1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Can Registered Apprenticeships Bolster the CNA Workforce?

Registered apprenticeship programs can now access federal or state funding and resources to help healthcare providers recruit and retain a qualified workforce. Yet, nursing homes and other aging services organizations have struggled to get in on the action. This could change, thanks to the federally funded Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP), which is helping providers establish new registered apprenticeships for direct care professionals nationwide. This session will describe how registered apprenticeships work and the national standards and best practices that could help them grow. A GWEP participant will discuss their organization’s plans to develop a registered apprenticeship for certified nursing assistants (CNA). Explore how registered apprenticeships have become a national model, their track record in nursing homes, and the challenges and opportunities they pose to providers of aging services.

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.

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.

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.

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Best Practices and Pitfalls of CEO Transitions

No matter how carefully an organization plans for a CEO transition, the process of changing leaders often brings with it an unsettling sense of urgency and uncertainty. During this session, an executive search consultant will help ensure your next CEO transition runs smoothly. Learn about recent trends in CEO continuity planning and effective onboarding strategies. Gain insights to help you address awkward situations that may arise during the CEO search, including when a valued internal candidate is not selected for the executive position or the board becomes overly involved in the management of the organization. Recently appointed CEOs and board members will be on hand to discuss best practices and pitfalls of CEO transitions.

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.

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.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

How is AI Transforming Aging Services?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the aging services sector, leading to significant advancements in care delivery, operations, and resident engagement. This session will explore AI tools and systems that use advanced algorithms to analyze data, identify patterns, and provide actionable insights. Presenters will explain predictive analytics, which can anticipate resident health needs and enable proactive measures; automated task management, which can streamline workflows; and conversational AI, which can reduce loneliness among residents and improve their quality of life. You’ll also get a peek at future trends, including advanced safety monitoring technologies and systems that respond dynamically to changes as they happen. Don’t miss this opportunity to discover how strategic AI implementation can empower your organization to address emerging challenges and elevate the standard of care.

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.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Plan for the Future by Tapping the Wisdom of Retired CEOs

The wisdom of retired leaders in aging services is an untapped resource that could help us ponder current opportunities and challenges and plan for a vibrant future. During this session, a panel of retired CEOs will reflect on a variety of topics, including what kept them up at night while leading an aging services organization, their current concerns about our sector, what issues they understand more clearly now that they are retired, what they would have done differently, and what they believe today’s aging services CEOs can do now to ensure a vibrant future for older adults and the organizations that support them. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the reflections, insights, concerns, and hopes of our field’s retired leaders.

3:30 – 4:45 p.m.

Plan for the Future by Tapping the Wisdom of Retired CEOs

The wisdom of retired leaders in aging services is an untapped resource that could help us ponder current opportunities and challenges and plan for a vibrant future. During this session, a panel of retired CEOs will reflect on a variety of topics, including what kept them up at night while leading an aging services organization, their current concerns about our sector, what issues they understand more clearly now that they are retired, what they would have done differently, and what they believe today’s aging services CEOs can do now to ensure a vibrant future for older adults and the organizations that support them. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the reflections, insights, concerns, and hopes of our field’s retired leaders.