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The job market in Cook County is red-hot. Sizzling. Help wanted signs greet our visitors at practically every stop they make.
With far more jobs than employees to fill them, this worker shortage has drastically affected North Shore Health. So, with that, North Shore Health has decided to start the process of recruiting workers from other countries.
“We are working with Carey Thuente from Guyton Thuente, P.A. in Minneapolis,” said North Shore Health Administrator/ CEO Kimber Wraalstad, adding that representatives from Presbyterian Homes recommended the firm.
“A prevailing wage request has been submitted to the Department of Labor to begin that process. When that determination is received, then specific cases can be submitted.”
However, there are no guarantees. “After many years with no waiting list, as of June 22, the visa bulletin shows a waiting list for this type of worker of three years. There have been no predictions about what is likely to happen with visa numbers for this labor category, so it was felt prudent to begin the process immediately,” Wraalstad said.
Audit
North Shore Living received an unannounced on-site audit of its Minnesota Case Mix Classifications from March 28 through April 1. The annual survey was conducted by an employee from the Minnesota Department of Health who reviewed residents’ records, observed residents, and then interviewed residents, staff, and families. Following the audit, only one change was made to the case mix rate, and several minimum modifications were made to the Minimum Data Set (MDS). Of the findings, Administrator Wraalstad said, “Congratulations to Angie Works and the other members of the Interdisciplinary Team for their great work.”
A complaint inspection of the nursing home was held from May 17 to May 18. The surveyor investigated three complaints from incidents occurring in 2022, and none of the incidents was substantiated, and no deficiencies were identified. Kimber said nursing homes routinely submit Facility Initiated Reports and these reports can include issues from falls and skin issues to serious allegations of abuse.
Frontline Worker Pay
Essential workers at hospitals and care centers in Minnesota that worked through the COVID-19 pandemic will each receive an estimated $750 through the frontline worker pay legislation that was recently signed into law.
To receive their checks, workers will need to apply for the one-time checks through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
Filing period for Board Elections
Three North Shore Health Board of Directors positions will be up for election this fall. The filing period for District 1, District 3, and District 5 will open Tuesday, August 2, and end at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. There will be a two-dollar filing fee to apply.
Health and Human Services Policy bill passes
Good news was reported about the Health and Human Services Policy Bill passed by the Minnesota Senate this spring. Language in the bill exempts North Shore Health and the hospital in Mahnomen from the bed moratorium and state public interest review. This ruling will allow North Shore Health and Care Center to expand its hospital bed capacity by nine beds that can now be used in the Medicare swing bed program. This broadens the hospital from 16 to 25 licensed beds, the maximum number allowed for NSH under the federal designation as a Critical Access Hospital.
As described in the public interest review application to MDH, “The plan was submitted as a ‘rearrangement’ of licensed beds where the number of nursing home beds would decrease by nine. Furthermore, the plan noted that the hospital based services would remain unchanged.”
The Minnesota Department of Health also stated in its Public Interest Review, “Though the proposed change is not intended to enhance available care capacity directly, it is intended to maintain critical services that have not been financially self-sustaining. North Sore Health noted in its application materials submitted to MDH that this change would result in a net increase in reimbursement (all attributed to the federal Medicare program) by roughly $800,000 in 2020 after reducing the number of nursing home beds.”
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