You Asked: How can I ensure I have the correct contact information for the Ombudsman advocate that is required to be given to all residents?
We Answered: The Ohio Department of Aging maintains current Ombudsman contact information on its Ombudsman resources webpage, which facilities can use to confirm the appropriate state and regional contacts.
The requirement to provide this information is found in Ohio Revised Code Section 3721.12(A)(3)(e). This section requires nursing homes to provide residents and staff with a list of important contact information, including the addresses and telephone numbers for the board of health in the county where the home is located, the county department of job and family services, the Ohio Departments of Health and Medicaid, the state and local offices of the Department of Aging, and the Ohio nursing home Ombudsman program.
Facilities should periodically review the Ohio Department of Aging’s website to ensure the Ombudsman contact information provided to residents is current and accurate, and update admission packets, resident handbooks, and posted notices as needed to maintain compliance. Top LeadingAge Ohio members are invited to gather on March 25 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Due Amici in downtown Columbus for the 2026 Legislative Reception and Political Action Committee (PAC) Fundraiser. The evening reception offers members the opportunity to connect directly with legislators of the Ohio General Assembly and have conversations grounded in real-world experience to help ensure legislators understand the impact of their decisions on mission-driven aging services across the state.
Find full event details and registration information here. Next week, on March 12, LeadingAge Ohio joins forces with LeadingAge Indiana and Kentucky for the annual Finance Strategy Workshop. Held in Columbus, the workshop features speakers Tom Meyers and Jason Choi (Ziegler), Justin McIntyre (First American), Tim Moran (Plante Moran), and Brett Kirkpatrick and Brian Krause (Community First Solutions) as they dive into the state of senior living, cyber security, and construction and growth strategies. Join other finance leaders for this valuable day of networking and focused discussions on the national senior living trends finance professionals need to know.
Learn more here. The STARS Awards shine a well-deserved spotlight on your frontline, non-management team members who make a difference every single day. From nursing assistants and dining staff to housekeepers, maintenance teams, and program staff, these individuals represent the heart of mission-driven aging services across Ohio.
Each member organization may nominate up to 6 employees per site location to be honored at one of four regional luncheons this spring. We encourage facilities to recognize their outstanding team members whose service reflects compassion, professionalism, and commitment to quality care. Nominations can come from management, coworkers, residents, and resident families.
Find more information on the program, including dates and locations, on the LeadingAge Ohio website and check out the STARS Nomination and Ceremony Guide for eligibility details, deadlines, and instructions before submitting nominations.
Questions can be directed to Molly Homan at mhoman@leadingageohio.org. LeadingAge Ohio’s Regional Network Gatherings return this spring, offering members the opportunity to connect with peers from across the state. These in-person gatherings center on conversation and relationship-building among mission-driven aging services organizations.
Join us at one of the networking events from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.:
Thank you to Platinum Partner Link-age Solutions for their continued sponsorship of the Regional Network Gatherings!
Attendance is free for LeadingAge Ohio member communities. Associate firms and partners are welcome to attend for a fee. Contact Corey Markham at cmarkham@leadingageohio.org for details. There's always something happening at LeadingAge Ohio, view all upcoming events here and mark your calendar today!
- March 10, 11 a.m. - Strategic HR Leadership Series
- March 11, 11 a.m. - STAT 2026: Care Planning Compliance
- March 12, 9 a.m. - 2026 Finance Strategy Workshop
- March 13, 11 a.m. - Adult Day Subcommittee
- March 16, 10 a.m. - Advocacy in Action
- March 18, 3:30 p.m. - NF Finance/Reimbursement Subcommittee Meeting
- March 19, 1 p.m. - 2026 Reimbursement Collaborative: Documentation that Drives Reimbursement
- March 25, 5 p.m. - 2026 Legislative Reception and PAC Fundraiser
- March 26, 1 p.m. - End-of-Life Nutrition hosted by LeadingAge South Dakota
- March 27, 10 a.m. - Marketing Roundtable hosted by LeadingAge Indiana
Top Researchers are seeking 40–60 nursing homes to participate in a new national study examining how physical design influences resident health, well‑being, and care delivery—and participating providers will receive an individualized design review and recommendations. Led by Boston University and supported by the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation, the study includes the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, which will help disseminate findings that could shape future design guidance and policy.
Read the full article to learn how to participate and why this research matters now. Highlight the incredible career possibilities in aging this month with LeadingAge, the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), and other organizations. During this annual celebration, help spread the word throughout March about the many jobs and career opportunities our sector offers. Use this resource-rich toolkit, developed by the GSA and partners, containing promotional ideas, social media images and suggested posts, logos and more, to get started. Top LeadingAge Ohio provided proponent testimony March 3 before the Ohio House Workforce and Higher Education Committee in support of House Bill 530, legislation that would establish a Long-Term Care Workforce Study Commission.
During the hearing, LeadingAge Ohio Director of Public Policy Eli Faes emphasized that Ohio’s long-term care workforce shortage is a structural challenge affecting the entire continuum of aging services. Providers across the state continue to face significant staffing vacancies, particularly among nurse aides and home health and personal care aides — the latter remaining the most in-demand job in Ohio.
House Bill 530 would establish a commission bringing together legislators, direct care workers, providers, higher education leaders, consumers, and state agencies to examine the issue and develop recommendations. LeadingAge Ohio testified that this cross-sector approach is essential to addressing the unique workforce challenges facing long-term care providers.
LeadingAge Ohio expressed support for the legislation and indicated that its members stand ready to assist the commission by providing data and practical insight from providers serving older Ohioans across the state. A recording of the hearing can be viewed here. Long-term care costs in Ohio continued to rise in 2025, according to the latest Cost of Care Survey released by CareScout. The national survey, which collects provider-reported rates across the country, shows increases across several care settings. In Ohio, the median annual cost reached $110,230 for a semi-private nursing home room and $124,666 for a private room. Assisted living communities averaged $71,700 per year, while non-medical home care reached $77,792 annually.
The survey reflects broader national trends as aging demographics, workforce pressures, and inflation continue to affect care delivery. CareScout collected more than 25,000 provider rates between July and November 2025 to produce the report. The organization offers an interactive tool that allows users to compare long-term care costs by location and care type.
Explore the full dataset using the CareScout Cost of Care tool. Ohio lawmakers are considering legislation that would prevent counties from foreclosing on certain homes owned by older residents struggling with rising property taxes. House Bill 443 would prohibit tax foreclosures on homes owned by residents age 65 or older if the property is valued at $750,000 or less. Supporters say the bill responds to growing concern that property tax increases could place some older homeowners at risk of losing their homes.
The proposal recently received its second hearing in the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee, where lawmakers approved an amendment requiring eligible homeowners to pay at least the same amount toward delinquent taxes as they paid the previous year. The change is intended to prevent misuse while protecting residents who cannot keep up with increasing tax bills. A nonpartisan fiscal analysis estimates the bill could affect about 27% of homeowners facing tax foreclosure, though the actual impact on local tax collections may be smaller because relatively few delinquent cases proceed to foreclosure.
Read the full coverage in the Dayton Daily News. Top Medicare Advantage (MA) is still growing — but the pace and pattern have changed.
The 2026 Medicare Advantage Competitive Enrollment Report shows enrollment rose 2.5 percent, reaching 35.4 million beneficiaries, or 51 percent of all Medicare enrollees. That growth is down from 3.6 percent last year and well below the 7 to 10 percent annual increases seen earlier in the decade.
At the same time, traditional Medicare added 600,000 beneficiaries, and standalone prescription drug plan enrollment grew by 1.7 million. MA is no longer expanding primarily at the expense of fee-for-service Medicare.
Growth is increasingly concentrated. A small number of carriers — most notably Humana — captured the majority of gains as other national plans reduced footprint or exited markets. Special Needs Plans (SNPs) continue to drive expansion, with enrollment up 12.2 percent, including a 49 percent surge in Chronic Condition SNPs. Plan offerings declined for the third straight year, and nearly 70 percent of plan leaders expect benefits to become less generous in 2027.
Ohio is considered a low-growth but high-penetration Medicare Advantage state, and saw a 1% increase in Medicare Advantage enrollment.
Read the full 2026 Medicare Advantage competitive enrollment report from HealthScape Advisors. Seven states—including Ohio—are participating in the National Academy for State Health Policy’s (NASHP) State Nursing Home Learning Collaborative, a multistate effort to improve quality of life and care in nursing facilities. Supported by West Health, the collaborative focuses on areas such as workforce stability, regulatory oversight, payment systems, and accountability, drawing on recommendations from the National Academies’ report The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality.
The participating states are advancing a range of reforms, including workforce career pathways, stronger ownership transparency rules, resident listening sessions, and data tools that support oversight and consumer decision-making. Ohio’s contributions include the Long-Term Care Quality Navigator, which consolidates facility data for families and caregivers, and the Department of Aging’s EXCEL Academy, which offers continuing education and technical support for nursing home staff. Additional examples and policy approaches are outlined in NASHP’s policy brief.
Read the original policy brief from NASHP. Top The Long-Term Care Survey Process requires surveyors to review the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) reports for areas of concern prior to the beginning of a facility’s recertification survey. The facility’s CASPER PBJ Staffing Data Report is accessed through the CMS survey system and must be reviewed for at least every recertification survey. The report provides information on overall direct care staffing levels as well as licensed nurse staffing and is used to identify potential areas of concern before surveyors enter the facility.
While multiple factors are considered when determining whether staffing is sufficient, including the facility assessment, resident assessments, and plan of care needs, the PBJ Staffing Data Report can highlight clear indicators of potential noncompliance. In particular, the report identifies specific infraction dates when a facility reported no RN hours or failed to have a licensed nurse on duty for a 24-hour period.
Survey teams are expected to review this information carefully during offsite preparation. For standard recertification surveys without a staffing complaint, the team coordinator reviews the most recent quarter of PBJ data. If a survey includes a staffing-related complaint or Ombudsman concern, surveyors may review additional quarters of staffing data tied to the relevant timeframe. Any discrepancies identified must be documented in the Long-Term Care Survey Process (LTCSP) offsite preparation screen, ensuring all survey team members are aware of potential staffing concerns before entering the facility.
If the PBJ Staffing Data Report identifies RN coverage or licensed nurse coverage triggers, surveyors will notify the facility during the entrance conference, including the specific infraction dates identified in the report. Facilities are informed that a citation may be issued under the regulatory F-tags of F725 (Sufficient Nursing Staff) and/or F727 (RN 8 Hours per Day) unless acceptable supporting evidence is provided.
LeadingAge Ohio encourages facilities to routinely review their PBJ submissions and internal staffing records to ensure accuracy and confirm that RN and licensed nurse coverage requirements are consistently met. Proactively monitoring PBJ reports can help identify discrepancies early and reduce the risk of citations during surveys. The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) will begin Minimum Data Set (MDS) Exception Reviews for State Fiscal Year 2026 in mid-March, as required under Ohio Revised Code 5165.193. The reviews will be conducted by ODM’s vendor, Myers and Stauffer.
Nursing facilities selected for review will receive direct communication from Myers and Stauffer at least two days before the review begins. That notice will include the review format—such as on-site or remote—and the scheduled date.
To protect the privacy of participating facilities and preserve the integrity of the review process, ODM and the Bureau of Program Integrity will not release the names of facilities selected for review. The Ohio Department of Health is reminding nursing facilities about a standing resource designed to support accurate Minimum Data Set (MDS) coding. The Ohio Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) Coordinator distributes a monthly “Question of the Month” email that addresses common coding questions and provides clarifications related to the MDS.
The resource is intended for staff involved in the assessment and coding process, including MDS coordinators, social services staff, dietary managers, and others who contribute to completing the MDS. Facilities may also submit their own coding questions for consideration in future editions.
Additional details and this month’s guidance are available in the EIDC bulletin. Top Jennings marked Founder’s Day with a special Mass on March 1, honoring the legacy of the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and the organization’s founding mission.
Founded March 17, 1942, Jennings began through a bequest from Monsignor Gilbert P. Jennings and the vision of the Sisters. The Mass was celebrated by Father Walter Jenne, who has a longstanding relationship with Jennings and the Sisters of the Holy Spirit. Concelebrants included Father Len Obloy, Father Howard Ziemba, Father Andras Antal, and Deacon Dan Galla. Father Jenne offered a reflection on the enduring legacy created by the Sisters, while the Jennings Resident Choir joined staff members Sister Valerie Sweeney, SND, Kathy LiPuma, and Ted Steiner in providing music for the service.
Following Mass, donors and guests shared food and fellowship during a brunch prepared by Executive Chef Judson Smith and the culinary services team. The gathering also recognized the volunteers, benefactors, and supporters whose generosity continues to sustain Jennings’ mission and carry forward the Sisters’ legacy of care. Top LeadingAge Ohio holds valuable education webinars and in-person events throughout the year. Opportunities are added weekly. See the complete Schedule of Events. Nonprofit providers have options when it comes to managing unemployment costs — including a little-known tax exemption available exclusively to 501(c)(3) organizations. In this 45-minute webinar, UST Workforce Solutions will walk through how nonprofit employers can reduce unemployment expenses, manage claims more effectively, and tighten HR processes while maintaining compliance and controlling risk.
Participants will learn how to save money on unemployment costs, navigate claims, protests, and hearings with greater confidence, and access HR resources that support operational efficiency. Whether your priority is compliance, workforce engagement, or better cost control, this session offers practical guidance tailored to nonprofit organizations.
If you are unable to attend live, register to receive the recording for on-demand access. Top
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