E-News Updates

The Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation’s annual fundraising event, Inspiring Excellence Through Service and Leadership, will be a breakfast celebration honoring Tom Lavallee, Board Chair of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association and Chief Operating Officer of Alliance Health Management Services. Tom has dedicated his career to advancing quality care, building strong organizations, and supporting the people who serve older adults and individuals with disabilities. We invite members to join us on Tuesday, November 17th from 8:00am – 9:00am to recognize Tom’s many contributions and lasting impact on long term care!

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) today issued a Notice of Public Hearing in regard to the Rate Year 2027 (RY27) Medicaid nursing facility rate regulation which will take effect on October 1, 2026.

As previously communicated, federal changes will affect MassHealth coverage for certain noncitizens beginning October 1, 2026. MassHealth has now issued Eligibility Operations Memo 26-10, providing additional clarification on who will remain eligible for their current coverage and who will have their coverage changed.

The Commonwealth released an important next step for healthcare organizations beginning the onboarding process for the ePOLST Registry.

The Department of Public Health (DPH), through the Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPEM), is offering at-home COVID-19 and influenza A/B test kits to eligible organizations across the Commonwealth.

The Department of Public Health (DPH) will host a webinar on October 7, 2026, from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm on Managing the 2026-2027 Respiratory Illness Season in Long-Term Care Facilities. During the webinar, DPH will provide an overview of the current state and national trends in respiratory illnesses including influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), explain the recent DPH vaccination recommendations to protect patients, residents, and staff, and share strategies to promote vaccination.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posted an updated Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) User’s Manual, version 1.20.11, dated October 2026.

The Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) has issued several updates.

AHCA/NCAL’s Gero Nurse Prep course significantly increases nurses’ gerontological nursing knowledge and competency test scores. Even experienced long term care nurses who complete Gero Nurse Prep show an average 24 percent increase between their pre- and post-course test scores. That increased nursing knowledge nets facilities greater revenue, higher occupancy, lower fines and lower staff turnover when compared to virtually identical facilities in the same geographic area without a Gero Nurse Prep grad.

Join MSCA for these important educational programs!