2024 Annual Conference
THANK YOU EXHIBITORS!
2024 Exhibitor & Sponsorship Details
HOME CARE HERO OF THE YEAR AWARDS!CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Keynote The Relentless Pursuit We spend our whole lives thinking that if we can just arrive at the destination, we’ll be happier. When we get that promotion, the new house, the next best thing. However, we’re far more likely to be happy while working to achieve something great than after we've accomplished it. It’s the relentless pursuit. The path to happiness and satisfaction in life comes from pursuing a significant long-term goal or objective: It’s the thrill of the chase, the working to be better and do better every day that gives us a purpose. Yet, many times we get lost in the mundane instead of enjoying the climb. Let’s find joy in the journey again by remembering why we started this relentless pursuit.
Government enforcement in the homecare world is at or near record levels. Providers are faced with scrutiny from auditors, whistleblowers, and others. Government agencies including CMS, DOL, EEOC, DOJ, MFCU and others are scrutinizing the industry. Hospice, which had previously been viewed as one of the good guys, may now be subject to more scrutiny than home health. Providers can best prepare for this scrutiny by proactively building a culture of compliance. This is best done through the development and implementation of a compliance program. This session will briefly review the legal authorities behind compliance. We will then discuss the seven elements of a compliance program, including key concepts within each element. We will then review some of the most common compliance issue in homecare as well as current areas of DOJ, OIG and MFCU concern as well as common mistakes providers make that lead to enforcement actions.
Home health and hospice providers are under more scrutiny than ever. The increasing frequency of audits, which can lead to recoupment demands and payment suspensions, makes it harder and harder for providers to keep their money. This session will review the most common audit issues for home health and hospice. We will then review the related regulatory requirements to better understand homebound status, terminal illness, face-to-face and medical necessity. We will spend time on the specific technical requirements related to home health and hospice face-to-face as well as the hospice certification of terminal illness. We will consider several recent developments from Review Choice Demonstration and their impact upon these requirements. We will then review a number of strategies to prevent denials based upon these technical issues. This will include strategies to supplement the physician’s record for face to face, ensure all required statements are present in the CTI, ensure CTI contains the technical elements, address issues related to timing of signatures, content of the plan of care and other common errors.
Focusing on our patient’s physical and behavioral health and treating the whole person with a team model will lead to improved overall health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic created a surge in mental illness across the United States. Which brought to light the importance of mental health services. Patients receiving home care experienced unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression due to the increased isolation and fear caused by COVID. In addition to COVID, CMS in 2023 implemented the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act (the IMPACT Act). This law requires Post Acute Care Providers to assess Cognition, Depression and Delirium in all clients. In this session, we'll discuss why your organization should provide behavioral health services, and how adding this service can assist patients/clients with managing mental health conditions, which may negatively affect their medical comorbidities. We will discuss why addressing a clients Behavioral Health need can increase Value Based Purchasing (VBP) outcomes.
It is essential that homebased healthcare providers are aware of these changes so that they can continue to provide high quality of care, remain compliant with the myriad of participation requirements, and obtain fair reimbursement for the services rendered. This session provides a real-time update on what Congress and federal agencies are doing affecting home care, home health, and hospice. In this session, moderated by Summer Napier, you will hear from Calvin Davis, Director of Government Affairs of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, and Damon Terzaghi, Director of Medicaid Advocacy, share a complete update on the industry, including impacts, trends, and legislative considerations to set your agency up for success. State Home Health & Hospice Survey Updates Our state surveyors will be joining us to provide an update on the new state surveyor guidance and rules for home health and hospice. Breakout: Identifying, Differentiating and Managing Depression, Anxiety and Grief in Palliative and Hospice Care Most individuals experience grief, anxiety and or depression when faced with a serious or terminal illness. It is often difficult to differentiate between grief and depression due to the commonality of symptoms. There is often a misperception that depression is a universal and normal phenomenon in the seriously ill population. (Periyakoil et al. 2012) Depression, anxiety and grief can all cause significant distress at the end of life. Effectively assessing these conditions can enhance an individual's quality of life and decrease pain and suffering in Hospice and Palliative Care. Nurses and other clinicians often see clients at the end of life with symptoms of these conditions but don’t necessarily assess them to promote management by the interdisciplinary team. Breakout: Innovative Models in Homebased Care - Summer Napier, M.L.S Healthcare Law, BSN, RN, Healing Hands Healthcare “What is now proved was once only imagined.” There has never been a more exciting or challenging time to provide care at home. With progressive changes in the acute care environment and the need to avoid unnecessary transitions in care, home care agencies will be called upon to provide ever more aggressive intervention outside the hospital. Are you prepared? This session will review a few innovative models to add to your suite of services including Hospital at Home, Oncology Programs, and a few other advanced illness management opportunities. Advanced care in the home requires a complete interdisciplinary approach. We will discuss the administrative burden, the need for higher acuity clinical staff, and the role of a more aggressive model of medical direction. Come learn how to build an agency centered around innovation. “It’s easy to come up with new ideas; the hard part is letting go of what worked for you two years ago but will soon be out of date.” —Roger von Oech
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State of the Industry