Agenda/Keynotes - 2026 NADONA National Conference

This program will cover the relationship the Nurse Leader has with the Administrator and how to communicate within the partnership. Nursing department budgets will be discussed and hands on practice of developing a staffing model used in budgeting. This program will also cover how the facility is reimbursed and the role of the Nurse Leader in QAPI and survey. It outlines the responsibilities of the DON role. This course will prepare the Nurse Leader to take the CDONA board certification exam as well as introduce and refresh nurse leaders in all of these topics. Completion of this course results in 8 contact hours.

8:00 am - 9:00 am - Attendee Breakfast

9:00 am - 10:00 am - Welcome & Awards

10:00 am - 11:00 am - Keynote: Liar Liar Pants on Fire: Finding the Truth for Excellence in Healthcare Leadership - Traci Brown

11:00 am - 11:15 am - Break

11:15 am - 12:15 pm - Leadership Tract - Compassion as a Catalyst: Empowering Nursing Teams to Disrupt and Transform Long-Term Care Work Environments and Resident Outcomes Across Micro, Meso, and Macro Levels - Mary Anthony, PhD, RN, FAAN
11:15 am - 12:15 am - IP Tract - Components of an Infection Control Program - Shelley Bhola, RN, GERO-BC, BSN, PHN, MSN, CIC

12:45 pm - 1:45 pm - Lunch Product Theater - Tardive Dyskinesia in Long-Term Care: Understanding Its Impact and an Effective Treatment Option - Jennifer Lee Mondillo, PhD, MBA, MSN, ANP-BCS - Sponsored by Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.

2:15 pm - 3:15 pm - Leadership Tract -Preparing for Survey Success: Compliance Strategies That Work - Megan Green, BSN, RN, Mark Mitchener, MSN, RN
2:15 pm - 3:15 pm - IP Tract - The War Against Wound Infections: An IP's Combat Plan for Wound Healing - Cristie Satterfield, RN, IP-BC, WCC, PAC CDE/L

3:15 pm - 3:30 pm - Break

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm - Leadership Tract - Transitioning Bowel Care: Strategies and Success Measures for Long-Term Care - Melissa Purvis, RN, MSN, NHA, GERO-BC, Jamy Vonberg, RN
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm - IP Tract - Cleaning & Disinfection in LTC - Charmarie Adkins, MSN, RN, CIC

4:45 pm - 5:45 pm - Leadership Tract - Conversations That Count: The MDS Frontier — Coding and Best Practices for Interview Sections C, D, F, and J - Alicia Cantinieri, MBA, BSN, RN, CHC, RAC-MT, RAC-CTA, DNS-CT, QC
4:45 pm - 5:45 pm - IP Tract - TB Preparedness in LTC:A Step-By-Step Approach - Jennifer Brown, BSN, RN, CIC

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm - First Night Reception

7:00 am - 8:00 am - Breakfast Product Theater - Being Mindful of Movements: Tackling Tardive Dyskinesia in Long-Term Care - Benedetto Palombo, PMHNP-BC - Sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

8:15 am - 9:15 am - Keynote: Liar Liar Pants on Fire Deep Dive - Traci Brown

9:30 am - 10:30 am - Leadership Tract - Reducing Antipsychotic Medication Usage with the CARES Dementia 5-Step Method - John Hobday, MA
9:30 am - 10:30 am - IP Tract - The Progression of a Bacteria to Multidrug Resistant Organism (MDRO) and the Impact - Melanie Ronda, MSN, RN, LTC-CIP, CPHQ

9:30 am - 11:00 am - NEC Meeting (By invitation only)

10:35 am - 11:35 am - Leadership Tract -How to Get a Stressed-out, Burned-out DON to Their Happy Place - Gary Sprouse, MD
10:35 am - 11:35 am - IP Tract- IP Committee Meeting

11:45 am - 12:45 pm - Lunch Product Theater - AUVELITY for the Treatment of Agitation Associated with Dementia due to Alzheimer’s Disease: Congress Presentation for Long-Term Care - Amber Hoberg, MSN APRN PMHNP-BC and Robin Arnicar, RN, FACDONA, IP-BC - Supported by Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.

1:00 pm - 3:30 pm - Exhibits

3:45 pm - 4:45 pm - Leadership Tract - Impacting Care for Heart Failure Patients: Implementation and Validation of a Standardized Disease Specific Program - Stephen Dentel, BSN, RN, CPHQ, Joseph Shega, MD
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm - IP Tract - After The Outbreak….What’s Next? - Lynne Harris, BSN, RN

7:15 am - 8:15 am - Breakfast Product Theater - Patient Case Studies for the Pharmacological Management of Overactive Bladder - Diane K. Newman, DNP, ANP-BC, FAAN, BCB-PMD, FAUNA - Supported by Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc.

8:30 am - 9:30 am - CLC Meeting (By invitation only)

8:45 am - 9:45 am - Leadership Tract - Don’t Get Tripped Up! Leverage Live AI-Driven Data to Inform Quality Improvement Strategies and Prevent Falls - MaryPat Carhart, MHA, BSN, RN, Michele Self, MA, CCC SLP, CMAC
8:45 am - 9:45 am - IP Tract - Top Ten IP Deficiencies - Melanie Ronda, MSN, RN, LTC-CIP, CPHQ

10:00 am - 12:30 pm - Exhibits

12:45 pm - 2:15 pm - Awards Luncheon

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm - Leadership Tract - Reducing Falls in Parkinson's Disease - Joan Gardner, RN, BSN, Rose Wichmann, PT/RN, BSN
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm - IP Tract - Transmission-Based Precautions - Shelley Bhola, RN, GERO-BC, BSN, PHN, MSN, CIC

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm - TXADONA Chapter Meeting (By invitation only)

3:30 pm - 3:45 pm - Break

3:45 pm - 4:45 pm - Leadership Tract - So, You Say You Want To Be a Legal Nurse Consultant? - Gina D’Angelo, RN, BSN, MBA, NHA, RAC-CT, DNS-CT, QCP-CT
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm - IP Tract - Measles in LTC - ToniAnn Ravalli, MSN-ED, BSN, AAS, RN

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm - IP Tract - Skin Health & Wound Management: 10 Clinical Standards to Maximize Outcomes & Mitigate Risks - Jeanine Maguire, PHD, MA, MPT, CWS, FCPP

5:15 pm - 6:15 pm - Leadership Tract - From Agitation to Engagement: Person-Centered Strategies to Reduce BPSD, Burnout and Costs in Nursing Homes - Smita Varshney, MD

7:30 am - 8:30 am - Leadership Tract -CMS Policy Oversight Update - Evan Shulman

8:45 am - 9:45 am - Leadership Tract - Manual Mania - Melanie Tribe-Scott, RN, BSN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, DNS-CT, QCP, CDONA
8:45 am - 9:45 am - IP Tract - Performing Wound Care Safely: Infection Control Essentials - Candice Miller, RN, WCC, LNHA

8:45 am - 10:00 am - Evan Shulman Round Table (By invitation only)

9:45 am - 10:00 am - Break

10:00 am - 11:00 am - Leadership Tract - Who Wants to Avoid Participating in the Top 10 List of Survey Citations? - Barbara Bates, RN, MSN, RAC-CT, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, Linda Winston, RN, MSN, BS, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA
10:00 am - 11:00 am - IP Tract - Tracking & Trending: What Does it Mean? - Kelly Deron-Dolby, BSN, RN, LNHA, IP-CO, LT-CIP

11:15 am - 12:15 pm - Leadership Tract - Serving Those Who Served: Strategies for Veteran Care in SNF/LTC - Niki Wheeler, RN, BSN
11:15 am - 12:15 pm - IP Tract - Systems of Prevention: Where Maintenance and Infection Control Intersect - Colin Endres-Bercher

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm - Leadership Tract -You Can’t Split Yourself in Two: Complexities and Real-World Challenges as Director of Nursing and Infection Preventionist - Heather Jones, DNP, NP-C

1:45 pm - 2:45 pm - Closing Keynote: LAUGHTER is the Best Medicine Even as You AGE! - Jacqueline Vance, RNC, BSN, CDONA/LTC, FADONA, IP-BC, CDP, CWCN, LBBP

2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Concluding Remarks

TIME Magazine has named Traci one of the nation’s top deception detection experts. She’s learned that recognizing secrets hidden in plain sight leads to victory. Every. Single. Time. Her customizable keynotes & trainings equip organizations to better inform their most critical decisions to build profits:
Sales, Hiring, Negotiations, Investigations and Fraud Prevention. Plan on fun
and high energy.

Ms. Brown is a frequent television guest. You’ve seen her on Nancy Grace, CBS, NBC and more. She is the author of How to Detect Lies, Fraud and Identity Theft. She’s trained alongside our country’s top law enforcement and is currently ranked the #3 body language expert in the world.

Jacqueline Vance is the president of Vance LTC consulting LLC. Ms. Vance has board certifications in Gerontological Nursing, long-term care director of nursing administration, a board-certified Infection Preventionist, a certified dementia care practitioner, a Lean Black Belt Six Sigma Professional, is a certified advanced care wound nurse and has a certificate of mastery in antibiotic stewardship. She also serves as an independent legal nurse consultant, expert witness, and long-term care and geriatric nurse consultant through Vance Consulting Service in Silver Springs, MD. Ms. Vance is the President of the Board of Directors for the National Transitions of Care Coalition. She is a member of the National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration in Long-Term Care and the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Ms. Vance sits on the AHCA Clinical Practice committee and the AI subcommittee.

Ms. Vance is a national speaker on topics focused on care improvement for the elderly and has authored multiple articles and manuals on that theme, including chapters in Nursing Home Litigation and Nursing Malpractice Third Edition. She is a 2012 APEX Award of Excellence winner for her Blog, “The Real Nurse Jackie”. She is a 2023 Veteran VIP honoree of McKnight's Women of Distinction. In her spare time, she performs stand-up comedy.