October 9-11, 2024
Holiday Inn, St. Cloud, MN
Conference Schedule
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Printable Conference Schedule
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Wednesday, October 9
Facilitated by Pamela Hayle and Monica Amaya – MNSWAP Board Members
MNSWAP consists of seven regions throughout the state of Minnesota. Each region provides services and educational events for their region at different times during the year. Ever wonder what your region does, where they meet, how to get involved? Join us for a Region Refresh, meet other MNSWAP members from your region, meet your Region Representative and learn about how regions are the “HEART” of the MNSWAP organization. Learn more about your state Activity Association and how you can participate.
Facilitated by Kara Reiser
The Vendors are back and ready to share new resources, ideas and materials. This session will highlight some of MNSWAP’s most dedicated vendors with a quick review of their current products. They will describe the therapeutic use of their products and how to incorporate them into your activity programs. This session will be followed by the Vendor Grand Opening where you can visit each booth and learn more about their products and services.
Thursday, October 10
This keynote will help you embrace passion and purpose in your life and work. Based on almost twenty years of research and consulting with the world’s best, Dr. Kamphoff will share the 10 practices of high performance to help you combat burnout and stress. Expect a high-energy, inspiring keynote where you will gain strategies to help you live and work more fully.
Speaker ~ Cindra Kamphoff
Cindra Kamphoff, Ph. D., CMPC, PCC, is an award-winning keynote speaker and certified professional coach for leaders, professional athletes, and championship teams. Cindra’s accomplishments include the Amazon bestseller, Beyond Grit: Ten Powerful Practices to get the High Performance Edge, and the High Performance Mindset Podcast just to name a few.
In a post-pandemic world, more residents are becoming at risk for social isolation. In this session, we will discover new ways to make the one-t-one visit more successful and exciting for both the Activity Professional and the individual served using the Critical Elements Pathways as a guide. Providing quality programming based on individual needs is the heart of the Activity Profession.
Speader~ Alisa Tagg
Alisa Tagg, M ACC/EDU CADDCT CDP CDCS, DCS is an independent consultant specializing in Life Enrichment education, Dementia Care Training, and Leadership Development. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, with a providers Certificate of Completion specializing in Aging. Alisa works as the Association Director of the National Association of Activity Professionals.
The Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care has partnered with Moving Home Minnesota to promote self-advocacy through educational training and support tools for people who are living or receiving services in nursing homes and assisted living settings. Through
Speaker ~ Emma Shepherd
BA MS Gerontology. Emma has worked for the office of Ombudsman for LongTerm Care for nearly 5 years as a Regional Ombudsman and in her current role as a Self-Advocacy Specialist. She provided education to residents and families on their rights in addition to creating and delivering curriculum focused on resident and family council development for individuals in both Assisted Living and Skilled Care settings. She has worked with the Minnesota Board on Aging and has been a consultant with Age Well
In this session the new Activity professional will be introduced to the pillars of empathy and the rules of improve to enhance communication with those they work with. A focus on partnerships among residents, fellow staff, peers and family members will be explore. Participants will learn the language of empathic interactions and how to feel confident building relationships with the residents they serve.
Speaker~ Catherine Braxton
Catherine has over 27 years’ experience in the long term care industry working with dementia clientele, neurodiverse populations and caregiver support. Catherine is a published author a Registered Behavioral Therapist, and has received numerous awards for her work with both residents and families.
In this session, the participant will learn how to create culturally competent communities through recognizing the need for diversity and humility. We will explore the differences between the medical and social models of care while acknowledging the importance of quality communication, authenticity, openness, and transparency. Creating quality culture will benefit the overall human relationships between staff and residents
Speaker ~ Alisa Tagg
Alisa Tagg, M ACC/EDU CADDCT CDP CDCS, DCS is an independent consultant specializing in Life Enrichment education, Dementia Care Training, and Leadership Development. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, with a providers Certificate of Completion specializing in Aging. Alisa works as the Association Director of the National Association of Activity Professionals.
An interdisciplinary approach is ideal in senior living to promote quality of life and overall health. The Nutrition Services and Therapeutic Recreation teams can work together to enhance nutrition status and social well-being at the same time. New ideas and examples of one senior living community will be shared to spark creative ways to team up!
Speakers ~ Jessica Weisbrich and Rachal Becker
Jessica, RDN, LD, CMD, CFPP
Rachal, CTRS, LALD, CAN
Jessica and Rachal work together at a Senior Living community in Minnesota as Registered Dietician, and Activity Director.
This session will dive deeper into the power of perception challenges and their influence on enhancing empathy. Be experiencing several perspective challenges and exchanging of input and insights, the participants will them work together in small groups to develop a new perspective on these challenges to take back to their facilities.
Speaker ~ Catherine Braxton
Catherine has over 27 years’ experience in the long term care industry working with dementia clientele, neurodiverse populations and caregiver support. Catherine is a published author a Registered Behavioral Therapist, and has received numerous awards for her work with both residents and families.
Behaviors can have a large impact on your resident’s quality of life. It is vital as Activity Professionals that we piece together the puzzle to provide quality services and programming that meets their individual needs and understand behaviors are nothing more than a means for communication when words are no longer effective. This session will provide an in-depth look at behavior interventions.
Speaker ~ Alisa Tagg
Alisa Tagg, M ACC/EDU CADDCT CDP CDCS, DCS is an independent consultant specializing in Life Enrichment education, Dementia Care Training, and Leadership Development. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, with a providers Certificate of Completion specializing in Aging. Alisa works as the Association Director of the National Association of Activity Professionals.
This session will discuss the laws covering service and assistance animals in housing. It will cover the requirements of housing providers regarding accommodating residents with disabilities. It will also provide some important reminders when working with residents with disabilities.
Speaker – Jenn Purrington
Jean Purrington has served as the Deputy Director /Legal Director of the Disability Law Center at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid for the past two years. She previously worked as an elder justice attorney and also a disability rights attorney for many years. Jenn has a background in teaching and gerontology and is an experienced speaker on rights issues related to service and assistance animals.
This session will help participants understand how the tools of Improv can be used with residents in developing memory care programs for all levels. Improv for activity professionals plays a crucial role in equipping individuals with essential communication tools and techniques to improve interactions with aging individuals foster engagement and connection and improve quality of life.
Speaker ~ Catherine Braxton
Catherine has over 27 years’ experience in the long term care industry working with dementia clientele, neurodiverse populations and caregiver support. Catherine is a published author a Registered Behavioral Therapist, and has received numerous awards for her work with both residents and families
Join us for a fun-filled evening of socializing, food, and fun! A cash bar and buffet will start the evening followed by election candidate speeches. Then sit back, relax, and be entertained by Steve Russell, comedian and magician.
Friday, October 11
Have you lost that loving feeling? Are you burned out and tired of living in a post-Covid world? The time has come for the Activity Professional to think about the future. Is it going to expand, grow, and endure? The constant threat of COVID isolation, government cutbacks, and the ever-changing regulatory environment create a volatile atmosphere in the health care industry. This session will inspire opportunities for the Activity Professional to reignite their passion on delivering excellence in quality programs and services.
Speaker ~ Alisa Tagg
Alisa Tagg, M ACC/EDU CADDCT CDP CDCS, DCS is an independent consultant specializing in Life Enrichment education, Dementia Care Training, and Leadership Development. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, with a providers Certificate of Completion specializing in Aging. Alisa works as the Association Director of the National Association of Activity Professionals.
Join us for a fun and active closing session demonstrating fun new games, programs and creative resources for your activity programs. We will actually be playing games and viewing demonstrations of programs for all levels of abilities that you can take home and implement immediately in your care centers and assisted living settings.
Facilitator~ Pam Hayle, MNSWAP Education Board Member
Conference Details
Conference rate for hotel has ended.
You can make your hotel reservations with the link below. When directed to the Holiday Inn website, select your dates. You can also call the hotel directly at 320-253-9000.
Hotel ReservationHoliday Inn Address: 75 37th Ave South St. Cloud, MN 56301
The Holiday Inn St. Cloud is easy to find coming from any direction. It is located at the intersection of Highway 15 and 23, just off Interstate 94
• Full conference – All meals, all days included
•Thursday Only – Lunch only
Special Dietary Requests
All conference meals are served buffet style and will include enough items to provide for vegetarian diets. We will attempt to address any other specific health needs per request acknowledging gluten free as the most common request/concern. It is important to know if you will need alternate meals. We ask that you only make this request per medical need and not as a choice option, as we want to be as cost effective as possible in our conference planning.
Please email Pam Hayle at [email protected] with your special request and which meals you will be present for at conference. Your accuracy in this request will help us maintain costs and provide for all attendees. Please send this information on or before September 25, 2024.
Guest Meal Tickets
Guest meal tickets will be available to purchase onsite only
$20.00 – Wednesday Appetizer Buffet
$15.00 – Breakfast Meal Thursday or Friday
$20.00 – Thursday Lunch
$35.00 – Banquet Thursday Evening
Approved Refund Amounts:
• Full conference – $100.00 refund
• 1-day conference – $60.00 refund
Billing/Payment Information
• All registration payments are made online through Square, no special account needed, personal or business credit cards accepted
