1-A. Strategic Relationships: Understanding the Potential of Partnerships

Whether your organization is planning for strategic growth, looking to strengthen its resources, or concerned about its long-term sustainability, it’s important to start your planning process by welcoming a variety of perspectives to the table. This session will offer a roadmap to help your organization’s leaders and board members work together to develop relationships and partnerships that can help you consider your organization’s strategic options in a thoughtful and analytical way. Learn how to engage your organization’s leaders, board members, and partners in critical conversations that provide insights and information, answer essential questions, and clarify the “why” that will move your strategy forward. Explore the types of strategic relationships you might pursue. Acquire the tools you need to help board members take an active role in setting your organization’s strategic direction.

• Diane Burfeindt, Managing Principal, Trilogy Connect

2-A. Finding Your Path to an Equitable and Inclusive Culture

Creating a more inclusive culture within your organization must start with listening to the opinions and needs of residents, clients, and team members. Goodwin Living, a senior living organization near the nation’s capital, set out to improve both its workplace and resident cultures by creating an internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee led by staff and residents. Working together, this group brought about seemingly small changes that had a huge impact on the organization’s culture. Listen as staff, residents, senior leadership, and a board member describe how they started their organization’s DEI journey and how DEI initiatives were supported by the organization’s leadership and board. Learn about the organization’s successes, challenges, and setbacks. There’s no “one size fits all” guidebook for tackling DEI issues, but this session will provide valuable insights from one community that developed its own path.

• Theresa Thomas, Associate Executive Director, Goodwin House Alexandria
• Estephanie Rubio, Facilities Management Assistant Manager and Service Coordinator, Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads
• Francis Wade, Resident, Goodwin House Alexandria
• Nina Janopaul, Board Member, Goodwin Living

3-A. Untangling Ageism and Ableism to Promote Inclusion

Examples of the stigma associated with aging and disability abound in the field of aging services. Older adults may suggest that their peers shouldn’t bring walkers into a community’s dining room; people of all ages may underestimate the abilities of older adults and people living with dementia. Negative attitudes toward aging (ageism) and negative attitudes toward different physical and cognitive abilities (ableism) are closely connected and can affect our beliefs about growing older or living with a disability. Join this engaging exploration of ageism and ableism and discover ways to identify, understand, and then disrupt these common forms of discrimination. Consider how ageism and ableism affect our ability to promote meaningful inclusion and belonging in senior living communities.

• Kirsten Jacobs, Sr. Director Shared Learning Initiatives, LeadingAge
• Tracey Gendron, Associate Professor, Gerontology, VCU, Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Gerontology
• Mia Mullen, Associate Director, Strategic Initiatives, LeadingAge
• Rebecca Dosch Brown, Interdisciplinary Education Director, Institute On Community Integration, University of Minnesota

4-A. Policy Priorities: Technology Access

Technology continues to play an essential role in how we deliver timely long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) to older adults. Access to care-enabling technologies—including interoperable electronic health records, telehealth, and affordable broadband connectivity—has expanded considerably over the past few years, thanks to regulatory flexibility, emergency authorizations, and new funding opportunities. Yet, the LTPAC sector still struggles with technology access challenges. This session will examine those challenges and will explore needed legislation and regulations that could ensure technology can continue to enhance support service delivery models. Discover the steps LeadingAge has taken to advocate for technology-related policies and learn how providers from different care settings can advocate for the technology priorities most relevant to them.

• Scott Code, Vice President, CAST, LeadingAge
• Juliana Bilowich, Director, Housing Operations & Policy, LeadingAge
• Todd Adams, Director, Health Legislative Affairs, LeadingAge

5-A. Policy Update: Medicare Home Health and Hospice

2022 was a big year for Medicare home health and hospice, and 2023 promises to bring even more change to this important sector. Whether you have a robust program of home-based services or are considering branching out into this service line, you’ll want to attend this policy update and discussion. Policymakers will join LeadingAge members to discuss pressing issues affecting home health and hospice providers, such as benefit oversight, reform and expansion, reimbursement, telehealth, and workforce. The session will also feature LeadingAge members who have partnered across the continuum to offer hospice or home health services. Discuss how hospice and home health benefits are evolving—and should evolve. Explore how LeadingAge members can use our collective resources to serve older adults in the place they call home.

• Katy Barnett, Director, Home Care & Hospice Operations and Policy, LeadingAge
• Andy M. Siegel, Chief Business Development Officer, Goodwin Living
• Asha Samuel, Legislative Assistant,
• Timothy Thate, CIO & Vice President, Information Systems & Health Analytics, LeadingAge New York
• Kenneth Daniel, President & CEO, United Church Homes

6-B. Capital Projects: Staying on Track in an Era of Uncertainty

Does slow and steady always win the race? Not necessarily, especially when you’re trying to move a new initiative—including an expansion, renovation, or repositioning—from concept to reality. While nonprofit providers of aging services have a reputation for moving slowly and being risk adverse, these qualities can be a particular disadvantage in a tumultuous business climate like ours. During this session, a panel of LeadingAge business members will present best practices for keeping a variety of capital projects on track and on budget, even in the face of such impediments as labor market shortages, inflation, rising interest rates, inflationary construction costs, declining home values, and the shrinking value of stock portfolios. Get great advice from business experts who partner closely with a wide range of LeadingAge members.

• Craig Kimmel, Partner, RLPS Architects
• Amy Castleberry, Managing Director, Ziegler
• Stuart Jackson, Executive Vice President, Greystone
• Christie Hinrichs, President/CEO, Tabitha Health Care Services

7-B. Future-Ready: Increasing a Board’s Strategic Competency

The rapid pace of change in the senior living environment makes it necessary for an organization’s leaders to continually think ahead so they are ready to respond to evolving opportunities and challenges. Boards of directors have an important role to play in positioning their organizations for the future. Board members fulfill that role by actively participating in strategic thinking and working hard to build strong partnerships with the organization’s executive team. Panelists in this session will explore structures and practices that support the development of a strategically focused board. They’ll provide practical suggestions for increasing a board’s competency to do strategic work and will identify factors that will influence the success of that work. Session participants will have the opportunity to share practices that have helped them increase their boards’ strategic focus.

• Jane Mack, President/CEO, Friends Services Alliance
• Melissa Andrews, President & CEO, LeadingAge Virginia

8-B. Supporting Leadership Diversity in Aging Services

Inequities within the long-term services and supports (LTSS) workforce—and a lack of diversity among mid-level managers and senior leaders of LTSS organizations—have existed for many years. This session will highlight LeadingAge efforts to change this reality. Through the HBCUs-LTSS Careers Initiative, LeadingAge is collaborating with UNCF, the nation’s largest minority education organization, to engage historically Black colleges and universities, other minority-serving institutions, and providers of aging services in partnerships to improve racial and ethnic diversity in mid- and upper-level positions at LTSS organizations. Another initiative, called the Leaders of Color Network, facilitates career advancement for emerging, mid- and senior-level leaders of color in aging services. Presenters will share details about these two initiatives and describe activities, planned for 2023, that are designed to support leadership diversity in our field.

• Robyn Stone, SVP, Research/Co-Director, LTSS Center, LeadingAge
• Adrienne Powell Ruffin, VP and Head of LTSS Strategic Initiatives and Operations, LeadingAge
• Natasha Bryant, Senior Director of Workforce Research & Development, LeadingAge
• Moniqua Acosta, Director of Volunteer Services, Landis Homes
• Mary Williams, Director of Outreach and Recruitment, United Negro College Fund (UNCF)
• Deke Cateau, Chief Executive Officer, A.G. Rhodes

9-B. Using Technology to Achieve Quality in Nursing Homes

In 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a groundbreaking report containing recommendations to improve nursing home quality. In addition to focusing on such topics as person-centered care, workforce, and financing, the report’s recommendations called for the adoption of health information technology (HIT) in all nursing homes. During this session, you’ll hear three members of the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition describe their work to advance the NASEM report’s technology recommendations. Presenters will report on their progress developing a five-year roadmap for HIT adoption in nursing homes and will share strategies for tying HIT adoption to quality measures, establishing HIT processes that enhance the collection of each resident’s health goals, and measuring how each resident’s care aligns with those goals. Learn how these processes can be established in nursing homes and other care settings.

• Isaac Longobardi, Director, Nursing Home Coalition, LeadingAge
• Gregory Alexander, Co-chair Committee #7 HIT Adoption, Columbia University School of Nursing
• Alice Bonner, Moving Forward Coalition, Institute For Healthcare Improvement (IHI)

10-B. Policy Update: Innovations in Medicaid Service Delivery

How can LeadingAge members continue fulfilling their missions by offering Medicaid services, especially considering the challenges associated with participating in the program? This session will answer that question by exploring the challenges facing providers in the Medicaid program, including low reimbursement, program design variability across states, workforce shortages, and the need to comply with the Home and Community-Based Settings Rule. Find out how LeadingAge members are becoming innovators as they engage with the Medicaid program while providing home and community-based services (HCBS) through adult day, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, and home care. Learn how these providers are advocating for policy changes that would make participation in Medicaid more viable. Discuss innovations in Medicaid service delivery and hear updates on policies affecting HCBS providers and the broader Medicaid program.

• Elissa Sherman, President, LeadingAge Massachusetts
• Linda Couch, Vice President, Housing and Ageing Services Policy, LeadingAge
• Mollie Gurian, Vice President, Home Based and HCBS Policy, LeadingAge
• Cleanthe (Cleo) Kordomenos, Senior Analyst, Medicare and Medicaid, ATI Advisory

11-C. Assessing Medicaid Rates and Costs in Nursing Homes – CANCELED

Any public health care financing system must maintain a balance between providing adequate reimbursement to care providers and being financially prudent with taxpayer dollars. For example, setting Medicaid nursing home reimbursement rates too high can lead to excess profits at the expense of taxpayers. At the same time, nursing homes need to be appropriately reimbursed so they can invest in nursing staff and other quality improvement efforts. This session will share findings from an independent assessment of Medicaid reimbursement that was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Presenters will provide new information on the relationship between Medicaid nursing home reimbursement rates and the reported costs of care, based on their analysis of state Medicaid nursing home reimbursement rates and care costs across the country.

12-C. It’s Time to Expand Your CEO Candidate Pool

Is a CEO search in your organization’s future? Then it’s time to start making plans to expand the pool of potential job candidates that you’ll consider for your organization’s most important position. Many search committees miss out on hiring topnotch leaders because they make the mistake of seeking out only individuals who look like, think like, and have the same backgrounds as they do. During this session, experts on executive placement will share their observations on how, from their perspective, aging services organizations might implement a more inclusive selection process. What kind of education do search committees need for that to happen? What aspects of the process and onboarding would shift?

• Elizabeth Feltner, Chief Executive Officer, Deffet Group, Inc.
• Marsha Wesley Coleman, Dir of Leadership Development & Training, Friends Services Alliance

13-C. It’s Past Time to Think About Solo Agers

All of us, because of choice or circumstance, may find ourselves without the support of a spouse, adult children, or close family members. Solo aging is a universal issue that LeadingAge members are in a unique position to be an important resource to solo agers, through social networks, programs, and services, providing them the security and support they will need in their later years. While some solo agers believe that congregate living is the preferred setting to meet their needs, there are also many solo who either prefer to age in their existing homes or are unable to afford market-rate senior living communities. Hear from the expert who wrote the seminal book on solo aging, along with a panel of diverse providers and older consumers on how your organization can empower solo adults aging alone to make decisions about their future and thrive while aging solo.

• Stephanie Chong, Executive Director, Northwest Neighbors Village
• Karen Zuckerstein, Member, Northwest Neighbors Village
• Kera Wooten, Executive Director, Westminster at Lake Ridge
• Sara Zeff Geber, Consultant & Educator,
• Jacqueline Evans, Resident, Westminster at Lake Ridge

14-C. Methods for Expanding Your Workforce Pipeline

Recent estimates suggest that the field of aging services will need an additional 1.2 million caregivers within the next 10 years to provide the services and supports that a growing older population will need. Given demographic shifts and the impact of COVID-19 on team members, providers of aging services have no choice but to explore every avenue possible to bolster their workforces. This session will explore a variety of methods for building the workforce pipeline, such as recruiting students and refugees, establishing and nurturing community partnerships, and implementing innovative staffing models. Presenters will review recruitment messaging for each audience, identify key influencers who can deliver those messages, and offer tips on the best way to talk to potential employers, as demonstrated by research conducted through LeadingAge’s Opening Doors to the Aging Services Workforce initiative.

• Sarah Daly, Government Relations Analyst, LeadingAge New York
• Laiya Haywood-Rollins, Membership & Workforce Development Coordinator, LeadingAge Virginia
• Gwen Fitzgerald, Director, Public Messaging, LeadingAge
• Natasha Bryant, Senior Director of Workforce Research & Development, LeadingAge
• Diana Delgado, President & CEO, Eaton Senior Communities, Inc.
• Christine Podles, Chief Operating Officer, Ingleside
• Robin Wolzenburg, Vice President of Housing & Clinical Services, LeadingAge Wisconsin
• Jenna Kellerman, Workforce Strategy & Development Director, LeadingAge
• Zoe Marcuse, People Engagement Manager, Goodwin Living
• Angela Urman, Sr. VP/COO, Knute Nelson
• Erica Thrash-Sall, Executive Director, McFarlan Village Home
• Erin McDermott, Director, Workforce Solutions, LeadingAge PA
• Randi Hamill, Workforce Director, LeadingAge Ohio
• Christy Kramer, Vice President, Student Engagement and Workforce Relationships, LeadingAge
• Dana Bradley, Dean, Erickson School of Aging Studies, University of Maryland u2013 Baltimore Co (UMBC)

15-C. Policy Update: Affordable Housing Policy and Operations

The affordable senior housing sector just completed a year filled with ups and downs. Washington, DC insiders will be on hand during this policy update to help you make sense of it all. They’ll offer their take on housing development and preservation resources available from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), describe how LeadingAge is working to expand senior housing as a platform for service delivery, share opportunities for investments in multifamily housing, and discuss opportunities to offer residents greater broadband internet access. Speakers will offer updates on HUD’s Section 202, Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs. They’ll also provide a glimpse of future legislation and guidance, discuss appropriations and operations strategies, and explore HUD’s oversight of its housing portfolio and Congress’s oversight of HUD.

• Linda Couch, Vice President, Housing and Ageing Services Policy, LeadingAge
• Juliana Bilowich, Director, Housing Operations & Policy, LeadingAge
• Ethan Handelman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing, Department of Housing & Urban Development
• Thomas Davis, Director, Office of Preservation, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
• Ashley Sheriff, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Real Estate Assessment Center, HUD

16-D. What a Strategy Officer Can Do for You

In today’s competitive aging services landscape, ambitious organizations are investing in strategy officers to help them look for growth and expansion opportunities, find new ways to fulfill their missions through partnerships, and seek out new revenue streams. Hear how several strategy officers in LeadingAge member organizations are working with their CEOs, leadership teams, and boards of directors to lead change. Gain a deeper understanding of the key responsibilities of strategy officers and why their added skills and perspectives play such a pivotal role in driving business and mission success. Learn how strategy officers are observing and responding to market changes, analyzing competitor performance, developing and refining their organization’s business strategy, influencing strategic decision making, and identifying and managing new strategic opportunities.

• Mary McMullin, Chief Strategy & Advancement Officer, Front Porch
• David Tiesenga, Chief Strategy Officer, Holland Home
• Meredith Boyle, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Mather
• Mary Kemper, President & CEO, United Methodist Association
• Donna Silbert, Chief Strategy Officer, Parker Health Group, Inc.

17-D. Mission Expansion through Outreach to Communities of Color

Providers of aging services looking to expand their missions and grow their bottom lines must begin working to identify new consumers from diverse backgrounds who will want to take advantage of their programs and services. Attendees at this session will hear from three providers who launched innovative outreach programs designed to do just that. Get details on a three-year pilot designed to better understand the desires and values of a variety of older adult populations, an Ambassador Program that works with local communities of worship to provide food, social engagement, and transportation options to underserved older adults; and an intergenerational congregate meal service that provides food, transportation, and other services to people of the Islamic faith. Representatives of all three organizations will discuss why they are doing this work, the barriers they have encountered, and their strategies for overcoming those barriers.

• Kathy E. Pointer, Director, Kingdom Care Senior Village
• Tufail Chaudhry, President, Islamic Society of Baltimore’s Golden Age Village
• Valerie Carter, Board of Trustees, LifeSpire of Virginia
• Jennifer Jimenez Marana, CEO/Founder, Marana Consulting

18-D. Opening Doors to the Aging Services Workforce

If you’re leading an aging services organization in 2023, chances are your top priority is recruiting team members to help your organization fulfill its mission of providing high-quality programs and services to a growing older population. To support this priority, LeadingAge conducted national market research to learn how prospective employees view the field of aging services and to determine how providers of aging services might send effective messages to this audience about the benefits of working in our field. Session attendees will learn research-backed strategies for crafting communications that send positive and effective messages about working in the aging services field, framing those messages so they appeal to prospective employees, and developing recruitment materials that align with research conducted through LeadingAge’s Opening Doors to the Aging Services Workforce initiative.

• Jenna Kellerman, Workforce Strategy & Development Director, LeadingAge
• Gwen Fitzgerald, Director, Public Messaging, LeadingAge

19-D. Making Sense of Infection Control Technology

The coronavirus pandemic focused attention on the importance—and the challenges—of controlling the spread of infection in residential care settings. There are a host of technology solutions that can help aging services settings meet the highest standards of infection control. Unfortunately, the number, variety, and complexities of these technologies can be overwhelming for providers. Presenters of this session will explain the full range of available infection control technologies, including systems that address hand-hygiene compliance, surface/object cleaning and disinfection, air filtration and disinfection, staff and resident screening, contact tracing, and infection control reporting. Listen as providers describe how they implemented a technology-enabled infection-control strategy and the lessons they learned along the way. Get familiar with a new resource from the LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technologies that will help you make sense of infection control technologies.

• Susan Seydel, Administrator, Hartsfield Village
• Jim Dellapa, CIO, Parker Health Group, Inc.
• Scott Code, Vice President, CAST, LeadingAge

20-D. The 118th Congress – Hopes and Expectations

From immigration policy to staffing ratios to hospice reform to telehealth — and every health and long term care issue in between, LeadingAge members look to the 118th Congress for answers and solutions. Join this lively panel of experienced staff from both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate. Hear which issues they are working on and expect to face over the coming year. LeadingAge staff will get the discussion rolling with our top health and long-term care legislative goals and panelists will let us know where Congressional leaders stand and what they are planning to do to help mission focused providers survive and thrive. Panelists will talk about the “must pass” legislative measures, like the debt ceiling and funding to keep the government open – and how critical aging services funding and solutions can fit in and around those measures. This session is closed to the press. Learn more: leadingage.org/press

• Stacy Sanders, Counselor to the Secretary, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Jay Gulshen, Professional Staff on House Ways and Means, Republican, United States House of Representatives
• Kripa Sreepada, Health Policy Advisor to Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senate Finance Committee
• Carrie Hughes, Director, Health & Human Services Policy, House Education & Workforce, Democrat, United States House of Representatives

21-E. Diverse Approaches to Expansion and Growth

As 2023 begins, nonprofit providers of aging services find themselves in a dynamic era of expansion and growth. Some single-site communities are planning second campuses, while others are adding to existing campuses. Some residentially focused organizations are expanding into home and community-based services (HCBS), while those already in the HCBS marketplace are growing their service lines to reach new consumers. During this session, a diverse panel of providers will discuss these and other opportunities for expansion and growth. Panelists will also explain their reasons for pursuing expansion and growth opportunities, including their desire to serve more older adults, keep their organizations strong and financially solvent, and benefit from the added security that comes with a larger client base, a diversified menu of service offerings, and the resulting economies of scale.

• Timothy Mallad, CEO, Forefront Living
• Mark Beggs, President & CEO, Edenwald
• Dee Pekruhn, Director, Life Plan Communities Services & Policy, LeadingAge
• Terry Spitznagel, Senior Vice President, Chief Growth Officer, United Church Homes
• Camille Burke, Chief Growth and Strategy Officer, Transforming Age

22-E. Embracing Meaning and Purpose in Senior Living

The quest for meaning and purpose doesn’t end when your employees come to work or when older adults move to your senior living community. That’s why it’s critical to make this quest a fundamental component of your organization. This session will help you explore a range of approaches you can use to weave meaning and purpose into the fabric of your organization, including intergenerational engagement, lifelong learning, and a citizenship model that invites every community member to contribute in their unique way. You’ll discover how a focus on meaning and purpose can help address social isolation and disrupt ageism. Presenters will help you identify how your organization already embraces meaning and purpose, and how you can find new opportunities to add meaning and purpose to the lives of residents, clients, and team members.

• Anne Doyle, CEO, Spark Living and Learning, LLC
• Daniel Pryfogle, Cofounder and CEO, Sympara
• Don Backstrom, Executive Director, Clermont Park, CLC
• Anna Hall, Founder, The Purpose Equation

23-E. How Vulnerability Helps You Become an Authentic Leader

Being an authentic leader means allowing yourself to be vulnerable, even when you’re uncomfortable. Authentic leaders recognize their unique leadership attributes, but they also let go of the assumption that they must have all the answers. Instead, they exercise genuine curiosity in their approach to leadership, and aren’t afraid to call on others to fill gaps they cannot fill. How can you lead as your most authentic self in a way that is sustainable and brings you joy? In this session, a diverse panel of providers will help you answer that question by describing their own paths to authenticity and the important role vulnerability played in shaping their leadership style. Learn how your authenticity can benefit your aging services organization and how vulnerability can teach you the most important lessons of your career.

• Ashley M Tanner, Senior Executive of Long Term Care Services, Sidney Health Center – Extended Care
• Dennis Russell, Consultant, Rose Villa Senior Living
• Carol Silver-Elliott, President & CEO, Jewish Home Family
• Jeffrey Farber, President & CEO, The New Jewish Home

24-E. How Poverty May Be Affecting Your Workforce

Direct care workers play a vital role in helping aging services organizations fulfill their mission to care for a growing older population. Yet, despite their importance to our field, these caregivers are often overworked and underpaid, and more than half live in or near poverty, according to recent research. This session will examine how poor job quality drives poverty among direct care workers and how it affects both their health and financial well-being. Gain an understanding of the challenges facing the direct care workforce and discover how providers and policymakers are making a difference in the jobs and lives of team members with low incomes. Hear from LeadingAge members who are addressing the disparities that team members experience by offering food and financial assistance programs, access to health clinics, and financial stewardship classes.

• Robert Espinoza, Vice President of Policy, PHI National
• Adam Berman, President, Legacy Lifecare
• Deb Lambert, CEO, Byron Health Center
• Jon Fletcher, Senior Vice President, Senior Housing Partners

25-E. Policy Update: Nursing Homes

Nursing homes have spent another year fighting COVID-19. At the same time, nursing home executives have navigated an ongoing and increasingly serious workforce crisis, struggled to reconcile continuous and sometimes conflicting updates and changes to regulations and guidance, adjusted to new categories of expenses and supply-chain challenges, and kept an eye on a variety of nursing home-related proposals on Capitol Hill. Administration staff will be on hand during this policy update to offer their insights regarding the perennial challenges facing nursing homes and the latest government responses to those challenges. Speakers will discuss regulations, guidelines, and legislative activity focused on such topics as workforce, mandates, regulation guidance, and the survey process. They’ll also offer a glimpse into what’s in store for nursing homes in 2023. This session is closed to the press. Learn more: leadingage.org/press

• Todd Adams, Director, Health Legislative Affairs, LeadingAge
• Janine Finck-Boyle, VP of Regulatory Affairs, LeadingAge
• Evan Shulman, Director, Division of Nursing Homes Survey and Certification Group, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

26-F. Leveraging Data and Tools to Navigate Unprecedented Risk and Opportunity

The viability of aging services organizations depends on the ability of their leaders to navigate the growing complexity, shifting markets, and economic uncertainty of our current operating environment. Successful leaders can address these challenges by integrating data metrics and diagnostic insights into their core systems for strategy development and execution, risk appetite and taking, and operational alignment, clarity, and focus. This session will drive home the necessity of unlocking the right data to help you understand key industry trends and your own internal performance, and tools to carry out better and faster decision making. Presenters will help you identify key insights, industry analytics, and diagnostic tools that are most relevant to the health of your organization. Learn how to establish decision-making processes that are rooted in data. Discover how this shift could improve organizational outcomes today while establishing a path for future success.

• Bill Bojan, Founder and CEO, Integrated Governance Solutions
• Matt Johnson, Consultant, Integrated Governance Solutions
• Kristin Jacobson, Interim CEO, Johnson Memorial Care Center

27-F. Marketing Roundtable: What Do Older Consumers Want and Need?

This session will offer leaders, including marketing executives, the opportunity to think about whether their organizations’ products and services really reflect what older consumers want and need. Join this engaging conversation about the role marketing principles should play in an organization’s strategic planning, and how well organizations are educating consumers to make informed decisions, rather than simply marketing to them. Three, forward-thinking providers will help you envision what the future of aging services will look like and how your organization can position itself to meet the needs and preferences of both current and future consumers. Panelists will provide their own perspectives on these questions, based on their work serving older adults in the middle market, in rural areas, and through continuing care at home programs.

• Teresa Stephens, Affordable Communities VP, Givens Gerber Park
• Cecily Laidman, Executive Director, Springpoint Choice
• Cathleen Toomey, VP of Marketing, The RiverWoods Group
• Steve Gurney, Publisher, Guide To Retirement Living

28-F. Creating an Engagement Culture through Relationship-Centered Teams

Relationships matter in most aspects of our lives, including the workplace. Research shows that empowered direct care professionals have better attitudes, performance, and efficiency—and that nurses working with these caregivers are happier and more likely to remain employed. Having a best friend at work can make it seven times more likely that you will be an engaged employee. Using lessons learned from culture change and person-directed care models, presenters of this session will show you how to create a healthy, relationship-centered culture in your workplace. Learn about changes and policies that can help your organization create a staff-led model where team members at all levels are supported, engaged, and thriving. Hear case studies and get tips to help your organization transition from a traditional hierarchical workplace to a healthy relationship-centered culture.

• Annette Greely, President and CEO, Jones-Harrison
• Robin Wolzenburg, Vice President of Housing & Clinical Services, LeadingAge Wisconsin
• Jenna Kellerman, Workforce Strategy & Development Director, LeadingAge

29-F. Strategies for Shaping Medicare’s Next Decade

Managed care plans are becoming the dominant source of payment for the care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. As a result, however, many providers of aging services are receiving inadequate reimbursements while also feeling the pressure of heightened expectations and increased administrative burdens. This session will offer an overview of the managed care-related challenges outlined in a 21-page comment letter that LeadingAge sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2022. Panelists will review the changes that LeadingAge and its members believe must be made to Medicare and Medicare Advantage and Special Needs Plans to ensure provider survival and beneficiary access to care. LeadingAge members will be on hand to describe their experiences in managed care programs and to explain how they are adapting to the growing number of accountable care models. Hear how policymakers view the future of Medicare and accountable care.

• Laurence Gumina, CEO, Ohio Living
• Fred Bentley, Managing Director, ATI Advisory
• Nicole Fallon, VP, Integrated Services and Managed Care, LeadingAge
• Doug Jacobs, Chief Transformation Officer, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

30-F. Policy Update: Workforce

LeadingAge member organizations are posting job openings that attract no applicants and turning away potential residents and clients because there are not enough employees to provide the care those older adults need. Turnover is increasing across aging services organizations and leadership positions are vacant. What’s the solution to these growing workforce challenges? During this session, members of the LeadingAge Policy Team will consider how federal action to expand the pipeline of workers and increase immigration could help address workforce challenges in the field of aging services. Policy Team members will review LeadingAge’s workforce policy priorities for the 118th Congress and their hopes for action from Congressional committees with influence over workforce policy. Explore the role that immigration reform could play in stabilizing the aging services workforce. Learn how to make sure policymakers understand your workforce concerns.

• Andrea Price-Carter, Director, Workforce and Technology, LeadingAge
• Jon Baselice, Vice President, Immigration Policy, Employment Policy Division, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Laura Reiff, Shareholder & Co-Chair-Business Immigration & Compliance, Greenberg Traurig LLP
• CJ Mahler, Legislative Assistant, Office of Congressman Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), United States House of Representatives