11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

The Role of Virtual Reality in Aging Services

Virtual reality (VR) technologies create a computer-generated environment that immerses headset-wearing users in their simulated surroundings. Since the 1950s, VR has powered experimental theater productions, flight simulators, and video games. Now, it’s making an impact in senior living communities. Residents use VR to enjoy virtual travel, social connections, and engaging activities. VR training sessions help frontline caregivers develop empathy, enhance their caregiving skills, and boost their confidence. Even rehabilitation departments recognize that VR-powered therapy sessions can help older adults maintain mobility and independence. This session will take you on a tour of all the possibilities VR holds for your organization. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore VR’s ability to create more interactive, supportive, and person-centered experiences for residents and team members while elevating care to a new level.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Welcoming Residents to Your Board: What You Should Know

As consumer expectations evolve, many senior living residents want to play meaningful roles in governing their organizations. Residents can contribute valuable skills and perspectives to an organization’s board of directors, but their board membership raises serious questions about conflicts of interest, representation, and governance dynamics. How can boards effectively include residents while safeguarding the organization’s long-term health? This session will explore the complexities of resident participation on governing boards. Presenters will discuss how to vet and nominate residents for board positions. They will also answer questions about whether resident board members should serve as officers or recuse themselves from decisions about budgets or rent increases. Join this session to gain thoughtful insights and strategies to help your board navigate these nuanced considerations.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Master Strategic Planning by Leveraging Diverse Perspectives

Organizations must conduct strategic planning to secure their long-term sustainability. The typical planning process involves setting goals, identifying actions needed to achieve those goals, and mobilizing resources to implement those actions. In addition, achieving the best outcomes requires intentionality and innovation in aligning mission and values, broadening stakeholder engagement, using integrated dashboards to manage data, and addressing challenging market gaps without overlooking popular trends. This session will help you harness the power of diverse perspectives to craft creative, comprehensive strategies that align closely with evolving sector demands and market opportunities. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how other organizations and leaders approach strategy development and who they include in the strategic planning process.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Retain Staff by Building a Culture of Engagement

Ensuring that employees feel engaged and connected to their workplace’s culture is critical to retaining team members for the long term. Yet, retention remains a significant challenge for many organizations in the aging services sector. This session will provide the guidance you need to create a workplace environment where staff are more likely to stay, contribute, and thrive because they feel valued, heard, and supported. Engage with leaders from LeadingAge member communities as they share proven strategies and best practices for improving workplace culture and fostering employee engagement. Take home actionable insights and ideas for cultivating a more supportive work environment and engaging your staff more effectively.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Medicaid in 2025: Anticipating the Program’s Restructuring

Medicaid will be in the limelight this year if the Trump Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress follow through on their stated intention to overhaul the program’s financing. If implemented, these changes could significantly impact nursing homes, assisted living communities, and home and community-based service providers. Capitol Hill staff, administration representatives, and other policy experts will use this session to explore potential changes to the Medicaid program and describe how these changes could affect how states finance Medicaid, the services or populations Medicaid programs cover, and how some aging services staff access health care coverage. You’ll leave this session with a better understanding of what could be in store and how to make your voice heard during conversations about Medicaid’s restructuring.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Policy Update: Medicare Home Health and Hospice

2024 was a big year for the home health and hospice sectors as LeadingAge and policymakers from both parties began serious discussions about the value of reforming Medicare’s hospice benefit and elevating the value of home health. Staff members from Capitol Hill offices and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will use this session to discuss what’s next for hospice and home health. Discover how benefits for both programs might evolve and how current legislation could affect providers of aging services. Explore the growth of palliative care, the likelihood of a Medicare Advantage hospice u201ccarve-in,u201d home health payment reform, and initiatives designed to improve program integrity. Presenters will share information about advocacy and engagement opportunities designed to help you participate in hospice and home health conversations.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Strategic Pathways: The Evolution of the LPC Model

The life plan community model has been undergoing significant transitions as providers pursue a variety of strategies to ensure vibrant futures for their organizations and the individuals they serve. Some providers are rebalancing service lines or adjusting the size of communities. Others are working to align consumer preferences with their organization’s mission, history, market dynamics, reimbursement rates, and projected utilization trends. This session will feature an in-depth and informed discussion with a diverse panel of providers who have chosen various paths to success. Panelists will help you understand the internal and external dynamics affecting your organizationu2018s journey and provide a clear vision of the options that could help secure its future.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Turning Skilled Nursing Skeptics into Believers

Are your leadership team, board, and key stakeholders skeptical about the skilled nursing model? This session might change their minds. A panel of mission-driven LeadingAge member providers will explain why they are investing in, reinventing, or transforming the skilled nursing model into a high-quality, valuable service line that meets organizational needs while addressing critical service gaps. Learn how the panelists have navigated key skilled nursing challengesu2014including consumer preferences, reimbursement pressures, workforce issues, and rising costsu2014and how these challenges have shaped organizational decision-making. Discover strategies to help your organization’s leaders and board members adopt a shared vision for the future of skilled nursing. You’ll take home innovative approaches to reinventing and strengthening the skilled nursing model.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Master Strategic Planning by Leveraging Diverse Perspectives

Organizations must conduct strategic planning to secure their long-term sustainability. The typical planning process involves setting goals, identifying actions needed to achieve those goals, and mobilizing resources to implement those actions. In addition, achieving the best outcomes requires intentionality and innovation in aligning mission and values, broadening stakeholder engagement, using integrated dashboards to manage data, and addressing challenging market gaps without overlooking popular trends. This session will help you harness the power of diverse perspectives to craft creative, comprehensive strategies that align closely with evolving sector demands and market opportunities. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how other organizations and leaders approach strategy development and who they include in the strategic planning process.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Leading with a Growth Mindset

As an aging services executive or board member, you’ve likely faced significant obstacles, failures, and challenges throughout your leadership journey. Reflecting on those difficult times can help you recognize the leadership growth and wisdom that emerge from significant setbacks. More importantly, you’ll understand how these situations can prepare you to tackle future challenges. This session will examine how to leverage the lessons we learn during our u201ccrucible momentsu201d and, equally important, how to cultivate a personal mindset and organizational culture that embraces challenges, risks, and uncertainty as opportunities for growth.

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Transform Today’s Board into Tomorrow’s Board

Nonprofit boards must stay abreast of evolving trends so they can effectively fulfill their missions in the future. However, it isn’t always easy for board members to remain agile, effective, and connected in a rapidly changing operating environment. This session will explore a range of manageable actions that board members can implement at their own pace to prepare themselves for the future. Listen as a seasoned governance advisor shares practices that can help you maintain personal connections among board members despite the popularity of online meetings, encourage trustees to reassess their financial and logistical responsibilities in light of societal challenges like climate change and economic volatility, and ensure board members remain transparent, responsive, and open to stakeholder representation.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Unlock the Power of Data Analytics

Imagine using data analytics to anticipate your organization’s staffing needs, deploy staff efficiently, or pinpoint burnout risks and solutions. Consider the advantages of employing predictive analytics to identify residents with health risks so you can use proactive interventions to improve outcomes and lower costs. Fortunately, these technological advances aren’t a distant dream. This session will demonstrate that they are rapidly becoming a strategic necessity for providers facing mounting workforce and care-related challenges. Presenters will help you understand how your organization can harness its data to stay competitive and responsive to the needs of older adults. Join this session to discover how data analytics can help you tackle critical issues in care delivery, optimize resource allocation, and meet emerging operational demands.