center participation do not yet exist.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $174.6 million in grant funds through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to support the development of new affordable multifamily rental homes for low-income seniors and ongoing project rental assistance and supportive services. The grants are offered under HUD's Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program and will be awarded to nonprofit organizations across the country.

Recently, LeadingAge Minnesota received more questions about citations for past noncompliance actions and how those citations impact the five-star rating, calculating fines, and appeals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated vaccine recommendations and included bivalent vaccines recently made available. They also revised the definition of up-to-date.

In partnership with Vital Research, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Minnesota Board on Aging are preparing for data collection for the Assisted Living Report Card. Assisted living directors will be informed by letter of the plans for this year's statewide assisted living resident quality of life and family satisfaction surveys in early October.

Lifeline and the Telephone Assistance Program are two programs that help make communication services more affordable.

New Five-Star Reports that reflect recent changes to the Five-Star Staffing Domain are ready to view in the LeadingAge Minnesota Data Portal. Primary contacts have access to the portal to view these reports. 

Beginning Oct. 3, Nurse Aide Registry candidates will have up to four chances to pass the knowledge exam until March 2023.

A new report providing insights and data on the nation's direct care workforce was recently released.

The report, Direct Care Workers in the United States: Key Facts, is released annually by PHI, which researches, supports, and promotes the nation's direct care workforce. The report includes workforce projections and demographic overviews of home care workers, residential care aides, and nursing assistants in nursing homes.

LeadingAge Minnesota has recently updated a Property/Grounds Hazard Vulnerability Assessment Tool (Ingestion-related events) as a guide to conduct regular safety checks to ensure that your property and grounds are maintained in a safe and sanitary manner.

The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Quality Measures Calculations and Reporting User’s Manual Version 4.0 is now available. Changes go into effect on Oct. 1.

Nurse aides hired or who worked during the 1135 waiver have until Oct. 6 to be placed on the Minnesota Nursing Assistant Registry.

Last week, Governor Walz announced an additional $2.5 million in American Recovery Plan funding to continue the state’s Next Generation Nursing Assistant Training Program (NextGen) until Feb. 2023.