LTSS Newsletter—October 2025

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent this bulletin at 10/20/2025 09:00 AM EDT

Stay tuned for the November 2025 LTSS webinar
American Indian/Alaska Native Long-Term Services and Supports

Technical assistance for tribal health care
October 2025
CMS LTSS banner.
LTSS Technical Assistance Center
Visit the online LTSS TA Center for videos, best practices, toolkits, a resource library, and a step-by-step planning roadmap.
Get email updates Join us on LinkedIn Follow us on X

AI/AN QIO program

Nursing homes that primarily serve tribal populations are invited to join the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services American Indian Alaska Native Quality Improvement Organization (AI/AN QIO) program, which provides no-cost training and technical assistance.

To participate in the AI/AN QIO program, (PDF, 2.5 MB, 18 pp), a nursing home must be Medicare-certified and managed by a tribe, Indian Health Service, or an urban Indian organization.

The program’s four areas of potential collaboration are:
  • Preventive health and wellness
  • Patient safety
  • Behavioral health
  • Capacity building and leadership development

 

Training session formats include e-learning and microlearning, one-on-one support, and group discussions.

 
     
   

Quality care at Medicine Wheel Village

  
       
   

The LTSS TA Center video, It Takes a Village, explores the advantages of having a tribal nursing home.

 

The video features Medicine Wheel Village Nursing Facility in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, on the Cheyenne River Reservation. The 50-bed facility provides elders with culturally tailored, quality care.

 

In the video, staff highlight their love for the residents. Ophelia Duprias, Facility Dietary Manager, notes that the residents “care about us as much as we care about them.”

 

The nursing home’s motto, “It takes a village,” speaks to the drive to help residents stay connected to their culture and community. Residents enjoy traditional meals and onsite cultural activities, such as performances by local dance groups.

 

  

Monitoring the quality of facility-based long-term care

While 24/7 live streams may seem like a reliable way of protecting care facility residents from abuse or neglect, the presence of surveillance cameras gives rise to ethical concerns.

 

As an alternative to camera installation, the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life recommends that residents’ families:

 

  • Get to know multiple staff at the facility, beyond direct care providers, to improve communication
  • Vary the timing of care facility visits, thereby creating opportunities to meet more staff and see how the facility runs during different parts of the day or week
  • Look into less intrusive monitoring options such as wearable devices for care recipients or call systems that log staff response times
  • Take note of any concerns and include dates, times, photos, and the names of staff members involved
  • Learn how to file complaints; reach out to a local Native American Contact at CMS (PDF, 176 KB, 1 p) for assistance if needed

 

Improving dementia diagnosis and management

When dementia is diagnosed in its early stages, care recipients and their families have more time to plan ahead. To that end, Indian Health Service (IHS) recently launched a Dementia Care Pathway, which provides step-by-step guidance to help primary care staff:

 

  • Recognize potential signs of cognitive impairment
  • Assess cognition and conduct an exam
  • Integrate findings and discuss them with patients and their care partners

 

Additionally, IHS, tribal, and urban Indian health care staff now have the option of contacting a Dementia Clinical Support Line (PDF, 341 KB, 1 p) for expertise on dementia screening, evaluation, diagnosis, management, and care planning.

 

The support line may be reached Monday through Friday, 12–8 p.m. Eastern, by emailing uw-triad@uw.edu or calling (833) 998–4897.

 
Content marked as decorative will not expose a description to screen readers.
 
Join the conversation on LinkedIn

Want to learn more about or discuss LTSS in Indian Country? Looking to connect with others working in the same field?

Join the Tribal Affairs Group on LinkedIn.
Upcoming webinar

Stay tuned for the November LTSS webinar

There will be no LTSS webinar in October. Check back soon for more information about the November webinar.

 

In the meantime, visit the LTSS TA Center to view archived LTSS webinars, such as Unique Benefits of Animal-Assisted Therapy for Individuals in Long-Term Care.

 
Caregiver's corner

Partnership for caregiver respite in Vermont

USAging’s case study, Vermont Partnership Offers Caregivers Wellness Programs and Respite (PDF, 129 KB, 3 pp), features a partnership between Age Well, the AAA in northwestern Vermont, and MVP Health Care, a regional nonprofit health plan.

 

Through the partnership, Age Well pairs care recipients with volunteers trained in respite care and offers recreational and social activities for caregivers, while MVP Health Care funds the activities through Medicare Advantage.

 

Age Well benefits from an expansion of their reach to support more caregivers, and MVP Health Care benefits from improved caregiver health outcomes and a reduction in unmet needs for the health plan’s priority populations.

 

Caregiver support is just one of the many types of services provided by AAAs. Learn more about AAAs (PDF, 858 KB, 4 pp) and how they make aging in place possible for elders who need help with activities of daily living.

 
Funding opportunities

Tribal injury prevention

Applications due: November 13
View the tribal injury prevention funding opportunity

 

The Indian Health Service (IHS) Injury Prevention Program (IPP) is offering funds for focused, community-based programs and projects to help prevent injuries and violence.

 

IHS IPP expects to award up to 30 cooperative agreements. Tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations are eligible to apply.

 

Tribal community development

Applications due: November 24
View the tribal community development funding opportunity

 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development intends to distribute 50 Indian Community Development Block Grants of up to $2 million each.

 

The grants help communities address issues that are negatively impacting public health and safety. Possible uses for the funds include support for home- and community-based services or long-term care.

 
Upcoming events

Webinar on caregiver support

November 5, 2025, at 1 p.m. Eastern
Register for the webinar on caregiver support

 

Join the American Society on Aging for a webinar on identifying and addressing the needs of family caregivers. The webinar will cover:

 

  • Emotional and physical challenges of caregiving
  • Early signs of burnout
  • Resources available to help caregivers cope and reduce their stress

 

NCAI Convention & Marketplace

November 16–21, 2025
Seattle, Washington
Register for the NCAI Convention & Marketplace

 

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) invites members, partners, community advocates, and tribal leaders to its annual event to discuss important issues and develop strategies for protecting and advancing tribal sovereignty. This year is an election year for NCAI. To be eligible to vote, members must be in good standing and registered for the event no later than November 19 at 9 p.m. Eastern.

 

Banner for 82nd annual National Congress of American Indians Convention & Marketplace features 4 Native people standing near the water, with evergreens and the Seattle skyline in the background.

 

Webinar on PTSD and dementia

November 19, 2025, at 12 p.m. Eastern
Register for the webinar on PTSD and dementia

 

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may increase the risk for dementia, and people living with dementia eventually lose their ability to suppress traumatic memories. Join an upcoming Alzheimer’s Foundation of America webinar to learn how:

 

  • Care professionals can support people living with dementia and experiencing a re-emergence of traumatic memories
  • Trauma-informed care helps foster healing, trust, and a sense of safety

 

Symposium on elder abuse

February 26–27
Pasadena, California
Register by October 31 for the symposium’s early bird rate

 

Plan to attend the University of Southern California Judith D. Tamkin International Symposium on Elder Abuse. Themed “The Elder Justice Panorama: Promising Programs, Sustainable Progress, and the Path Forward,” the symposium will cover financial exploitation of elders, abuse and neglect in licensed facilities, and more.

 

Banner for the 2026 USC Judith D. Tamkin International Symposium on Elder Abuse.

 

Send us your news

Do you have news to share about LTSS in Indian Country? Send it to ltssinfo@kauffmaninc.com for possible inclusion in an upcoming newsletter. Contact us with other comments or feedback, too.

 

About the newsletter

American Indian/Alaska Native Long-Term Services and Supports Solutions is published monthly by the CMS Division of Tribal Affairs to share information, funding opportunities, and resources with LTSS planners, tribal leaders, and supporters.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Indian Health ServiceAdministration for Community Living