Mandy Stamper

COO
Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina
Columbia, SC
  • 70-I. Capturing Imaginations with Visual Storytelling

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    70-I. Capturing Imaginations with Visual Storytelling

    Is a picture really worth a thousand words? Many senior living organizations are counting on it. This session will feature an organization that used visual storytelling to attract a new market segment to its senior housing options and to build support for a campus expansion among current residents. Presenters will explain what visual storytelling entails, how it drives effective marketing, and how to assess the appropriate use of AI-generated imagery, architectural renderings, and video flythroughs. You’ll gain practical guidance on effective visual storytelling methods and a candid assessment of approaches that fall short.

Amy Stewart

Chief Nursing Officer
American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing (AAPACN)
Denver, CO
  • 16-D. Can the C-Suite Influence Workplace Culture and Retention?

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    16-D. Can the C-Suite Influence Workplace Culture and Retention?

    A thriving workplace culture begins with an engaged and supported staff. But how does that culture evolve, and how can C-Suite leaders foster it? This session will explore how C-Suite leadership behaviors and organizational practices directly affect workforce satisfaction and retention. A nurse leader in the post-acute care sector will share strategies to help C-Suite executives support staff well-being and professional growth by aligning operational priorities and strategic planning with a people-first culture that drives performance, quality of care, and financial stability. You’ll leave with the tools to build a sustainable, high-performance environment that reflects your organization’s mission, vision, and values.

Lori Stohs

Chief Talent & Culture Officer
Frasier
Boulder, CO
  • 134-A. From Turnover to Trust: Building High-Performing Teams

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    134-A. From Turnover to Trust: Building High-Performing Teams

    Looking to lead your team from low performance and instability to high performance and sustained retention? This session is for you. Presenters will blend reassurance with disruption to teach you how to stabilize a struggling team. They’ll show you how to encourage team members to speak up, take risks, and grow; how to hold employees to clear performance and behavioral expectations without creating fear, resentment, or disengagement; and how to shift from reacting to problems to consistently and clearly addressing patterns. You’ll return home prepared to create the conditions that enable employees to stay, grow, and perform at their best.

Robyn Stone

Strategic Advisor
LeadingAge
Washington, DC
  • 24-A. Measures that Matter: Helping Boards Focus on Quality

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    24-A. Measures that Matter: Helping Boards Focus on Quality

    Given the complexity of life plan communities and the scope of management responsibilities, boards of directors often focus primarily on their financial and fiduciary duties. This session offers a different approach. Presenters will unpack the board’s responsibility to dig deeper into compliance measures to understand what they reveal about a life plan community’s quality of care and quality of life. These insights will help the board participate in developing person-centered solutions that advance the organization’s mission. You’ll learn how a governance approach grounded in accountability, learning, and compassion fosters transformative collaboration among organizational leaders and how that collaboration can enhance the quality of life for older adults.

  • 142-H. A Collaborative Strategy for Developing the CNA Workforce

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    142-H. A Collaborative Strategy for Developing the CNA Workforce

    Educators, providers, policymakers, and workforce leaders nationwide are rethinking how aging services providers recruit, train, support, and retain frontline caregivers. This session will highlight this collaborative effort. Presenters will describe a recent national meeting that examined the potential for multi-state collaboration to standardize certified nursing assistant (CNA) career pathways through state-based Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Programs. They’ll share lessons learned from convening stakeholders across education, workforce development, aging services, finance, policy, and care delivery systems to discuss workforce solutions. You’ll discover how stakeholder collaboration can drive system-wide changes in policy, practice, and workforce development.

Wendy Strain

Director of Consulting
Polaris Group
Tampa, FL
  • 84-G. Operationalize ADR Management to Protect Your Resources

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    84-G. Operationalize ADR Management to Protect Your Resources

    Nursing homes and post-acute care providers face heightened scrutiny when Medicare and other payers issue Additional Documentation Requests (ADR) or conduct targeted medical reviews and post-payment audits. Delays in responding to these requests can lead to improper payment findings against the provider. This session will help leaders shift from reactive, one-claim-at-a-time ADR responses to a structured, collaborative approach. Presenters will outline common review triggers, explain how documentation gaps and fragmented communication pose financial and compliance risks, and review each step of an ADR, from request through appeal. Learn how to operationalize ADR and denial management to support quality and financial stability.

  • 108-L. Identify and Address Risks Before the Survey Team Arrives

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    108-L. Identify and Address Risks Before the Survey Team Arrives

    The survey environment for long-term care providers is growing more complex as federal and state agencies refine guidance, raise expectations, and adjust priorities. This complexity often turns annual recertification and complaint surveys into disruptive, high-stress events that expose gaps in practice, documentation, and oversight. Using QAPI as a framework, this session will equip organizational leaders with the tools to stay survey-ready every day. Presenters will review emerging national and state survey trends and highlight common citations and surveyor priorities. They’ll show you how to focus on high-risk processes, develop performance improvement projects, and monitor corrective actions. You’ll get the support you need to build day-to-day practices that identify and address risks before the survey team arrives.

Kelly Stranburg

Vice President of Healthy Aging and Longevity
Westminster Communities of Florida, Inc.
Orlando, FL
  • 116-H. Measuring the Impact of Resident Engagement

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    116-H. Measuring the Impact of Resident Engagement

    Older adults increasingly seek purpose, autonomy, and connection in their daily lives. Engagement activities in senior living communities must reflect these desires by moving beyond entertainment to include experiences that support physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and spiritual well-being. This session will explore shifting engagement preferences and introduce you to tracking and assessment methods for measuring the impact of engagement activities, demonstrating their value to stakeholders, and empowering staff to deliver more intentional, resident-centered experiences. You’ll leave with actionable strategies to reframe your engagement efforts, strengthen the link between programming and resident well-being, and communicate success in ways that resonate with stakeholders.

Brad Straub

President
Greystone
Irving, TX
  • 32-I. Build a Team That Outperforms Expectations

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    32-I. Build a Team That Outperforms Expectations

    Extraordinary outcomes depend on extraordinary teams, whether you’re leading an expansion, repositioning an existing campus, stabilizing occupancy, or launching a major operational initiative. This session tells the story of a life plan community that built a cross-functional team to deliver a successful expansion that many believed would not resonate with its intended audience. Presenters will describe how they improved performance across operations, culture, sales, brand, design, and development through strategic decisions, bold pivots, and mindset shifts that propelled a small nonprofit community to outsized success. You’ll walk away with a replicable framework for building team chemistry and enhancing execution, along with practical tips for shifting culture and inspiring optimism.

Janet Stringfellow

President & CEO
Volunteers of America Florida
St. Petersburg, FL
  • 14-B. Serving Aging Veterans: Let’s Close the Information Gap

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    14-B. Serving Aging Veterans: Let’s Close the Information Gap

    Nearly half of U.S. veterans are 65 or older. Yet most aging services professionals lack training to address this population’s unique needs, and aging-focused resources rarely address them. This session aims to fill those gaps. Presenters will explain how military culture, trauma, service-related injuries, and the complexity of benefit eligibility shape veterans’ needs as they age. They will also discuss cultural and trauma-informed approaches to supporting veterans across housing, health, and social-service settings, including a pilot program that helps high-acuity veterans with low incomes age in place. You’ll gain insights into the program’s implementation and early outcomes and take home lessons you can adapt to your care and service settings.

David Swartley

President & CEO
Unitas Communities
Lititz, 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.

Jacob Swint

Vice President of Strategic Growth and Operations Support
National Church Residences
Columbus, OH
  • 85-H. Primary Care Partnerships: How They Work, Why They Matter

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    85-H. Primary Care Partnerships: How They Work, Why They Matter

    Is your senior living organization aiming to improve residents’ health outcomes but unsure how to proceed? This session will offer a practical solution: establish a partnership with an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and a primary care medical group to deliver enhanced clinical services to residents. Presenters will describe how their multisite organization’s primary care team partnered with an ACO to establish a Medicare Shared Savings Program. You’ll learn about the partnership’s operational and financial benefits, including better care, fewer avoidable hospitalizations, longer resident stays, and lower turnover. Discover how these partnerships work, why they matter, and the steps providers can take to implement them effectively.

Aisling Taft

Social Worker
Vermont Veterans’ Home
Bennington, VT
  • 109-A. Supporting Human Connection through Intimacy Policies

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    109-A. Supporting Human Connection through Intimacy Policies

    Many organizations recognize the importance of honoring residents’ rights, yet few have clear guidelines for supporting intimate expression, especially when decision-making capacity is impaired. This session will introduce you to a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to developing an intimacy and sexuality policy. Presenters will highlight how one nursing home worked with a medical ethicist, staff, residents, and families to develop a framework that safeguards vulnerable adults while affirming their fundamental human need for connection, companionship, and intimate expression. You’ll take away information to help you support residents’ intimacy responsibly and compassionately, honor individual rights, and enhance overall quality of life, all while complying with regulations.

Jennifer Terray

Director of Nursing
LiveWell
Plantsville, CT
  • 117-I. From Fear to Action: Addressing the Root Causes of Dementia through Cognitive Wellness

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    117-I. From Fear to Action: Addressing the Root Causes of Dementia through Cognitive Wellness

    Dementia ranks among the most feared chronic conditions of later life. Yet emerging evidence suggests that up to 45% of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented by addressing its root causes. This session will focus on a Cognitive Wellness Clinic embedded in a senior living community specializing in dementia care. Presenters will describe how the clinic conducts early cognitive wellness assessments and provides clients with personalized recommendations to modify dementia-related risk factors and adopt lifestyle strategies that build confidence, engagement, and well-being. You’ll gain practical strategies for adapting this model within your organization and positioning aging services providers at the forefront of brain health innovation.