Management & Human Resources Educational Sessions

Emergency & Pandemic Preparedness, Clinical & Disease Management, Management & Human Resources

Infection Control

One of the most basic but important issues related to good health care is use of proper infection control methods and equipment. As concerns about a potential pandemic in our future grow, this topic takes on new meaning and importance. This session will serve as a survey course of infection control precautions, including an update on the latest equipment available for protection of health care workers.

Objectives:

• Recount basic infection control practices.
• Identify appropriate equipment and precautions and the circumstances under which they should be used.
• Describe ways in which these precautions can be applied in the home setting.

Faculty: Cynthia J. Mueller, RN, BSN, CIC, VP of Operations, RBC Limited, Staatsburg, NY;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Quality & Outcomes, Clinical & Disease Management, Management & Human Resources

Creative Wound Care In-Services

Wound care scores low? No one showing up for the mandatory i.e. "master blast"? Education should be individualized and fun. If you have a hard time with per diems attending educational programs many vendors offer web casts, on-line education or teaching days. Let us show you some creative ways to achieve those essential wound documentation outcomes you desire.

Objectives:

• List two tips to implement an effective wound staging training program.
• Discuss the financial benefits of teaching your staff to document well.
• Identify two benefits of having a wound care specialist assist in training your staff.

Faculty: Elizabeth O'Connell-Gifford, BSN, MBA, RN, ET, CWOCN, DAPWCA, Clinical Education Consultant, Medline Industries, Inc., Mundelein, IL; Mary Jo Nethaway, RN, BSN, ET Nurse, Community Health Center, Johnstown, NY;

Course Level: Novice; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Management & Human Resources, Financial, Leadership

Thriving Agency: Combining Staff Recruitment/Retention with Strategic Planning to Build Success

By allowing clinicians to use their clinical skills and judgment in providing individualistic, progressive care, staff satisfaction will increase and clinician visits per episode will decrease by as much as 25% as the presenters will report. With consumers expecting comprehensive, holistic care, the challenge exists for agencies to find the delicate balance between reimbursement options and generalist versus specialist care delivery models. Tailored marketing strategies will also assist in promoting overall agency success with the new, innovative programs and progressive practice patterns.

Objectives:

• Discuss successful strategies for recruitment and retention of staff and the opportunities this provides an agency.
• Identify the therapy related financial components that can increase operating margin.
• Describe how to prepare your agency for the future with new and creative therapy focused programs and approaches.

Faculty: Lisa Anderson, PT, Director of Rehabilitation, Trinity Home Health Services, Novi, MI; Barbara Samson, RN, BSN, MS, CRRN, Professional Services Manager, Mercy Homecare/Trinity Health, Bloomfield Hills, MI;

Course Level: Advanced; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Emergency & Pandemic Preparedness, Financial, Management & Human Resources, Hospice

Business Resiliency: The Key to Surviving a Disaster

This seminar will focus on effective business continuity and resiliency planning skills. Agencies need to be prepared for any and all types of disasters. This means having the ability to resume business as usual, as quickly as possible. Statistics show that 80 percent of businesses that are not up and running within one to two weeks after a disaster will most likely go out of business. Topics to be discussed in this session are communications, notification systems, financial reserves, insurance, and much more.

Objectives:

• Identify the key variables in business resiliency.
• Develop an agency specific recovery plan.
• Discuss management's role in business resiliency.

Faculty: Barbara Citarella, RN, BSN, MS, CHCE, CHS-III, President, RBC Limited, Staatsburg, NY; Patricia W. Tulloch, RN, MSN, Senior Consultant, RBC Limited, Staatsburg, NY;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Management & Human Resources

Health, Humor and Harmony in Home Care

This program will get everyone singing about Home Care for the Health of it! A TeachSING method will be utilized involving the participants in de-stressing while recognizing that the therapeutic use of humor can be just what the doctor ordered for the client and the caregiver. Learn how to decrease your stress while finding opportunities to meet the many challenges you face in home care.

Objectives:

• Explain the significance of the Holms-Rhae Social Readjustment Ratings Scale on illness.
• Identify at least two physical and psychological benefits of using or receiving humor.
• Demonstrate participant's current use of humor and its perceived effect on self and others.

Faculty: Lawrence Brennan, BSN, MS, RN, Administrative Supervisor, Community-General Hospital of Greater Syracuse, Syracuse, NY; Rosa Cunha, BSN, RN, Performance Improvement Manager, Englewood Hospital & Medical Center, Englewood , NJ;

Course Level: Novice; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Quality & Outcomes, Management & Human Resources

Investing in Staff Performance for Higher Returns in P4P

Agency leaders are striving to find ways to enhance staff accountability as they prepare for pay for performance (P4P). The agency competency assessment and performance evaluation are excellent vehicles that, if revised, can be used to achieve new standing. Today's competency assessment and performance evaluation tools are primarily subjective, and not often designed to achieve this end. These tools need a fresh, new design to support home health leadership as it prepares to transition to an outcomes-based culture necessary to succeed in a pay for performance environment. Attendees will be shown concise steps for revising their existing tools. Take-home examples will be provided.

Objectives:

• Describe how staff competency and performance can affect care quality and affect agency financials.
• Integrate agency's best practices and clinical outcomes into staff competency and performance.
• Determine the financial impact of employee performance on agency financial outcomes.

Faculty: Melinda Huffman, MSN, CCNS, Principal Consultant, OUTCOME Logics, Inc., Winchester, TN; Sherry Taylor, AD, CHCE, Director, Homecare Operations, Quorum Health Resources, Brentwood, TN;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Management & Human Resources

Nursing Retention: Stop the Year One Revolving Door!

In today's health care industry there is an increasing demand for and shortage of qualified nursing staff. Many home health agencies are challenged to compete with flexible and attractive employment opportunities offered by hospitals. This program presents a winning strategy used by one agency to improve the turnover rate for new nurses. The audience will be introduced to effective methods to support and retain new hires during that first fragile year of employment.

Objectives:

• Describe two challenges related to nurse recruitment and retention for home health.
• Identify two strategies that management can use to improve nurse retention in the home health environment.
• Discuss two positive outcomes from a nurse support program.

Faculty: Darlene Zakrajsek, M.S., P.T., Executive Administrator of Post Acute Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH; Cindy Vunovich, R.N., B.S.N, Director Nursing Services, Cleveland Clinic Home Care Services, Independence, OH;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Emergency & Pandemic Preparedness, Clinical & Disease Management, Management & Human Resources, Hospice

Emergency Preparedness for Home Care and Hospice

This presentation will describe the critical elements of emergency preparedness for home care agencies as identified by New Jersey's Home Care Association through a state-funded Emergency Preparedness Grant Project. Particular attention to special needs population plans were addressed in year two of the grant project and will be shared in the presentation. Lessons learned will also be shared to understand the necessary role that home care must hold in every state to ensure the needs of the community's vulnerable patients are met.

Objectives:

• Identify home care and hospice's responsibilities in emergency preparedness planning, including special needs.
• Explain home care's role in planning for special needs populations.
• Illustrate appropriate documentation for emergency situations.

Faculty: Josephine Sienkiewicz, RN, MSN, Director of Education and Clinical Practice, Home Care Association of NJ, Princeton Junction, NJ; Carol Kientz, RN, MA, Executive Director, Home Care Association of NJ, Princeton Junction, NJ;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Management & Human Resources

Latest Research on Benefits Designed for Limited Wage and Part-Time Workers

Don't know what to offer your low wage workers? This session will help HR professionals and business owners better understand their workers' situation relative to being one of the 43 million working Americans who don't have health insurance. This session will share the results of research done in 2006 by HealthAllies and the Center for Health Access Solutions that includes studies with ineligibles to determine who they are, whether they are uncovered and what they want to buy. It will also share the results of studies with eligible actives who opt out to determine why they opt out, wether they're uncovered and what they want to buy.

Objectives:

• Cite current research to profile service workers, their health care insurance needs and preferences.
• Demonstrate the business case for offering either eligibiles or ineligibles low cost alternative.
• Discuss the relevance to the session's attendees.

Faculty: Cathy Cather, Sr. Vice President, Health Allies, A United Health Group Company, Lake Forest, CA;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Leadership, Telehealth & Technology, Management & Human Resources, Hospice

Don't Pull Your Hair Out: Implementing Technology and Process Change

Successful introduction of new technology in the operation of a home care organization is dependent upon three key factors. The organization must apply the principles of change management, address the organizational culture change required by the technology initiatives, and plan an implementation that addresses both the technology and the process changes throughout the organization. In this presentation, home care leaders intending to implement major change initiatives, particularly those involving information technologies, will learn basic change management principles, and key elements of the model used by the presenter to successfully apply these principles.

Objectives:

• Identify change management principles that impact technology application in a home care setting.
• Describe and discuss the activities that are essential to preparing an agency's culture for large-scale technology implementation.
• Provide a case study and discuss the project management approach that resulted in a successful technology implementation.

Faculty: Linda Scott, MSHA, RN, BSN, General Manager, Professional Healthcare Resources, Inc., Annandale, VA; Kate Jones, MSN, Principal, Health Care and Human Resources, MSC Consulting, Inc., Laurel, MD; Wanda Strickland, BSN, CHPN, HCS-D, COS-C, Director of Performance Improvement Program Development, Professional Healthcare Resources, Inc., Annandale, VA;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Legal, Regulatory & Risk Management, Management & Human Resources, Hospice

Employment Law Update 2006: Understanding Unions, Employment Discrimination, and Federal Wage and Hour Laws

Health care is viewed as one of the most fertile areas for unionization. It also is an area that requires ongoing attention to the various federal laws that impact on hiring, firing, and compensation. This program explores the forces that drive unionization and the laws that regulate collective bargaining-the rights and responsibilities of employees and management. In addition, the workshop will cover developments in federal employment law under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Essential information for all employers is offered.

Objectives:

• Identify recent developments in employment discrimination law.
• Recognize home care-specific concerns in employee compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Identify basic rights and responsibilities of management and labor with respect to unionization under the National Labor Relations Act.

Faculty: Joseph Maddaloni, Esq., MPA, Partner, Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, PC, Morristown, NJ; John Buck, Executive Director, Visiting Homemaker Service of Hudson County, Jersey City, NJ;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Marketing & Business Development, Management & Human Resources

Selecting, Hiring, and Managing Home Care Sales Professionals

Many home care executives have been frustrated by the process of selecting, hiring, and managing individuals to sell home care services. Many times, the person selected for the position does not have the needed selling style, motivation, or skills to bring in new referrals. Grow your home care business by selecting, hiring, and managing your home care sales representatives more effectively. The presenter will provide research-based evidence to increase your referrals.

Objectives:

• Define the behavioral styles of highly effective home care sales representatives.
• Define the workplace motivators of highly effective home care sales professionals.
• Define the sales experience of highly effective home care sales professionals.

Faculty: Stephen Tweed, CSP, CEO, Leading Home Care ... a Tweed-Jeffries Company, Louisville, KY;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Leadership, Marketing & Business Development, Management & Human Resources

The Three Faces of Satisfaction: Patients, Referral Sources, and Staff

Satisfaction surveys are the single, best tool for helping agencies assess the perceptions of their key customer groups and target specific areas for improvement. Learn from a national leader who has created three of home care's most respected and used satisfaction survey tools. Learn how agencies use these tools to increase patient satisfaction, referrals and staff satisfaction and retention.

Objectives:

• Review the three major satisfaction tools used by home care and hospice leaders throughout the country.
• Describe strategies for using findings to improve patient, referral source and/or staff satisfaction.
• Identify real life examples for how agencies can successfully use patient, referral source and staff satisfaction surveys for improved outcomes.

Faculty: Carleton Townsend, BA, MEd and EdD, Principle and Director of Quality Measurement, Fazzi Associates, Northampton, MA; Susan Faris, RN, MPH and CHCE, President and CEO, VNA Community Healthcare, Guilford, CT;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Management & Human Resources, Hospice

Know the Research When Addressing Home Healthcare Nurse Job Satisfaction and Retention

Experts predict an increased demand for home care services in the future and a concomitant increase in the demand for nurses to provide those services. Little has been previously examined about the variables that affect nurse job satisfaction and intent to stay in home care. The purpose of this federally-funded study was to measure job satisfaction of home healthcare nurses and to identify the variables of the job and individual nurse characteristics that affect intent to stay.

Objectives:

• Describe what the evidence shows about the factors that account for variability in nurse job satisfaction.
• Outline what the evidence shows about strategies to influence nurse intent to stay and job retention.
• Discuss implications for management practices and policy strategies to enhance nurse retention.

Faculty: Carol Hall Ellenbecker, RN, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA; Linda W. Samia, RN, PhDc, Project Director, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA; Margaret J. Cushman, RN, MSN, MS, FHHC, FAAN, Research Assistant, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);

Leadership, Quality & Outcomes, Management & Human Resources

Corporate Culture: The Six Sigma Approach

This program will describe how a multi-product line organization changed from a silo oriented focus to one of interdisciplinary collaboration through systematic change in the corporate culture and leadership style. By shifting from a traditional culture to a Six Sigma/Lean culture focusing on quality at all levels, the organization produced significant results in employee empowerment, customer service focused outcomes, quality and integration of services, and a shift in thinking from "we-they" to "us". As a result, the organization experienced a $1.5 million dollar turnaround in 18 months.

Objectives:

• Describe the difference between traditional culture and Six Sigma/Lean Culture.
• Illustrate the impact of using a talent management system.
• Identify the leadership role in organizational change.

Faculty: Nancy Martin, MSN, RN, President & CEO, VitalCare, Cheboygan, MI; Shari McLennan, BSN, RN, Director of Quality Improvement, VitalCare, Cheboygan, MI;

Course Level: Advanced; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Management & Human Resources

Open House: A Way to Cover Required Staff Education Programs with a "One-Stop-Shopping" Approach

This open house approach is designed for home care nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, social workers and dieticians. This alternative to web-based or computer learning allows face to face interaction between managers, clinicians and their peers. Learn how to present the mandatory educational topics of infection control, advanced directives, domestic violence/abuse, corporate compliance and HIPAA law in a four hour "open house" setting that is convenient and fun for staff to attend.

Objectives:

• Describe how the five required staff education topics can be covered in an open house presentation.
• Discuss three advantages to the agency using the open house presentation method.
• Provide three reasons why field staff prefer the open house presentation method.

Faculty: Suzanne Van Loon, RNC (Community Health), BSN, MPH, , Director of Clinical Services, Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills, Bernardsville, NJ; Maryse Bouton, RN, BSN, MSN candidate 6/06,COS-C candidate 11/05, Coordinator of Staff Development, Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills, Bernardsville, NJ;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Telehealth & Technology, Management & Human Resources

Virtual Classrooms and Virtual Patients: Embracing New Technology in Home Care

This interactive workshop will allow the participant to experience first hand two of the latest, cutting-edge technologies being used at VNA Care Network, the nation's second largest freestanding VNA. The workshop will showcase: (1) a web-based, virtual classroom using multi-media technology to provide home health orientation, in-servicing, and continuing education; and (2) a computerized patient simulator, a virtual patient, to validate competency and critical thinking in the home health industry. This workshop will allow participants to identify new technologies to increase productivity, improve quality, promote cost efficiencies and support nursing recruitment and retention.

Objectives:

• Identify technologies that can be integrated into home health agencies to increase productivity, improve quality, reduce costs, and support staffing.
• Describe the use of a web-based, virtual classroom using multi-media methods to provide home health orientation, inservicing, and continuing education.
• Discuss the use of a computerized patient simulator, a virtual patient, in the home health industry.

Faculty: Scott Carignan, BS, RN,BC, Education Coordinator / Project Director, VNA Care Network, Southborough, MA; Linda Baker, MSN, MBA, RN, CNAA, BC, Director of Clinical Education, Southborough, MA;

Course Level: Advanced; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Management & Human Resources, Telehealth & Technology, Hospice

E-learning's Future in Your Agency

This session will focus on the paradigm shift needed to incorporate technology, specifically e-learning courses, into the home health care and hospice industries. As with any significant change in business process, adding e-learning to an agency's educational strategy will be met with some resistance. Using Minnesota Home Care Association and its member agencies as case studies, the group will explore best practices for implementing and successfully using e-learning in their agencies. Each participant will also have the opportunity to build their own action plan to add e-learning to their educational offerings.

Objectives:

• Overcome barriers to implementing e-learning.
• Discuss best practices to implementing e-learning.
• Design a plan to incorporate e-learning into your educational strategy.

Faculty: Sara Bunge, M. Ed., Workforce Development Manager, Rochester Community & Technical College, Rochester, MN; Neil Johnson, RN, Executive Director, Minnesota Home Care Association, St. Paul, MN;

Course Level: Intermediate; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending); 1.0 CPEs (NASBA/SKA);

Quality & Outcomes, Management & Human Resources

Roles and Functions of Case Managers - Exciting New Research

Case management is an ever-changing and dynamic field, in a myriad of settings. This presentation will announce the findings of one of the most comprehensive case management research studies ever conducted. This study examines the roles and functions of over 4,500 case managers in a variety of settings - hospitals, home care, insurance, worker's compensation, managed care companies and independent case management companies - and will discuss the implications of the findings for the field of case management. The presentation will also cover the need for professional certification in consumer protection, as it provides a Code of Professional Conduct and requires professionals to remain current with practice in their chosen field.

Objectives:

• Describe the background and overview of the Role and Function Survey of Case Managers.
• Discuss the findings of the study specific to home care case management.
• Discuss the implications of the study on the field of case management and the need for certification as a practicing professional.

Faculty: Mindy Owen, RN, CRRN, CCM, Immediate Past Chair, Commission for Case Manager Certification, Rolling Meadows, IL; Dorothy Consonery-Fairnot, RN, MSHA, CCM, ABDA, CNLC, Commissioner, Commission for Case Manager Certification, Rolling Meadows,, IL;

Course Level: Advanced; 1.8 nursing CEs (MNA Approval Pending);