Aisling Taft

Social Worker
Vermont Veterans’ Home
Bennington, VT, USA
  • 99-H. Assessing “Challenging Behaviors” to Identify Unmet Needs

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    99-H. Assessing “Challenging Behaviors” to Identify Unmet Needs

    Are you having a bad day? If you lived in a nursing home, you might be labeled as a difficult, combative, or unpredictable resident who exhibits “challenging behaviors.” This session will highlight how the Vermont Veterans Home works to eliminate negative labels by helping team members embody compassion, curiosity, and empathy when interacting with residents. Presenters will describe how the community proactively assesses what a resident’s actions communicate about their unmet needs so team members can take a strengths-based approach to improving that person’s quality of life. Discover how language influences staff perceptions of residents, how behaviors communicate unmet needs, and how to eliminate negative labels in your organization.

Mary Tangeman

Chief Operating Officer
Marketing Essentials, LLC
New Bremen, OH, USA
  • 58-B. Communicating Through Change: Marketing Your Acquisition

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    58-B. Communicating Through Change: Marketing Your Acquisition

    Marketing and communication can’t pause when your organization begins preparing for an acquisition. Quite the opposite! This session will demonstrate how your organization’s marketing team can effectively navigate a change in ownership by ensuring that communication and marketing messages remain ongoing, clear, carefully worded, and reassuring to all stakeholders. Presenters will teach you how to maintain customer trust, brand strength, and market momentum by positioning your organization’s acquisition as a strategic growth opportunity. You’ll learn essential lessons to help you develop a strategic marketing plan that effectively engages stakeholders as you promote your company’s acquisition.

Jesse Tauriac

Chief Diversity Officer
Lasell Village
Auburndale, MA, USA
  • 20-E. Every Voice: Creating Inclusive Senior Living Communities

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    20-E. Every Voice: Creating Inclusive Senior Living Communities

    Lasell Village in Newton, MA, is implementing a resident-driven, employee-engaged framework called “Every Voice” that fosters inclusion and belonging by integrating voices across generations, backgrounds, and identities. This session will describe how residents and team members of the life plan community worked together to embed belonging into daily life through inclusive policies, respectful dialogue, and change-oriented programming. Presenters will offer guidance to help you build a culture of inclusion that aligns with your organization’s values, engages community members, and measures progress. You’ll return home with the tools you need to ensure that your community reflects the richness of the world while it continues working toward a more diverse future.

Tom Taylor

Chair of the Website Committee
Kendal at Oberlin
Oberlin, OH, USA
  • 14-K. What’s Best for All? Making Inclusive Technology Decisions

    • Wednesday, November 05, 2025

    10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

    14-K. What’s Best for All? Making Inclusive Technology Decisions

    Technology adoption can be more challenging when senior living residents and staff feel disconnected from the process of selecting and implementing suitable high-tech platforms. Kendal at Oberlin tackled this challenge by incorporating resident input into every stage of its technology selection and implementation process. This session will provide an overview of how the organization’s collaborative model empowered residents while ensuring the chosen platform met their unique needs. You’ll gain tools to ensure that your new technology enhances your community’s quality of life, improves resident engagement and satisfaction, streamlines operations, and sets the stage for future technology upgrades. Discover practical strategies for promoting inclusive decision-making and leveraging resident feedback while implementing technology.

Ingrid Tenglin

National Director, Talent Development
Covenant Living Communities and Services
Skokie, IL, USA

Lea Tessitore

Director, Strategy and Partnerships
TFA Analytics
Vancouver, WA, 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.

Moha Thakur

Public Policy Manager
National Housing Trust
Washington, DC, USA
  • 123-L. Seeking Tax Credit Funding? Study Your State’s Allocation Plan

    • Wednesday, November 05, 2025

    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    123-L. Seeking Tax Credit Funding? Study Your State’s Allocation Plan

    The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is the most significant federal source of financing for affordable housing. Join this interactive session led by the National Housing Trust and 2Life Communities to learn about the tax credit program and gain insights into how your state’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) outlines the criteria and priorities used to guide the selection of affordable senior housing projects for LIHTC funding. Presenters will draw on the National Housing Trust’s forthcoming examination of 53 allocation plans to explore how states are adapting their QAPs to meet the need for affordable senior housing. You’ll learn to leverage your state’s QAP to build, preserve, and protect affordable, climate-ready senior housing.

Brad Thie

Board Chair
EveryAge
Newton, NC, USA
  • 39-K. Navigating Transition: The Providence Place Acquisition Story

    • Wednesday, November 05, 2025

    10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

    39-K. Navigating Transition: The Providence Place Acquisition Story

    Providence Place, a retirement community in High Point, NC, faced a pivotal moment in January 2024 as it navigated the retirements of its chief executive officer and chief operating officer while grappling with financial challenges and initiating an acquisition process. This session will detail the 10-month journey leading to the community’s acquisition by EveryAge, a multi-site provider based in Newton, NC. Presenters will highlight the strategies, challenges, and lessons learned during the acquisition process and explore how collaboration, mission-driven leadership, and stakeholder commitment ensured a smooth transition for both organizations. They will offer advice on maintaining organizational stability during leadership transitions and financial challenges, fostering teamwork during an acquisition, and successfully linking two middle market organizations with complementary visions.

Alayna Thomas

GenZ and Retention Strategist
Magnet Culture, formerly Crescendo Strategies
Jeffersonville, IN, USA

Amy Thomas

Vice President Home Care
Selfhelp Community Services
New York, NY, USA
  • 147-G. Designing Home Care Roles to Better Support Workers and Clients

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    147-G. Designing Home Care Roles to Better Support Workers and Clients

    Direct care professionals are essential to long-term care, yet this workforce faces persistent challenges, including high turnover, low wages, and limited career advancement opportunities. This session will introduce a Universal Worker framework that enhances job quality and client outcomes by providing direct care professionals with advanced roles. Representatives from PHI, a national workforce organization, will describe one such role: a Care Integration Senior Aide (CISA) who observes, documents, and reports clients’ clinical conditions to their care team. Home care providers will explain how they partnered with PHI to implement the CISA role. Discover how to use the Universal Worker framework and CISA role to transform workforce challenges into opportunities that ensure sustainable, high-quality care delivery.

Andrea Thomas

Associate Executive Director of Home Care
Sunnyside Community Services
Long Island City, NY, United States
  • 147-G. Designing Home Care Roles to Better Support Workers and Clients

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    147-G. Designing Home Care Roles to Better Support Workers and Clients

    Direct care professionals are essential to long-term care, yet this workforce faces persistent challenges, including high turnover, low wages, and limited career advancement opportunities. This session will introduce a Universal Worker framework that enhances job quality and client outcomes by providing direct care professionals with advanced roles. Representatives from PHI, a national workforce organization, will describe one such role: a Care Integration Senior Aide (CISA) who observes, documents, and reports clients’ clinical conditions to their care team. Home care providers will explain how they partnered with PHI to implement the CISA role. Discover how to use the Universal Worker framework and CISA role to transform workforce challenges into opportunities that ensure sustainable, high-quality care delivery.

Sue Thomson

CEO & Company Secretary
McLean Care Ltd
Inverell, NSW, Australia