THCA Notes
Volume XXXI, Number 10
October 2016
“Create Your Personal Convention Itinerary!”
– Provided by your THCA Region Chairs
Region Chairs would like to ensure you have as much information to help you prepare for YOUR upcoming Convention & Trade Show, “THCA 66th Annual Convention & Trade Show”. Prepare and plan a successful personal itinerary at our host hotel, the Grand Hyatt San Antonio!
- Provider Attendee Registration Site
(THCA Discount Housing information provided when registration has been submitted) - Convention Schedule & Session Descriptions: Make note of the sessions you are most interested in and place on your personal itinerary. We have another great lineup so review thoroughly.
- Ensure these items are on your personal itinerary:
- Monday Night: Welcome Reception, 7:00 – 8:30pm – A great place to re-connect with colleagues and make new friends!
- Tuesday Morning: THCA Administrators Council Breakfast, 7-8:15am – breakfast with your fellow THCA Member Nursing and Assisted Living Administrators. Guest Speaker Tam Cummings, PhD will provide insight into innovative Dementia care strategies relevant to Administrators and Assisted Living Mangers. Note: Presentation provides 1 hour CE credit.
- Tuesday Morning: Keynote Address “Sprinkles – Simple Yet Powerful Ideas to Deliver Innovative Service”, 8:30–10:30am
- Tuesday Afternoon: THCA House of Delegates Meeting, 1:30–4:00pm – All Voting Delegates should attend (Be sure to have your Delegate credentials for access to the Delegates seating); Award Presentations of Administrator of the Year; Ombudsman of the Year; Public Information & Education (PIE) Media Relations and PIE Community Education; and C.N.A. of the Year Recognitions.
- Tuesday Afternoon: Trade Show, 4-7pm – Business Members share their latest and greatest services & products to help you operate your facility as effectively as possible. Bring plenty of business cards to participate in Tuesday’s Exhibitor Drawings!
- Tuesday Night: THCA Fun Night: “Casino Roy’All”, 7-10pm – Live Music by “Finding Friday” and Casino Style Gaming! Win Prizes provided by our Fabulous Exhibitors!
- Wednesday Morning, General Session, “Don’t Just Exceed Expectations, DEFY them!” 8:00-10am
- Wednesday Afternoon: Trade Show, 3:00-5:00pm – Business Members share their latest and greatest services & products to help you operate your facility as effectively as possible. Bring more business cards to participate in Wednesday’s Exhibitor Drawings! In celebration of Nurses Day at convention, there will be a special drawing, “Giving to Those Who Give” for a Money Tree filled with gift cards provided by our business members for one of our wonderful nurses in LTC to win!
- Thursday Morning: Closing Keynote, “Engaging Employees by Zapping the Generation Gap!” 8:00–10:00am
Please plan to visit with your Region Chairs at the THCA Region Chairs/PAC Booth in the Trade Show on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. We will have some wonderful Silent Auction & Drawings going on to raise dollars for our very important PAC!
Rest up before heading to San Antonio and pack super comfortable shoes because we have a great convention planned for you!
Have You Heard about the, “Don’t Let a Lawyer Be Your Doctor” campaign?
It is impossible to avoid. Everywhere we look, we see personal injury lawyers offering medical opinions in an effort to lure in clients for their personal financial gain.
Personal injury lawyers regularly spend more than $75 million each month on national television and cable advertising – and even more in local markets like Texas. These ads bombard patients and consumers with misleading “get rich quick” bait, often using fear as a tool to further persuade their targets. In a recent survey, 82 percent of Texas physicians agreed that advertisements from plaintiffs’ attorneys about medical lawsuits can lead to patients not taking their medicines as prescribed.
Not only are the ads misleading, the medical misinformation these personal injury lawyers peddle to the public can steer sick people away from the much-needed medicine their doctors have prescribed. We have seen an increasing trend of patients who stop taking the necessary medications their licensed and experienced doctor has prescribed them. In fact, in the same survey, 3 out of 10 doctors had read or heard about a situation in which a patient suffered a negative health outcome or was put at risk because of lawyer advertising. Personal injury lawyers have taken advantage of their vulnerability to make these patients trust them instead of listening to their doctor.
Patients’ health and wellness is a number one concern. We all need to help educate our patients on the real issue at hand: don’t let a lawyer be your doctor.
We have the responsibility to do everything we can for our community’s health and wellness, and that begins with education. Here are three things you can do right now to help:
- Print copies of this fact sheet to share with those in and outside your centers.
- Download a social media graphic and share it with your staff, residents, and others on Facebook.
- Join Sick of Lawsuits online to help promote the message.
For more information, please visit the Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse (TALA) website.
Messages from Your Region Chairs:
THCA Region 2 Elects New Region Chair!
Michael Perkins, Administrator at Pebble Creek Nursing Center in El Paso, was elected to represent THCA members in our Region! Special thanks to THCA Associate Business Member, Healthcare Services Group for sponsoring the networking & election luncheon.
Please feel free to welcome Michael and offer your support to help him rebuild the region mperkins@bartletthealth.com
THCA Region 3 (San Antonio and surrounding):
Members in Region 3 would like to thank Robert Marriott, MD with THCA Business Member, Advantage Wound Care, for presenting at our September region meeting. If you are not currently receiving meeting notices for this region and would to, please e-mail your request to THCA Region 3 Chair, Raul Espinosa, Jr. at: respinosa@swltc.com
THCA Region 4 (North East Texas)
THCA Region 4 would like to thank THCA Associate Business Member Nutritious Lifestyles for providing our presentation/speaker at our September Region Meeting! If you are not currently receiving meeting notices for this region and would to, please e-mail your request to THCA Region 4 Chair, Julie Wyatt at jwyatt@swltc.com
THCA Region 5:
Our Region 5 Chair will be stepping down at the end of this month, so we are seeking candidates to replace him. If you are interested, please contact Gina Muniz at gmuniz@txhca.org; (512) 458.1257.
THCA Regions 8 & 9 (Dallas/Ft. Worth & surrounding):
THCA Region 8 & 9 would like to thank THCA Associate Business Member, J-Meds for sponsoring our meal at the September joint region meeting; and Nutritious Lifestyles for providing a wonderful presentation (Thanks Jeannette!). Remember, we are re-building our region meeting distribution list so please contact Toni Felts at tfelts@metrostat.us with your current company e-mail address to ensure you continue/begin to receive meeting notice & reminders.
President’s Report
Legislative Update
Commitment to Care
State / THCA News
National / AHCA News
Education
- Stop Talking About Work/Life Balance! TEQ and the Millennial Generation
By Meagan Johnson
Announcements & Recognition
THCA Associate Business Member News
THCA Region News
- THCA Region News – October 2016