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Staffing Standard Litigation Update: Victory Sealed in State-Led Lawsuit
In recent days, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit filed a judgment that brings to an end litigation concerning the CMS minimum staffing requirements. As we reported earlier, the U.S. Department of Health on September 18 filed motions to voluntarily dismiss the government’s appeals of two federal court decisions that vacated the staffing requirements – namely, the favorable decisions earned by LeadingAge state partners and state Attorneys General in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, and by LeadingAge and other plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
On September 19, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the government’s motion to withdraw in the Texas case. All that remained was for the Eighth Circuit to do the same with respect to the Iowa case, and that Court officially entered judgment on October 3 granting the government’s motion and dismissing the appeal. We’d like to give a huge thank you to our board members for their support through this process, as well as Wesley Towers and Dooley Center for their efforts in joining the lawsuit.
KDHE Healthcare Upskilling Grants Now Available
On Friday, KDHE announced the $1M in funding allotted for FY26 in the legislative budget for healthcare upskilling grants was now open for applications. This funding is geared towards hospitals and adult care homes interested in seeking funds to put on training that will help upskill multiple healthcare professionals in their local community. Whether that is adult care homes partnering together to host a local training or hospitals partnering with adult care homes for a specialized training, there are multiple possibilities to utilize this funding to upskill more of your staff in-house without the additional costs that can come with travel expenses. There is a review panel that meets to review applications as they come in and LeadingAge Kansas does sit on the review panel. If you have questions, would like to learn more, or are ready to apply, go to https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/2351/Healthcare-Upskilling-Training-Program
Annual Workforce Survey Coming Monday
Last year, LeadingAge Kansas attempted their first ever Aging Services Workforce report. This survey collects point-in-time data from a multitude of licensed service providers including nursing homes, assisted living, home plus, hospice, home health, and PACE, on jobs across multiple disciplines including administration, dietary, environmental, and direct care service. The purpose of this survey is to start building trendline data on these jobs over time to help inform legislators and other policymakers on workforce development decisions and needs.
Each provider will be asked to complete the online survey that shares thoughts and feedback on their workforce perspectives, as well as an Excel workbook that collects turnover data across the various disciplines mentioned. The workbook was updated from last year for each licensed category to be in one spreadsheet, but a provider only has to complete the sections they are licensed for. Corporations have the option to list all their providers and license types in one spreadsheet and aggregate their data across all buildings for each license type or providers can submit their data individually. On Friday’s weekly webinar, we’ll be walking through how to complete the spreadsheet and when the survey goes live on Monday, a webpage on the LeadingAge Kansas website will be available to refer to with How To guides and video walk throughs. We’re excited to launch this initiative again and see how this can inform future workforce policy efforts.
Get Registered Today: Upcoming Advocacy Bootcamp
The Advocacy Bootcamp is a comprehensive program that meets five times—November 11 & 12, December 9 & 10, and culminating at Aging Services Day in January 2026—to equip members with the skills and strategies to influence policy and make their voices heard at the state level. For those on the frontlines, the Advocacy One-Day Workshop for Frontline Staff meets twice—December 11 and Aging Services Day—providing practical tools to engage, advocate, and share the stories that matter most. Don’t miss this chance to strengthen your impact and help shape the future of aging services in Kansas. Get yourself and your staff registered today – Advocacy Bootcamp & Frontline Workshop.
