I was greatly honored to represent Axxess at the 2018 annual National Association for Home Care and Hospice Conference – NAHC as a member of the super creative team and as a business development executive of the ‘award winning’ south region team. As I arrived the venue and on sighting our booth #802, my eyes glowed with pride. I felt humbled to be involved in the delivery of an excellently planned event.
The leadership of NAHC shared a lot of valuable insight into their plans for the upcoming year and the changes that are looming over home healthcare. NAHC President Bill Dombi spoke to the crowd in a general session about the work the organization has done to support the industry, including saving, by their estimate, $29 billion over the next decade through various policy victories. During one of Axxess’ boothside chats, Dombi shared that NAHC plans to take a more active role in grassroots advocacy. The organization is looking to hire a person full-time to lobby on behalf of its members. This is something to watch as home health organizations prepare for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and the Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) changes on the horizon.
Networking
Nearly a thousand people attended the conference near Dallas, which made it very easy to meet new people. The conference offered a lot of opportunities to network and connect with home healthcare professionals from all over the country. These proved to be an excellent way to bounce ideas off someone else or get a fresh perspective on a problem. NAHC set up the event to include receptions and meals where a first-timer could meet someone new. Exhibitors like Axxess even hosted a party on the second day of the conference to let people connect to each other in a less formal setting.
Learning
Working in home health, home care, and hospice comes with a lot of changing regulations, new business practices and management challenges. As part of the conference, there were several dozen education sessions to share the latest information on regulatory updates, best practices, and new approaches to familiar problems in our industry. These sessions also provide continuing education credit. As a presenter in two sessions, I saw first-hand the hunger for knowledge from the audience. The education sessions offer a chance to interact with the presenters and truly understand how to use the information after the conference.
New Relationships
The conference is not the only part of this annual gathering. There is also an expo that happened over the course of three days. Nearly 200 companies set up exhibitor booths to meet the attendees and share ideas to grow their business. Axxess had an impressive set up that helped the team welcome in many people looking for solutions that are easy to use and compliant with regulatory standards. The expo created the perfect opportunity for attendees to find new ways to run their business, increase their revenue, and simplify their scheduling challenges.
Axxess also debuted the new Axxess Hospice software, which will be available in the coming months. It has been built for hospice professionals by hospice experts to be the ultimate intuitive solution for every size hospice organization. The engineering and hospice clinical team have built a software that will ensure compliance and maximize efficiency so that clients can focus on providing compassionate care. To learn more about Axxess Hospice, click here.
Axxess looked and stood out like a billion dollars. Team members doted the entire space adhering to the dress code. The jumbo screens towered above the entire space while attracting envious gazes from other attendees. A few were honest enough to complement our intimidating and bold presence.
As a member of the creative team and armed with schedules, we ensured the coverage of all aspects of the conference both on film and images, to fulfill our role as a creative sponsor for NAHC.
The ‘party in the end zone’ was clearly a game changer. It was a remarkable ‘touchdown’ and I just cannot phantom what we would do next year. I particularly enjoyed the interview with Emmitt Smith. Well, what happened on the dance floor, stays on the dance floor…
Congratulations to everyone involved in the planning and execution while ensuring that Axxess remains the ‘authentic leader’.
Event: National Association for Home Care and Hospice Conference 2018 – NAHC
Theme: Authentic leadership
Date: 7 – 9 October 2018
Venue: The Gaylord Texan, Grapevine, Texas
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