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According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), 97% of care centers had completed their third vaccination clinics as of last week Wednesday, marking essentially the end of the mass vaccination effort in those settings. At that time, 97% of Assisted livings had conducted a second clinic. With only third clinics in assisted living remaining, the program is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

You’re in good company if you’ve noticed some extra discouragement or frustration during a time when we have some glimmers of COVID-19 hope: vaccines have arrived and been delivered, and rates of death and hospitalization are down. So why do we feel so discouraged, tired or overwhelmed again?

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has reminded providers about the importance of reporting COVID-19 point of care antigen test results.

Many providers, both care centers and assisted living, are administering antigen tests, using the Quidel Sofia or BD Veritor systems, or the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 card tests. The MDH epidemiology team recently shared with us that it believes some providers are not consistently reporting the results of those rapid, point of care tests, and so we wanted to share a reminder of the requirements.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), 63% of Minnesota’s care centers have completed their third vaccination clinics and 73% of assisted living settings have conducted a second clinic as of March 3. Both numbers rose dramatically in just the last week, keeping the program on track to complete all clinics soon.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) delayed the due date for the cost report for the year ended Sept. 30, 2020 from Feb. 1, 2021 to April 1, 2021. That date is now approaching so members will need to focus on completing that report.

If you have questions about applying for a Courage Fund through LeadingAge MN Foundation (LAMF), join a 45-minute Grant Responders’ Call from 11 - 11:45 a.m. on March 11. Register for call in advance.

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

In senior care, many of us are doubling up on trauma exposure, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is one thing to experience a traumatic event personally—and another to do this in addition to watching others cope with trauma daily. This can have negative effects on our well-being. Fortunately, we can experience post-traumatic stress without this becoming a long-term issue. Our resilience strategies can help. 

On February 10^th, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a MMWR article discussing well-fitting masks. The study shows the better a mask fits around the user’s face, the better the protection against contracting COVID-19. Methods to increase mask fitting include a mask fitter, tucking and looping a surgical or procedural mask, or wearing a cloth mask over the surgical or procedure mask.

In the most recent update from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), based on data through last Wednesday, clear progress on completing vaccination clinics has been made. At that point, 43% of care centers had completed their third vaccination clinics, and 56% of assisted livings had conducted a second clinic. Both numbers rose dramatically in just the last week, keeping the program on track to complete all clinics in a few weeks.

MDH was able to order a large number of doses of the newly authorized Johnson & Johnson Janssen Ad-Vac (J&J), which utilizes 1 dose to vaccinate against COVID-19. The doses will be delivered to the state mid-week.

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

Today we’re focused on the drive to be perfect (or darn close). It’s not inherently bad; in fact, it has propelled many of us to get to our current status in personal and professional arenas. It can, however, take its toll on our well-being to be in pursuit of perfection versus accepting of “good enough.”

According to a Minnesota Department of Health survey reflecting data through last Wednesday, 98% of care centers have completed two vaccination clinics, and almost all assisted living settings had completed a first clinic. Additionally, 12% of assisted living had conducted a second clinic, a number which will rise rapidly in the next couple of weeks.

LeadingAge Minnesota members operating in rural Minnesota can now access a second round of COVID-19 related grants through LeadingAge Minnesota Foundation (LAMF).

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

Grief and resilience: you can have both!

You probably understood that going to work in a senior care facility meant you would experience death more often than people working in other environments. However, expecting this and going through it are quite different things – especially when death rates are (sometimes significantly) higher than usual as we’ve seen during the COVID pandemic.

According to data collected by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), resident vaccination rates remain high and staff vaccination rates are improving.

A recent Star Tribune story on Minnesota OSHA inspections raised questions from a few LeadingAge Minnesota members. The story was not specific to health care or to long-term care, but it did note that MNOSHA had fined a nursing home for not reporting that one of its employees had been hospitalized with COVID-19.

While COVID-19 cases in aging services settings have fallen sharply in recent months, we know the virus is still having a serious impact on many providers.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) wishes to remind providers that it continues to have resources available for nursing homes and assisted living providers that need support:

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

You are in good company if you have noticed changes in your sleeping patterns during COVID-19. Because of factors like extra screen time, change in routines and increase in stress, we are prone to poor sleep at this time. Sleep is important not only for our well-being and stability of mood, but it is also linked to immune system function.

Evan Shulman, Director of the Division of Nursing Homes, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will answer questions about how CMS is approaching any changes in visitation guidance on Thursday, February 11 at 2:30 on the Coronavirus Update Call hosted by LeadingAge, the national partner of LeadingAge Minnesota.

This week, the Minnesota Association for Geriatrics Inspired Clinicians (MAGIC) launched a new video resource to help providers address vaccine hesitancy in long-term care settings.