Thanks Kathy!

 

Will the Vaccine Forum be recorded for those who cannot attend at that time? I think members would appreciate that!

 

 

 

Greetings,

 

I have a few updates for you and we also need to schedule the March meeting so I’m combining both topics in this email.

 

March Meeting Date

We had planned to have the March meeting the day prior to the Day at the Capitol to minimize travel. That was of course, before we knew we’d still be meeting virtually and that the advocacy event will also be virtual! We now have a few options to consider; please complete this doodle poll with the times that you can be available.

 

Advocacy

We have a Vaccine Forum for Home Care and Hospice planned for next Friday at 2 pm. Members have many questions about the roll-out of vaccines for staff and there are questions about vaccinating home bound clients that aren’t able to get to a clinic. MDH vaccine branch staff will present and address questions during this Zoom webinar. I am finalizing plans for home care providers with MDH and the specifics on working with counties will be shared.

 

The Legislative Session has kicked off and will be meeting virtually at the start, although the Senate plans to meet some in person later in the session. In-person meetings are not happening so MHCA will host a Home Care Advocacy Week with a virtual event March 10, 8:30 am. I hope you will join us for that and plan to schedule virtual meetings with your legislators for that week. We have drafted a new home care overview handout and will be asking some members to personally send this to specific Health and Human Service Committee members, as it will be given priority when coming from a constituent. MHCA will also send it to legislators.

 

 

Operational

We have many important discussions planned for the upcoming board retreat and ask that you make it a priority to attend the full meeting. The first day will be a fairly full day with breaks and we plan to keep the 2^nd day shorter (likely a half day). Next week you will be receiving more detailed information and materials to read prior to the meeting.

 

 

Education

We have discovered that our 2021 Annual Meeting conflicts with Care Providers of MN. Because the Earle Brown only had 1 availability in the fall, we rescheduled without considering the CPM schedule. I have explained how we landed on these dates with the CPM CEO and hopefully calmed the waters a bit. We anticipate a conflict with up to 5 vendors and 3 or more presenters. Future years will not conflict.

 

Melissa and I de-briefed with our member who served as a Co-Chair for the Reimagine Conference this past year and we don’t plan to co-host that event again in 2021. We are not certain that the host organization is interested in collaborating again and we don’t feel this is a good fit for MHCA. Less than a handful of our members participated and we spent significant staff resources on this event. We are hosting a telehealth webinar in February that will be more applicable to our members. The 2021 budget includes net revenue of $950 so we will look for other places to make up for this loss in revenue.

 

The pandemic is continuing into 2021 and we know that it’s wearing on people’s mental health. There is a Mental Health First Aid session that we’ve heard good things about so we plan to offer that for the June Region Meetings.

 

I look forward to our strategic planning discussion! In the meantime, stay warm and healthy!

 

Be Well,

 

Kathy Messerli

Executive Director

Minnesota Home Care 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.