Continuing Education. Attendees may earn up to 15 approved continuing education units for assisted living or skilled nur
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Conference Accommodations
Registration Information
This year’s Winter Conference will be held at the Hotel RL Olympia by Red Lion. Rooms have been blocked for attendees. Reserve early! You may make reservations by calling the hotel directly at (360) 943-4000 or by calling (800) RED-LION. Rooms are $116 per night plus applicable taxes. Reserve your room today!
Full Conference Package: Includes entry to all conference education February 22-24, lunch on Wednesday and Thursday, refreshment breaks offered throughout, the Exhibit Showcase, the Legislative Reception, and up to 15 continuing education units. $159 (non-member $318) Wednesday Only Package: Includes entry to the education offered on February 22 (Steve Wilder presenting), lunch, refreshment breaks, and up to six continuing education units. $89 (non-member $178)
Cancellation Policy Cancellations made in writing on or before February 15, 2017, are subject to a $25 per person cancellation fee. All others are ineligible for any refund.
Continuing Education Attendees may earn up to 15 approved continuing education units for assisted living or skilled nursing. A link and instructions will be sent to attendees after the conference so they may print certificates.
Legislative Activities If you are interested in meeting with your legislators while in Olympia, please contact Lauri St. Ours, Director of Governmental and Legislative Affairs for WHCA. The Legislative Reception on Thursday evening is our official forum to connect with legislators this year.
Thursday Only Package: Includes entry to educational sessions offered on February 23 (variety of concurrent sessions available), lunch, refreshment breaks, entry to the Exhibit Showcase, the Legislative Reception, and up to six continuing education units. $89 (non-member $178) Friday Only Package: Includes entry to educational sessions offered on February 24 (variety of concurrent sessions available), refreshment breaks, and up to three continuing education units. $69 (non-member $138) Business Class (For Associate Business Members not exhibiting): Includes entry to all educational sessions offered during the conference, refreshment breaks, and up to 15 continuing education units. $199 (non-member $398)
Register online today at www.whca.org/registration
Schedule of Events Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017 (continued)
8:30 AM 9:00 AM
4:00 PM Breakout Sessions Assisted Living Skilled Nursing Specialty The Clinical Aspect of Training Rollout the Quality Incentive Lorrie Mahar for Washington Reimbursement Colleen Marlatt
12:00 PM 1:00 PM
4:00 PM 5:00 PM
Registration The Active Shooter/Armed Intruder in the Long Term Care Facility: Planning For…Responding To…Recovering From the Unthinkable Lunch The Active Shooter/Armed Intruder in the Long Term Care Facility: Planning For…Responding To…Recovering From the Unthinkable (continued) General Session Adjourns WHCA Board Meeting
5:00 PM 6:00 PM
Education Adjourns Legislative Reception; Water Street Café and Bar
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Friday, February 24, 2017
8:00 AM Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:30 AM Breakout Sessions Assisted Living Skilled Nursing General Track Resident Records There’s a WHCA Legislative and Policies – Is it Complaint Against Update 2017 Just Paperwork My License; What Robin Dale & Lauri Lori Heiner Do I Do Now? St. Ours Kendra Pitzler & Harry Aubert 10:00 AM Break 10:15 AM Breakout Sessions Assisted Living Skilled Nursing General Track Communication: The New Resident Leading Change in Techniques for Rights Rules of an Ever Evolving Interacting with Participation-Healthcare Challenging People What’s New and Environment Kristina Walker What’s Different Kathy Boté from the Washington Requirements? Elena Madrid 11:45 AM Lunch & Exhibit Showcase 1:30 PM Breakout Sessions Assisted Living Skilled Nursing General Track Assisted Living Electronic Plan of Modified Duty Licensing and Room Correction Work = $$ for You Designation Shelly O’Hare & Stephanie Lori Heiner David Carter Scheurich 2:30 PM Break 2:45 PM Breakout Sessions Assisted Living Skilled Nursing General Track Everybody In! Technical/Financial Food Safety Adapting Events Aspects of the Update and Activities for Quality Incentive Helena Barton Diverse Abilities for Washington Susan Pfundt Reimbursement Bill Ulrich 3:45 PM Break
8:00 AM 8:00 AM
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General Track Creating a Customer Service Culture: Empowering New Ideas that Make a Difference Kathy Boté
Registration and Continental Breakfast Adult Education – Instructional Excellence for Long-Term Care Educators 8:30 AM Breakout Sessions Assisted Living Skilled Nursing Skilled Nursing Sexuality in CMS Rules of Preparing to Meet Assisted Living Participationthe Final Rule for Vicki McNealley Resident Centered Infection Care Planning—Have Prevention in SNF You Connected All Aimee Ford & the Dots? Patricia Elena Madrid Montgomery 9:30 AM Break 9:45 AM Breakout Sessions Assisted Living Skilled Nursing Skilled Nursing Home and Working in a The Washington Community Based Quality-Based State Ombuds Settings World: Three Keys to Role-What Are Marilee Fosbre Five Star Their Duties and Communication How Can You Panel Presentation Assist Their Role in Your Facility? Patirica Hunter, Vicki Elting, Louise Ryan 10:45 AM Conference Adjourns 12:00 PM Adult Education Session Adjourns
We wish to thank the following companies for participating in the Exhibitor Showcase… Bell-Anderson Insurance • Charter Construction • Columbia Roofing & Sheet Metal Creative Bus Sales • Employer Resources Northwest • First Choice Medical Supply Forbo Flooring • Gabbert Architects Planners • Healthcare Services Group, Inc. HPSI Purchasing Services • Infinity Rehab • Institute for Professional Care Education Interactive Medical Systems, Inc. • Invacare • Lincoln Pharmacy • Medline Medtronic • Mercury Pharmacy Services, Inc. • Navigator Group Purchasing Northwest Bus Sales • Parker, Smith & Feek • PayNorthwest • PROPACPAYLESS Pharmacy Propel Insurance • Schetky NW Sales, Inc. • Schryver Medical United Wound Healing • West Coast Grease Traps • Western Bus Sales, Inc.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
General Session
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
The Active Shooter/Armed Intruder in the Long Term Care Facility: Planning For…Responding To…Recovering From the Unthinkable–Steve Wilder It can—and has—happened. An armed intruder finds his way into an assisted living or skilled nursing center. Now what? Chaos, panic, and fear can quickly ensue and overtake reasonable decision making if you are not prepared for the worst. It is imperative that staff—and residents—know what to do. This interactive and engaging workshop will focus on preparedness and all your emergency operation plans should cover. Learn the definition and terminology used for hostile events, and garner the tools, resources, and information needed to elevate the likelihood of survival.
Resident Records and Policies – Is it Just Paperwork– Lori Heiner Assisted living facility requirements are immense, from ensuring quality care to a safe and homelike environment. What often is left behind is the paperwork. Just as valuable to a facility as sound care delivery systems is having solid policies and procedures that direct staff care and response to resident needs, services, and emergencies. We all know that it is commonly said, “What isn’t documented, isn’t done.” In this presentation, we will review the requirements of what must be maintained in the resident record and onsite in the facility, and what necessary policies and procedures are required as a foundation for all assisted living facilities. Assisted Living
This program will enable your community to: Understand a state of preparedness. Is your facility ready for an unforeseen emergency— environmental, accidental, or hostile? Does your Emergency Operations Plan cover all it needs to cover? Define terminology and concepts specific to a hostile act within your facility—specifically, a focused and limited hostile event or a broad, facility-wide hostile event. Understand how one type of incident can morph into another Learn how your staff can protect themselves during the commission of a hostile active event within the facility by utilizing “The Four Outs” of the Active Shooter Safety Action Plan Understand the increased stress and anxieties that come hand-in-hand with an active hostile event and how to control those anxieties and stress through thorough preparation and training Understand the critical decision-making process and psychology behind the program. Refine decision-making skills in order to increase the likelihood of survival of staff and other stakeholders during an active hostile event Learn the S.T.A.F. Protocol, balancing the safety of all stakeholders during an active shooter event within your facility Remain safe and alive during an active hostile event
There’s a Complaint Against My License; What Do I Do Now? –Kendra Pitzler & Harry Aubert I just got a letter from the Board of Nursing Home Administrators saying they’ve received a complaint alleging unprofessional conduct on my part! What is the Board of Nursing Home Administrators and what do they do? Who gave them the right to question what I did? Who complained about me, to whom, how did they get my name, and what do I do next? Join the group! With 419 Licensed Nursing Home Administrators (NHA) in Washington State, the Board looks at 15 to 20 complaints every month. That is a ratio of 50%! Some intake complaints are trivial and easily closed while others are validated and usually require further investigation. All these questions will be answered as we pull back the curtain and provide you an insight on our governing authority under Chapter 18.52 RCW Nursing Home Administrators. The definition of the Board of Nursing Home Administrators and its responsibilities will be outlined by the Department of Health program manager and a current NHA board member. Where case/complaints come from, how we review them, and decisions we make which can lead to investigations and potentially discipline, will be explained by a Department of Health staff attorney. The target audience is Washington state licensed nursing home administrators or administrators-in-training. We will provide handouts on all discussed materials as well as be available for Q&A until the end of the session. Skilled Nursing
WHCA Legislative Update 2017–Lauri St. Ours & Robin Dale This session is designed to bring you up-to-speed with our work on Capitol Hill for 2017. This is a 105-day long session where state budget writers are crafting the twoyear spending plan for the 2017-19 budget period. The WHCA team will update you about the status of state budget development, and on policy issues that may impact long term care. Robin Dale, WHCA CEO and our legislative consultants will present. General Audience
10:15 AM – 11:45 AM Communication: Techniques for Interacting with Challenging People–Kristina Walker Sponsored by Mercury Pharmacy Clear communication is challenging. As George Bernard Shaw said “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” During this presentation, you will learn how to effectively manage your communication. We will cover communication basics, like body language and providing feedback, and then delve into how to interact with challenging people or during difficult situations. Do you know how to defuse an angry family member? Why can men and women say the same thing and have completely different meanings? What is the best approach for speaking with someone who is hearing impaired? How do you respond to a resident with dementia that is being sexually inappropriate? Learn the answers to these questions and more as we explore the intricacies and barriers surrounding communication. Assisted Living The New Resident Rights Rules of Participation-What’s New and What’s Different from the Washington Requirements?–Elena Madrid On November 28, 2016, CMS implemented the new Rules of Participation for skilled nursing facilities. A large portion of the new rules focus on Resident Rights. What’s new about these Resident Rights’ requirements and are these different than the Washington State Resident Rights statute and rules? A lot is new, everything from resident notice of room and roommate changes to grievances and discharge requirements. In this session, we will provide an in-depth review of the CMS RoP regarding Resident Rights, highlighting the changes and specific facility responsibilities necessary to implement the rules effectively. We will also compare the federal resident rights requirements to the Washington State specific requirements in order to ensure facility compliance. Skilled Nursing
Leading Change in an Every Evolving Healthcare Environment–Kathy Boté Change happens and in the healthcare arena, change is not always greeted with applause. Yet to survive, your organization and its employees need to be adaptive and flexible. And rather than resist changes, employees need to embrace change to deliver quality service. Through this highly interactive presentation, Kathy Bote` will demonstrate why people resist change and how to gain their buy-in and cooperation. You will learn how to present change in a way that makes it easier for others to embrace and support it. You will even learn ways to manage unexpected changes that can too often leave your organization and its employees in chaos. General Audience
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Assisted Living Licensing and Room Designation– Lori Heiner Recently there has been much discussion and confusion related to room licensing and room changes that occur when residents start and stop receiving Assisted Living Services. WHCA has been working closely with the department in order to come up with a process that is streamlined, easy, and efficient so that residents don’t have to move or receive a disruption to the care they are accustomed to receiving. In this session you will be provided an update with where things currently stand so that you know what is expected to remain in compliance. Attendees will get a historical background of where we were with room licensing and where we are today and will understand the current regulations around changes to the use of a room and the process that must take place to remain in compliance. Attendees will also understand what the department and licensors will look for regarding licensed rooms and resident rosters. Assisted Living Electronic Plan of Correction–Shelly O’Hare & David Carter The ePOC application automates the distribution of the federal statements of deficiency 2567 (SOD) via a secure website created by CMS. The CMS website will also allow for the electronic submission of plans of correction. At this time CMS is only making the ePOC available to certified nursing facilities. The ePOC process will be used for review of all nursing facility health/life safety code recertification, complaint, and federal monitoring survey plans of correction. In addition, State Licensure survey and investigation documentation forms will be communicated electronically for providers enrolled in ePOC. Skilled Nursing
Modified Duty Work = $$ for You–Stephanie Scheurich, Megan Bjornberg, David McLaughlin Sponsored by ERNWest Money is available to you now for the light duty your injured workers are performing. Do you qualify? How do you keep your injured workers on the job while still meeting the care requirements of your residents? Can your budget absorb the cost of keeping a person on modified duty? What do you do when your light duty efforts don’t work? What if your worker has permanent restrictions? Who will pay for all of this? What if my worker is injured again?
Percentage of long-stay residents with a urinary tract infection
Two additional quality measures will be added in 2018. During this session, fiscal managers can learn about the quality rate and how to improve scoring over time. The session will also help differentiate between the CMS Five Star rating system and the Washington Statespecific program. Designed for administrators and fiscal managers, this session is designed to help you make the most of this quality incentive. Skilled Nursing
In this session, we will identify common issues that arise when long term care workers are injured on the job and strategies for how to navigate returning your staff to work while meeting the needs of your residents. We will provide you a roadmap through Washington’s workers’ comp requirements for light duty. General Audience
Food Safety Update; Helena Barton With continued emphasis on food and foodborne illness during annual inspections and surveys, it is important to know the latest and vital information on food preparation, storage, and safety. During this update, learn more about current food safety standards and emerging practices to help providers maintain safety in the kitchen and reduce the event and transmission of foodborne illnesses. General Audience
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Everybody In! Adapting Events and Activities for Diverse Abilities–Susan Pfundt Sponsored by Village Concepts Communities and individuals benefit when more residents participate in enrichment opportunities. Residents who socialize, keep learning, have adventures, and enjoy music have a better quality of life, and may reduce their tendencies towards memory loss and depression. Staff members work to make activities fun, creative, and stimulating but it seems like there are always residents who won’t, or can’t participate. What to do? During "Everybody In!" we will discuss barriers to resident participation in activities, and learn about tools to overcome these barriers. Time will be spent using these tools, along with discussion, to work through "real life" situations. Assisted Living Technical/Financial Aspects of the Quality Incentive for Washington Skilled Nursing Facility Reimbursement– Bill Ulrich Sponsored by CBSI Starting July 1, 2016, providers in skilled nursing facilities can qualify for enhanced state Medicaid payments through Washington’s quality incentive program. The enhanced payments of up to five percent are provided to those facilities that meet and/or exceed standards on four quality measures for 2017:
Percentage of long-stay residents who selfreport moderate to severe pain, Percentage of high-risk long-stay residents with pressure ulcers, Percentage of long-stay residents experiencing one or more falls with major injury, and
Specialty Training Rollout; Lorrie Mahar The new Mental Health and Dementia Specialty Training programs are being rolled out in Washington beginning in 2017. The new curriculum and training requirements will be reviewed during this session enabling assisted living providers to ensure they have proper training and certification to provide training to employees in their communities. Join Lorrie Mahar, Office Chief for Training, Communication, Development and Quality with Home and Community Services, Aging and Long Term Support Administration, for this workshop to learn how the new programs will roll out in Washington. Ask questions and get answers to ensure you are ready for the new training requirements. Assisted Living
Washington State Quality Incentive: The Clinical Focus–Colleen Marlatt Starting July 1, 2016, skilled nursing facilities are eligible for a rates enhancement of up to five percent for meeting and/or exceeding the standards established with adoption of quality measures. During this session, you will learn about how your clinical staff should be looking at resident data related to these measures in 2017: Percentage of long-stay residents who selfreport moderate to severe pain, Percentage of high-risk long-stay residents with pressure ulcers, Percentage of long-stay residents experiencing one or more falls with major injury, and Percentage of long-stay residents with a urinary tract infection. Skilled Nursing Creating a Customer Service Culture: Empowering New Ideas that Make a Difference–Kathy Boté Balancing customer service with patient care has always been a challenge, perhaps more so today than ever before. People expect more in the way of customer care. So how do you do both? Learn innovative methods to increase customer service using what you already have in the way of resources.
This course provides an opportunity for growth and learning for teachers, instructors, educators, facilitators, managers, supervisors, professional trainers and anyone else who will educate adults. Whether you are new to your role or you are a seasoned instructor, you have a common goal: to improve the quality of education for our long-term care community so that the populations they serve will benefit from improved care and services.
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM Sexuality in Assisted Living–Vicki McNealley Regardless of their diagnoses or conditions, people with no cognitive losses still lose much—privacy, the sense that they have choices and freedoms, the idea that they can still make decisions about their daily lives. When it comes to sexuality, every human being has feelings and desires that do not necessarily subside when they move into a long term care community. During this session, attendees will learn about the reality of sexuality in long term care and how much is lost with regard to decision making on a very fundamental level. In addition, attendees will explore the legal issues surrounding supporting wishes, the biases of staff, family assumptions of power, and the fear that surrounds sexuality. Assisted Living
Through this highly interactive session, Kathy Bote` will expose ideas used by change makers in the area of healthcare service. She will be joined by her nephew, Matt, a past resident at a healthcare facility, to hear how service is perceived from a customer perspective, along with small actions that can go a long way in creating a customer culture. As an added bonus, you will have a chance to brainstorm and share ideas with others attending the session to develop a customized approach to improved customer service that compliments patient care. General Audience
CMS Rules of Participation–Resident Centered Care Planning—Have you Connected All the Dots? –Elena Madrid If there is a common theme running through the new CMS Rules of Participation (RoP), it is resident-centered. This concept is repeated throughout the requirements. From Resident Rights to care and services, everything is based on a comprehensive resident centered care plan. These requirements and concepts are a focus of CMS, DSHS, and the state LTC Ombuds.
Friday, February 24, 2017
In this session, we will provide an in-depth review of the CMS RoP regarding comprehensive resident centered care planning. The concept goes beyond a written care plan and incorporates a philosophy of care and services. We will identify the changes to the requirements and the specific facility responsibilities necessary to implement the rules effectively. We will also compare the federal requirements to the Washington State specific requirements in order to ensure facility compliance. Skilled Nursing
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM Adult Education – Instructional Excellence for LongTerm Care Educators–Rick McKinnon & Paul Riedel As the demand for quality long-term care services is increasing, so is the need for quality education. You may find yourself with the need or desire to train your own employees/staff, clients and/or customers. Due to the increased need for quality caregivers, training must happen more often, and more efficiently as a primary way to develop people. Most people train the way they were taught. We have all had good and bad experiences in learning. Teaching the way you have been taught may be a poor model for effective training.
Preparing to Meet the Final Rule for Infection Prevention in SNF–Aimee Ford & Patricia Montgomery Sponsored by Qualis Health On September 28, 2016, CMS released its Final Rule, which includes updates to current infection prevention regulations. Attendees will review the new requirements for infection prevention, the timeline when the changes are due for implementation, and current data on infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship preparedness. We will discuss key strategies for building a sustainable and robust infection prevention program and developing your organization’s capacity to successfully meet the minimum requirements for infection prevention. Skilled Nursing
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM UPDATE on CMS Home and Community Based Settings Rules –Marilee Fosbre & Barbara Hanneman We will provide an overview of the rules promulgated in January 2014 pertaining to settings in which HCBS services are delivered and provide updates on Washington’s Statewide Transition Plan, implementation of the rules, and information on how the rules are applied to settings serving residents with dementia. Assisted Living Working in a Quality-Based World: Three Keys to Five Star Communication–Panel Presentation Sponsored by HyMARK Solutions In a panel discussion with HyMARK Solutions team of Clinical and Financial Gurus, learn how the best practice
implementation of HIPAA compliant communication tools can help your quality based payer rates today and prepare you for bundled payments tomorrow. The panelists will touch on the ways in which poor, average, and good communication processes; as they relate to triple check process, weights and vitals, and wound care, will impact five star quality ratings. Skilled Nursing The Washington State Ombuds Role-What Are Their Duties and How Can You Assist Their Role in Your Facility?–Patricia Hunter, Vicki Elting, Louise Ryan The Washington State Long-Term Care Ombuds advocates for residents of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Their purpose is to protect and promote the Resident Rights guaranteed to long-term care residents under Federal and State law and regulations. On July 1, 2016, a new Code of Federal Regulations went into effect outlining the duties and expectations of the Ombuds program, as well as expectations for longterm care facilities working with them. In this moderated session with guest(s) from the LTC Ombuds Program, we will provide an overview of the role of the LTC Ombuds program in Washington State, as well as the volunteer ombudspersons in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. This session will discuss the duties of the LTC Ombuds and the facility’s role and responsibilities to advocate for residents and facilitate the processes. General Audience
Harry Aubert became involved in healthcare Christmas Eve of 1993 leading Public Hospital Districts in both Washington & Idaho. In 2003, he became a licensed Nursing Home Administrator. He is semi-retired since late 2014 and has remained active in the profession participating in interim assignments statewide. Harry has been on the Board of Nursing Home Administrators since July 2011. Prior to his entry into Healthcare, Harry was a recognized leader in the hospitality field in colleges and universities where his customer service management approach was nurtured. Harry is married to his wife Karen and celebrated their 50th anniversary in January 2017. They reside in Kennewick, WA. Helena Barton is a Public Health Advisor in the Food Safety Program at the WA State Department of Health. Her public health career began at Chatham County Health Department (CCHD) with the Environmental Health Division in Savannah, GA. Her experience progressed from inspections in all EH Programs to a leadership role as Assistant EH Manager. After 12 years with CCHD, Helena relocated with her family to WA State for a position with Seattle-King County Public Health. This experience at the local public health level in WA led to her current position with the WA State Department of Health. Helena is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, GA with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology. Kathy Boté is an international speaker, author, trainer, and coach. She has shared the stage with Tony Robbins, Dennis Waitley, and other noted speakers. Over 500,000 people in 13 different countries have benefited from her dynamic seminars, workshops and keynote addresses. Kathy actively engages her audiences with stimulating activities and enthralling stories while providing solid information. You will leave her entertaining yet no-nonsense workshops, webinars, and keynote presentations with easy-to-apply tools, formulas, and real-world solutions. Kathy is the author of five books and audio programs including How to Work Less and Get More Done, Courage Speaks: A Daily Dose of Motivation, and How to Deal with Angry, Volatile People. She has been featured in the Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Examiner, and Houston Business Journal. Kathy’s past career includes being a teacher, social worker, director of a domestic abuse and crisis line program, trainer, manager and editor for the National Crisis Prevention Institute, and she currently is the owner of Courage Speaks, LLC. Kathy lives in Maple
Valley, Washington, with her daughter on the shores of the Cedar River. David Carter has worked for the Department of Social and Health Services for 10 years. The past two years have been with Residential Care Services as the Minimum Data Set Automation Coordinator. David handles technical questions from providers in regards to the MDS assessment. He also coordinates trainings throughout the state for providers to learn more about the MDS assessment. Robin Dale has over 20 years’ experience in long term care. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He obtained his law degree from the University of Puget Sound in 1992. Following law school Robin worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Washington representing what at that time was called the “Aging and Adult Services Administration,” where he focused his practice on nursing home reimbursement and licensing issues. In 2002 Robin was recruited by the law firm of Lane Powell PC to assist in establishing its then emerging Long Term Care Industry Team. Over the course of the next 12 years Robin was instrumental in establishing one of the most respected long term care practice groups in the nation. Robin is widely recognized in the long term care industry as one of the leading experts on long term care regulatory policy in Washington. Robin served as WHCA’s General Counsel and advisor to the Board from 2004 through 2013. Robin was selected to serve as WHCA’s President/CEO in 2014. Aimee Ford, RN, MS, is a Registered Nurse with 25 years of experience providing direct care, nursing oversight, clinical consultation, case management, quality improvement, and regulatory compliance activities in hospitals, in-home care, and long-term care. She received a Master’s of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1997. Aimee is a Quality Improvement Consultant for Qualis Health, the Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization in Washington State, where she helps skilled nursing facilities improve quality of care and life for their residents.
Lori Heiner, RN, MN, is directly responsible for supporting WHCA member assisted living providers through regulatory clarification, nurse consultation, facility system evaluation, advocacy, and education. She is responsible for developing and implementing WHCA policies and programs toward these goals. Lori has spent the last 20 years with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and Residential Care Services (RCS). Her career began at Sunshine Gardens in Spokane and has been devoted to long term care ever since. Lori started with RCS as a Nursing Home Surveyor and was a Field Manager in the Spokane Region 1 office for 15 years. As a Field Manager she was responsible for the management and supervision of licensing, inspection, and complaint investigation staff for assisted living and skilled nursing facilities as well as adult family homes. Lori’s work in a skilled nursing facility included being an Assistant Director of Nursing and a nursing assistant. Patricia Hunter has served as the Washington State Long-Term Care Ombuds since 2011. The mission of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is to ensure the rights, dignity and well-being of individuals who live in long-term care settings. Ms. Hunter leads the work of staff and volunteer ombudsperson across the state who investigate and help to resolve complaints filed by, or on behalf of, long-term care residents. As the State Ombuds, Ms. Hunter works on systemic issues with consumers, state and federal agencies, provider associations and legislators to improve the quality of care and life for individuals living in long-term care settings. Prior to joining MSC, Patricia worked for the Alzheimer's Association, Western and Central WA State Chapter for nearly 16 years, serving as Director of Programs and Policy, and briefly as the interim executive director. Currently she serves on the board of directors of the National Association of State LTC Ombudsman Programs and is an appointed member of both the State Aging and Disability Joint Legislative and Executive Committee and the Washington State Dementia Action Coalition. Ms. Hunter is a graduate of Central Washington State University’s School of Business Administration, and holds a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Washington. She is also a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow, Class of 2008. Elena Madrid, RN, BSN, joined WHCA in 2014 as the Director of Assisted Living, Residential Care, and Quality after nearly 16 years with DSHS-Residential Care Services where she was a nursing facility surveyor, complaint investigator, and a field manager responsible for the supervision of the licensors, surveyors, and complaint investigators for assisted living, skilled nursing facilities, and adult family homes in eastern Washington. Elena has also worked as a director of
nursing in both assisted living and skilled nursing. She is a registered nurse and brings a wealth of knowledge regarding long term care requirements and the regulatory issues affecting long term care providers. She serves as a regulatory and clinical support person for assisted living and skilled nursing members. Elena spends much of her time focused on assisted living quality and support. Her background in both assisted living and skilled nursing will provide a great resource to all of our members as she supports them with resources, tools, and information on senior housing. Colleen Marlatt, RN, BSN, RAC-CT, Founder and Owner of Cornerstone Clinical Consulting is passionate about excellent care for the aging population, loves the MDS and sharing guidance from the RAI (resident assessment instrument) MDS manual. Colleen has built her career on a foundation of acute and sub-acute direct patient care, staff supervision and training. Colleen has participated as an expert adviser to multi-disciplinary teams regarding (WA) State and Federal requirements for the MDS (Minimum Data Set), consulting and training on the RUGs III /IV categories for reimbursement. Colleen has worked with health care lobby groups to support advocacy for the aged and ongoing excellent healthcare as well as clarification to the MDS and RAI processes. Colleen worked as a corporate clinical reimbursement specialist for seven years. Colleen has been a MDS reimbursement consultant to long term care, and Medicare and transitional care facilities in Washington, Idaho and California States. Major responsibilities have included: review of the MDS compliance process and systems to help assure accurate reimbursement for the care provided as well as review of clinical documentation and systems to assure the documentation supports entitled reimbursement. Rick McKinnon, is a Curriculum and Training Specialist in the Home & Community Services division of the Aging and Long Term Services Administration of DSHS. His background includes teaching and faculty development at the college level, as well as direct services as a Speech-Language Pathologist with the birth-to-three population.
Vicki McNealley, PhD, MN, RN, is Corporate Director of Quality Assurance for Village Concepts and has been involved in assisted living since 1999. She has an extensive background in health care and assisted living. Previously, Vicki served as Director of Assisted Living for the Washington Health Care Association for nine years, where she developed administrator and nursing systems and provided consultation to assisted living owners, administrators, and nurses. Vicki has served as a national award-reviewer for the American Health Care Association and worked closely with the American Assisted Living Nurses Association to develop its certification exam. Vicki is a registered nurse with a master’s degree in community health nursing and a doctorate degree in nutrition. A passionate teacher, she has been a community instructor for 11 years and continues to develop and teach continuing educational programs specific to assisted living. Patricia Montgomery, RN, MPH, CIC, is a Nurse Consultant in the Healthcare Associated Infections program in the Office of Communicable Disease Epidemiology at Washington State Department of Health. A Certified Infection Control specialist, Patty provides consultative assessments of infection prevention programs in hospitals, long term care facilities, outpatient clinics and dialysis centers. She has worked the majority of her career at Harborview Medical Center. In 2016, Patty completed her Master’s Degree in Public Health at the University of Washington where her focus has been health education and systems improvement. Patty is also the Education Coordinator for the Puget Sound Chapter of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC). Susan Pfundt is the Executive Director of Sound Vista Village, a Village Concepts Community in Gig Harbor, Washington and the Programs and Enrichment Coach for Village Concepts, LLC. Her experience in Senior Living also includes several years as Program Coordinator, during which she developed a profound awareness of how attitude, lifestyle, and level of social engagement affect the experience of aging. Susan was named WHCA “Administrator of the Year” for 2016. Kendra Pitzler is the Program Manager for the Board of Nursing Home Administrators. She began working for the Department of Health in 1989 and has worked with numerous professions throughout the years, including osteopathic, podiatric and naturopathic physicians, nurses, direct entry midwives, nursing assistants and home care aides. Her responsibilities have included working with legislation, rule development, management of licensure, discipline and compliance, developing the nursing assistant training program
review and successfully implementing the home care aide program. Paul Riedel, lives in Tumwater, WA with his better half (wife) of 26 years, Jana Riedel. Since 2007, Paul has been a Program Manager for Aging and Long-Term Support Administration (ALTSA). Prior to working at ALTSA, Paul managed a large Home Care Agency, provided long-term care worker training and was an Instructor for Grays Harbor College for several years. His initiation to the long-term care world was 1977; when his parents opened an Adult Family Home, and as a young teenager, he became a “resident”. Louise Ryan, MPA, currently serves as Ombudsman Program Specialist for the U.S. Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging (ACL/AoA). Her primary duties include providing technical assistance to states on policy interpretation of the Older American’s Act and Ombudsman program rule regarding the operations of LTC Ombudsman Programs. She also oversees all aspects of LTC Ombudsman data development, collection and reporting. Prior to coming to AoA Louise was the Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman for nearly five years after having served as the Assistant State LTC Ombudsman for nine years. Her previous work focused on ombudsman program management of staff and local entities, including a corps of four hundred designated volunteer ombudsman representatives. Ms. Ryan also worked with state agencies and the legislature to promote rights, consumer protections and to improvement of the quality of care and life for persons living in longterm care facilities. Louise has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Seattle University. Stephanie Scheurich is the Group Manager for the WHCA Retrospective Rating Program. She earned her BA degree in Sociology from Eastern Washington University and has worked in industrial insurance for over 10 years. She started her career in 2006 as a claims manager at L&I and left in 2011 to advocate for employers. In her current position at Employer Resources Northwest, Stephanie is responsible for analyzing the financial performance of employers in the WHCA retro group and providing workers’ comp education and training. She also is a liaison between employers and L&I to improve employers’ interactions with the department. Stephanie is passionate about saving employers money in the Washington workers’ compensation State Fund program.
Lauri St. Ours is the Director of Governmental and Legislative Affairs for the Washington Health Care Association. In this capacity, she is responsible for oversight of state government affairs, working with the CEO and Association leadership to develop legislative priorities and activities. Lauri provides staff support to the WHCA-PAC and manages Association grassroots legislative activities. Lauri has over 20 years of experience working with the Washington State Legislature. Prior to joining the staff of WHCA in 2005, she served as the executive director of the Northwest Assisted Living Facilities Association for ten years. Bill Ulrich has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry as a financial and Medicare consultant beginning in 1989 with The Hillhaven Corporation and founding his own consulting company in 1998. Prior to founding CBSI in 1998, Bill was vice president of the consulting subsidiary of a national nursing home chain, where he directed the efforts of 43 experts who provided daily, comprehensive consulting services to 300 long term care facilities nationwide. Bill is a nationally-recognized expert and frequent speaker on Medicare billing issues. Bill currently represents the American Health Care Corporation on the National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC). Bill has served on the legal committee and reimbursement committee for several state healthcare associations in addition to serving on the Finance Committee at the American Healthcare Association. He has given hundreds of day-long PPS updates and in-house presentations regarding PPS regulations and requirements, has developed corporate compliance programs, and has conducted Medicare billing training seminars nationwide. Bill has been an invited speaker for major state and national healthcare events, including AHCA’s 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2013 annual symposiums, American Health Information Management and Health Care Lawyers. Bill has served on the advisory board for a national billing and coding newsletter and has penned several articles for state association newsletters. Bill is a member of the Healthcare Compliance Association and earned the designation as Certified in Healthcare Compliance in 2012. Kristina Walker is the Director of Client Care for Mercury Pharmacy Services. One of the many hats she wears in this role includes providing survey support and consulting to dozens of Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing communities throughout Washington. She understands the challenges facing nurses and med
techs as they strive to keep up with changing regulations and new drug information. Over the past 16 years, Kristina has had the privilege of working in a variety of care settings. Whether putting herself through UW working as a lead caregiver in memory care, providing wound care for a home health agency, or her role as an assisted living coordinator, she continually strives to educate those around her and share her knowledge. Kristina is a huge supporter and advocate of LTC communities. She will reach out to DSHS field supervisors to clarify regulations and interpretations. She will scour through the small print in medication package inserts and call drug manufactures about providing demo drugs like inhalers. Most recently, Kristina attended Teepa Snow's Positive Approach training program and is now certified to teach Teepa's material and educate others on non-pharmacological interventions to challenging behaviors. She has been a member of WHCA for over five years and also serves on the Education Planning Advisory Group for LeadingAge WA. Steve Wilder has spent the past 30 years in safety, security, and risk management. He has provided consultation services to hundreds of clients, including government, education, manufacturing, retailing, healthcare, and industry. In his healthcare corporate career, Steve served as Hospital Director of Risk Management, as Director of Safety and Facility Management for a senior service agency with 15 facilities, and as Corporate Director of Safety and Security for a healthcare system with 10 hospitals and 15 long term care facilities. Steve is a founding member of the Emergency Management Alliance (EM Alliance). An experienced trial expert, Steve has consulted for law firms and insurance companies on issues of safety, security, risk management, aggression management, and workplace violence. He also has written numerous articles for magazines and trade journals. In addition to his career in safety, security, and risk management, Steve has also spent 35 years in the fire service, retiring in 2008 as Fire Chief in a suburban Chicago fire department. He is an Illinois certified paramedic, a certified fire science instructor, and he spent 25 years on the teaching staff for the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute and at Southern Illinois University. He has written two books and written, directed, and produced numerous videos on issues of safety and security, workplace violence, and occupational health.
All Winter Conference sessions will be held at the Hotel RL in Olympia. The Legislative Reception will be held at the Water Street Café and Bar. To register, click here!
