Marketing & Business Development Educational Sessions

Physician, Marketing & Business Development

Physician-HHA Collaboration Models in a Pay for Performance World

Home medical care visits by physicians and APNs have grown by 25% in the last five years. Many patients served need traditional home care. Physicians making house calls are therefore a new source of referrals. This session will feature three different models of non-employment, non-contractual collaborative arrangements between HHAs and house call providers.

Objectives:

• Describe the Washington Hospital Center/Medstar House Calls Medicaid Demonstration Program.
• Discuss ElderPAC "PACE Without Walls" Program.
• Describe VNA of Greater Philadelphia's Chronic Care Program.

Faculty: George Taler, MD, Director of Long Term Care, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC; Jean Yudin, NP, Director, ElderPAC Program, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Karen Alston, RN, MSN/MBA, Senior Vice President of Home Health, Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA;

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

Marketing & Business Development, Financial, Leadership

Managing the Transitions from Hospital Affiliation to Independence to Growth

This program focuses on the current climate and rationale for hospital disaffiliation of home health agencies. The presentation includes a nuts and bolts approach to orchestrating these transitions and discussion of the human resource elements involved to maintain staff morale during a tumultuous time.

Objectives:

• Identify the most critical factors to determine viability of an agency assuming independence.
• Select appropriate processes to successfully establish and independent agency from a hospital based system.
• Identify human resource issues that will impact retention and recruitment of staff.

Faculty: Anne Rich, RN, M.Ed., CHCE, Executive Director, Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care of Southwestern CT, Stamford, CT; Robert Grestini, BA, Director of Finance and Reimbursement, Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care of Southwestern CT, Stamford, CT;

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

Marketing & Business Development, Financial

Models of Long Term Home Care: A Critical Analysis

Medicaid is the largest payor of long term home health care in the country and New York City has the largest personal care program in the country. To assist in controling Medicaid costs and delivering required services, three programs are compared; the Task Based Assessment Program, the Nursing Home Without Walls Program, and the Managed Long Term Home Health Care Program. This presentation, aimed toward home care administrators, financial managers and policy makers compares these three programs and makes conclusions and recommendations.

Objectives:

• Differentiate between three long term home health care programs.
• Discuss the three models of long term care in terms of their degree of success in meeting patient and cost goals.
• Discuss conclusion and recommendations.

Faculty: Warren Balinsky, PhD, Chairman, Health Services Management and Policy, The New School University, Setauket, NY; Robert Shick, PhD, Assistant Professor, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY;

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

Marketing & Business Development, Telehealth & Technology

Marketing Telehealth: Top 10 Practices Revealed!

An emerging technology, telehealth is increasingly being evaluated and implemented by home care providers as a tool to increase revenue, decrease costs, and improve patient outcomes. While there are many dimensions to implementing a telehealth program successfully, marketing strategy is critical. Attendees will learn specific strategies that will help them grow patient referrals, gain new referral relationships, generate positive PR in their communities, and increase the return on investment.

Objectives:

• Describe the context for telehealth marketing.
• Cite the top 10 methods for marketing telehealth.
• Discuss a VNS case study to market telehealth to private payors.

Faculty: Heather Rooney, President, H2 Marketing, Seattle, WA; Patricia Mulhern, RN, MN, Vice President, Patient Services, Visiting Nurse Services of the Northwest, Mountlake Terrace, WA;

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

Marketing & Business Development, Hospice

How to Win Accounts from Your Competitors without Saying Anything Bad about Them

Mediocre service benefits no one! Learn how to get the competition fired! Participants will discover how to win new business by getting your prospects to see they are being underserved without saying anything bad about the competition. Learn the selling strategies of how to drive a wedge between your customer and your competitor.

Objectives:

• Identify how to drive a wedge between your prospect and inferior providers.
• Identify the research you need to find your competitive advantage.
• Discuss the six steps of the Wedge Sales Call and the five money-making activities of sales people.

Faculty: Judy Wilson, RN, BSN, Vice President Business Development, Restorative Health Care, San Antonio, TX; Greg Mazick, RN, BSN, Director of Pediatric Services, Restorative Healthcare, San Antonio, TX;

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

Private Pay, Marketing & Business Development

Targeting the Baby Boomers: Try These Innovative Private Pay Services

The baby boomer generation has influenced American society throughout their adult lives. The marketplace across all industries has developed products and services to meet their needs and desires. Now they need to take care of Mom & Dad who are aging. This presents an opportunity for you to connect directly with the decision makers who will look to private pay providers to take care of Mom & Dad. This workshop will first explore the demographics of the baby boom generation, then how to market to them effectively and finally introduce several innovative types of services that baby boomers will be looking to obtain for their parents.

Objectives:

• Evaluate how the demographic trends presented will impact private pay home care.
• Employ marketing and communication techniques to reach baby boomers.
• Create an implementation plan for three new types of home care services targeted to baby boomers as customers.

Faculty: Patricia Drea, VP Operations, Visiting Angels, Havertown, PA; Mike Ferris, Principal, Home Care Marketing Solutions, Chapel Hill, NC; Panel of providers offering innovative services. ;

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

Marketing & Business Development, Financial

Expanding Business Models Based on Predictive Data

The VNA of Greater Cincinnati took specific steps in developing business models for CHF, diabetes and staffing/utilization. A key factor in success of this agency was the introduction and implementation of a culture change of utilizing data for planning and monitoring purposes. Predictive type data will be presented through a variety of reports from Outcome Concept Systems that led the agency in making decisions. The presentation includes how to evaluate your business , steps to the decision-making process, implementation and monitoring.

Objectives:

• Identify how to evaluate current business patterns and trends to determine priorities.
• Describe the plan of action.
• Describe the steps for implementation.

Faculty: Sue Blockberger-Miller, RN, BSN, Strategy and Planning Executive, Outcome Concept Systems, Seattle, WA; Angi Johnson, RN, Executive VP of Clinical Service, Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH;

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

Marketing & Business Development, Hospice

How to Sell and Market Hospice Services

Sales and marketing tactics proven to drive more hospice referrals & get them earlier. This is a fast paced session packed with practical methods used nationally by successful hospices. Differentiating the hospice by distilling a clear story that can be used in the community will cement referral relationships. Crafting a message that will resonate in the community is important to successful marketing program development. Tracking and calculating results is the next step in the process, including calculating return on investment (ROI). Attendees will build a plan to implement upon return to their hospice.

Objectives:

• Distinguish between sales and marketing; and define the importance of each.
• Identify the nuances of building the sales team and arm them with top notch collateral materials.
• Describe successful ways to work with skilled nursing facilities to build strong referral relationships.

Faculty: Michael Ferris, Home Care Marketing Solutions, Chapel Hill, NC; Elizabeth Brennen, MSBA, Business Development, Treasure Coast Hospices, Jupiter, FL;

Course Level: Novice; 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);

Clinical & Disease Management, Marketing & Business Development

Start a Chronic Disease Management Program

Home health agencies can play a central and pivotal role in leading the nation's efforts to manage the needs of the chronically ill. Learn how to develop a home care disease management program including the essential components required of a disease management program, the successful implementation of services, and the tools necessary to facilitate service provision and reporting needs.

Objectives:

• Describe the components of a chronic disease management program and agency experience in CDM pilot program.
• Identify policy changes needed and benefits of facilitating home care's role in CDM.
• Describe technology's role in provision of CDM services.

Faculty: Cindy Clark, RN, BSN, COS-C, Chief Information Officer, Visiting Nurse Association of Western PA, Butler, PA; Kim Wipf, RN, BSN, CCRN, Solution Manager, Cerner BeyondNow, Overland Park, KS;

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

Private Pay, Marketing & Business Development

Exciting Things are Happening in Adult Day Services!

On a national basis, adult day services are partnering with home health providers to meet the same goals of keeping individuals and their families together in their homes and communities. This workshop will provide information about a variety of programs including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' demonstration program that partners home health and adult day service providers. An update of the activities of adult day service providers will be covered by the director of the National Adult Day Services Association.

Objectives:

• Distinguish partnership opportunities between adult day services and home health.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the adult day services industry.
• Discuss models of partnership and start-up opportunities.

Faculty: Judith Bellome, RN, BSNEd, MSEd, Chief Executive Officer, Douglas County VNA & Hospice, Lawrence, KS; Angela Heath, MGS, National Director, National Adult Day Services Association, Washington, DC;

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

Leadership, Marketing & Business Development

Self-Directed Care: A New Business Line for Home Care Providers

With the growth of self-directed care across the country home care providers need to be ready to be entrepreneurial in order to avoid missing opportunities in this growing care delivery model. There are a variety of roles available to home care providers in the self-directed care arena, including having full responsibility for the entire self-directed care program or contracting the agency out for specific functions such as acting as fiscal intermediary, conducting patient screening, engaging in quality assurance activities; providing care management services, and conducting caregiver screening, training and or oversight. This program will provide an overview of the self-directed care options open to home care providers.

Objectives:

• Describe major trends in self-directed home care.
• Identify issues and opportunities for providers.
• Describe the options that home care providers have to participate in self-directed care delivery models.

Faculty: Joie Glenn, RN, MBA, CAE, Executive Director, New Mexico Association for Home and Hospice Care, Albuquerque, NM;

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

Marketing & Business Development, Hospice

Develop the Future of your Agency: Ten Business Lessons I Learned from my Sons

There is no better teacher in business than personal life experience. This program will identify 10 lessons learned from a family that can be applied to developing the future of a hospice or home care agency or any other business setting. These are not only practical guides for new and experienced leaders but also humorous experiences taught in a creative way.

Objectives:

• Identify five communication errors people make.
• Identify 10 business lessons learned in a family setting.
• Describe ways to use 10 business lessons to help you develop and recruit leaders of the future.

Faculty: Marcylle Combs, RN, BS, CHCE, President, Foundation Management Services, Inc., Denton, TX; Brenda Beggs, RN, CHCE, Vice President Clinical Operations, Foundation Management Services, Inc., Denton, TX;

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

Private Pay, Marketing & Business Development

Adding Private Pay Services? Use Strategic Branding to Increase Referrals

Marketing the addition of private pay services to an existing Medicare agency can be successful if strategic branding is used as the foundation. This experiential program will demonstrate through attendee interaction how to, from a marketing perspective, add private pay services and make your agency's message strong and clear so as to reinforce existing marketing efforts and stand out from the competition. Utilizing the expanded understanding of branding, using these determined focused messages, and integrating them with existing company marketing strategy while enhancing visuals is instrumental in introducing new services and reinforcing cross referrals for these new services.

Objectives:

• Demonstrate the importance of agency branding when adding new services.
• Discuss the human elements of reactions to branding, and how it can increase consumer/referral familiarity, thus increasing referrals.
• Identify how to integrate branded messages and visuals across direct service providers to reinforce new services.

Faculty: Merrily Orsini, MSSW, Managing Director, corecubed, Louisville, KY;

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

Financial, Marketing & Business Development

Startup, Acquisition, or New Programs and Services: A Framework for Choosing the Best Business Expansion Strategies

In crafting an aggressive expansion strategy, a home care business will typically consider three basic development strategies; (1) start-up, (2) acquisition, or (3) new programs and services. While the options are relatively simple, choosing among them can be extremely difficult. In this program, we will discuss a decision framework for choosing the most appropriate development strategies.

Objectives:

• Describe and expand upon the basic fundamentals of return on investment.
• Identify the financial and non-financial resources that may be required to support a development strategy.
• Identify the financial and non-financial returns that can be realized from a development strategy.

Faculty: Dexter Braff, President, The Braff Group, Pittsburgh, PA; Steven Braff, Managing Director, The Braff Group, Pittsburgh, PA;

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

Marketing & Business Development, Financial

An Innovative Approach to Building Serious Equity In Your Agency

Presenters will discuss proven methods used to build equity in their agency and ensure fiscal soundness, the process for developing successful capital campaigns and innovative ways to move your agency forward with telemedicine and technology.

Objectives:

• Describe reliable methods for building equity and maintaining fiscal soundness.
• Describe the planning process and key components necessary when conducting a professional capital campaign.
• Discuss telemedicine grants and other innovative ideas to advance your agency forward with technology.
• Cite specific examples on how diversified, community-based agencies can compete with anyone in home care.

Faculty: Donna L. Grimm, RN, BA, MS, CHCE, President/CEO , Community Health Professionals, Inc., Van Wert, OH; Brent Tow, Vice President of Operations, Community Health Professionals, Inc., Van Wert, OH;

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

Marketing & Business Development

Competitive Strategies: 5 Key Elements for Thriving in a High Stakes Outcomes Market

Home care agencies are entering an environment where the competition will be more challenging than ever before. The effective use of data regarding patient outcomes will help agencies to gain the commitment needed from referral sources and to grow market share. OASIS is only one avenue for documentation and collection of outcomes data. Outcomes data can also be aggregated from effective agency programs that deliver great patient care and results. This session demonstrates how to integrate clinical practice patterns and patient outcomes data into marketing initiatives for success in this new highly competitive pay for performance environment.

Objectives:

• Identify key referral sources and cite strategies that build long-term relationships, gain commitment, and grow market share.
• Cite outcomes data that helps to affect physician practice patterns and optimize sales and marketing initiatives.
• Demonstrate how to prepare effective presentations for referral sources derived from patient outcomes data.

Faculty: Laurie Salmons, RN, BSN, Principal Consultant, OUTCOMELogics,Inc., Knoxville, TN; Keri Ruffell, BS, MBA-Health Management, MBA-Marketing, Regional Manager of Market Development, Heartland Home Health, Toledo, OH;

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

Private Pay, Marketing & Business Development, Financial

Develop & Market Live-In Aide Services to Grow Your Private Pay Business

Saint Francis Home Care Services, Inc., made a conscious effort to develop a new private pay service line of live-in aide & respite services in order to meet the increasing needs of the aging population. A business plan was developed that included policy development, program design, recruitment strategies, marketing plans and day to day operational management insuring compliance with labor laws. Within three years of initiating live-in services the agency has increased private pay lines from 10% to over 75% of current business (60% of which is live-in). Effective marketing, financial and employee management and ability to deliver quality care and services (with a patient satisfaction rate of over 99%), set us apart from the competition in the private pay arena.

Objectives:

• Demonstrate how to develop live-in aide program budget.
• Describe how to develop marketing and recruitment plans that will result in business growth.
• Identify key clinical components and RN roles that assure exceptional patient care and satisfaction in addition to providing support to live-in aides.

Faculty: Dana Pavelock, BA, Director / Home Care Operations, Saint Francis Home Care Services, Inc., Poughkeepsie, NY; Maya Jackson, RN, CHPN, RN Supervisor, Saint Francis Home Care Services, Inc., Poughkeepsie, NY;

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

Leadership, Marketing & Business Development

Navigating for Success: Impact of the Model of Care on Agency Success

Affinity Visiting Nurses (AVN) has been recognized for excellence in clinical outcomes while achieving fiscal success. A member of Ministry Home Care, AVN is currently ranked in the upper 10% for selected clinical outcomes while realizing a profit for fiscal year 2005. This presentation will detail the challenges faced by AVN leadership, the strategies for process improvement employed by agency and corporate leadership, and the outcomes achieved.

Objectives:

• Describe the challenges and the driving forces that signaled in the need for a change in the model of care.
• Discuss the model of care and the strategies to facilitate agency transition.
• Share the key critical indicators that demonstrated the agency's success.

Faculty: Linda Brown, RN, BSN, Home Health Director, Ministry Home Care, Appleton, WI; Jaime Potopinski, RN, BSN, MBA, Home Health Supervisor, Ministry Home Care, Appleton, WY; Dorothy Flees, RN, MSN, Manager of Quality Services, Ministry Home Care, Marshfield, WI;

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