In order for "Culture Change" to take place, the people we most need to impress are the decision makers, i.e. nursing home owners, or regional directors.  Therefore, the most important location to hold a conference is in Columbia, MD.  There's a very good reason why both HFAM and LifeSpan are located in Columbia.

Columbia is the mid way point in the Balitmore-Washington corridor, and will draw from Howard County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Northern Anne Arundel County, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Carroll County and Frederick County.

Now let's examine where the nursing home owners and regional directors are located:

The Mid Atlantic Regional Office of HCR Manor Care is located in Rockville in Montgomery County.

The Regional Office of Genesis ElderCare is located in Towson in Baltimore County.

The headquarters of FutureCare are located in Pasadena in Northern Anne Arundel County.

The headquarters of Trans Health Care are located in Sparks in Baltimore County.

The headquarters of Sava Senior Care (formerly Mariner) are located in Owings Mills in Baltimore County,

The headquarters of Xavier Health Care Services are located in Baltimore City.

Dr. Scott Rifkin, who owns two nursing homes in Maryland and one in Delaware, lives and works in Owings Mills in Baltimore County.

The headquarters of LifeBridge Health are located in Baltimore.

The Office of Health Care Quality is located in Catonsville in Baltimore County.

Columbia should have been the very first place we ever considered to hold a conference.  If we were limited to just one conference, the ideal location would be Columbia.

Also think of where most family members and most politicians would attend.  Remember, HGO Chairman Peter Hammen is from Baltimore and HGO
Vice Chairman Marilyn Goldwater is from Montgomery County.

What else do I have to say to get this point across!!!

Bob Bronaugh, Vice Chair