Fall Conference Programs
Keynote: Reclaiming Your Radical Clarity
Presenter: Kristi Huber
Time: Wednesday, October 7; 1:00 p.m.
Location: Golf Villa C/D
Program Description:
In today’s fast-paced world, high achieving professionals often look successful on paper while quietly wrestling with questions of direction, fulfillment, and alignment. In this keynote, Kristi introduces the Radical Clarity Compass, a practical and transformative tool designed to help leaders pause, realign with their voice, vision, and values, and vitality to create sustainable impact.
Through vulnerable storytelling, actionable insights, and humor, Kristi equips your audience to:
• Recognize and prevent Leadership Drift before it leads to burnout or disengagement.
• Use the Radical Clarity Compass to make intentional career and leadership choices.
• Redefine success through alignment, authenticity, and impact.
This keynote is high-energy, engaging, and designed to leave your audience inspired and equipped with practical next steps.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this keynote, participants will:
- Understand the hidden costs of Leadership Drift.
- Learn a practical framework Radical Clarity Compass to recalibrate career and leadership alignment.
- Walk away with clarity-driven strategies they can apply immediately to decisions, leadership presence, and career growth.
Ask the Experts: Legal, Clinical, and Operational Perspectives for Nurse Leaders
Presenters: Dr. Kari Everson and Rob Rodè
Time: Wednesday, October 7; 2:15 p.m.
Location: Golf Villa C/D
Program Description:
This interactive session pairs an attorney with an RN/administrator to answer questions submitted by the audience both in advance and live during the session. Rather than a fixed lecture, the format allows nurse leaders to raise the real issues they are navigating in their own organizations, whether related to documentation and liability, staffing and delegation decisions, licensure and disciplinary concerns, incident reporting, or the operational side of translating legal and regulatory requirements into day-to-day practice. Presenting these questions to both a legal and a clinical/administrative perspective side by side allows participants to see where the two views align, where they are unique, and how experienced leaders implement actions to address them. Attendees are encouraged to submit questions ahead of time to help shape the discussion, with additional time reserved for questions from the floor.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify legal, clinical, and regulatory risk areas most relevant to the RN leadership role.
- Apply expert guidance to real scenarios raised by the audience.
- Evaluate practical strategies for reducing exposure within the nurses’ own scope of leadership.
- Formulate follow-up questions or action items to bring back to their organizations based on the panel's discussion.
Drug Diversion in Long-Term-Care Settings: Recognizing the Signs, Reducing the Risk, Protecting Residents
Presenters: TBD
Time: Thursday, October 8; 8:30-9:45 a.m.
Location: Golf Villa C/D
Learning Objectives:
- Explain what drug diversion is and how it occurs in long-term-care.
- Identify common signs of possible drug diversion.
- Describe ways to prevent and detect drug diversion.
FY 2027 MDS Updates: Regulatory Changes, Accurate Coding, and Minnesota Case Mix Compliance
Presenter: Colleen Toebe, MSN, CWCN, RAC-MTA, RAC-MT, DNS MT; VP of Clinical Services, Pathway Health
Time: Thursday, October 8; 11:15 a.m.
Location: Anderson Room - Town Hall Conference Center Lower Level
Program Description:
Accurate MDS coding, supporting clinical documentation, timely assessment completion, and understanding how resident characteristics affect PDPM classification are increasingly important for both compliance and reimbursement. The course will also examine how the Minnesota Department of Health Case Mix Review Program validates MDS information used to determine resident case-mix classifications and nursing-facility payment rates.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss the importance of MDS coding and documentation practices that support resident assessment findings, regulatory compliance, quality reporting, and appropriate reimbursement.
- Describe the Director of Nursing’s role in using the MDS in preparation for the annual survey.
- Review common MDS coding areas of concern and identify strategies to prepare for case-mix reviews, validate supporting documentation, address coding discrepancies, and reduce the risk of classification or reimbursement adjustments.
Mastering Med Administration: Navigating Survey Trends and Clinical Oversight in Assisted Living Settings
Presenter: Nicole Barnett, Guardian Pharmacy
Time: Thursday, October 8; 11:15 a.m.
Location: Pilsbury Room - Tower Hall Conference Center Lower Level
Program Description:
With a focus on streamlining medication management within Minnesota's assisted living regulatory standards, results from recent MDH AL surveys were reviewed to highlight common citation areas including medication administration and documentation. Attendees will gain practical tools to reduce medication errors, optimize clinical oversight, and drive survey readiness.
Learning Objectives:
- Analyze key findings and citation trends from MN assisted living survey results with special focus on medication administration
- Identify practical routines to minimize administration errors within your assisted living facility
- Integrate proactive compliance strategies to align medication management with Minnesota's AL regulatory standards
Guardians, Conservators and Alternative Decision Makers – Who They Are, Who They Aren’t and What’s Needed to Get Them
Presenters: Dr. Kari Everson and Rob Rodè
Time: Thursday, October 8; 2:00 p.m.
Location: Golf Villa C/D
Program Description:
What do you do when your client needs to make important decisions and they cannot, and do not have anyone else to legally speak for them? What do you do when your client’s family and friends believe they have decision making authority, and they do not? In this session Robert Rodè, Esq. and Dr. Kari Everson will discuss the options for alternative decision makers in MN, when and where they apply and the legal processes and necessary clinical support needed to obtain the same including guardians and conservators all while balancing and promoting your client’s autonomy, dignity, health and psychosocial well-being.
Learning Objectives:
- Know the multiple possible decision-making authorities that arise in the provision of healthcare and residential services.
- Discern which authorities apply to various situations.
- Understand what is needed to obtain alternative decision makers; specifically, guardians, conservators, attorneys-in-fact under power of attorney and health care agents.
QAPI in Action: Leading Effective Performance Improvement Projects
Presenters: Julie Apold, Vice President of Quality, LeadingAge Minnesota and Sandra Delgehausen, Owner and Operator, SD Quality Consulting, LLC
Time: Friday, October 9; 9:00 a.m.
Location: Golf Villa C/D
Program Description:
Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) is more than a regulatory requirement—it is a framework for identifying problems, improving systems, and achieving better resident outcomes. In this practical one-hour session, participants will strengthen their understanding of QAPI and learn how to move from identifying an opportunity for improvement to successfully planning, implementing, monitoring, and sustaining a Performance Improvement Project (PIP). Participants will explore strategies to create a culture of continuous improvement, selecting meaningful PIP topics, engaging the right team members, use data and improvement tools, and integrating QAPI into everyday operations.
MDH and the Role of Nurse Leaders in Assisted Living
Presenter: Kelly Thorson, RN, State Evaluations Supervisor | Health Regulations Division, Minnesota Department of Health
Time: Friday, October 9; 10:30 a.m.
Location: Pilsbury Room - Town Hall Conference Center Lower Level
Learning Objectives:
Learn about the assisted living survey process, including:
- What areas of Minnesota statutes, rules, and codes apply to assisted living facilities,
- How to be well-prepared for survey,
- The top 10 most common correction orders and tips on how to be in compliance in those areas, and
- Resources for assisted living nurses
Incident Reporting: Identifying Reportable and Non-Reportable Incidents
Presenters: Shannon Gilb, Regional Operations Manager, Health Regulation Division, MN Department of Health; Lyla Burkman, RN, Federal Triage Supervisor, MN Department of Health
Time: Friday, October 9; 10:30 a.m.
Location: Anderson Room - Town Hall Conference Center Lower Level
Program Description:
This presentation provides an overview of how to identify reportable and non-reportable incidents in a nursing home setting. We will review key criteria used to determine when an incident requires reporting. The goal is to promote consistent decision-making, collaboration between the facility and MDH, and to ensure adherence to regulatory guidelines.
Learning Objectives:
- Discuss commonly cited deficiencies
- Review Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) deficiencies issued in the last year
- Analyze trends in IJ level citations and root cause analysis
- Understand the complaint and incident triage process
- Learn about reporting requirements