Catherine Chiovaro

VP; Workforce Management
Otterbein SeniorLife
Lebanon, OH, US
  • 2-B. Build a Strategic Roadmap for AI Adoption

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    2-B. Build a Strategic Roadmap for AI Adoption

    You’ve undoubtedly heard about the “transformative power” of Artificial Intelligence (AI). But what would an AI-fueled transformation look like for your organization, and what tools would you need to make it a reality? This session will guide you through a comprehensive, multi-week AI assessment to help your organization evaluate its technology maturity, identify quick wins, and build a realistic three-year AI roadmap. Three senior living providers will share strategies to help mid-size and smaller organizations use AI to manage change, expand internal capacity, and focus on outcomes for residents and staff. You’ll gain tools to adopt AI solutions gradually and in ways that fit your organization’s unique circumstances.

Jeanne Chirico

CEO
Hospice & Palliative Care Association of New York State
Albany, NY, USA
  • 122-K. Paying for Palliative Care: Hopeful News from the States

    • Wednesday, November 05, 2025

    10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

    122-K. Paying for Palliative Care: Hopeful News from the States

    An older adult with serious illnesses can benefit greatly from palliative care. Unfortunately, inadequate or nonexistent Medicaid payments restrict beneficiaries’ access to these services and prevent providers from delivering the support older adults need. This session will provide some hope for patients and providers. Presenters will explain how Medicaid agencies across the country are working to create and implement statewide benefits for palliative care by employing value-based payment and bundled payment models to increase reimbursement rates. You’ll discover how paying for palliative care can lead to better and more equitable care, improved quality of life, and better outcomes for Medicaid recipients and their families.

Garrett Chism

Program Director
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Denver, CO, USA
  • 143-D. Experiential Learning: A Next-Generation Workforce Strategy

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    143-D. Experiential Learning: A Next-Generation Workforce Strategy

    Experiential learning that integrates education, mentorship, and hands-on practice represents a valuable opportunity to address workforce shortages while nurturing a new generation of compassionate and skilled caregiving professionals. This session will outline a comprehensive framework for developing experiential learning by offering internship, industry immersion, service-learning, capstone, volunteer, and job shadowing opportunities. You’ll gain insights into the benefits of enabling students and professionals to build their knowledge and skills through hands-on experience within your organization. Discover how to engage academic institutions, students, and community partners in designing and implementing opportunities that nurture the next generation of professionals in the aging services field.

Hayley Christensen

Marketing Communications Lead
HealthyLifetime®
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
  • 110-B. Data-Driven Methods to Extend Independence and Healthspan

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    110-B. Data-Driven Methods to Extend Independence and Healthspan

    Many life plan communities implement robust wellness programs to help residents live independently longer and extend their healthspan. Yet these communities often overlook less visible but equally influential factors that affect residents’ long-term independence. This session will showcase a life plan community that uses data-driven, behaviorally informed methods to assess residents’ strengths and vulnerabilities, help residents interpret their assessment results, educate them about issues affecting independence, and enable them to co-design targeted interventions. Learn how to make data-informed programming decisions that meet residents’ needs, support independence, and align with organizational strategies to help residents live independently longer.

Megan Christopher

AVP, Sales & Service
UST
Oxnard, CA, US
  • 150-I. Workforce Solutions to Lower Unemployment Expenses

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    150-I. Workforce Solutions to Lower Unemployment Expenses

    Nonprofit providers of aging services strive to use their budgets to fulfill their missions to serve older adults. However, these organizations may be surprised to learn that operational expenses, including those related to unemployment costs, can drain their budgets of valuable funds that could be better utilized in other areas. During this session, UST Workforce Solutions u2013 a LeadingAge Gold Corporate Partner u2013 will present a unique approach and demonstrate how you can streamline your human resource processes, ensure regulatory compliance, and create operational efficiencies so your team can direct more resources toward serving your community. You’ll learn about various unemployment funding options, including a little-known federal exemption that can lower unemployment costs while building a financial asset that benefits your organization.

Stephanie Christopher

Managing Director
Squared Business Solutions, LLC
Westerville, OH, USA
  • 87-L. How to Align Quality Improvement and Financial Success

    • Wednesday, November 05, 2025

    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    87-L. How to Align Quality Improvement and Financial Success

    A collaborative Quality Incentive Payment program implemented by an Ohio-based aging services provider resulted in a $14 million increase in Medicaid reimbursements and a 70% improvement in quality measure points. Attend this session to learn how the organization achieved this remarkable feat. Presenters will discuss the critical need to align clinical and financial goals, especially now that federal and state programs increasingly tie funding to quality outcomes. They will provide an overview of federal and state quality-based payment programs and show you how improved quality outcomes can drive clinical excellence and financial sustainability. You’ll learn how to navigate quality-based payment programs, implement evidence-based performance improvements, and leverage facility-specific data to create positive changes.

Christopher Churchill

Chair Health Law
Barley Snyder
Lancaster, PA
  • 31-H. Affiliation Strategies that Balance Autonomy with Collaboration

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    31-H. Affiliation Strategies that Balance Autonomy with Collaboration

    Affiliation can help nonprofit senior living organizations achieve long-term sustainability, foster innovation, and remain true to their core mission and values amid today’s operational challenges. This session will explore the affiliation process that united two life plan communities under a shared governance structure while preserving their individual identities. Presenters will outline steps for building a successful affiliation, including establishing a robust legal and governance framework, drafting bylaws that reflect shared values and priorities, and addressing board composition and responsibilities. Whether you’re considering affiliation, engaged in partnership talks, or refining an existing relationship, you’ll learn how to build an affiliation that promotes stability, improves services, and ensures long-term success.

Jolene Cicchese

Owner
TLC Private Home Care
Buzzards Bay, MA, USA
  • 71-A. Best Practices for Scaling Person-Centered Care

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    71-A. Best Practices for Scaling Person-Centered Care

    Providing person-centered care comes naturally to many providers of aging services. Yet, these providers can still find it challenging to create processes and systems that enable consistent care delivery at scale. Representatives of Genworth Financial Inc., a LeadingAge Gold Corporate Partner, will lead this session alongside leaders of CareScout, a Genworth company focused on helping older adults and families plan for long-term care needs. Presenters will share best practices from care providers that are successfully integrating person-centered supports into their intake processes, standard operating procedures, and hiring strategies. You’ll gain tips for serving residents and clients in ways that incorporate their values, preferences, and goals into the care they receive.

Verena Cimarolli

VP, Applied Research and Partnerships, LTSS Center
LeadingAge
Washington, DC, US
  • 115-G. Supporting Older Adults to “LivWell” in Affordable Housing

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    115-G. Supporting Older Adults to “LivWell” in Affordable Housing

    Residents of affordable senior housing communities face poor health outcomes and functional challenges linked to low incomes, advanced age, and racial and ethnic diversity. To address these urgent needs, two LeadingAge members Springpoint Senior Living and Parker Health Group created LivWell, an affordable-housing-based wellness initiative that supports quality of life, personal choice, lifelong development, and optimal well-being for more than 300 residents across 11 affordable housing communities. Presenters will discuss LivWell’s program design, governance structure, funding, and performance metrics. They’ll also share findings from a recent program evaluation by the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston.

Scott Code

Vice President, CAST
LeadingAge
Washington, DC, US
  • 6-F. Building an Integrated System for Resident Engagement

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    6-F. Building an Integrated System for Resident Engagement

    Life plan communities offer residents myriad opportunities to participate in rich programming across a range of digital platforms. But how can providers prevent technology saturation and uneven adoption? This session will highlight one provider’s technology-enabled engagement system, which integrates digital communication platforms, automation, data and analytics, and artificial intelligence tools. Presenters will describe the system’s components, including streaming, video libraries, and in-house digital channels; dashboards that help community leaders understand engagement patterns; and automation solutions that reduce manual tasks for program staff. You’ll return home with a framework for viewing resident engagement as a scalable system rather than a collection of disconnected tools.

Marc Cohen

Co-Director, LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston
UMass Boston Gerontology
Boston, MA, USA
  • 17-E. Do Low Medicaid Payments Worsen Disparities in Nursing Homes?

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    17-E. Do Low Medicaid Payments Worsen Disparities in Nursing Homes?

    Do Medicaid payment levels affect quality and influence racial and ethnic disparities in individual nursing homes? This session will present findings from recent research on this previously unexplored question. Presenters will describe their analysis of a new national database containing facility- and resident-level data for nearly 9,500 nursing homes across 44 states. They’ll share findings on racial and ethnic disparities in nursing home quality and outcomes and examine whether these disparities are associated with Medicaid payment levels. Discover how Medicaid reimbursement shapes the association between a nursing home’s racial and ethnic composition, 5-star quality ratings, staffing levels, and resident-level quality outcomes.

Scott Cole

Director of Resident Services
Seabury Heights
Worcester, MA, US
  • 86-K. Integrating Affordable Housing and Healthcare

    • Wednesday, November 05, 2025

    10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

    86-K. Integrating Affordable Housing and Healthcare

    Hebrew SeniorLife developed the Right Care, Right Place, Right Time (R3) model to offer enhanced wellness services to older adults living in affordable housing. This session will focus on a partnership between Hebrew SeniorLife and Schochet, a property management company that implemented the R3 model. Presenters will outline the resources, organizational readiness, and leadership commitment necessary to become an R3 provider. You’ll gain a deeper appreciation for the significant impact your organization could have if it integrated housing and healthcare. Take home practical steps for engaging more frequently with residents about their health and well-being.