You Asked... We Answered

You Asked: Is dementia training required for nurse aides?

We Answered: Yes, under §483.95(g) nurse aide training must include dementia management training and resident abuse prevention training. Additionally, for nurse aides providing services to individuals with cognitive impairments, training must also address the care of the cognitively impaired. The State Operations Manual Appendix PP, notes that the adequacy of the in-service education program may be measured not only by documentation of hours of completed in-service education, but also by demonstrated competencies of nurse aide staff through written exam and/or in consistently applying the interventions necessary to meet residents’ needs as identified in the facility assessment. Observations of nurse aides that indicate deficiencies in their nurse aide skills may be the result of an inadequate training program and/or inadequate performance review.

2026 Annual Conference Registration and Hotel Block Open

Registration and conference hotel room bookings are now open for the 2026 LeadingAge Ohio Annual Conference and Trade Show, where aging services professionals from across Ohio will come together to learn from one another, hear new ideas from the field, and connect with exhibitors offering tools and resources that support mission-driven work across the care continuum. This year’s conference returns to the Columbus Hilton at Easton from August 25th to August 27th. Attendees can now register for the conference, view the full session schedule, and make plans to join colleagues for this year’s program, built around the theme, Celebrating the Changemakers.

This year’s conference will also feature several ways to take part beyond attendance. Members and partners can nominate a changemaker for the Hall of Changemakers, a conference recognition created to honor a person or LeadingAge Ohio member whose work, leadership, or compassion has made a lasting difference. Organizations interested in increasing their visibility can explore sponsorship opportunities, and companies that want to connect directly with attendees can reserve a trade show booth while space remains available. The keynote session, “See ME: The Power of Person-Centered Care”, will be presented by Petra Marquart, who will examine why service matters more than ever in aging services and how person-centered care can build trust, strengthen relationships, and support organizational success. Read full conference details, and details on Hospice Pre-Conference sessions, on the 2026 Annual Conference page.

Maximize Your Membership: Free Nurse LEAD Training Program for Members

Strong nurse leadership is essential to quality care, staff retention, and team performance—especially in today’s complex care environment. This popular free-for-members training program helps nurse managers and team leaders acquire critical leadership and supervisory skills.

Apply for the 2027 LeadingAge Leadership Academy

Applications are open for the LeadingAge Larry Minnix Leadership Academy. Designed for aging services professionals who want to grow their leadership skills, the Academy helps LeadingAge members strengthen core competencies by building on their natural talents and authentic leadership styles. Take the next step in your leadership journey—apply for the 2027 Leadership Academy.

Ohio Department of Aging to Host Next Aging Network Data Forum July 21

The Ohio Department of Aging will host the next Aging Network Data Forum on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 11 a.m. The quarterly virtual series brings together aging network partners to share new data resources, review current and upcoming projects, and examine how data can support services for older Ohioans in day-to-day practice. The forum is also intended to support peer learning and discussion around local data and infrastructure opportunities across the state.

This session will feature Ohio’s 2025-2026 long-term care satisfaction survey data, including feedback from nursing home and assisted living residents on care, services, meals, activities, administration, and other parts of daily life. Participants will also get a look at the new Aging Data Explorer dashboard, review data on the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in Ohio, and discuss Ohio Aging Compass, a centralized platform for aging-related resources, tools, data, and long-term care information. Stakeholders who work with, manage, or communicate data are encouraged to attend. 

Members can register for the meeting and direct questions to Age_PAE@age.ohio.gov.

455 Defendants Identified in National Health Care Fraud Takedown

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) joined federal and state law enforcement and announced charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and other medical professionals, for health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes. Defendants included individuals connected with fraudulent claims for amniotic wound allografts driven by a kickback scheme for marketers and medical providers. 

The alleged kickbacks caused the targeting of hospice patients and applying the allografts "without coordination with the patients’ treating physicians." In other cases, the skin allografts were never even applied. LeadingAge made clear in comments on the FY2027 Hospice Proposed Rule that any Part B spending on skin allografts (which made up more than 50% of all Part B non-hospice spending) should be removed from the Services and Spending Variation Index non-hospice spending measure due to the overwhelming evidence of fraudulent billing. 

Additionally, a hospice owner and employees were charged in a scheme that attempted to avoid detection by purchasing information from funeral home employees and fraudulently enrolling deceased Medicare beneficiaries. The owner allegedly billed Medicare for a few days of hospice services for these recently deceased individuals who had not received hospice care and created fake, back-dated medical records claiming that the beneficiaries had been seen by a physician, thereby allegedly seeking to deceive Medicare by reducing his outlier data metrics on live-discharges.

Survey Tip of the Week: Infection Control Training

One of the most common reasons facilities are cited under Infection Control Training F-tag 945 is the failure to ensure all staff receive the required infection prevention and control training. The Long-Term Care Survey Process instructs surveyors to review employee records to verify staff participation in infection prevention and control training.

The infection control training must, at a minimum, include the following areas:

• The facility’s surveillance system designed to identify possible communicable diseases or infections before they can spread to other persons in the facility;
• When and to whom possible incidents of communicable disease or infections in the facility should be reported;
• How and when to use standard precautions, including proper hand hygiene practices and environmental cleaning and disinfection practices;
• How and when to use transmission-based precautions for a resident, including but not limited to, the type and its duration of use depending upon the infectious agent or organism involved;
• Occupational health policies, including the circumstances under which the facility must enforce work restrictions and when to self-report illness or exposures to potentially infectious materials (See 483.80(a)(2)(v)); and
• Proper infection prevention and control practices when performing resident care activities as it pertains to particular staff roles, responsibilities, and situations.

If there is a concern about infection prevention and control practices or healthcare-associated infections in the facility (F880), surveyors are instructed to interview staff and review training records to determine the following:

• Did staff observations or did interviews with residents and/or resident representatives indicate a training need? Did staff report not receiving training about the concern identified by the surveyor?
• What process does the facility have to encourage staff to express concerns and request training in challenging situations? Does the facility respond to staff’s concerns and requests for training?
• Review the training coursework to determine if the content meets professional standards/guidelines and covers facility policy and procedures for infection prevention and control.
• Does the facility implement the training program and ensure staff are instructed to meet the requirements of §483.80(a)(2), Infection Control, F880?
• Verify that the facility has a mandatory requirement that all facility staff participate in infection prevention and control training, with a process in place to track such participation.

The State Operations Manual Appendix PP notes that training should support current scope and standards of practice through curricula which detail learning objectives, performance standards, evaluation criteria, and addresses potential risks to residents, staff, and volunteers if procedures are not followed. There should be a process in place to track staff participation in and understanding of the required training.

Adult Day Providers Denied Certification Due to Moratorium

Earlier this month, over 30 adult day providers with Medicaid certifications in process saw applications denied, with the state citing Governor DeWine’s May announcement of a statewide moratorium on Medicaid certification for home- and community-based services and hospices. While initial communications noted that the moratoria applied to only home care and hospice, this was later expanded to include other home- and community-based waiver services like transportation and adult day services. According to AGE contacts, staff of the Department of Medicaid are working through claims data to identify likely instances of inappropriate billing before forwarding these on to sister agencies. 

Notably, none of the initial 49 provider suspensions have included adult day centers.  

To date, the moratorium has not been expanded to assisted living waiver providers, which serve Medicaid enrollees under a dedicated HCBS waiver. LeadingAge Ohio has been working to identify members impacted by the moratorium and elevate these issues to key contacts at AGE, Medicaid and PASSPORT administrative agencies (PAAs). 

Adult day operators are characteristically different than home care providers, in that they provide care in an environment outside of the private home, which is inspected prior to certification. LeadingAge Ohio believes the protections inherent in the certification process warrant the exclusion of adult day operators from the moratoria and will continue to advocate on behalf of its members. 

Questions may be directed to Eli Faes, Director of Public Policy at efaes@leadingageohio.org. 

Do You Have Exciting News? We Want to Hear About It!

To submit a news item, simply email Laurinda Johnson at ljohnson@leadingageohio.org. We can’t wait to celebrate your success!

Check out the LeadingAge Ohio Education Calendar!

LeadingAge Ohio holds valuable education webinars and in-person events throughout the year. Opportunities are added weekly. See the complete Schedule of Events.