Session Description

CE Credits

Thank you to our Opening Keynote Sponsor: CARF

Opening Keynote: Optimizing Results in Aging Services Through Self-Awareness

Tammy Rogers, Founder & CEO, BecomeMore Group

Just as we understand our cars' capabilities and blind spots when driving, do we truly grasp our personal, organizational, and leadership power in the context of Aging Services? Additionally, are we aware of blind spots in our professional journey that could impact the quality of care we provide?

Blind spots exist because most individuals find it challenging to maintain objectivity about themselves and their organizations.

Together in this interactive session, we will use science and people-data to explore attendees’ strengths and blind spots. Our goal is to create greater self-awareness, improve interdepartmental communication, and support intentional appreciation, all with a focus on optimizing Aging Services results.

Session Objectives:

• Recognize Personal Strengths and Blind Spots: Understand how your unique strengths and potential blind spots impact your role in Aging Services.
• Enhance Communication Skills Through Self-Awareness: Learn how self-awareness can improve your interactions with colleagues, residents, and their families.
• Learn How to Self-Manage and Modify to Maximize Outcomes/Results: Discover strategies to self-manage effectively, enhancing care quality and organizational efficiency.

Thank you to our Session  Sponsor: United Healthcare

General Session: The Wisdom on Wheels Journey

Jack York

Learn the trials and tribulations of a seven-year journey travelling throughout the Unites States and Canada.  A journey to hundreds of senior living communities that highlights the wisdom, joy and resiliency of people that bot live and work in senior living.  It’s an emotional roller coaster, put on your seatbelt and come along for the ride.

Session Objectives:

• Demonstrate the importance of capturing and highlighting resident stories within your senior living community. 

• Dive into lessons learned on the tour that make your community an attractive place to live and to work.

• Remind anyone working in senior living, from C Suite to front line staff, as to the power of purpose.

General Session: Thinking: The Missing Workplace Skill

Tammy Rogers, Founder & CEO, BecomeMore Group

Today’s workforce struggles with a critical skill: Thinking.

We’ve all experienced it. Lots of opinions, with little basis for those opinions. Dumb questions -- and yes people can and do ask dumb questions. Knee-jerk reactions based on the current emotional climate. A “I found it on Google™ so it must be true” frame of reference. And a propensity to hear something and immediately take action.

We might be consumers of someone else’s thinking (AI) but many of us are not using the grey matter between our ears. And that puts you and your organization at a competitive disadvantage.

Session Objectives:

• Recognize how weak thinking is impacting organizations.
• Learn how organizational and leadership behaviors impact employee reasoning skills.
• Discover tools and techniques to overcome your poor thinking habit(s) to achieve peak mental performance.

General Session: Updates from the Capitol Cities

Lacey Hunter, Commissioner, Survey Certification, and Credentialing, KDADS; Rebecca Hedrick, CMP Program Manager, Survey, Certification, and Credentialing, KDADS; Jodi Eyigor, Senior Director, Nursing Home Quality & Health Regulation, LeadingAge

This session will bring together key voices shaping regulations, funding, and policy impacting aging services providers in Kansas and across the nation. Attendees will hear updates from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) on survey activity, compliance trends, and the current state of the industry, followed by insights in the CMP grant program, including program status and funding opportunities for providers. The session will also include a national perspective provided by LeadingAge, highlighting emerging policy initiatives and industry trends providers should be prepared to navigate.

Session Objectives:

• Identify key survey or compliance updates shared by KDADS and describe how these changes may affect facility operations.
• Explain the purpose and structure of the CMP Grant Program and list current or upcoming funding opportunities relevant to providers.
• Summarize national policy trends or advocacy priorities presented by LeadingAge and evaluate their potential impact on aging services organizations.
• Compare state-level and national regulatory developments to determine which areas may require strategic planning within their organizations.

Thank you to our Closing Keynote Sponsor: United Healthcare

Closing Keynote: Go and Grow Forward

Trooper Ben Gardner

During our closing keynote, Go and Grow Forward, Trooper Ben will invite participants to slow down and pay real attention to the lives around them. He will share how inattention can cause us to miss moments that shape someone’s confidence and direction. He will show how genuine attention can lift a person up and help them grow into their best self.

Trooper Ben’s message reminds people that we do not need perfect lives to make a difference. We just need to keep moving forward with kindness, courage, and a steady heart. Participants will walk away encouraged, hopeful, and reminded that they have a purpose, a path, and a place in this world.

Session Objectives:

• Understand the difference between inattention and attention and how each shapes the people around us.
• Recognize how simple acts of kindness and connection can strengthen leadership and caregiving.
• Identify ways to move forward during seasons of change or uncertainty.
• Reflect on their own purpose, path, and place in their work and personal life.
• Leave encouraged to help others grow by being present and intentional.