Nonprofit long-term care providers visiting Washington this week are encouraging members of Congress — some of them destined for tough re-election campaigns — to pursue key strategic goals.

These include discussing therapy caps and observation stays, which have provoked a number of Congressional bills in the past six months, including from Reps. Jim Renacci (R-OH) and Jim McDermott (D-WA). 

At an opening session for LeadingAge’s PEAK Leadership Summitt on Monday, President and CEO Larry Minnix encouraged members to study the organization’s four-year strategic plan around legislation. One noteworthy goal is to have, by 2018, a bill for introduction in Congress that would include revisions to the nursing home survey and certification process.

“This is a three-to-five year journey,” Minnix told the members gathered at the Marriot Wardman Hotel, during a rare March snowstorm in the nation’s capital. “There is a time to sow and a time to reap, and this is the time to sow. You can earn credibility.”

The featured keynote speaker Monday was New York Times writer Charles Duhigg, the author of “The Power of Habit.” He discussed how habits in organizations could both empower and endanger employees, especially young people.

“Many of you lead communities where people are new to the workforce,” he said. “The big lesson is that the most powerful rewards contain emotions. It can be empowering and rewarding for someone to teach you how to be an adult when you’re not one.”

The PEAK conference continues today with a health policy forum and a Capitol Hill briefing led by Senior Vice President of Advocacy Cheryl Phillips, M.D.