VCAL SYMPOSIUM PLANS FINALIZED

VCAL FOCUS (5/1/03)

Watch your mail for registration brochures for the 2003 Annual Assisted Living Symposium scheduled for Wednesday, June 18 at the Sheraton Park South in Richmond.  The program is designed specifically for assisted living providers and will offer sessions to address issues and topics identified by members of the VCAL Committee.  Presentations will focus on:

• HIPAA compliance issues from legal, business office and operational perspectives.  Joseph Flannery, Corporate Compliance & Ethics Officer, Riverside Health System; Valerie McCormick, Health Care Reimbursement Billing Specialist, Goodman & Company, L.L.P.; and Peter Mellette, Esquire, Hancock, Daniel, Johnson & Nagle, P.C. will lend their expertise to provide attendees with an in-depth look at HIPAA privacy requirements related to assisted living operations. 
• A review of recommendations from the newly released report prepared by the Assisted Living Workgroup (ALW) for the U.S. Senate Special Committee On Aging.  The report culminates months of deliberations by a broad based stakeholder group convened in 2001 to determine how to ensure quality of care in assisted living.  Shelley Sabo, Director of Assisted Living Member Services, National center for Assisted Living (NCAL) will share NCALs assessment of the potential for federal regulation and increased state oversight of assisted living. 
• How to market your facility on a shoestring budget to achieve results.  Collin Hoskins, Marketing & Management Consultant, Core Consulting Services will describe approaches to reaching successful outcomes and will share his professional experiences in marketing assisted living facilities.
• Guidance to providers on how to evaluate and address cognitive deficits, functional impairments, and pain syndromes in assisted living residents.  Kathleen Fletcher, RN, will lead participants in a discussion of the observation and assessment of residents in the long term care setting, while examining clinical issues that challenge resident care staff.

Make your plans now to attend this annual event.  Take advantage of the opportunity to meet with other assisted living providers from across the state.  In addition to sending or faxing your registration for the Symposium, you can also register on-line at http://www.vhca.org/061803event.htm.  Invite your colleagues and prospective VCAL members to attend with you.