PA Medical Directors Association to hold Symposium on Sept 29, 2006

Lawyers and other personal or financial service professionals should be aware of the extensive training and ongoing educational efforts involving long-term health care workers and medical personnel in Pennsylvania. These care providers and managers are our teammates in serving clients-patients.

One example of such cutting-edge education is found in the forthcoming 2006 Annual Education Symposium sponsored by the Pennsylvania Medical Directors Association (PMDA).

PMDA -- "Pennsylvania's Association for Long Term Care Medicine" -- will hold its 2006 Symposium, on Friday, September 29, 2006, in Harrisburg, PA, at the Wyndham Harrisburg-Hershey Hotel.

PMDA is affiliated with the Pennsylvania Medical Society, located at 777 East Park Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17111.

PMDA describes itself as:

"[T]he professional organization committed to the continuous improvement of quality care for Pennsylvanians across the long-term care continuum, by providing advocacy, education, and professional development services for medical directors, physicians, and other healthcare team members. PMDA advances its mission by outreach to other groups involved in long-term care."

PMDA's organizational objectives are further outlined, as follows:

• To promote excellence in medical care for residents of all ages in nursing homes and other long-term care settings.
• *To promote peer education among medical directors, attending, referring, and consulting physicians on nursing home staffs and in long-term settings.
• To assist non-medical providers, consultants, nursing home staff and regulatory agencies in maintaining high standards of resident care.
• To assist family and others in the understanding, acceptance, and assistance for residents in long-term care.
• To establish and promote educational programs for maintaining a high standard of professional care in long-term institutions.
• To act as liaison with other professional organizations and individuals to promote quality resident care.
• To promote the enactment of laws, regulations, and payment systems to accomplish these objectives.
  

The Symposium is intended for:

*Family Medicine Physicians; *Internal Medicine Physicians; *Geriatricians; *Psychiatrists; *Registered Nurses; *Nursing Home Administrators; *Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Professionals; *Social Workers; *Pharmacists; and *Therapists.

Various topics scheduled for the Symposium include:

*Rethinking Advance Care Planning: Moving From Patient Preferences to Actionable Orders
*Hospice Care in the Nursing Home
*Complying with F314, Advancing Wound Care Practice in Long-term Care
*Billing, Coding and Survival
*Infection Control: C.difficle, Influenza and Other Top Priorities in the Nursing Home
*Evaluation and Management of Weight Loss in the Nursing Home Patient
*Public Policy Discussion

The complete brochure for the Symposium can be found online here.