LeadingAge Ohio is now accepting applications for the 2026 cohort of the Leadership Academy, a 7-month program designed to build the next generation of leaders in aging services. Fellows explore their authentic leadership style, strengthen their ability to manage team dynamics, and develop innovative approaches to care. This program was created in partnership with nationally recognized leadership expert Michele Holleran, Ph.D., and senior leaders from LeadingAge Ohio member organizations who are alumni of the Academy.
The Academy includes four 2-day retreats at member communities across Ohio, each focused on a leadership theme such as authentic leadership, team building, leading change, and creating partnerships. Fellows also participate in site visits, coaching and mentorship, and “Leaders in Residence” sessions with seasoned professionals. Each participant completes an action learning project tied to challenges within their organization.
Since 2013, Leadership Academy has graduated over 150 leaders. The program is open to employees of LeadingAge Ohio provider and associate member organizations, regardless of job title or background. Selection is based on leadership potential, commitment to aging services, and dedication to lifelong learning. Applications are due Friday, November 17, 2025, with fellows notified after the first of the year.
Learn more about the Leadership Academy here. Questions may be directed to Randi Hamill, Director of Workforce Development & Initiatives, at 614-545-9026 or rhamill@leadingageohio.org. Top You Asked: If our facility offers the flu vaccine but a resident refuses, what else do surveyors expect to see in the record?
We Answered:
Even when residents decline immunizations, documentation must still show that the facility met all requirements under F883 (Influenza and Pneumococcal Immunizations). Recent survey findings in Ohio have cited providers not because residents refused vaccination—but because education and follow-up were missing from the record.
According to CMS Appendix PP, surveyors will look for clear evidence that the resident or representative received education about the benefits and potential side effects of the vaccine before making a decision. The record must document whether the vaccine was offered within the required timeframe (October through March for influenza) and include the reason for refusal or medical contraindication. If the vaccine was temporarily unavailable, surveyors also expect documentation showing that the facility notified the resident or representative and reordered the vaccine promptly.
For practical steps and examples shared during the session, access the October STAT on Immunizations On Demand webinar on the LeadingAge Ohio Learning Center.
View the CDC’s guidance on the 2025/2026 flu season here. Top In Episode 11 of Another Word for Living, LeadingAge Ohio President & CEO Susan Wallace talks with Marcie Campbell of Buckeye PACE about the innovative Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Listen to the episode here.
Campbell’s enthusiasm is unmistakable as she describes how PACE works, who it serves, and why it matters to the people and families who rely on it. She shares stories that capture the close, human connections at the heart of the model—illustrating how care becomes personal and deeply relational.
For providers, policymakers, and advocates in Ohio’s aging services sector, the episode underscores an important message: programs like PACE are not merely alternatives. They can be central to a future where older adults receive care without losing independence, choice, or respect. In 2024, LeadingAge Ohio worked with E&M Consulting to produce a hard-copy member directory for LeadingAge Ohio members. We are pleased to announce the process for a 2026 directory has started. E&M Consulting will most likely be reaching out soon, if they have not yet, to those groups who purchased ads for the 2024 directory project inquiring about a renewal of the ad. If you have any updates or changes you would like made to your community or business firm, please contact Corey Markham at cmarkham@leadingageohio.org. LeadingAge Ohio members are invited to attend What is a Wellness & Enrichment Service Line and How Could Your Organization Benefit?, a webinar hosted by LeadingAge Virginia and available to LeadingAge Ohio members at a discounted rate. The session will be held on October 21 from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.
This educational program invites participants to discover how a unified Wellness & Enrichment division can strengthen collaboration and transform the resident experience. Guided by Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community’s creation of a dedicated Wellness & Enrichment division, the session will explore how organizations can move beyond silos to integrate wellness, arts, chaplaincy, and enrichment into a single, cohesive framework that supports holistic well-being.
Presenter Melinda Noland, Vice President of Wellness and Enrichment at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, will share practical examples of how this model has improved both resident and staff engagement. Attendees will leave with ideas for how to bring a similar approach to life within their own organizations.
Learn more and register through LeadingAge Ohio’s event calendar to take advantage of member pricing. There's always something happening at LeadingAge Ohio, view all upcoming events here and mark your calendar today!
- October 10, 9 AM - Supervisor Skills Bootcamp
- October 13, 1 PM - Hospice HOPE Support Group
- October 15, 12 PM - Housings Happenings Call
- October 15, 12 PM - Life Safety & Emergency Preparedness Hot Topics, Updates and Best Practices for Compliance
- October 16, 1 PM - 2025 Reimbursement Collaborative: Build the Backbone – Systems That Ensure Accuracy and Accountability
- October 20, 10 AM - Advocacy in Action Call
- October 21, 10 AM - NF/AL Clinical Operations Subcommittee
- October 21, 12 PM - What is a Wellness & Enrichment Service Line & How Could Your Organization Benefit? Hosted by LeadingAge Virginia
- October 22, 9 AM - Hospice Clinical Bootcamp
- October 23, 1 PM - 2025 Survey Success Collaborative: Long-Term Care Survey Process (LTCSP) Mandatory Task Observations
Top With the November 5 application deadline approaching for the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program, LeadingAge is urging members to engage with state decision-makers to ensure rural health plans include strategies that address the needs of older adults.
At a recent national planning summit attended by 45 states, CMS emphasized innovation, measurable outcomes, and alignment with the Notice of Funding Opportunity, but discussion largely overlooked older adult access challenges such as transportation, workforce shortages, and broadband connectivity.
LeadingAge encourages providers to connect with state officials developing RHT proposals and to advocate for the inclusion of aging services in these statewide transformation plans. Additional details are available in the full article on LeadingAge.org and through the RHT Program serial post, which provides ongoing updates as the deadline nears. LeadingAge is advancing national solutions to one of the most pressing challenges facing aging services providers: workforce shortages. Efforts now span innovation, education, and federal advocacy—each designed to strengthen the essential caregiving workforce.
Through a collaboration with Cherokee Federal, a network of tribally owned contracting companies, LeadingAge member Benedictine has filled critical roles in six rural North Dakota communities. The partnership connects immigrants who are legally authorized to work in the United States with providers that urgently need staff. “In addition to filling jobs,” said Kathleen Murray, Benedictine’s director of organizational learning and development, “our facilities are helping build lives and strengthen communities.” Read the full story.
Foreign-born workers now comprise nearly 28% of the direct care workforce in long-term care, and LeadingAge is helping members expand these pathways responsibly. A January 8, 2026, session in the LeadingAge Learning Hub will explore strategies for implementing and sustaining international recruitment programs.
At the national level, LeadingAge supported a bipartisan congressional letter, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), urging the Departments of Homeland Security, Labor, and Health and Human Services to safeguard the employment status of legally authorized workers with Temporary Protected Status. The letter emphasizes that losing these professionals would threaten access to quality care for older adults. Read more about the advocacy effort.
For additional resources and updates on this national workforce initiative, visit the LeadingAge workforce page. A new report from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @ UMass Boston and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) reveals a powerful connection between net worth and life expectancy among older adults.
Authored by Jane Tavares, Marc Cohen, Maryssa Pallis, Kerry Glova, and Reena Sethi, the analysis draws on data from the national Health and Retirement Study and paints a concerning picture of financial fragility among aging Americans. The researchers found that 80% of adults over age 60 lack the financial stability to withstand a major life event such as divorce, a serious illness, or the need for long-term services and supports (LTSS).
Even more striking, 60% of older adults would be unable to afford aging in place for more than two years if their care needs increased—particularly as basic living costs like housing, food, transportation, and healthcare continue to rise.
The report underscores that economic inequality has direct health implications. As the authors note, “the mortality rate is nearly double, and the age of mortality is 9 years lower on average for the bottom 20% compared to the top 10%.”
Read the full report here. Top As previously reported in The Source, the Ohio Department of Medicaid is moving forward in implementing a rule that would increase the personal needs allowance (PNA) for Medicaid-enrolled individuals residing in institutions, which include nursing homes. Ohio’s personal needs allowance has been $50 per month for many years, and as the cost of goods and services– meals out, hair styling, personal care items– have continued to increase.
The PNA increase was required by House Bill 96, Ohio’s biennial budget bill. Notably, the rule only applies to the long-term care population residing in “medical institutions,” which necessarily excludes community-based settings like assisted living.
LeadingAge Ohio submitted comments urging Medicaid to include assisted living in its PNA increase, and was joined by other aging advocates including the Ohio Healthcare Association, the Ohio Assisted Living Association, and the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging (O4a). Additionally, each association urged caution that the Department not simply increase the PNA by decreasing the amount that assisted living communities collect via room and board. Rather, the cost of this PNA increase should be born by the state through additional payments and/or rate increases.
LeadingAge Ohio will continue to work with the Department to ensure that long-term care residents have the autonomy and dignity afforded by Ohio’s personal needs allowance, regardless of care setting. Estate recovery reform has emerged as a key issue for aging services providers and advocates who serve older Ohioans with limited means. Under current state law, Medicaid may recover certain costs from the estates of deceased beneficiaries, a practice that can create hardship for surviving spouses and heirs while discouraging individuals from seeking needed long-term services.
The Ohio House Medicaid Committee held a second hearing October 7 on House Bill 318, legislation that would revise the state’s Medicaid estate recovery program. Sponsored by Representatives Jason Stephens and Sean Brennan, the measure seeks to narrow when the state may recover costs for long-term care and related services.
Proponents from across Ohio’s aging network—including Pro Seniors, the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the Ohio Federation for Health Equity and Social Justice—testified that current practices can deter individuals from obtaining care and place undue financial strain on families after death.
Committee members reviewed the bill’s fiscal analysis and raised questions about how proposed changes would align with federal Medicaid rules. The measure remains under committee review for possible amendments.
LeadingAge Ohio will continue to monitor HB 318 and provide updates as the legislation advances. Top The federal government remains shut down as of October 9, with Congress still deadlocked on a short-term funding bill. Essential health programs continue, but many federal operations are curtailed.
Telehealth: With Congress failing to extend pandemic-era waivers, Medicare has reverted to pre-2020 rules. Most beneficiaries must now be in rural areas and at an approved “originating site”—not at home—for telehealth reimbursement, and audio-only visits are no longer covered. CMS has instructed contractors to temporarily hold telehealth claims as lawmakers consider reinstating flexibilities. Learn more from Healthcare Dive and The ASCO Post.
Surveys and Oversight: CMS is maintaining only immediate jeopardy and serious-harm investigations, while routine recertifications and lower-level complaint surveys are paused. States must continue accepting complaints and uploading data to ASPEN and iQIES. View CMS’s survey contingency guidance.
Funding and Programs:
- Skilled nursing and nursing facilities continue to receive payments, though processing delays may occur.
- Assisted living and adult day providers remain funded through state Medicaid programs; the Child and Adult Care Food Program continues using carryover funds, per USDA’s contingency plan.
- HUD senior housing programs under Sections 202 and 811 continue existing rental assistance payments, but new commitments and renewals are delayed, as outlined in HUD’s lapse contingency plan.
Across all provider types, communications, approvals, and grant processing from federal agencies are slowed as thousands of staff are furloughed at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
LeadingAge continues monitoring the shutdown through its serial page and the National Policy Pulse call each Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Please notify LeadingAge Ohio of any shutdown-related barriers so issues can be escalated to national partners. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living (ACL) has announced $60 million in new grant awards to expand programs that help older adults and people with disabilities live independently and remain engaged in their communities.
According to the official HHS announcement, the funding will support 59 grants nationwide that focus on fall prevention, chronic disease management, caregiver support, and dementia-capable services. Additional investments will enhance nutrition programs, strengthen elder justice initiatives, and expand outreach to help individuals and families access available benefits and supports.
While most grants are directed to state agencies, tribal organizations, and regional aging networks, LeadingAge Ohio members may find opportunities for collaboration—particularly in evidence-based health promotion, caregiver training, and community-based partnerships that reduce isolation and improve quality of life.
The initiative advances ACL’s Modernizing and Advancing Healthy Aging (MAHA) agenda, a national effort promoting integrated, person-centered systems of care for older adults and people with disabilities. ACL stated that the awards are designed to “improve outcomes for people with disabilities and older adults through innovation and collaboration.”
Read more in the HHS press release. Top Nursing homes, in accordance with the Ohio Administrative Code 3701-17-06, are required to report elopements. LeadingAge Ohio will share what providers need to know to remain in compliance during the November Survey Tips and Tactics call on November 12. The OAC defines elopement as: "Elopement" occurs when a resident leaves a home or safe area without the facilities knowledge or without supervision. A situation in which a resident with decision-making capacity leaves the home will not be considered an elopement unless the home has reason to suspect, or the circumstances surrounding the resident's departure indicate, that the departure is unusual or atypical. Ohio Department of Health has directed operators to report elopements to the email address of BLTCQ@odh.ohio.gov. ODH also reminds providers to follow all HIPAA requirements when submitting information, which may include encrypting the email to protect resident privacy. As survey activity picks up after the iQIES system transition, immunization compliance continues to draw attention from surveyors across Ohio. In 2025, F883 (Influenza and Pneumococcal Immunizations) ranked among the most frequently cited deficiencies for skilled nursing facilities, with survey findings revealing lapses in education, documentation, and timely administration of vaccines.
During October’s Survey Tips and Tactics webinar, Stephanie DeWees, LeadingAge Ohio’s long-term care quality and regulatory specialist, reviewed recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updates affecting vaccine policies and survey expectations. Surveyors are looking closely at whether facilities provide residents or their representatives with education about vaccine benefits and risks, offer vaccines within required timeframes, and document refusals, contraindications, and administration in accordance with CMS Appendix PP, F883.
Recent Ohio citations show recurring issues such as missing consent forms, lack of follow-up when vaccines were unavailable, and incomplete documentation of education or refusals. Facilities should ensure immunization logs are current, policies reflect the latest Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations, and staff are equipped to discuss vaccines confidently with residents and families.
For a deeper review of current immunization requirements and strategies to stay survey-ready, access the October STAT on Immunizations On Demand webinar on the LeadingAge Ohio Learning Center. Top LeadingAge, in partnership with Ziegler and other expert members and firms, is launching a new webinar series examining key lessons from recent Life Plan Community (LPC) bankruptcies that have shaped the field.
Through three engaging sessions, expert panels—facilitated by Dee Pekruhn—will explore real-world case studies across three distinct scenarios:
- Successful resolutions where LPCs emerged stronger,
- Repeat bankruptcies and their lasting impacts, and
- Cases that resolved but could have achieved better outcomes.
Each session will offer thoughtful analysis and practical insights for providers, board members, and partners navigating today’s complex financial landscape.
You can learn more and register for the series on the LeadingAge Learning Hub. Just launched! The third installment of the Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) State Statutory Comparative Guide is now live on the LeadingAge Learning Hub.
This latest edition offers a comprehensive review and analysis of state statutes governing Life Plan Communities (LPCs) and CCRCs, with a focused look at bankruptcy protections across states. The guide provides valuable insights for providers, policymakers, and business partners seeking to understand the legal landscape that shapes financial protections for LPCs.
This resource is available free to all LeadingAge members and business partners. Top LeadingAge Ohio congratulates member Good Shepherd Home in Fostoria for earning perfect state surveys for both assisted-living wings, Brethren Court and Shepherd Court, following inspections by the Ohio Department of Health.
Executive Director Chris Widman credited the accomplishment to the dedication and teamwork of staff who “go above and beyond to create a safe and loving home.” Director of Shepherd Court Brittney Kelbley added that “perfect surveys don’t just happen—they result from professionals devoted to each resident’s care.”
The faith-based, nonprofit continuing care retirement community has served the Fostoria area for more than 120 years.
Read more in the Review Times article. Has your organization recently celebrated a major milestone? Opened a new building? Been featured in the news? Whether it’s a groundbreaking, an award, or a great story from your community, we want to help spread the word.
LeadingAge Ohio members are doing incredible work across the state, and we’re proud to highlight those efforts. Share your press releases, social media posts, or media coverage with us and we’ll feature them in the Member News section of The Source. We may also help amplify your story on LeadingAge Ohio’s social media channels.
To submit a news item, simply email Laurinda Johnson at ljohnson@leadingageohio.org. We can’t wait to celebrate your success! Top LeadingAge Ohio holds valuable education webinars and in-person events throughout the year. Opportunities are added weekly. See the complete Schedule of Events. Top
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