Kudos to the 25th Anniversary Symposium

"If you work in LTC, this conference is devoted 100% to LTC."

The quotation above reflects many of the comments of AMDA meeting participants. AMDA's 25th Anniversary Symposium, held in San Diego in March, was one of the strongest and best attended meetings so far with more than 1800 participants. Many attendees expressed satisfaction with the variety of topics to choose from, "This symposium provides a varied, informative, comprehensive and well-organized experience that you can customize to meet your own needs."

Friday's opening General Session provided a forum for leaders in long term care to highlight approaches to a better survey process. The panel was comprised of William "Larry" Minnix, President and CEO of American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), Charles "Chip" Roadman, MD, Executive Vice President of American Health Care Association (AHCA), and Carol Benner, representing the Association of Health Facility Survey Agencies.

Saturday, Morton Kondracke, 30-year veteran of journalism, presented his personal experience of caring for his wife with Parkinson's Disease and his activities and hopes toward increasing funding for research and clinical trials to advance a cure for the disease. Dennis Stone, MD, CMD, followed Mr. Kondracke's presentation with a review of recent and emerging regulatory and legislative activities related to long term care. He presented his views on what to expect in the coming year from regulatory bodies as well as from AMDA's work in the public policy arena. David R. Munoz, MD, MPH, CMD, emerged from this session with the observation, "It's the best forum for solidifying policy and response to issues in LTC."

"You will learn how to be a better clinician, a better administrator, and you will be motivated with the passion of a dedicated group of caring professionals," commented Paul E. Friedman MD, CMD, upon the conclusion of the symposium with the Sunday General Session. True to its traditions, AMDA's Sunday session ended on an inspirational note combining the personal lessons and motivational comments of videographer Deborah Hoffmann on the experience of caring for her mother with Alzheimer's Disease. "It is the only organization that addresses the issues LTC physicians have in our practices," said Vipul L. Shah, MD.

"You will take away concrete information that you can use immediately in your practice and share with your nursing facility," said Roger C. Schutt, DO.

Robert J. McConnell DO, CMD, and Michael L. Kondash DO, CMD, observed, "It is the only place that the mix between administrative and clinical medicine is available in one location."

These comments from symposium attendees reflected the wealth of practical information shared through 12 in-depth, pre-conference sessions, 17 clinically oriented workshops, 17 workshops on medical direction management issues, hospice and home care workshops, and a complete track on Pediatric Long Term Care that ran from Thursday through Saturday. Saturday Focus Sessions were expanded to six sessions in the morning and six in the afternoon to incorporate a repeating session on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to maintain AMDA's educational edge on presenting new regulatory information as it emerges.

In addition to workshops, focus sessions, and informal roundtable discussions, participants had an opportunity to celebrate 25 years of AMDA excellence in education through specially designed activities such as Memory Lane, which gave AMDA participants an opportunity to review 25 years of symposium growth and record their thoughts on a videotape that was shown at the President's Reception on Saturday night and Faces of Aging, a photographic display of the faces that inspire AMDA members' dedicated care.

Social events also provided opportunities for camaraderie, visiting with long-time friends, and meeting new ones. The Anniversary Celebration and President's Reception hosted a semi-formal event that honored AMDA leaders and reviewed AMDA's history. Award presentations were made at a variety of events and sessions to further emphasize the time and energy that AMDA's members dedicate to its programs and services.

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