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Cover
Eligibility Requests and Responses Must Be Standard and Electronic by January 15, 2009
By Todd Bergstrom
According to Minnesota Statutes 62J.536, eligibility requests and responses must be standard and electronic by January 15, 2009. With some limited exceptions below, this law applies to all health care providers in Minnesota who provide services for a fee read more...
Background Information and Update on Vulnerable Adults Justice Project
By Patti Cullen, CAE
The Vulnerable Adult Justice Project is a collaboration of Minnesota’s organizations that support vulnerable adults, their families, and providers of services. It is important to note that the fact we are active participants in these efforts is historic—we have worked hard to build bridges and read more...
Taking Challenges on Our Way: Minnesota Great
By Cyndi Spencer
Throughout 2009, as we face perhaps the state’s greatest financial challenge, some of our greatest business challenges, and personal challenges that we could not ever have anticipated or imagined, we will need to draw on our own unique brand of MINNESOTA GREAT read more...
Noridian Awarded Part A/Part B Medicare Contract for Minnesota
By Todd Bergstrom
Noridian Administrative Services, LLC (NAS) has been awarded a contract for the combined administration of Part A/Part B Medicare claims payment in Jurisdiction 6, comprised of Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The new contracts that will be administered for up to five years read more...
Hospice Guidelines Change – Time to Review Arrangements
By Doug Beardsley
This new guidance potentially affects both providers of hospice care and SNFs/NFs/ICFs/MRs who contract with hospice agencies to provide hospice care within a facility. Despite the interim and advance nature of the new guidance, it will be effective “immediately,” and read more...
Legislative/On the Hill
It’s Official, the 86th Legislative Session Is Underway
By Larry Johnson
The 2009 Minnesota Legislature got off to a ceremonial start on January 6. It’s up to us to educate the legislators about the services we provide and our role in the community, so Care Providers of Minnesota staff would be happy to help you set up a tour or a meeting with your legislator read more...
2009 Session Begins with an LTCI Briefing
By Lisa Olson
Just two days into the 2009 Session, the Long-Term Care Imperative (LTCI) held its first press briefing on Thursday, January 8th at the State Capitol. The Imperative’s 2009 legislative agenda is intended to stabilize older adult services, protect Minnesota seniors, and read more...
Veterans Home Proposed in Beltrami County
By Larry Johnson
The County Board began discussions last month about locating a state-run nursing home for veterans in Beltrami County. A task force will meet again at 10 a.m. Saturday, January 10 at the County Administration Building to discuss an action plan for moving the proposal forward with read more...
State News
Looking for a Pharmaceutical Project Volunteer!
By Doug Beardsley
The Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) is looking for at least one Nursing Facility or Assisted Living Community to participate in a project to pilot the use of automated medication distribution systems read more...
Flu – The 2008/2009 Season
By Doug Beardsley
For the week of December 28th – January 3rd (Week 53), Minnesota influenza activity increased slightly, but remains low. The influenza isolates that have been cultured have been characterized as read more...
National News
CMS Is Looking for Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Studies
By Doug Beardsley
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has partnered with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to commission a review of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) devices. The purpose of this review is read more...
CMS Requires Surety Bonds of DMEPOS Suppliers
By Patti Cullen, CAE
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized a rule that will require durable medical equipment, prosthetics, and orthotics providers (DMEPOS) to post $50,000 surety bonds as a condition of participating as a provider in the Medicare program. CMS declined to exempt nursing facilities as read more...
Medical Director of the Year Award
By Doug Beardsley
The American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) invites you to submit your recommendations for the Medical Director of the Year Award. The Medical Director of the Year Award recognizes those individuals whose vision, passion, leadership, knowledge and commitment succeed in read more...
Housing and Community-Based Services
Survey Responses Requested for “2009 Overview of Assisted Living”
By Patti Cullen, CAE
The 2009 Overview is the single most important data resource that the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) uses when talking to federal policy makers and the national media. Please be sure to submit your data electronically by the February 14, 2009 deadline. All responses will be kept confidential. read more...
Correction: DHS Issues Bulletin Addressing Expansion of Minnesota Senior Care Plus Program in the Metropolitan Area
By Todd Bergstrom
The following article was published in the December 31, 2008 edition of Action and contained an incorrect phone number for South Country Health Alliance and omitted UCare. If you encounter problems reaching health plans, we suggest emailing or calling the following representatives of DHS read more...
Quality Initiatives
AHCA Step Award Webinars Now Available
By Lisa Olson
The 2009 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Awards – the Step Awards – are a benchmark of performance excellence. To help you achieve these awards, AHCA is providing webinars to help guide you through the application process. There are two ways you can view the webinars read more...
Education
DHS Offers January 29 Video Conference on Alzheimer’s and Dementia Basics
By Cheryl Smith
On Thursday, January 29, the Minnesota Department of Human Services will present training via video conference on Alzheimer’s and dementia basics. The training will focus on the basics of Alzheimer's disease and the related forms of dementia – vascular cognitive impairment, Lewy Body Dementia, and read more...
Great Lakes Regional Music Therapy Conference to Be Held in Minnesota
By Cheryl Smith
The Great Lakes Region is one of seven regions within the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), including the states Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. It will hold its conference at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington, Minnesota on March 5-8, 2009 read more...
Free Dementia Training Tool Kit
By Doug Beardsley
The National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners is providing a free comprehensive tool kit to use in training staff who work with clients with dementia. The tool kit includes 54 Ways to Recognize Alzheimer’s, 20 Reasons Why You Should Provide read more...
Association Activities
Employee of the Year Award Goes to Cerenity’s Peggy Black
By Lisa Olson
Peggy Black, Volunteer Coordinator at Cerenity Senior Care in White Bear Lake, was chosen to receive the Employee of the Year Award due to her longevity at Cerenity Senior Care (over 33 years) and her ongoing enthusiasm to make Cerenity the best it can be for its residents read more...
A Twittering We Will Go
By Lisa Olson
During the 2009 session, Larry will be twittering, that is, sending short messages (no more than 140 characters) to his twitter page about what’s happening at the Capitol regarding long-term care issues. We know this is going to be a difficult session and things will be constantly changing, so read more...
Regulatory Resources
Statewide MDH Nursing Home Regulatory Phone Conference Calls
By Doug Beardsley
Nursing Facility providers should make sure they have the next three Minnesota Department of Health regulatory conference calls on their calendars. The purpose of the conference calls will be to discuss implementation of “recent” new nursing home regulatory guidelines and read more...
Survey Resources
Life Safety Code Surveyors Continue to Find Problems!
By Doug Beardsley
Data from all of Federal Fiscal Year 2008 and the 1st quarter of FFY 2009 indicates the inspectors from CMS Region V (Chicago) and inspectors from the State Fire Marshal’s Office reviewing nursing facility compliance with Life Safety Code requirements show a good deal of consistency between types of surveys read more...
Member Resources
Guide to Minnesota’s 2006 Assisted Living Law
By Todd Bergstrom
The Guide to Minnesota’s 2006 Assisted Living Law contains a number of valuable resources which will help you understand the 2006 assisted living legislation. The guide provides a clear and concise description of the new requirements for all Housing with Services Establishments, as well as read more...
Education & Events Calendar
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2009 | |
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Jan. 9 |
Region 4 Meeting – 9:30 a.m. in Sauk Centre |
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Jan. 12 |
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Jan. 13 |
Region 6 Meeting – 1 p.m. in Woodbury |
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Jan. 14 |
Region 8 Meeting – 9 a.m. in Winnebago |
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Jan. 15 |
Region 5 Meeting – 1 p.m. in Fulda |
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Jan. 16 |
Region 7 Meeting – 9 a.m. in Rochester |
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Jan. 29 |
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Apr. 29 - 30 |
Spring Leadership Conference |
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July 14 |
Care Providers of Minnesota Foundation Golf Tournament
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Aug. 25 - 26 |
Assisted Living & Senior Housing Summit
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Nov. 16 - 18 |
Care Providers of Minnesota 2009 Convention & Expo - Minnesota Great
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Care Providers of Minnesota 7851 Metro Parkway • Suite 200 • Bloomington, MN 55425 Phone: 952.854.2844 • Fax: 952.854.6214 • MN Toll-Free: 800.462.0024 • www.careproviders.org |