Tuesday at the 2024 Together We Care Conference co-hosted by ORCA and the OLTCA

This is my first year attending the Together We Care conference, and I decided I'm going to document it.

Why am I at Together We Care?

1. Network
2. Raise Awareness about Elderado
3. Learn more about the problems facing retirement & long-term care homes.

Tuesday at Together We Care

At the opening of the conference it was remarked that Together We Care is the biggest senior care conference in Canada. Together We Care is co-hosted by the Ontario Retirement Communities Association (ORCA) and the Ontario Long-Term Care Association (OLTCA). There's 1,800 people here today.

This conference began with the usual opening remarks by leaders of the host organizations, and then was followed up by an address by the Minister of Long-Term Care, Stan Cho. This was the first time I've seen Minister Cho speak live - he was a great story teller and seemed to turn the room after Premier Doug Ford's video remarks only got a luckwarm response. I managed to get a minute with Minister Cho before he had to depart. Minister Cho invited me to the Ministry office to demo Elderado. It's out there now, so Minister Cho, if you happen to read this, I'm going to follow-up with you until it happens!

Senior Living Occupancy Recovery Roadmap

During the morning session I was most interested in Jodi Flanagan's session, Senior Living Occupancy Recovery Roadmap. Jodi is the President of Senior Living Pro. Two of my takeaways from Jodi's session were:

• Vacancy value - what is the cost of an empty retirement home suite for an operator?
• Relationship based selling - building real trust and connections with perspective sellers.

Jodi does a lot of work helping retirement homes put their best foot forward for prospective residents, but I wanted to know from Jodi what she thinks someone who is looking at moving into a retirement home should look for during a tour. This is what she said:

Tradeshow

I really like how they set up lunch. There were buffet stations set up around the tradeshow floor, which encouraged attentees to meet in mingle - which was a big positive for me. Together We Care doesn't have as many natural opportunities to connect as the AgeCare Age Tech Conference did, so I need to create opportunities to network. I ate lunch with a lovely woman named Sam from Tender Care Living Center, who is in charge of culinary at her long-term care home. After lunch it was time to walk the tradeshow floor.

There are a lot of exhibits. I didn't count, but I heard there are over 200. I only got to explore half the floor today. There are lots of pharmacutical companies and staffing agencies, but I was looking for cool tech, or products that I think could be useful for caregivers.

Gerry

Gerry helps share information with families who have a loved one in long-term care. Currently family members have to rely on calling or visiting the long-term care home. Gerry automates this process by providing you access to information that care providers to your loved ones are inputting into their own system. Gerry co-founder, Kamran Kirmani, shared more about this.

ONESource Moving Solutions

Moving an aging loved one comes with all sorts of challenges your don't have to deal with during a typical move. Typically there will be a need to sell, store, or discard items. This can be a difficult process that needs a compassionate touch. Nicole Ridley from ONESource Moving Solutions shared their approach to helping a senior relocate.

Chef Jasper

Interested in a robot chef? Chef Jasper is a robot that can prepare up to 9 different meals per hour. Chef Jasper Engineer, Milad Asgari, shared more information about their robot cook.

Smpl Technology

Technology can be complicated. Smpl Technology aims to simplify that. Easy-to-use phones, one touch radios, and more. Smpl COO, Gary Rotman, shares details about their aging at home electronics.

wissner-bosserhoff

The wissner-bosserhoff booth was getting a lot of action. I stopped by to hear from Christopher Loy about their Sentida bed.

Afternoon sessions

In the afternoon I had a more relaxed schedule. PointClickCare is a name I hear a lot, so I decided to attend their session where they outlined their updates for 2024. After that I attended a Newtorking Bootcamp put on by Sheri Tomchick, Founder of Plan A Long Term Care Staffing & Recruitment, and StaffStat. It's the first time I've attended a networking 'bootcamp' at a conference, and Sheri shared a number of nuggets that were good reminders. If you've ever read Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, it was almost a coles note version.

Day 1 Verdict

I had a good day 1. The custom t-shirt was a good investment. I had 8 people come up to me because of it. I was really happy I was able to connect with the Minister of Long-Term Care, Stan Cho. Also, it was great to meet so many new people, and learn about some of the challenges facing elder care. I've heard tonight's dinner is the best opportunity all conference to network, but you know what they say - what happen's at the Together We Care 'Margarittaville' dinner stays at the TWC Margarittaville dinner!