Schedule & Program

From Vision to Practice: How Leadership Shapes Infection Prevention Success in Long-Term Care
Shannon Cupka (Comagine Health)

Infection prevention in long-term care is more critical than ever, yet it remains one of the most frequently cited deficiencies. As residents enter care with increasingly complex medical needs, higher acuity, and emerging infectious risks, leaders and infection preventionists must be ready to respond with confidence.  This session will address what it takes to support a strong IPC program, strengthen a culture of safety, and protect residents, staff, and visitors.

 

What Do You Mean My Service Plan Isn’t Resident Centered?!
Christy Jacobo (Prestige Senior Living)

This session provides an overview of resident-centered care and the key compliance requirements for Washington Assisted Living communities. Participants will learn how assessments, care planning, documentation, resident rights, and responding to significant changes support quality care, regulatory compliance, and positive resident outcomes. This session emphasizes practical strategies for delivering safe, person-centered care while maintaining survey readiness.

 

Art of Investigation
Cynthia McDaniel (Elderwise/NurseLearn)

This session will equip providers with the knowledge and practical skills needed to conduct effective incident investigations. Participants will learn how to move beyond surface-level facts to identify root causes, gather objective information, and document findings clearly and defensibly. This presentation emphasizes a systematic and resident-centered approach to investigations that supports regulatory compliance, reduces repeat incidents, and promotes a culture of risk mitigation and accountability.

 

Tradeshow Luncheon

 

Clinical Leadership: The 6^th Star of Quality
Chukk Nielson (Avamere)

5-star ratings reflect outcomes, but they do not capture the leadership that creates them. This session invites nurse leaders, administrators, and owners to reimagine their role and see leadership not as a set of tasks but as a transformative influence – the 6th Star of Quality. When leadership leads with intention, every metric, every survey, every outcome becomes a reflection of the care and culture at the center of the organization.

 

Every Rate Tells a Story: Idaho, Washington & Medicare Reimbursement Update
Amy Seils (Cascadia Services)

Every picture tells a story, and in reimbursement, the picture is constantly changing. This session will examine the new Idaho and Washington Medicaid rates effective July 1, 2026, highlighting the key drivers behind recent rate changes and what they mean for provider operations and financial performance. By the end of the session, attendees will understand not only what the reimbursement picture looks like today, but also future opportunities, risks, and strategies for success.

 

Beyond the Fall: Building Safer Pathways in Long-Term Care – Practical Strategies for Prevention, Mitigation, and Response Across the Care Team
Chikal Patel (Optum)

Falls are one of the leading causes of injury, hospitalization, and functional decline in older adults living in long-term care, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living communities. This session will approach falls not only as a clinical and regulatory challenge, but also as a human experience—shaping dignity, independence, and quality of life for residents and families. Participants will gain an evidence-based, interdisciplinary framework for fall prevention, mitigation, and response, with practical strategies that bring together nursing, rehabilitation, pharmacy, social work, and administrative teams.

 

From Discharge to Home: Creating Better Outcomes Through Seamless Care Transitions
Jeff Mason (Serengeti Care)

Every successful discharge depends on what happens after a patient leaves the facility. This presentation will focus on reducing readmissions, improving patient outcomes, and strengthening collaboration between hospitals, skilled nursing, assisted living, and home care providers. Participants will learn practical approaches to closing gaps in communication and creating a true continuum of care.

Ask the Attorneys
Barbara Duffy (Ballard Spahr)
Steve Geissler (Aegis)
Luke Malek (Idaho)

This interactive session gives you direct access to legal experts who understand the unique challenges facing skilled nursing and assisted living providers. Focusing on regulatory compliance, resident rights, and emerging legal topics affecting assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, no topic is off limits. Submit your questions in advance (cards provided at each table) or ask them live during the session and walk away with practical guidance you can apply immediately.

 

Ask the HR Experts
Lynette Hatscher (Shared HR Services)
Wendi Modarelli (HRT Northwest)

Join a panel of experienced human resources professionals as they answer your most pressing HR questions affecting long-term care providers. Whether you’re navigating hiring and retention, employee relations, leave management, performance issues, investigations, documentation, wage and hour concerns, or workplace culture, this interactive session is your opportunity to receive practical, real-world advice. Submit your questions ahead of time (cards provided at each table) or ask them live and benefit from the discussion with your peers.

 

Ask the Insurance Experts
Deanna Winchester (Propel)

Join a panel of insurance and risk management professionals as they answer your questions about liability, property and casualty coverage, cyber liability, claims management, loss prevention, and emerging risks impacting long-term care providers. Whether you’re looking to better understand your policies or reduce your organization’s exposure, this interactive session offers practical insights and expert guidance. Submit your questions (cards provided at each table) in advance or ask them live during the session.

 

Beyond the Dementia Behaviors – What Actually Works: International Evidence From thousands of Care Organizations from Asia, America and Europe
João Pärtel Araújo

This session covers techniques that actually reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms such as care resistance and aggression, and their consequences. Leaders will see real before/after data from multi-country implementations, understand why “read the resident’s needs” has unwillingly disempowered staff instead of helping them, and be introduced to the shift the whole day is built on: from subjective, unmeasurable care philosophy to skills-based, observable, teachable techniques.

 

Beyond the Dementia Behaviors – The Skill, Not the Sentiment: Making Great Care Observable
João Pärtel Araújo

This session takes what the best teams in dementia care in the world actually do and breaks it down into a procedure specific enough that a leader can stand in a doorway, see whether it’s happening, and give it a score. Leaders will walk away with a concrete, walk-the-floor checklist of observable markers they can use the next day.

 

Beyond the Dementia Behaviors – Why It Doesn’t Stick: Building Skills That Survive the Shift
João Pärtel Araújo

This session reveals how to make staff training actually work, why one-time training fails according to implementation science, and why your organization isn’t the exception. Leaders will understand how to build micro-learning and peer-to-peer skill coaching, what AI-supported skill reinforcement looks like in practice, and a practical model for moving staff from knowing what they should do to actually doing it, consistently, even under pressure.