Educational Sessions
Monday, January 22, 2007 :: 10:30 to noon
Track 1: Human Resources
101—Think Outside the Newspaper: Use Local Television to Recruit and Retain Passionate Caregivers
Tired of being just another one of those homecare agencies in your market recruiting the same caregivers using the same medium? Get creative and use television as your medium. Don't say you can't afford it. Learn how to create and fine tune a recruitment message that will convey to your targeted demographic. The speakers will share tips on how to hire a first rate production company to assist in creating the message and how to engage a media buyer to assist in selecting the appropriate medium to deliver the message – all at an affordable price. This workshop will also teach you how to appeal to workers who will be passionate about home care.
Objectives:
1. Identify elements of a message that will attract your targeted demographic.
2. Describe desirable qualities when selecting a production company.
3. Cite the benefits of engaging a media buyer to deliver your recruitment message.
Faculty: Bob Roth, Managing Partner, Cypress HomeCare Solutions, Phoenix, AZ; Dave Ammons, Managing Partner & Producer, Konnected Media, LLC, Scottsdale, AZ
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/PHR)
Next Course
Track 2: Marketing & Business Development
102—How Medicare Certified Agencies can Capitalize on Private Duty Home Care
The fastest growing segment of healthcare in America is non-medical home care with trained caregivers providing assistance with activities of daily living to elderly and disabled persons. Non-medical homecare or private duty home care presents an incredible business opportunity for companies that want to make a difference in the lives of the elderly and disabled. In this session industry speaker Stephen Tweed will provide strategies and insights on how to take advantage of this amazing opportunity, how to be successful in the business and measure performance of that success.
Objectives:
1. Define the concept of private duty home care.
2. Discuss growth potential for private duty home care in a Medicare certified agency.
3. Explain how private duty home care fits into the continuum of services for the elderly and disabled.
4. Describe a proven model for growing the business.
Faculty: Stephen Tweed, BA, MS, CSP, Chairman, Chief Operating Officer, Leading Home Care, A Tweed Jeffries Company, Louisville, KY.
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Mkt)
Next Course
TRACK 3: Accounting/Legal/Finance
103—Stay on the Right Side of the Law: Private Duty Employment Law Update
Health care is viewed as one of the most fertile areas for unionization. It also is an area that requires ongoing attention to the various federal laws that impact on hiring, firing and compensation. This program explores the forces that drive unionization and the laws that regulate collective bargaining-the rights and responsibilities of employees and management. This workshop will cover developments in federal employment law under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Essential information for all employers is offered in this workshop.
Objectives:
1. Cite recent court cases and legal developments under the federal civil rights and anti-discrimination laws.
2. Discuss recent court decisions related to issues such as travel and training time, overtime compensation and 24 hour cases.
3. Relate the controlling provisions of the National Labor Relations Act.
Faculty: Joseph Maddaloni, MPA, JD, Partner, Porzio, Braumberg & Newman, PC, Morristown, NJ; John Buck, Executive Director, Visiting Homemaker Service of Hudson County, Jersey City, NJ.
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Bus.Law)
Next Course
Monday, January 22, 2007 :: 2 to 3:30 p.m.
TRACK 3: Accounting/Legal/Finance
802—Lock in Future Success by Marketing to Baby Boomer Caregivers Now
Stuck between raising their own families and having to take care of their aging parents, the baby boomer generation has also been called the sandwich generation. With 77 million baby boomers preparing to retire, private duty is looking at a huge market opportunity. The Baby Boomers have changed American culture and lifestyles throughout their lives and you can bet they will change the way home care is delivered. Agencies that adapt to meet the needs of the aging boomers and create niche products / services for them will be successful. First, you want to help them as Caregivers to provide the best care for their parents. In doing so, you will build loyal relationships with potential future customers. This expert panel session will first explain the demographics of this huge generation and why you need to focus on it. The panel presenters will help you understand the baby boomer values and expectations as consumers; how to communicate with them; and how they connect with experiences, not just transactions. Then they will show you several products and services that you can provide and employ today at your agency to secure your share of this market.
Objectives:
1. Define the Baby Boomers and the influence they will have on buying home care services.
2. Describe innovative communication techniques that home care companies are using to reach Baby Boomers.
3. Demonstrate how creating exceptional Experiences can appeal to Baby Boomers.
Faculty: Stephen Tweed, CEO, Leading Home Care, Louisville, KY; Pat Drea, Vice President, Visiting Angels, Havertown, PA; Michael Ferris, Principal, Home Care Marketing Solutions, Chapel Hill, NC; Dennis Stack, President, America's Life Stories, Mesa, AZ; Bob Roth, Managing Partner, Cypress HomeCare Solutions, Phoenix, AZ; Mark Rukavina, CEO, iMemories, Scottsdale, AZ
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Mkt)
Next Course
Monday, January 22, 2007 :: 3:45 to 5:15 p.m.
Track 1: Human Resources
201—Get Your Workers' Compensation Costs Under Control
For many private duty companies, workers' compensation costs are a major operating expense, and the costs are going nowhere but up! This workshop is a hands-on session designed to provide a roadmap to better managing your workers' compensation program. We'll teach you effective claim management, accident prevention techniques and risk management policies. Then we'll explain how Missouri-based Oxford Healthcare cut their workers' compensation costs in half! Best practices and examples will be provided in an informal, interactive session.
Objectives:
1. Clarify agency/employer operational characteristics that foster successful workers' compensation programs.
2. Outline best practices, policies and procedures that have the greatest impact on claims.
3. Provide guidance on additional resources and information to help improve knowledge and skills.
Faculty: Fred Satink, National Programs Risk Manager, Smith Bell & Thompson Insurance, Burlington, VT; Karen Thomas, President, Oxford Healthcare, Springfield, MO
Course Level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/Acctg)
Next Course
Track 2: Marketing & Business Development
202—Make Your Web Site Generate Referrals: Proven Techniques in Text, Design and Interaction
We are a highly connected society. American adult Internet users report using the web has greatly improved the way they obtain information about health care. Therefore, to be positioned favorably in the market a home care business needs to understand what kind of site will provide easily identified services for potential clients. The right site includes good design, targeted content and smart navigation allowing the Web site to be readily found by those seeking assistance or information on care. This session will explore what works using case studies comparing good and bad Web sites and how they impact marketing efforts. Attendees will gain understanding of how best to use a Web site to bring in and educate potential clients, families and referral sources, as well as enhance sales.
Objectives:
1. Explain the need for a home care business to develop and maintain an effective Web site.
2. Describe the elements in a good Web site design for a home care business.
3. Discuss the importance of your Web site as a brand component.
Faculty: Merrily Orsini, MSSW, Managing Director, corecubed, Louisville, KY
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Mkt)
Next Course
TRACK 3: Accounting/Legal/Finance
203—The Current State of Private Duty Mergers and Acquisitions
Acquisition interest in the private duty home care sector has increased substantially in the recent past. There are many reasons why, one of the biggest being the phenomenal growth in this market, and potential future growth with the aging of America. It is incumbent upon buyers and sellers in this market to understand the intricacies of private duty home care, what sets them apart in terms of size, service and customer relationships. This workshop will explain how these factors impact acquisition and divestiture strategies. If you are looking to sell your agency, or expand by buying/merging other agencies, come learn the fundamentals of valuation, and strategies for buying or selling. We'll also leave you with our expectations of what the future holds for private duty mergers and acquisitions.
Objectives:
1. List the factors driving increased investment interest in the private duty sector.
2. Formulate acquisition and selling strategies for your agency.
3. Translate valuation trends into advantages.
Faculty: Dexter Braff, President, The Braff Group, Pittsburgh, PA
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Fin)
Next Course
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 :: 8:30 to 10:00 a.m.
Home Care Technology Update
 |
| Sponsored by the Home Care Technology Association of America |
In today's world of on-line banking, MP3 players and blackberries, it seems that technology has been slow to advance in the home care industry. Yet the current environment of escalating health care costs and the tidal wave of baby boomers entering retirement has created a critical challenge: how will we care for our aging population in a quality and cost effective manner?
Technology is the only answer. Just as technology has transformed so many other aspects of our daily lives such as banking, travel, shopping, entertainment, and education, so it will transform care giving and aging in place. Some technologies exist today and many more are in development that are designed to help people age as independently as possible, and with a superior quality of life, in the place that they call home.
There is already a shortage of caregivers in our nation. We have to find a way to care for more people with the existing caregiver base, and at a lower cost.
This session will acquaint you with some of the newest technologies in home care, and what care giving will look like in the near future. Eventually, your clients and customers, or whomever is arranging for their care, will be looking for these new high-tech products and services as an adjunct to your high-touch services. In fact, the tech-savvy baby boomers will demand them. As providers of care, you need to be aware of these new technologies, so that you will be ready to educate your clients and help them to obtain and utilize them. Because of their trust in you, your clients will look to you for advice and assistance.
Don't miss this fascinating glimpse into the future of care giving and aging in place!
The Home Care Technology Association of America (HCTAA) was established by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) to provide a voice within Congress and health care for the growing home care technology industry and to increase the use of technology and telehealth in home health care.
HCTAA provides education and information to home care providers about the benefits of technology and how it can provide the highest standards of patient-centered care – efficiently and cost-effectively.
Objectives:
1. List the diversity of technology products available that will facilitate aging in place.
2. Formulate partnerships with technology vendors to bring value-added services and products to your clients.
3. Recognize the importance of home care technology to the expansion of business opportunities.
Faculty: Susan G. Slater, B.S.N., RN, Vice President Clinical Implementation and Business Development, Vitel Net, McLean,VA; various home care technology experts
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/CS)
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 :: 10:15 to 11:45 a.m.
Track 1: Human Resources
301—Staffing & Scheduling Tricks of the Trade
Too many nurses/aides, not enough cases…or, too many cases and not enough staff…part-timers, full-timers, turnover. Sound familiar? This workshop reveals new ways to conquer these frustrating and challenging situations that we face every day. Find out how to use new tools to recruit and retain; discover the costs associated with losing an employee; learn best practices for staffing and scheduling using employee incentives and partnering with other agencies; recruit new employees and referrals through non-traditional advertising; understand the importance of scheduling software; take part in a survey to compare your shift fill ratio with others in the workshop and learn ways to increase it and ultimately your bottom line! Avenue HomeCare has grown into a $3+ million per year agency in less than three years by way of these shared secrets. You CAN resolve common scheduling headaches and increase your revenue!
Objectives:
1. Judge when to work with other agencies to provide care and share referrals.
2. Implement creative marketing strategies that work for recruiting and retention.
3. Create incentive plans for internal and external staff to increase your recruitment and shift fill ratio.
4. Recognize the importance of using scheduling software.
Faculty: Serena Brock, President, and Liz MacNeill, VP of Operations, Avenue HomeCare, Inc, Charlotte, NC,
Course Level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/BMO)
Next Course
Track 2: Marketing & Business Development
302—Prosperity or Pitfall: How to Successfully Add Care Management or Money Management Services to Your Service Line-Up
As competition in the private duty industry continues to increase, many providers consider adding adjunct services such as property, financial and care management to address needs of clients and in hopes of greater profit. While such expansion is natural and often, it may not always be beneficial and could even conflict with the mission, vision and values. Potential conflicts of interest and risks must be considered carefully. This session presenter will discuss potential benefits and drawbacks and the why, when and how a home care company should offer multiple services. Experiences of a company that has successfully combined private duty, care management, money management and professional fiduciary services will be shared with attendees.
Objectives:
1. Discuss types of services that can potentially be an adjunct to private duty home care.
2. Cite the issues to be considered when deciding whether to include adjunct services for private duty clients.
3. Describe strategies to successfully provide adjunct services that will benefit the client and the agency.
Faculty: Suzanne McNeely, MSW, RG, CCF, President, Senior Planning Services, Santa Barbara, CA
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Mkt.)
Next Course
TRACK 3: Accounting/Legal/Finance
303—Stay Current with Your Accounts Receivables
In the world of private duty home care, effective receivables management begins when you accept a client, thereby extending credit. Collection issues occur sometimes no matter what you do. Tactful, friendly reminders sometimes lead to ugly demands in order to collect the money you worked so hard to earn. Insurance companies can be tricky and aggravating. Bad checks are a challenge at times. Probate issues are time consuming and collection is delayed. The speaker will discuss how being prepared before the case starts is an essential component of a good collection process that begins with a service agreement or contract that is clear and concise for your payer to understand. Attendees will hear strategies to maximize cash flow and avoid pitfalls while managing this sensitive aspect of private duty business.
Objectives:
1. Identify issues in collection of payment for private duty services.
2. Describe steps to maximizing cash flow and effective collections.
3. Discuss front end strategies to head off collection problems.
Faculty: Shirley McElroy, BS, Home Care Consultant, Houston, TX
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Fin)
Next Course
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 :: 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Track 1: Human Resources
401—Boost Retention with Affordable Benefits that Employees Really Want
Experience in the industry and statistics both demonstrate that the home care employee in private duty has different insurance needs and expectations than traditional home health employees. This workshop will explore this issue from the private duty owner's perspective and from the insurance provider's perspective. Benefits are a traditional form of recruitment and retention. Gain an understanding of what a private duty agency needs to know about affordable and realistic benefits that private duty home care employees want and what they cost in staff time to administer and in actual out-of-pocket for the employer. This little known and poorly understood information could help you both boost employee retention and lower benefit costs.
Objectives:
1. Demonstrate the difference in employee usage, time worked and benefits expected for private duty versus certified agencies.
2. Demonstrate the importance to retention of non-traditional benefits for the private duty home care employee.
3. Discuss current statistics confirming the usage of benefits and the relevance to a home care business owner or manager.
Faculty: Steven Nerayoff, President, Freedom Eldercare, Union City, NJ
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/PHR)
Next Course
Track 2: Marketing & Business Development
402—Hit the Gas and Watch the Dashboard: Accelerating and Tracking Your Private Duty Business
Most private duty home care agencies start off small and hope to grow over time to meet community needs and become profitable. When the fast growth curve occurs are you ready with a well-oiled strategy and proven operational strategies? Or are you caught in the eye of the storm reacting in crisis mode? By scaling up your business operations while carefully watching costs, you will see your profit grow with your revenue. This workshop will explain how to manage your critical operations using the private duty real time dashboard to control resources. Get on the private duty fast track by applying the Cycle of Leadership through the five essential steps of knowledge creation, efficient operating mechanisms, overcoming resistance, leadership and team development, and tapping into the positive revolution of change.
Objectives:
1. Apply the Private Duty Dashboard to set benchmarks and measurement processes to manage the growth of your business.
2. Apply the five Cycles of Leadership strategies.
3. Prepare your business processes and operating procedures to handle increased capacity from growth in sales.
Faculty: Pat Drea, Vice President, Visiting Angels, Havertown, PA;
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/BMO)
Next Course
TRACK 3: Accounting/Legal/Finance
403—How to Avoid Fraud and Abuse Violations in Private Duty
The home care industry has taken a beating with regard to fraud and abuse. It is tempting for private duty agencies to conclude that the fraud and abuse prohibitions do not apply to them because they are not Medicare certified. On the contrary, if private duty agencies accept any federal or state funds such as Medicaid waiver, Medicaid or TRICARE, they are required to comply with fraud and abuse requirements. The purpose of this presentation is to assist private duty agencies to address these compliance issues in order to avoid allegations of fraud and abuse.
Objectives:
1. Describe two types of false claims.
2. List three types of documentation that will help providers avoid fraud and abuse.
3. Identify one area in which agencies are especially vulnerable, with regard to reasonable and necessary care.
Faculty: Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Burtonsville, MD
Course level: Intermediate: 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Bus Law)
Next Course
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 :: 3:45 to 5:15 a.m.
Track 1: Human Resources
501—Build a High Quality Workforce through Development and Training
A stable direct caregiver workforce will set your private duty company apart from your competition. Private duty clients want not only skilled, professional caregivers, but also, and what is most important to them, the same caregiver scheduled on a regular basis. Maintaining caregiver loyalty is only partly a matter of offering competitive wages. Caregivers want to be honored and respected by their employers. This program will focus on creating a stable workforce, with special attention to training and continuing education.
Objectives:
1. Revise your own in-house caregiver training program with new ideas.
2. Identify practical and cost effective ways to enhance your caregiver-employees' loyalty and job satisfaction.
3. Employ proven strategies for collaboration in caregiver training among your community's home care employers.
Faculty: Judy B. Clinco, RN BS, Founder, President, and CEO of Catalina In-Home Services, Inc.; Founder and Executive Director of The Direct CareGiver Association,Tucson,AZ
Course Level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/PHR)
Track 2: Marketing & Business Development
502—Competitive Differentiation: Innovative Strategies to Rise above Your Competition
Private duty home care is becoming a popular and lucrative business line for many. Fierce competition is the natural consequence of this growing and changing market. How do you differentiate your agency in the market place? Differentiation leads to revenue growth and success. Come learn the process you can use to develop a differentiation strategy that sets you apart from your competition. Andrea Cohen, one of the recognized leaders in private duty home care innovation, will present a case study on her successful agency Houseworks. She will provide you with a tangible tool box of ideas which will leave you empowered to devise your own approach to competitive positioning.
Objectives:
1. Explain why it is essential to focus on the need for differentiation in the marketplace.
2. Examine how other home care agencies have successfully differentiated themselves.
3. Develop a differentiation strategy to separate your agency from the competition.
Faculty: Andrea Cohen, CEO, Houseworks, Newton, MA; Eric Langshur, CEO, TLContact, Inc. Chicago, IL
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Mkt)
TRACK 3: Accounting/Legal/Finance
503—Understanding Long Term Care Insurance, Reverse Mortgages and Other Private Duty Funding Sources
In order to maximize your business development strategy, you need to understand all of the options that your clients and potential clients have to pay for your services.
This workshop will examine private funding from the perspective of the financing continuum for homecare. The discussion will zero in on two significant funding options: long term care insurance and reverse mortgages. It will include an overview of the market for each, how these options coordinate with each other, how they link to Medicaid, and the potential "pots of money” that could be available to pay for homecare.
Objectives:
1. Identify the continuum of financing for private duty home care.
2. Describe the history of LTC policies and their coverage for home care, policy features and options that can pay for homecare, recent innovations and trends.
3. Explain what is a reverse mortgage, how it works, eligibility criteria, uses to pay for homecare and market trends.
Faculty: Barbara Stucki, Director, National Council on Aging, Bend, OR; Peter Bell, President, National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, Washington, D.C.
Course level: Intermediate; 1.5 nursing CEs; 1.0 CPE (NASBA/Fin)
|
