All News

The Health Regulation Division (HRD) of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will now take requests to change the capacity of assisted living settings any time throughout the year. MDH has reversed its previous practice, which limited change of capacity requests to the time of license renewal.

A draft version of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) Nursing Home Comprehensive Item has been released ahead of the October 2023 implementation date. The sheer volume of proposed updates means that operators and their software providers have their work cut out for them to be ready by Oct. 1, 2023.

With workforce pressures reaching unprecedented levels, the 2022 LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation Golf Fundraiser helped raise nearly $60,000 to benefit the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation. The golf event was held on Aug. 2 at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury.

The Minnesota State HealthForce Center of Excellence has created a new Nursing Program Openings webpage to show which colleges and universities around the state of Minnesota have available seats in their nursing programs for the Fall 2022 semester.

A selection of on-demand webinars approved for clock hours for Licensed Assisted Living Directors is available for purchase. We've designed 11 self-paced webinars on a variety of topics which provide up to 13 clock hours.

LeadingAge Minnesota's Assisted Living Director Licensing Course is available online and self-paced.

The 2022 Governance Intensive for executive leadership and board members is available on demand. Confronting the Workforce Crisis Through a DEI Lens: A Governance Perspective explores the deepening workforce crisis through the lens of building a diverse and inclusive culture, examining the two matters from a governance perspective.

The 2022 Billing Basics for Care Centers five-part webinar series is available on demand.

Last week, Congressman Tom Emmer joined Guardian Angels CEO Traci Larson, State Rep. Paul Novotny, and State Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer at Guardian Angels Care Center, a skilled nursing community in Elk River. LeadingAge Minnesota staff also attended the meeting.

This week, US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia L. Fudge visited Minnesota to announce the availability of new funding for the Older Adult Home Modification Program. The federal government will provide an additional $15 million to help senior citizens across the country upgrade their homes so they can continue to live in them safely.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has announced that nurse aide registry candidates will have up to two hours for the knowledge exam beginning Oct. 3.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has several openings for Minnesota Medicaid-Certified Nursing Facilities interested in participating in an online Dementia Care staff training program.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has requested a statewide waiver to extend the temporary nurse aide training program that is currently set to expire on Oct. 6.

This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans to conduct a four-part analysis in pursuit of establishing a federal minimum staffing standard in nursing homes. As part of their study, researchers will visit 75 nursing homes across the country over the next three months though none are planned for Minnesota sites. A national staffing plan would be incorporated into skilled nursing proposed rules published next spring.

Care centers must track and report flu vaccination information to the CDC this fall.

The reporting period for the new Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) measure "Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel" (HCP) begins Oct. 1.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will extend the time limit for the nursing assistant state knowledge exam from one hour back to two hours in response to feedback from nurse aide training programs around the state.

According to the Department of Human Services, a net total of 13 adult day programs closed from 2021 to the midpoint of this year. The availability of adult day services as our state ages is increasingly essential to promote quality of life and health.

To support members in addressing the significant challenges caused by the current labor shortage, the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation is investing up to $400,000 in workforce grants. Applicants must apply by Oct. 5. The maximum award per site is $20,000. Grants are available for various purposes.

Staff Appreciation Initiatives

Grants will be awarded to thank staff teams for their continued commitment. Examples of eligible expenses include:

• Gift cards
• Free meals
• Break room improvements
• Staff recognition events

Funds cannot be used to offset wages, benefits, bonuses, or other compensation.

OnTrack Nursing Assistant Training Program Set-Up Expenses

Grants will be awarded to train high-quality direct caregivers. Examples of eligible expenses include:

• Technology
• Equipment such as mannequins
• Physical plant changes for a new or existing training room

Funds can cover nurse educators’ time for the OnTrack program set-up. Funds cannot be used for OnTrack student enrollment fees, exam fees, or student wages.

Build-Your-Own Workforce Projects

Grants will be awarded to start or expand initiatives aimed at recruitment, retention, or talent pipeline efforts. Projects can involve, for example:

• Labor-saving tools and technology
• Onboarding process improvements
• Partnerships with local schools
• Upgrading online recruiting tools

The Details

Applications are due Oct. 5 by 5 p.m. Learn more in the Request For Proposal (RFP) and apply online.

Multi-site organizations can submit applications for individual settings or combine projects across sites. An announcement of awards will be made by Dec. 1.

For questions, please contact Terri Foley, Program Office at the LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation, at tfoley@leadingagemn.org or 651-815-8137.

Licensed Assisted Living Directors (LALD) are due for their first license renewal in September. The Board of Executives for Long-term Services and Supports (BELTSS), licensing board for LALDs, will issue a notice by the end of this week. It will include directions for licensees on how to renew their licenses.

Guidance for activities, visitation, and large group gatherings has not changed significantly. However, as the summer is winding down, long-term care settings that host gatherings are seeking a guidance refresher for these events.

A recent survey of nursing homes conducted by the Long-Term Care Imperative found that several settings throughout the state are closing beds, considering a sale, or considering closing their doors. Due to lost capacity in the system overall, Minnesota seniors are losings access to care in the communities they call home.

LeadingAge Minnesota members, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), are helping expand nursing assistant testing opportunities throughout Minnesota by piloting in-facility testing in their settings.

If your assisted living setting satisfies the 24-hour staffing rule by utilizing staff from another licensed setting, you must request a variance from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to remain in compliance with assisted living requirements.

Assisted living providers must issue a new version of the Assisted Living Bill of Rights (144G.91) to all residents and obtain a written acknowledgment of its receipt. The update is necessary because the Minnesota Legislature adopted several changes to the Assisted Living Bill of Rights earlier this year.

Over the next few weeks, the Minnesota Department of Health's (MDH) Collaborative Safety steering team members will begin inviting providers with closed Tuberculous and Individual Abuse Prevention Plan correction orders to collaborate, review and map these issues with the goal of learning and improving these systems.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that, due to the significant response to the Request for Information on establishing a minimum staffing standard, it will conclude the staffing study in December. Initially, we expected the study to be part of the recently-issued final 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System rule.

Opening Doors to Aging Services is a national LeadingAge initiative to introduce the aging services sector to millions of Americans and positively shift perceptions of our field.

The information available from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality, Certification and Oversight Reports (QCOR) database shows that the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has completed 127 nursing facility recertification surveys during the federal fiscal year-to-date. There is some lag time in survey data entry, so the actual current total of surveys conducted is somewhat higher. Here's a sampling of the data:

The Health Regulation Division (HRD) at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently released two brief videos to help assisted living providers understand regulatory expectations and prepare for their next survey.