Convention

The line separating assisted living and skilled care services continues to blur, according to panelists who spoke Wednesday at the Assisted Living Federation of America's 2012 conference and expo near Dallas.

The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists' 2011 annual meeting and exhibition will take place Wednesday through next Friday at the Phoenix Convention Center. Kicking off the event will be a keynote presentation by Bill Thomas, M.D., founder of the Eden Alternative® and the Green House Project®. On Friday, renowned researcher Howard Friedman, Ph.D., will present "Findings from the Longevity Project: Discoveries for Health and Long Life from an Eight-Decade Study." Numerous educational sessions, exhibits and networking opportunities also will take place, as top senior care medication professionals gather to learn from one another.

While this is a particularly challenging time for providers, the American Health Care Association president says he is optimistic about their future.

The American Health Care Association will open its annual convention and expo Sunday at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. The event, which attracts upwards of 5,000 long-term care owners, operators, administrators, directors of nursing and other top managers, will run through Wednesday. Best-selling author Daniel Pink ("Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us"; "A Whole New Mind") will keynote the opening general session at 3 p.m. Monday. Corporate culture expert Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com Inc., will be the featured speaker at the closing general session at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The nation's largest nursing home association will kick off its 60th annual convention and expo Sunday at McCormick Place in Chicago. One of the highlights of the American Health Care Association's four-day confab (themed "Quality Care Plus") will be a focus on quality improvement, including the celebration of a record 468 AHCA/HCAL National Quality Award recipients.