Meet the Speakers

Click here to learn more about our AHCA Joint Training for ALFs Speakers.

8:00 to 8:30 a.m.

Welcome

8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Session #1

Regulatory Updates

Speaker: Donah Heiberg, Chief of Field Operations, Agency for Health Care Administration

Understanding and implementing the latest regulatory requirements is key to an assisted living facility’s success. Attendees will hear directly from the Agency for Health Care Administration on the top 10 deficiencies and recent regulatory changes and learn how to identify the strategies for success when it comes to improving and ensuring quality. How can you avoid one of these deficiencies? If you're already facing one of these issues in your facility, what can you do to improve and grow? This session will walk attendees through these questions to prepare for a successful survey.
 

9:30 to 9:45 a.m.

Break

9:45 to 10:45 a.m.

Session #2

Adverse Incident Reporting

Speaker: Anne Sosiak, Registered Nurse Consultant, Agency for Health Care Administration

There’s much to consider when it comes to reporting an adverse incident. Not all allegations of abuse and or neglect meet the definition of an Adverse Incident, but all Adverse Incidents should be considered possible abuse or neglect and reported appropriately to the Department of Children and Families, also referred to as Adult Protective Services (APS). This session will offer insight into the adverse incident reporting processes that will improve provider compliance. 

10:45 to 11:45 a.m.

Session #3

Providing Safe and Effective Memory Care

Speaker: Dawn Platt, National Director of Memory Care Programs, Discovery Senior Living

Caring for residents with memory complications requires competent, compassionate staff. How do you determine the appropriate treatment that accurately meets the resident’s highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being? How do you prevent elopements and ensure resident safety? This session will offer providers an overview of best practices for caring for residents with declining memory function and ensuring that your facility is a safe environment for these admissions.

11:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Break

12:00 to 12:30 p.m.

Session #4

Infection Control: Breakthrough the Outbreak

Speaker: A.C. Burke, VP of Healthcare Quality, RB Health Partners, Inc.

Many pathogens can survive for extended periods of time in the environment, and understanding what to look for on product labels can help you choose the best product for your facility. Proper cleaning and disinfection of the environment is key to helping to stop the transmission of pathogens and protecting your residents from infection. This session will discuss how infections are transmitted and what your facility can do to break the chain of infection, particularly when faced with an outbreak.
 

12:30 to 1:00 p.m.

Session #5

Updates from Florida’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program

Speaker: Terri Cantrell, State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Florida Department of Elder Affairs

The role of an ombudsman is to advocate for residents. The ombudsman program ensures that residents and their families have a mediator and advocate in their corner. In this session, attendees will be introduced to Terri Cantrell, the new State LTC Ombudsman in Florida, who will share her mission and vision for the ombudsman program and the type of partnership that can be fostered between local ombudsmen and their long term care facilities to create better care outcomes for Florida’s residents in long term care.
 

1:00 to 1:30 p.m.

Session #6

Updates from AHCA’s Background Screening Unit

Speaker: Taylor Haddock, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Agency for Health Care Administration

This session will provide an overview of upcoming updates to the Background Screening Clearinghouse and how to navigate the updated system. Additionally, attendees will hear an overview of daily operations in the Background Screening Unit to offer insight into the process of eligibility, application review and evaluation, notable updates from the field, and best practices for providers to consider.
 

1:30 to 2:00 p.m.

Session #7

Ask the Agency

Speakers: Kim Smoak, Deputy Secretary/State Survey Agency Director, Donah Heiberg, Chief of Field Operations, and Anne Sosiak, Registered Nurse Consultant, all with Agency for Health Care Administration

This Q&A session with the Agency for Health Care Administration is designed for attendees to have their anonymous questions and concerns answered by AHCA representatives. Registered attendees will be provided with a survey link in advance of the program to submit their questions anonymously to AHCA representatives who will review the questions and respond live during the session.  

Please click here to submit our questions for the Ask the Agency session.