Essential Training At Your Finger Tips

In home care, required training often feels disconnected from the realities caregivers face in the field. When training doesn't reflect real risks, unclear boundaries, or lived experience, caregivers are more likely to disengage, underreport concerns, or leave altogether. This session reframes training as a frontline support tool to protect caregivers, strengthen trust, and reduce avoidable turnover. Participants will explore how thoughtful training design can reinforce safety, equity, and belonging without adding administrative burden. Through real-world examples and caregiver-centered scenarios, attendees will learn how to align mandatory education with what caregivers actually need to feel prepared, supported, and valued. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to redesign required training so it improves caregiver confidence, strengthens retention, and reinforces organizational accountability. Speaker/Course Author - Emily Scarbrough McFadden, MPH, CPHQ Read more

This session will help agency owners, administrators, billing professionals, and operational leaders better understand today's U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home care environment while preparing for the changes expected as the VA modernizes its Community Care Network (CCN). During this 50-minute educational session, attendees will learn: The current state of VA Community Care and why it remains an important growth opportunity for home care agencies The most common operational and revenue cycle issues that lead to delayed reimbursement and claim denials Best practices for strengthening authorization management, documentation, and revenue cycle performance What providers should know about the evolving VA Community Care procurement process and how to prepare for potential changes Practical strategies agencies can implement today to improve operational readiness and financial stability Speaker/Course Author - Frank Ripoll Read more

A new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) model is creating powerful opportunities for home care agencies — especially those focused on dementia care and respite services. But success depends on understanding how to effectively position your organization and become ready for the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) model. This session breaks down the GUIDE model in clear, practical terms, helping you understand what it is, why it matters, and how to activate it within your agency. You'll walk away with actionable insights to help you tap into a significant new revenue stream while enhancing care offerings. In this session, participants will: Understand what the GUIDE model is and why it matters for agency growth Identify how GUIDE aligns with dementia care and respite services Explore new referral pathways and revenue opportunities tied to GUIDE participation Learn the key steps to begin unlocking a potential $1M revenue opportunity Whether you're looking to expand services or strengthen your market position, this session will provide the roadmap to get started. Speaker/Course Author - Debbie Miller Read more

Florida’s home care regulatory environment continues to evolve, creating new compliance responsibilities and operational questions for home health agencies and other home care providers. This session will provide a practical regulatory update focused on issues that can directly affect an organization’s license, survey outcomes, workforce practices, and day-to-day operations. Participants will review top survey deficiencies and discuss how providers can move beyond minimum compliance toward excellence in home health. The session will also address important administrative and personnel requirements, including changes involving contract nurses, administrators, and alternate administrators, as well as required timelines for reporting changes in personnel, addresses, governing board membership, and other information to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Special attention will be given to Florida’s Family Home Health Aide (FHHA) program, including licensure changes that incorporate the FHHA role, agency responsibilities, and implementation considerations. The presentation will also examine AHCA’s Direct Care Workforce Survey Dashboard and how its data can help providers understand broader staffing trends. Another focus will be understanding the regulatory boundaries among Florida provider types. Using AHCA’s Consumer Guide, participants will examine the differences among home health agencies, nurse registries, homemaker and companion services, and other providers. This discussion will reinforce important scope-of-service distinctions, including that medication management is a skilled service and that homemaker and companion services providers cannot provide personal care services. The session will also address several licensure issues that frequently create confusion for providers. Participants will review why a license renewal is not complete merely because documentation has been submitted; the required payment must also be received. Practical guidance will cover renewal applications, omission letters, approaching expiration dates, and the steps providers should take if they have submitted and paid for a renewal on time, responded to requests for additional information, and have not yet received their renewed license. Finally, the session will explore emerging operational questions, including AHCA’s position on agencies’ use of virtual assistants and the compliance considerations organizations should evaluate before delegating administrative or operational functions to remote or virtual personnel. Speaker/Course Author - Susan Harris Lowery & Kimberly McIntyre Read more

The future of home care is about more than delivering great service; it's about being able to prove the difference your agency makes. As clients, families, referral partners, and payer sources increasingly look for measurable evidence of quality and value, home care agencies need to move beyond satisfaction scores and anecdotal success stories. This session will explore the growing importance of outcomes measurement in non-medical home care and how agencies can begin capturing meaningful data around client independence, hospitalization risk, falls, caregiver satisfaction, and client experience. Attendees will also be introduced to ValuTrak, a first-of-its-kind comprehensive outcomes-tracking software platform designed specifically for home care. They will learn how outcomes data can become a powerful tool for demonstrating value, strengthening referral relationships, differentiating their agency, and preparing for the future of home care. Speakers/Course Authors - Holly Haringa Read more

The Open Enrollment Period that allows patients the time to make changes to their Medicare coverage can be one of the most frustrating times for home health agencies. The most uncertain times are in the aftermath of the enrollment period when agencies are faced with ensuring that they are billing the appropriate plan. This session will review steps to ensure that you are doing everything possible to ensure that the patient payer is correct. Speakers/Course Authors - Regina Wild, LPN Read more