The American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) will hold its spring conference and exposition at the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, CA from May 20-23. The keynote speaker will be Dan Benamoz, R. Ph., the CEO and founder of Pharmacy Development Services, Inc. Sessions include "Battling MRSA Infections in Older Adults," on Monday, "Emerging Roles for Consultant Pharmacists in New Models of Care Delivery," on Tuesday and an ASCP Leadership Q & A Forum on Wednesday.

The Assisted Living Federation of America is welcoming top speakers and educators, vendors and providers from around the country to its annual conference Wednesday through next Friday at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Conference Center in Grapevine, TX. The conference's theme, "Community 2012," will be intertwined into many events for the assisted living, independent living and memory care operators in attendance. Top assisted living management strategies and other hot industry topics will be the subject of educational and general sessions.

An audio conference will take place Tuesday morning in an effort to help long-term care providers create more efficient interdisciplinary approaches with their dining regimens. Under new QI Survey points of emphasis, providers could leave themselves vulnerable to citations in an array of areas, experts point out. Registration is online only and must be completed by Monday. Attendees (ideally anyone from CEO level down through nursing and dietary staff) will learn nuances of what the QIS expects and how it will critically observe kitchen-to-dining routines. CE credit will be available from this LeadingAge affiliated event.

All of the usual topics of long-term care leadership and caregiving will be covered deftly and in-depth, but next week's annual meeting of the American College of Health Care Administrators will be remarkable for something else: the group's 50th anniversary. Veteran reporter and publishing icon Rona Barrett will deliver a "Nothing but the truth" keynote address Saturday afternoon, while former Dallas Cowboys player Everson Walls will headline Monday afternoon with "Putting your team first."

LeadingAge will host its spring annual meeting Sunday through Wednesday in Washington. Typically considered a "Capitol Hill fly-in" during which providers meet with their respective states' lawmakers to push the LeadingAge agenda, the meeting also will feature keynote speakers, workshops and educational sessions throughout. There also will be an exhibit hall Monday morning. Educator and a co-author of the best-selling "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard" Dan Heath will deliver the keynote leadership address Monday morning.

Providers will get an up-close look at problems with the nursing home survey process from a nationally respected expert during the first 2012 McKnight's Super Tuesday webcast. The event will take place at 1 p.m. (Eastern) on Tuesday and earn attendees continuing education (CE) credit. Linda Elizaitis, RNC, RAC-CT, BS, the president of CMS Compliance Group, will examine national trends in survey deficiencies, note at least 10 things that can help an operator prevent deficiencies and also explain how to avoid so-called "gotcha" deficiencies. Registration for the no-cost event is ongoing.

Providers are on the lookout for the release of new Quality Measures from federal regulators. Without naming a specific date, officials have said the measures would be released in April. The standard survey will be revised to accommodate new QM reports. Some indicators will be available for surveyor review but will not be part of the national program, according to CMS. For the sake of comparisons, state percentiles will be jettisoned in favor of national percentiles, officials said. Also, from here on out, QMs are expected to be changed more frequently than in the past, a CMS official has said.

Nursing homes have heard the warnings and been advised at every turn lately. Now, it's time to do it right, or risk losing out on reimbursements. Significant changes have been made to the new MDS 3.0 form go into effect Sunday. After then, ignorance of new provisions will start costing providers, experts warn. Discharge procedures, as well as resident interviews, are two of the top areas with the most notable changes. Providers have been advised to simply get new RAI manuals if they can, rather than to try to incorporate the multitude of revised or new pages.

The National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry is holding its tandem housing regional symposium and skilled nursing investment forum Sunday through Tuesday in Boca Raton, FL. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Gov. Tommy Thompson and Dr. Peter Morici, Professor of Business and Public Policy at the University of Maryland, lead the speaker slate. Investors and skilled nursing operators will be able to attend concurrent educational programs on hot issues of the day.

Providers from around the country are already making the sixth annual McKnight's Online Expo the most successful version yet. They have signed up in record numbers for the virtual trade show, which takes place next Wednesday and Thursday from the comfort of wherever your computer can get an Internet connection.