Lt. Gov. Ralph Northram and VHCA-VCAL Chairman Vernon Baker

Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam kicked off the VHCA-VCAL Legislative Conference by sharing his family’s recent experience to find long term care (LTC) services for his 92-year old father. Lt. Gov. Northam called upon on VHCA-VCAL to be the resource for families to learn how to navigate the system and determine their covered benefits. He also emphasized the role nursing and assisted living centers can play in ensuring that individuals have advance directives in place to know what types of care people want.

Secretary of Health and Human Resources William A. Hazel Jr., MD also gave participants a charge: as experts in LTC, he urged members to step up with innovations to improve LTC delivery. Sec. Hazel also discussed the need to build community capacity to address the need for additional geropsychiatric care across the Commonwealth. Sec. Hazel acknowledged the work the association did in the months leading up to the General Assembly session to prepare for the policy discussions on certificate of public need and to educate decision makers on the need to improve Medicaid reimbursement rates. VHCA-VCAL President and CEO Keith Hare thanked Sec. Hazel for his leadership in these areas, and particularly for his efforts to ensure the governor’s budget included an inflation increase for nursing facility care.

Dr. Karen Rheuban of the University of Virginia, a nationally recognized expert in telemedicine, talked about the value and benefits of telemedicine. Suzanne Gore and Tammy Whitlock provided extensive updates on the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) initiatives related to Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports and the state’s application for a CMS waiver for the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program. VHCA-VCAL’s Steve Ford also provided members with information on how these program might affect their centers.

American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) staff Chris Donnellan and Lindsay Schwartz updated attendees on forthcoming legislative and regulatory developments coming out of Washington, as well as how to measure quality and participate in the National Quality Awards program.

Take a look at our photo album of the Legislative Conference on Facebook. If you have additional photos, please share them with us! (Don’t forget to Like Virginia Health Care Association-Virginia Center for Assisted Living, too!) Thank you to those members who have already shared their photos with us.

Lastly, we would like to thank our sponsors who helped make the conference a success. VHCA-VCAL appreciates your support of the association:

Wednesday Morning Continental Breakfast
Hancock, Daniel, Johnson & Nagle, P.C.
Remedi SeniorCare Pharmacy

Wednesday Lunch
Omnicare, Inc.
United Healthcare

Wednesday Afternoon Refreshment Break
Healthcare Services Group, Inc.
Lancaster Pollard

Thursday Morning Breakfast
Dynamic Mobile Imaging

Legislative Conference Notebooks
Mellette PC
Walker-Phillips Healthcare Consulting