Minnesota Works to Improve Assisted Living Regulations

Work to design a “report card” for assisted-living facilities in Minnesota is entering its third phase with a target of having the online tool fully in place by the end of summer 2022.  Along the way, Minnesota is advancing from the back of the pack in its regulation of the facilities to at or near the top, says one of the report card’s designers.  “What we’re doing here in Minnesota, we jumped from the bottom of the line to the front of the line, because we are actually … (establishing) a precedent for how this work could be done,” said Tetyana Shippee, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.  Assisted-living facilities provide a varying level of services to residents below the level of skilled-nursing facilities — traditionally known as nursing homes — in a more homelike atmosphere.Below the surface, you might not know what you’re really getting, because Minnesota is the only state in the nation where assisted-living housing is unregulated. Prompted by media reports of abuse in some facilities, the Minnesota Legislature last year passed an elder care reform package.  One of the elements of the package is the development of the online report card, which will be intended to allow consumers to see who the places they’re considering for their loved ones have been evaluated by others according to certain criteria.  It’s something that consumers have come to expect, said Cheryl Hennen, ombudsman for the Minnesota Board on Aging.