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May is Older Americans Month (OAM), a national celebration established in 1963 to acknowledge the contributions of past and current older persons to our country, in particular those who defended the nation. We celebrate and honor older adults and all their contributions every day.

Every year, the American Nurses Association (ANA) celebrates National Nurses Week, May 6-12, to promote, support, and honor the varying roles of nurses and the positive impacts they make in our communities every day. This year, ANA expanded National Nurses Week to National Nurses Month in May to show gratitude for the invaluable contributions of nurses all month long.

After over two years of COVID-19, we invite you to join us in the latest Safe Care Living the Pledge activity, called “Living the Pledge Every Day.” In a few weeks, we will share easy-to-use tools and resources to refocus on the key components of the Safe Care Pledge through monthly activities that you can bring to your community. They will help your organization celebrate and renew your commitment to respect, dignity, safety, and quality of life for those we serve.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently closed Phase Four of the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments to health care providers. Now providers are dealing with both reporting requirements and the last opportunity to review what they have received and request reconsideration of the amount or not being paid.

In a recent national stakeholder call, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previewed changes coming to the COVID-19 Long-Term Care Facility module and vaccination reporting module in NHSN. Beginning May 23, reporting in both modules will be streamlined to simplify some reporting.

Several of the CMS blanket COVID-19 waivers are expiring on May 7.

In a memorandum released last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will terminate several temporary emergency declaration blanket waivers that have provided nursing facilities and other provider types with flexibilities designed to support the COVID response.

In Minnesota, landlords cannot prohibit a tenant from having a legal firearm. This is, at times, a safety concern within assisted living and housing communities. Several tools have recently been developed that may be helpful in related discussions with residents or potential residents.

License renewals for assisted living are now open. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) received 115 applications during this first week. If you have not received your renewal information, contact MDH at health.assistedliving@state.mn.us.

The Long-Term Care Imperative recently completed an analysis of care center occupancy for the first quarter of this year. Compared to last year, it shows some improvement but nothing close to a return to pre-pandemic occupancy levels.

With the 1135 waiver ending on June 6, members will have until Oct. 6 to place Nursing Assistants on the state registry. Minnesota State and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) communicate weekly updates to LeadingAge Minnesota regarding nursing assistant test sites as they open and increase their capacity.

On Friday, April 29, the legislature passed a bill to provide frontline workers a bonus check for their commitment to serving our community during the height of the pandemic. The measure will use $500 million of federal funds to provide "hero" payments to an estimated 667,000 frontline workers in specified sectors, including long-term care and home care settings like nursing homes and assisted living.

Aging services providers across the state face dire financial conditions that jeopardize access to care for Minnesota's seniors, according to a recent survey conducted by the Long-Term Care Imperative.

LeadingAge Minnesota’s Nurse Leadership Certificate Program is the premier training program for new and emerging nurse leaders in skilled care and assisted living settings. It begins May 17 and is scheduled over five months, including in-person and virtual sessions.

Fellows for LeadingAge Minnesota’s 2022 Leadership Academy have been selected.

This year, 56 leaders will comprise the largest cohort in this program's history. They represent the diversity of the profession, service settings, geographic regions, and organizational profiles within our membership.

Jon Lundberg, CEO of Ebenezer, was named Executive of the Year by the Minnesota Real Estate Journal in an awards ceremony held on April 21, 2022.

Mary Krueger will be retiring as the CEO of Glenwood Retirement Village on May 6.

Her career has spanned 48 years, most of it spent serving older adults in long-term senior care settings. Mary began as a nursing assistant in 1974 at the age of 16. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mankato State University in 1980 and served as director of nursing at St John's Lutheran Home in Springfield, MN.

Saint Therese Board of Directors has completed its nationwide search for a new chief executive and named Craig W. Abbott as its incoming President & Chief Executive Officer. He will join Saint Therese in late May.

The expedited Paid Feeding Assistant training allowed by CMS throughout the pandemic will end in June.

Last year, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) modified the minimum training requirement for Paid Feeding Assistants from eight hours to one hour under a waiver from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In an April 7 Memorandum, CMS announced it will terminate the waiver on June 6.

A critical COVID-19 waiver allowing Basic Care Aids to serve seniors through the pandemic is expiring; caregivers must be on the Nursing Assistant Registry by Oct. 6.

In public comments filed last week, Argentum and LeadingAge urged the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) not to make the agency's Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19 a permanent part of the regulatory landscape.

Legacy Licensed Assisted Living Directors (LALD) are nearing their first license renewal. The Board of Executives for Long Term Services and Supports (BELTSS) will soon send information about the renewal process to those who must renew.

As part of Leading Age Minnesota’s Assisted Living Director Licensing Course, we are seeking assisted living settings to serve as field experience sites for assisted living director (ALD) students.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will be sending you renewal information on or before May 1 for your assisted living license renewal for conversion licenses. MDH developed materials to help you prepare your assisted living license renewal application on the MDH website.

On Tuesday, April 26, the Minnesota Senate passed SF 4410, its Health and Human Services (HHS) Omnibus Bill on a strong bipartisan vote (60-5). The measure includes $358 million in investments for nursing homes and improves Minnesota's Elderly Waiver rate phase-in (from 18.8% to 27.2%).

On Monday, May 2, LeadingAge Minnesota will launch an exciting new resource to allow members to track and benchmark critical workforce data. In LeadingAge Minnesota's data portal, members can access a new workforce data application containing data entry and comparison reports on employee turnover, employee retention, and vacancy rates for each quarter. 

Legislative leaders reached a tentative deal today to restore the Unemployment Insurance Trust and issue frontline worker bonuses, a stalemate that has plagued elected officials for months.

Free sign-up for Minnesota Geriatrics ECHO is now open to LeadingAge Minnesota members.

LeadingAge Minnesota’s Nurse Leadership Certificate Program is the premier training program for new and emerging nurse leaders in skilled care and assisted living settings. It begins May 17 and is scheduled over five months, including in-person and virtual sessions.

Barb Rode, President & CEO of Saint Therese, will be inducted into the McKnight's Hall of Honor, a distinction given to women at an executive level in the senior living industry who have had a significant effect on their organization or industry. On May 13 in Chicago, she will be inducted at McKnight's 2022 Women of Distinction awards celebration.

Health Dimensions Group, Argentum, ASHA, and NIC have teamed up with CARE to champion a philanthropic effort to raise funds to help seniors in Ukraine with desperately needed food and shelter.