Thursday, April 30

1A: The State of Senior Living & Care — Thursday, April 30 | 9:00 – 10:00 AM

This session will provide a comprehensive overview of today's senior living environment, drawing on Ziegler's extensive research, industry knowledge, and market expertise. Presenters will examine the major headwinds and opportunities shaping the sector, including demographic shifts, occupancy and financial pressures, construction costs, and growth through affiliations, partnerships and new development. The session will also highlight findings from the LeadingAge Ziegler 200 on system growth and consolidation, along with trends in the capital markets. Attendees will also gain valuable insights into financing strategies and interest rate dynamics for not-for-profit senior living organizations.

1B: Palliative Care for Nursing Home Residents — Thursday, April 30 | 9:00 – 10:00 AM

Experts and clinicians have argued that palliative care should be offered to nursing home residents. But what does this look like in practice? Practical lessons from the clinical trial UPLIFT will be shared. UPLIFT was a 16 facility clinical trial in Indiana and Maryland that enrolled more than 600 residents with dementia to test a palliative care clinical model.

1C: Becoming a Destination Workplace: How to Develop an Employer Brand that Attracts and Retains — Thursday, April 30 | 9:00 – 10:00 AM

In a competitive labor market, senior living organizations must clearly communicate why employees should join—and stay. BHI Senior Living recently completed a strategic initiative to develop an employer brand and employee value proposition (EVP) that authentically reflects our culture, differentiates us in the market, and resonates with current and future employees. In this interactive session, we’ll share our approach from research to rollout—and guide participants through collaborative exercises to begin shaping or refreshing their own brand strategy.

1D: Mitigating Legionella Risks Through Proactive Water Management — Thursday, April 30 | 9:00 – 10:00 AM

Legionella continues to pose a significant risk in healthcare and senior living environments, making proactive water management essential. This session will review current regulatory requirements, best practices, and risk mitigation strategies for developing and maintaining an effective water management program.

2A: Managing Risk Through AI Utilization in Aging Services — Thursday, April 30 | 2:30 – 3:30 PM

This session examines the emerging challenges associated with AI-driven care delivery, including data privacy concerns, ethical decision-making, and operational vulnerabilities. Attendees will explore real-world examples of AI implementation, assess potential liabilities, and learn strategies to balance innovation with resident safety and regulatory compliance. Designed for leaders, clinicians, and risk managers, this session offers a forward-looking framework for responsible AI adoption in senior care settings.

2B: Invisible Threats: Infection Prevention in Senior Living – What Every Administrator Must Know — Thursday, April 30 | 2:30 – 3:30 PM

This session provides a comprehensive overview of infection prevention in senior living and nursing home environments, with a focus on the Indiana context in 2026. Administrators and other leadership professionals will learn to identify key pathogens commonly found in long-term care, understand how these infections spread—including through environmental and airborne means—and gain practical tools for prevention, mitigation, and outbreak response. The presentation will highlight the most urgent infectious threats facing senior living facilities in Indiana in 2025, including swine-origin influenza variants, pertussis outbreaks, virulent norovirus strains, and ongoing challenges with multidrug-resistant organisms. It will emphasize the importance of air disinfection, surface hygiene, and staff training, while connecting infection prevention to both quality-of-life outcomes and economic impact. Participants will also learn how to frame infection control as a strategic leadership issue, and how to engage with public health partners and regulatory frameworks to strengthen preparedness. Using data-driven strategies and case examples, the session will cover the costs of infections in both dollars and DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years), enabling attendees to advocate effectively for preventive investment. Attendees will walk away with practical tools—including air quality checklists, cleaning audit templates, and outbreak response playbooks—that they can implement immediately.

2C: Acclimate + Cultivate: How Great Leaders Keep Their People Longer — Thursday, April 30 | 2:30 – 3:30 PM

Keynote Deep Dive

2D: Navigating Your Next Life Safety Survey with Confidence – Part 1 — Thursday, April 30 | 2:30 – 3:30 PM

3A: Reimbursement Updates: Medicaid Managed Care, UPL Update, MDS 3.0 and More — Thursday, April 30 | 3:45 – 5:00 PM

Come join us for a discussion of upcoming changes and challenges from both CMS and the State of Indiana that Long Term Care (LTC) facilities continue to face. Topics to include but not limited to: UPL/Indiana Quality Program updates, PDPM transition, SNF PPS FY2027 Proposed Rule, Quality Measure changes, and Validation Audits.

3B: Using the Patient Concern Process to Drive Quality AND Compliance — Thursday, April 30 | 3:45 – 5:00 PM

Most health care organizations are required by CMS to have a patient concern or grievance process. Learn how to use your required process to capture data to drive process improvement with customer service but also find areas of concern with compliance. The presentation will include some real-life scenarios where the concern process helped a home care agency prevent future quality and compliance issues from privacy concerns to discharge planning and more.

3C: Loop Marketing: A Modern Approach for Senior Living — Thursday, April 30 | 3:45 – 5:00 PM

This presentation introduces senior living marketing professionals to the concept of Loop Marketing — a modern strategy that emphasizes ongoing engagement with families, residents, and referral partners beyond the initial move-in. Unlike the traditional funnel approach, Loop Marketing reflects the unique, emotional, and extended decision-making process in senior living. Attendees will learn how to map the family journey, apply practical tactics at every stage of the loop, and use tools to build lasting relationships that generate trust, retention, and advocacy.

3D: Navigating Your Next Life Safety Survey with Confidence – Part 2 — Thursday, April 30 | 3:45 – 5:00 PM

Friday, May 1

4A: Managed Care Chess: Thinking Three Moves Ahead — Friday, May 1 | 9:00 – 10:15 AM

Checkmate managed care in this engaging 60-minute session where SNF leaders become chess masters. The Director of Nursing plays the Knight, the Administrator plays the King, MDS the Queen, and Therapy the Rook—strategically navigating authorizations, level-of-care decisions, diagnoses, GG assessments, documentation, Enhanced payment Initiatives (EPI), Value Based Care strategies, team communication, denials, and reimbursement wins.

4B: Dispelling the Myth: Balance Improvement is Possible in Dementia — Friday, May 1 | 9:00 – 10:15 AM

It is an all-too-common belief that individuals with poor cognition, especially with a diagnosis of dementia, cannot make improvements in balance since they cannot follow directions. However, the evidence tells a different story. While it is true that those with significant cognitive loss may have difficulty with understanding and following directions, the approach taken can have a profound effect. This course will review how to assess those with cognitive impairments through observation using both formal and informal assessments. Learners will be introduced to practical methods for motivating participation through relationship-centered care, functional engagement, and individualized motivation techniques. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of caregiver approach, including communication style, environmental setup, and the use of task-based and implicit strategies. Clinical data will be reviewed to demonstrate that, when interventions are appropriately adapted, individuals with dementia can achieve measurable improvements in balance, mobility, and safety. Through case examples and evidence-based discussion, participants will gain a greater understanding that modifying approach to intervention will have a positive impact in the cognitively impaired community.

4C: Rooted in Community – Focused on GUIDE Care — Friday, May 1 | 9:00 – 10:15 AM

In 2024, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the GUIDE (Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience) program to enhance care for individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. This session will overview eligibility, community-based support, and collaboration strategies. Participants will learn how organizations can partner with GUIDE "Hubs" to expand impact, improve outcomes, and generate revenue through respite care and other reimbursable, person-centered services.

4D: Calm in the Chaos: Practical Scenarios for Emergency Preparedness – Part 1 — Friday, May 1 | 9:00 – 10:15 AM

5A: Change Makers in Hospice Leadership: Turning Data, Values, and Benefits into Workforce Advantage — Friday, May 1 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM

Healthcare leaders across senior housing, skilled nursing, and hospice are navigating workforce challenges from rising turnover and burnout to growing expectations around culture and employee well-being. Five years ago, Stillwater Hospice was no exception. Like many mission-driven organizations, we faced persistent turnover, staff fatigue, and a lack of shared clarity around who we were as an employer and how our culture showed up day to day. In this session, Stillwater Hospice’s CEO will share a candid, real-world case study of the organization’s intentional journey to become a stronger, more sustainable employer of choice. Attendees will learn how leadership partnered with employees to define and operationalize core values, used turnover and engagement data to identify meaningful trends, and implemented innovative, people-first benefits aligned with both mission and financial stewardship. The session will highlight practical strategies that led to measurable outcomes, including a significant reduction in turnover, minimal open positions, improved morale, and regional recognition as an equitable and enhanced workplace. Designed for leaders at all levels, this presentation will offer actionable insights, lessons learned, and transferable tools for organizations seeking to move beyond short-term fixes and create lasting cultural change.

5B: Restorative Nursing in Action: Minimizing Falls and Major Injuries — Friday, May 1 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM

This presentation highlights the role of restorative nursing in preventing falls and reducing major injuries in senior living and skilled nursing settings. Attendees will learn how structured restorative programs, evidence-based interventions, and team collaboration can improve resident mobility, safety, and independence. Practical strategies and real-world examples will demonstrate how restorative nursing supports quality care while minimizing risk and enhancing overall resident well-being.

5C: Creativity in Care: How Arts-Based Programming Transforms Culture, Connection, and Care — Friday, May 1 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM

What if one of the most powerful tools for improving resident wellbeing was also the most enjoyable to deliver? This interactive workshop explores the growing body of evidence behind creative aging — and what it actually looks like in practice. Participants will move beyond the theory to experience a hands-on creative activity firsthand, then work in small groups to identify how arts-based programming could address specific challenges in their own communities. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for evaluating and implementing creative aging initiatives, concrete outcome metrics to make the case to leadership, and the confidence to take a first step.

5D: Calm in the Chaos: Practical Scenarios for Emergency Preparedness – Part 2 — Friday, May 1 | 10:30 – 11:45 AM