The 2011 LINK conference kicked off yesterday with the arrival of nearly 500 long term care providers and suppliers to the Swissôtel in Chicago.

The program opened with a general session that gave attendees an update on the national political landscape and the implications for healthcare reform, provider payments and future planning. Panelists agreed that the immediate challenges to providers will be the upcoming release of the skilled nursing facility payment rates as well as the ongoing wrangling over the debt ceiling — and whether lawmakers will cut provider payments in any eventual agreement.

“Given the uncertainties in Washington, providers should take a close look at their markets to see what is needed and develop creative solutions to meet those needs,” said Katherine McCarthy, Senior Health Care Consultant for LarsonAllen LLP. “Creativity is a must.” She encouraged providers to share innovative stories about how they’ve handled health care reform with one another throughout the three-day LINK conference.

Following the opening session, attendees broke down into smaller focus groups to discuss ways to innovate in specific areas:

Today attendees launch into the meeting portion of the LINK conference. Providers will begin meeting with suppliers in consultative 40-minute sessions. Suppliers were prepped on the provider’s objectives before the meeting and will share best practices and solutions tailored to the provider’s individual needs.

Also on the schedule are Speed Meetings, which allow providers and suppliers to meet in an efficient, rapid-fire format over the course of an hour.

At lunch, ten operators will be honored with LINK’s inaugural Spirit of Innovation award, which recognizes their innovation, dedication to continuous improvement, development of best practices, and commitment to the success of the long term care industry. The award-winners will be presenting their innovations during Best Practice Case Studies later in the day.

LTC LINK is pleased to announce the winners of its inaugural Spirit of Innovation Award:

These companies are being recognized for their innovation, dedication to continuous improvement, development of best practices, and commitment to the success of the long term care industry.

“The goal of the Spirit of Innovation Award is to help advance business productivity and foster innovation in long term care. These winners have not only developed unusually successful business initiatives but have also demonstrated a willingness to share their great ideas with others in support of this mission,” said Scott Brown, Vice President and Conference Director for LINK.

Winners were selected based on the level of innovation, business impact and feasibility and will present a case study to their long term care peers at the 2011 LINK event this July 25–27 at the Swissôtel Chicago.

Winning innovations represent a variety of business areas: Reducing Turnover & Enhancing Retention; Reinventing Clinical Processes; Leveraging Social Media to Boost Occupancy; Optimizing Medicare Reimbursement; Driving Census & Occupancy: Niche Marketing; Interoperable EMR: Collaboration & Efficiency; Taking a Black Belt to Process Improvement; Using Technology to Build Stronger Relationships with Residents & Families; Partnering with Hospitals; and Resident Centered Design.

LINK is a marketplace of best practices for long term care providers. With a combination of peer-to-peer education, networking and consultative meetings, it is an incredibly efficient venue for senior care executives to learn best practices that drive profitability, quality and growth.

LINK is exclusively for senior-level health care executive teams from long term care organizations with revenue over $30M.

Lincoln Healthcare Events is an independent organizer of executive leadership communities in health care. We strive to positively impact the quality and effectiveness of the U.S. health care system by delivering the single most valuable conference and community of health care executives in each of the sectors we serve. Our conferences offer senior-level executives highly focused venues for understanding strategic trends, sharing best practices and building relationships. Our current conference portfolio includes: LTC 100, LTC LINK, Home Care 100, HCap Healthcare & Capital Conference, and Community Hospital 100. www.lincolnhc.com.

Over 100 high-quality and innovative suppliers in long term care and senior living are participating in the 7th annual LINK event this July. Providers who are concerned about increasing revenue, cutting costs and improving quality choose from this extensive lineup to hold consultative meetings with suppliers’ top management.

At LINK, providers dive into productive discussions with suppliers on how to strategically advance their business objectives, get tailored solutions, learn best practices from across suppliers’ client bases, preview innovative products and services, and quickly compare alternative suppliers.

In addition to supplier meetings, LINK offers 19 educational sessions, including case studies from the 10 LINK Spirit of Innovation Award winners, and peer-to-peer networking to create an immersive experience that generates actionable business improvement ideas.

Attendance is complimentary as are a complimentary meeting suite and hotel accommodations for three executives. For more information please contact Cynthia Montano at (203) 644-1723 or cmontano@lincolnhc.com

Lincoln Healthcare today announced the educational program for the 7th Annual LINK Conference which will bring together senior care executive teams for an immersive experience of educational sessions, networking, and consultative supplier meetings that generate actionable business improvement ideas.

The program will be held July 25–27 at the Swissôtel in Chicago and is exclusively for provider organizations with revenue over $30M. Attendance and hotel accommodations are complimentary.

“This is an excellent conference. We have attended LINK for five years and yet we still find new vendors to meet with as well as new and interesting discussions regarding innovations in our industry. This conference really helps us to position our company strategically for the coming years,” said Troy Baumann, President of Community Eldercare Services.

Over 100 high-quality suppliers are participating in LINK, including 30 first-time attendees. LINK suppliers represent 35 product/service categories, with participation from industry leaders as well as innovative, emerging companies.