Online Resources for Long Term Care Providers
Links for providers and surveyors to help with regulatory compliance, training and general education.
Minnesota Department of Health Websites
Health Regulation Division
Role of Health Regulation Division in licensing, inspecting and certifying facilities.
Licensure Application Forms, Federal Certification, and Information for Health Care Providers
Licensing and Certification site that includes access to required documents, forms and information regarding state licensure and/or registration for health care facilities and service providers (including home care providers, services requiring registration, LTC, other licensed and/or certified programs).
MDH Health Regulation Division Information Bulletins
Includes information on statewide calls and other MDH updates. Subscription for automatic updates.
Health Care Facilities, Providers and Insurance
Includes multiple valuable resources of information related to many types of facilities, including nursing home information and regulations.
Frequently Visited Sites
Patient, Resident and Home Care Bill of Rights
Includes information of state and federal bill of rights for people receiving health services in the following various care settings and community settings:
Hospitals
Nursing Home and Boarding Care Homes
Hospice
Outpatient Surgical Centers
Home Care Providers
Supervised Living Facilities
Federal Nursing Home Regulation Resources
Includes information related to federal regulations and survey process, clinical issues, updates and joint trainings.
Minnesota Case Mix Review Program
Includes case mix information for residents, their families and responsible parties and providers. Includes case mix classification manual, links to current MDS and RAI information, Vendor information and historical documents.
Nursing Home, Home Care and Other Survey, Inspection and Complaint Results
Paid Feeding Assistants in Nursing Homes
Includes information on State Approved Paid Feeding Assistant Course, related federal regulation and state statute.
Nurse Aide Registry
Online registry of nurse aides who have met Minnesota training and/or testing standards to work in nursing homes and certified boarding care homes or have substantiated findings of abuse, neglect, and theft.
Health Care Provider Directory
A current list of SNSAs.
Provider Directory
Link to registered or certified health care providers.
Engineering Services
Responsible for enforcement of state and federal rules and regulations related to physical plant including construction of new spaces and modification to existing spaces and plays key role in moratorium exception review process. Responsible for Life Safety Code survey program for Medicare and Medicaid certification.
Minnesota Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment
Includes survey and certification general information, policies and memos, Medicare State Operation Manual, Application for Certification and Test Categories. Links for CMS CLIA website, brochures and CDC.
Infection Control
COVID 19 (Coronavirus) resources:
CDC Coronavirus Disease Information for Healthcare Professionals
Infection Prevention and Control
Includes general infection control information and links to valuable resources.
Infection Control Assessment and Response Program (ICAR)
Includes provider resources. ICAR partners with facility infection preventionists to assess infection prevention domains, identify focus areas, provide resources, and offer ongoing consultation.
Injection Safety
Includes resources (including training) for injection safety practices to promote infection prevention and prevent drug diversion.
Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines
Includes general infection control guidelines and recommendations and infection specific recommendations (for Clostridium difficile Infection, Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDRO) and many other infections).
Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASP)
Includes Minnesota Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Toolkit for long-term care facilities and other resources.
Tuberculosis (TB)
Includes information on guidelines, recommendations, prevention, control and reporting of TB.
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Websites
Survey Forms
CMS forms and survey-related information used by surveyors throughout the process.
Nursing Homes: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Reform of Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities
CMS Survey and Certification: General Policy & Memos to States and Regions
CMS Form 671 and instructions (PDF)
This is a fill form that you may print a copy for your records.
CMS Quality, Safety & Education Portal (QSEP) - CMS Surveyor Training
Webcast and archived webinars. These video broadcasts are utilized to facilitate joint training between the state survey agencies and providers using the technology available via satellite communications. The CMS website addresses training opportunities on a variety of subjects.
Quality Improvement Organizations
Stratis Health Website
Stratis Health is an independent nonprofit organization that leads collaboration and innovation in health care quality and patient safety. Through the Lake Superior Quality Innovation Network, Quality Improvement Network – Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), Stratis Health helps nursing homes achieve Medicare’s quality improvement goals.
Quality Improvement Organizations Website
Beneficiary and Family Centered Care (BFCC)-QIOs.
KEPRO
KEPRO addresses Medicare beneficiary concerns and appeals, quality of care reviews, and case reviews.
Ombudsman and Provider Trade Organizations Groups Websites
Office of Ombudsman for Long-term Care, Associations and Advocacy Groups for Long-term Care, Elderly Housing, Assisted Living, Hospitals and Hospices
Links to Minnesota Board on Aging and provider trade organizations for long-term care, hospital and hospice.
Emergency Preparedness
MDH Center for Emergency Preparedness & Response
This section coordinates preparedness activities and assists Minnesota Department of Health staff, local public health agencies, hospitals, health care organizations, tribes and public safety officials in their efforts to plan for respond to and recover from public health emergencies.
CMS Quality, Safety & Education Portal (QSEP) - CMS Emergency Preparedness Basic Surveyor Training Course (EP)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Survey & Certification Group (SCG) developed the Emergency Preparedness Basic Surveyor Training Course to help health and safety and Life Safety Code (LSC) surveyors and reviewers gain proficiency in surveying all affected participating providers and certified suppliers for compliance with their individual emergency preparedness requirements. Because the individual regulations for each provider and supplier type share a majority of standard provisions, this training provides consistent guidance and survey procedures for all provider and supplier types in a single course. The estimated course completion time for this training is 16 hours.
Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers (US Dept. Health and Human Services)
Links to resources that can help provider and suppliers comply with the recently released Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Emergency Preparedness Rule. Has a document titled "Resources at Your Fingertips," which contains checklists and fact sheets on the essential four core elements of the CMS ER rule.