Affiliation Update
Kim sent the letter to the LAMN Board Chair informing them that MHCA is discontinuing our affiliation discussions. The Executive Committee received a response email from him, sharing his surprise and wishing us well.
There was some mixed messages but I have confirmed that LAMN did change the brand for the summer conference from Assisted Living and Home Care Conference to Connect Conference. We have partnered on this conference for more than 15 years and hope to continue doing so – although we are admittedly disappointed that we were not engaged in those discussions or informed of the change. The LAMN education team asked to meet with us tomorrow to begin discussing the 2019 conference, which is a good sign. For now, Melissa and I plan to stay at the table, bring MHCA’s home care expertise and have MHCA listed as a co-host.
Year-end Financials
I have been diligently working to make wise decisions on year-end spending, in light of our good year. We have purchased some items that were budgeted for 2019 and I took the staff to the MN Council of Non-Profits Annual Conference, where they gathered many new ideas for MHCA.
The Executive Committee is responsible for assisting with the bonus distribution; for the officers, I will have details to you no later than Dec 26. This is a very quick turn-around, needing to process this by Dec 27 – please watch your emails!
Advocacy
I drafted the attached overview of the Commissioner’s Elder and Vulnerable Adult Abuse Prevention Working Groups. It will also be in tomorrow’s Informer.
An overview of my participation in the DC Fly-in was in the last Informer. We are making plans with the Legislative Team to ramp up grassroots with a focus on the newly elected lawmakers on both the federal and state levels. We are finalizing a one-pager that will be distributed to the new lawmakers and we will schedule meetings, with a priority given to new Health and Human Services committee members.
I attended Congressman-Elect Dean Phillips first Town Hall meeting, connected with a couple of his staff and left a card with a home-care related question, asking for his support of our issues. That was the beginning of our federal outreach.
The MN Leadership Council on Aging, which MHCA is a member of, held it’s annual Policy Summit. The attendance nearly doubled and there were many excellent messages and panels. Six lawmakers came and were very engaged.
For now, we await Governor-Elect’s choice for the DHS and MDH Commissioners. I will begin developing relationships once those are named.
Board Retreat
The details for the January retreat are coming together. Day One, January 16 will be led by Brandi Olson from The Olson Group and will start with an 8:30 am light breakfast. We will focus on Organizational Agility, which will be applicable to you and your agency, as well as your board role for MHCA. The day will end with a tour of the Earle Brown Heritage Center conference space (there is a conference that day so you may not see the actual rooms but will get a feel for the layout) and an off-site group dinner. Because this is in the metro area, we plan to just book rooms for Kim and Linda (Annie will be in touch with your details).
Day Two will be led by me with a focus on a 2019 – 2021 strategic plan. I don’t have the agenda fleshed out yet but hope to end a bit earlier that day. The staff will be joining us for both days.
More detailed information will be sent the week prior to the retreat.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a spectacular New Year (especially Jay….who is due for a good year!!)
Kathy Messerli
Executive Director | Minnesota HomeCare Association
2550 University Ave. W., Ste. 350 S | St. Paul, MN 55114-1900
Direct: 651.635.0038 | Main: 651.635.0607
Toll-free: 866.607.0607 | Fax: 651.635.0043
www.mnhomecare.org | kmesserli@mnhomecare.org
Mission: MHCA represents and supports Minnesota home care providers committed to high quality home care services.
Vision: MHCA will shape the home care landscape to improve and sustain quality home care services.