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December 2023
The ALL Together newsletter provides updates, details, and information about assisted living licensure for providers, residents, family members, and the public.
The Minnesota Department of Health’s Health Regulation Division (HRD) will work to provide information, news, updates, and links to resources for assisted living providers and families to help residents and loved ones live their best lives as they age in place.
Please share this newsletter with colleagues, friends, and family. Subscribe to this newsletter.
MDH has created a new form to request a decrease in licensed resident capacity to assist providers requesting this change for reasons that could be affecting their ability to provide care to the community. The Licensed Resident Capacity Decrease form with instructions will be available to access through MDH’s Assisted Living Forms and Self-Audit Tools webpage in December 2023.
MDH has received several requests regarding resident capacity decreases due to provider enrollment issues. Please note, if you have questions for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) regarding customized living services provider enrollment, please contact the DHS Provider Resource Center at 651-431-2700 or 800-366-5411 (option 3).
As a reminder, licensees should anticipate resident capacity needs prior to their initial and renewal application processes to avoid potential admission delays during the license year. Providers will not be penalized if they pick a resident capacity number higher than their actual resident census. However, a correction order and fine may be issued if the provider has a higher resident capacity for which they are licensed.
As we head into the fall and winter respiratory disease season, it’s a great time to review what is required to be reported to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) when your facility experiences outbreaks of COVID-19. With the end of the public health emergency in May 2023, the information assisted living facilities report to MDH is an essential part of monitoring and responding to outbreaks. Under the Minnesota Communicable Disease Reporting Rule, there are three types of COVID-19 reporting required for licensed assisted living facilities in the state:
- Weekly aggregate case counts are required to be reported through the COVID-19 Long-Term Care Report Form when there are resident or staff cases in the facility.
- If you conduct point of care tests on-site under a CLIA waiver, report all positive laboratory results through CDC’s SimpleReport system.
- Individual death information is required to be reported for any residents who tested positive for COVID-19 within 90 days prior to death through the COVID-19 Long-Term Care Report Form.
Take note, this COVID-19 reporting requirement includes residents with a housing only contract, as well as those receiving assisted living services.
Thank you for all the work you do! If you have questions about COVID-19 reporting requirements, please contact the Long-Term Care surveillance team at: health.ltc.covid19.mdh@state.mn.us
Links in text above:
The MN Department of Human Services (DHS) regulates and processes customized living service waiver reimbursements. If you have questions about wavier reimbursement payments, please contact the MHCP Provider Resource Call Center at 651-431-2700 (option 3) or use this form: https://edocs.mn.gov/forms/DHS-8168-ENG
These are also some helpful website links:
CBSM - Customized living (including 24-hour customized living) (state.mn.us)
License requirement changes for customized living services providers / Minnesota Department of Human Services (mn.gov)
Assisted living facilities are required to provide a Certificate of Rent Paid (CRP) to tenants living at their facility by January 31 each year. Using a Minnesota Department of Revenue e-Services account you can create and manage your Minnesota CRPs online.
You are not required to use e-Services to create 2023 CRPs. However, all landlords, including care facilities, will be required to use e-Services to create 2024 CRPs.
There are some special requirements and considerations related to CRPs for health care facilities, you can find more information about the requirements and considerations as well as information about using e-Services on Minnesota Department of Revenue's CRP Information for Landlords webpage.
If you have questions, contact Minnesota Department of Revenue at landlords.mdor@state.mn.us. You can also call 651-556-3017 or 1-833-263-8663.
Quick reminder about facility exits now that Minnesota is settling into winter and snow. Please remember to clear a path from all facility exits to the right of way as you are moving snow from your front entry and driveway/parking lot. If the facility is an apartment style building, you need to make sure you have a clear path from all exits to the front of the building and right of way. If the facility is a single-family house, you would need a clear path from any exits from the back of the house to the driveway/street.
The applicable assisted living statutes read in part:
- the location must be publicly accessible to fire department services and emergency medical services;
- all-weather roads and walks must be provided within the lot lines to the primary entrance and the service entrance, including employees' and visitors' parking at the site.
These standards are intended to protect against obstructions or impediments (like snow and ice) that would prevent or slow down emergency medical services from responding to an emergency at your facility.
If MDH is onsite at your facility and notices exits/walkways are blocked or impeded due to snow or ice, this could result in a citation. However, this does not mean MDH will automatically cite a facility for not clearing out pathways/sidewalks and driveway/parking lots if MDH happens to be at the facility during an active snow event. If you have a foot of snow that clearly has not been moved from a previous snow event, then that would most likely get cited. As a facility, it may be a good idea to have a policy on how often snow is moved for a snow event.
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