EXECUTIVE PROGRAM
Skilled Nursing's North Star:
Quality. People. Purpose. Innovation.
As we stand at the edge of the largest increase in demand for senior care we’ll see in our lifetime, it’s skilled nursing’s moment to prove that we are an essential part of the healthcare continuum. But that won’t happen on its own. We have to focus on the things that truly drive our value. That’s the premise of this year’s theme: Skilled Nursing’s North Star: Quality. People. Purpose. Innovation. It’s the standard that should guide every decision we make, and the one we believe every great operator aspires to. And right now, the road ahead is ripe with opportunity. New technology. New care models. New payments. It’s time to let go of legacy mindsets and think differently about how we operate our business - and that starts at LTC 100. Quality, people, purpose and innovation must be our North Star. LTC 100 is where you’ll find your direction.
As Amazon CEO Andy Jassy famously said, “The time to reinvent is before you have to”. For the skilled nursing sector, these are prescient words. Covid is a distant memory; Medicaid rates have come up; census is strong; and business is good.
Managing Director Tim Craig makes the case that before we face another downward cycle in the healthcare economy, now is the time to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, what is the long play for skilled nursing? How can we become the high-acuity model that hospitals need us to be? How will we attract clinicians to a career in post-acute care? And how must we position ourselves as the valuable, sustainable and essential piece of the continuum we’ve always aspired to be?
But posing the questions is the easy part. Finding the answers will require a whole new level of conviction. We have to be proactive. We have to lean in. We have to stay hyper-focused on the elements of our business that will maximize our value.
LTC 100 has identified four elements that we believe will secure the sector’s position as a vital part of the healthcare system:
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Quality. It is the lifeblood of our existence and what everyone uses to judge us. Organizations that prioritize high clinical quality and outcomes will have better hospital partnerships payer contracts, retention and bottom lines.
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People. The impending caregiver shortage is healthcare’s existential challenge. A distinct strategic advantage will go to operators who can master the task of sourcing and nurturing great clinical talent.
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Purpose. There is a negative narrative about nursing homes that has been corrupted by lawyers, legislators and the media. We have to change that. When organizations step up and promote our positive impact on healthcare, we can collectively seize control of this narrative and improve our perception among all critical stakeholders.
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Innovation. AI is only as good as our ability to harness it. Operators that seize the opportunity to invest in AI assertively and responsibly will not only gain a market advantage but also help raise the sophistication of the sector.
In a healthcare landscape increasingly defined by acuity, talent, image, and technology, future success is not just a question of how we adapt to the surrounding market, but rather how we choose to position ourselves within it. With input from four highly-respected CEOs, we’ll frame out the strategic priorities for future success and discuss the merits and challenges of each, including: Building High-Acuity Capabilities; Nurturing Clinical Talent from Within; Educating External Stakeholders on the Value of SNFs; and Staying a Step Ahead in AI Adoption. This will serve as an opportunity for all LTC 100 attendees to benchmark their strategies against the most forward-thinking leaders in the sector.
Case studies from skilled nursing organizations that exemplify cutting-edge advancements in performance excellence – ranging from service expansion and workforce development to clinical coordination and value-based care delivery.
The nation’s largest skilled nursing operator will outline its “One Clinical” model of care coordination, in which shared accountability among nurses, therapists and physicians serves as the vehicle to drive improved outcomes – including the organization’s 4- and 5-star CMS quality ratings at 80% of its 418 skilled nursing operations.
This NY-based operator of comprehensive post acute services will share its unique partnership with renown cancer treatment center Memorial Sloan Kettering, highlighting integrated services and elevated care coordination, and offering a road map for how to manage highly fragile populations within a skilled nursing setting.
As the senior care division of the nation’s fifth largest not-for-profit health system, Ascension Living will offer an insider’s perspective on the creation of highly integrated acute/post acute relations, and how prioritizing capacity management, care transitions, and clinical complexity is a formula for becoming a health system’s indispensable partner.
What does it mean to be a “quality operator” and what level of investment does it take to get there? For most skilled nursing organizations, quality is often gauged by getting into a preferred provider network or securing a managed care contract. But that only gets you to “good”. What does it take to be great? We’ll make the case for investing heavily in clinical quality. Through economic examples and executive discussion, we’ll demonstrate how quality is a skilled nursing organization’s greatest strategic business asset – directly correlating to better growth, margin, workforce stability and market position. Participants will leave with a framework for identifying where investments in clinical quality generate measurable economic return and strengthen long-term enterprise value.
Fast-paced, efficient meetings (8 minutes each) that pair provider and partner executives for one-on-one introductions. Minimal time with maximum value! Our process is mutual and intentional, ensuring relevant and impactful conversations that uncover new ideas, solutions, and relationships. Meeting new solution partners is critical to staying ahead of what’s next, and the leaders you’ll meet at LTC 100 are among the most sophisticated in our sector.
Finding and keeping great talent is skilled nursing’s ultimate existential challenge. Which means it must be every operator’s top priority. And in a market defined by workforce headwinds – including an exodus of veteran nurses, unfavorable immigration conditions, and a woefully inadequate nursing-school pipeline – success requires digging deep, committing resources, and above all trying new things. LTC 100 has identified five strategies specifically designed to address out-of-the box solutions to the sourcing and nurturing of top SNF talent.
Case Studies Subject to Change
What’s the secret sauce to success for the hottest food chain in America? Here’s a clue; it’s not the secret sauce. Top leadership from Chik Fil-A will share how the company identities prospective franchisees “hard wired to serve”, how this strategy helps advance its goal of becoming “the world’s most caring company,” and how this vetting philosophy can be applied to attracting and identifying exceptional nursing home administrators.
A review of the practice and economics of hiring NPs to supplement (and in many cases replace) full-fledged physicians.
How the ease of crafting custom-coded AI software has led to a new frontier in SNF talent strategy: Hiring coders to build in-house AI solutions.
A deep dive into the data of turnover including what causes it and when; how to anticipate it; and intervention methods that correlate to higher retention.
An ROI review of one operator’s foray into hiring housecleaning robots.
