If you're like me, you left the NADSA conference in Chicago with renewed energy and passion for what we do in Adult Day Services.  Also, if you've been attending the NADSA conferences regularly since the pandemic you've definitely noticed a major increase in attendance and a positively changed vibe.  

(That conference was months ago at this point, but in this new year, the lessons I learned and the experience I had at the conference still resonate with me, so I thought I'd share some takeaways as reminders for us all in 2024.)

I was moved to tears several times, right from the kick-off, and especially during Friday's session. The message of our keynote speaker resonated so much with my mother, Joan's, experience on her own journey with Alzheimer's. In Joan's case, Alzheimer's was complicated by hearing loss and the COVID pandemic.

Those complications led to isolation and less physical activity, but being both an independent woman and a "do-it-yourselfer", one day mom thought it would be a good idea to drag 6 to 8 foot long palm fronds to the curb.  This led to a fall (one of several). We weren't sure what to do, but ultimately, we found an outstanding day services program in her area that specializes in memory care.  

The program gives my mom a reason to get out of bed each day, companionship and physical activity.  She hasn't fallen since entering the program.

A few great takeaways and next steps from NADSA Chicago:

• Moving off paper or Excel to a managed system: One California researcher I met in Chicago learned that only around 30 percent of Day Service Centers have software. We provide software for managing Adult Day Centers (including attendance, activity tracking, meal tracking, billing (private pay as well as payors like Medicaid and VA), staff tracking, transportation and billing.  
  
  Our goal was not to talk about any of that during the conference and instead to meet people and learn their stories.  We're happy that so many of you came by to meet us. We were also encouraged to hear of so many centers who are looking for management software in the coming year. If we can help, please contact us for help. 
• Great Partners: Another highlight from Chicago was the chance to meet the fantastic vendors and sponsors who set up booths in the lower conference room.  We're planning to have several of them join our "Day Service Stars Podcast" in the coming months. If you have a story to tell (only great stories and learning - no sales pitches), please let us know and we'll invite you onto the podcast.
• Continued Learning: We were recently lucky to have one of the top Day Service Consultants and NADSA Partner Christine Vlosich join the podcast to talk about how home care and day services make a perfect pair.  The YouTube video of our podcast is above, but I personally listen to podcasts while I'm driving. If you've never listened to a Podcast before, you can go to Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts on your phone.  If you're already a podcast listener, search for our podcast on your favorite player. Note that the full name of our podcast is "Home Care Heroes and Day Service Stars."