
Thank you to our sponsors!
|
|
|
---|
7:00 AM
Registration Opens
7:30 AM – 8:25 AM
Breakfast Product Theater, Sponsored By SK Life Science
Xcopri in Long-Term Care
Tariq Gheith, MD
Epileptologist
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Quick & Easy Wins to Help Your Bottom Line
Communities continue to be challenged in these uncertain financial times. Rising costs, unknown impacts of tariffs, unfunded mandates, and payment scrutiny eat away at valuable resources and compromise meaningful activities in long-term care. Key topics for this session include understanding easy ways to positively impact the balance sheet. Participants will learn how to use a multi-departmental approach and identify easy “wins” in areas that can be easily overlooked. Perhaps just as importantly, attendees will learn to determine how some short-term wins can negatively impact the bottom line in the long run.
Ultimately, surviving these challenging times comes down to understanding which metrics and areas can be leveraged to enhance revenues, and which areas to avoid cutting to save money in the short-term — it’s about building a culture of strategic leadership among key decision-makers. By raising awareness of these key areas, communities will be better positioned for what comes ahead.
Thomas Annarella, BS, LNHA
Valley Hi Nursing & Rehabilitation, Administrator
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Panel Discussion: Your Biggest Risks & How to Address Them
In this dynamic and insightful panel discussion, experienced leaders from across the long-term care continuum will share their perspectives on the most pressing risks facing their sectors today—and the innovative strategies they’re using to mitigate them. Panelists include skilled nursing and assisted living veterans with unique insight into the challenges faced by long-term care and senior living. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of sector-specific challenges such as staffing shortages, regulatory compliance, resident safety, and reputational risk, and will explore practical solutions that are making a difference in real-world settings. This course is designed to foster dialogue, spark new ideas, and equip providers with actionable insights to strengthen their operations and safeguard the well-being of those they serve.
Thomas Annarella, BS, LNHA
Valley Hi Nursing & Rehabilitation, Administrator
Lorena Amarillo, BA, CDP, DCS
Montclair Senior Living, Executive Director
Brian Kramer, MBA, RPh (Moderator)
Forum Extended Care Services, President & Chief Information Officer
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Break / Vendor Exhibits
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Civility in the Workplace During Turbulent Times
Though a 50 minute training presentation on workplace manners and courtesy may seem like overkill, the reality is: rudeness in the U.S is an epidemic costing the industry millions a year. Demonstrating why our society advances in knowledge and technology, it loses basic social values affecting the bottom line.
To address the growing problem of incivility in the work setting, this presentation introduces the concept of civility, its importance to an organization, and typical causes and effects, it also covers basic skills to effectively practice civil behavior, and different strategies organizations can use to systematize civility in the workplace. The “business case” is strong, benefits of practicing Civility In The Workplace are countless, and can pay off immensely in every aspect of working together regardless of one’s job or profession.
Relevance to industry civility in health professions is not merely a professional courtesy but a critical foundation for patient safety, compliance, and quality care. In medical settings, where high stakes decisions occur amidst complex team dynamics, uncivil behaviors directly compromise clinical outcomes by disrupting communication, degrading team performance, and eroding trust. Research consistently demonstrates that uncivil interactions contribute to medication errors, procedural complications, and diagnostic inaccuracies.
Bette Lawrence-Water, MS, CPC
Spectrum Strategic Solutions, Principal Consultant
12:00 PM – 12:55 PM
Lunch Product Theater
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
How Can I Be Prepared for Emergencies?
Emergency preparedness is a critical component of long-term care, where the ability to respond quickly and effectively can mean the difference between life and death. Healthcare professionals must be ready to act during a variety of emergencies — including natural disasters, pandemics, power outages, and mass casualty events — all while continuing to provide safe, high-quality care. This presentation explores how we can prepare ourselves and our workplaces for these high-pressure situations.
Key topics include understanding different types of emergencies, knowing your specific role in a crisis, and staying informed about emergency protocols and communication systems within your facility. Personal preparedness, such as having a plan for family communication and maintaining access to emergency supplies, is just as important as knowing evacuation procedures and how to shelter in place. We’ll also address the mental and emotional demands of responding to emergencies, including strategies for resilience and recovery.
Ultimately, being prepared is not just about having a plan — it’s about building a culture of
readiness and adaptability within the healthcare environment. By taking proactive steps,
participating in trainings and drills, and staying current on best practices, healthcare workers can ensure they are ready to respond with confidence, protect those in their care, and support their teams during critical events.
Lorena Amarillo, BA, CDP, DCS
Montclair Senior Living, Executive Director
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Cover Your Care: Keep Yourself & Your Facility Out of Trouble
Documentation is an important element in the delivery of quality healthcare services. However, ensuring accurate, comprehensive and timely documentation can be a challenge in the day-to-day operations of long-term care. In a litigious and ever-shifting landscape, staff face potential liability in their everyday work. Documentation can make the difference between demonstrating competence, quality, and compliance or finding yourself in hot water with lawsuits, deficiency or violations.
During this seminar, we will explore how long-term care facilities face liability issues. We will then also look at how to employ best practices in various areas of operations to develop and maintain the documentation needed to avoid or overcome liability concerns.
Meredith Duncan, BS, JD
Polsinelli, Attorney
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Break / Vendor Exhibits
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Unified Leadership Mindset: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities
What if your biggest challenges could become your greatest opportunities? This session explores a fresh and practical approach that helps you do exactly that. A unified leadership mindset is about staying grounded in uncertainty, moving forward with purpose, and turning disruption into progress, helping you lead no matter what position you have. It blends emotional intelligence, resilience, and long-term thinking to help you act with confidence when it matters most.
You’ll learn how to reframe problems, lead with clarity, and build strong, trust-based
relationships that support your team through change. We’ll cover how to stay focused on what you can control, draw out new ideas from team members, and keep moving forward even when things get tough.
At the heart of it all is the growth mindset, the belief that people and systems can improve with the right effort, support, and learning. This session offers practical tools you can use right away to build a stronger culture, make better decisions, and unlock the potential in yourself and others. The session supports industry goals like improving quality, reducing staff burnout, and creating a culture that adapts and grows. It offers practical tools to help leaders handle challenges, support learning, and stay focused on what matters most: safe, consistent care.
Margaret van Steenderen, BA, MBA
Lead Development Coach, SLGM LL