Profit and non-profit agencies from Cherokee to Currituck convened at the Supercharge conference in Kernersville recently to learn how to apply business model practices to offset shrinking funding from federal, state and local resources. They were not disappointed.

It was “one of the best, if not the best, one-day conference I have ever attended!” is how Mark Hensley, North Carolina’s Project Care Director, described the conference, dubbed Supercharge Your Aging Program.

Speakers like Sandy Markwood, CEO, National Association of Area agencies on Aging, said service providers must forge new partnerships as well as new pricing and billing systems to fill the current loss in federal funding (from $9.24 in 1980 to $3.85 in 2010).

Dennis Streets, Sandy Markwood’s counterpart in North Carolina, echoed her message:
Successful agencies will be those who adapt a business-minded approach to their programs, and two discussion panels featuring executives from six regional agencies suggested how to do it.

The first panel included Candie Rudzinski, Randolph County Senior Adults Assn., Inc., Asheboro; Thessia Everhart-Roberts, Davidson County Department of Senior Services, Lexington; and Richard Gottlieb, Senior Services, Inc., Winston-Salem.

The second panel featured Lee Covington, Aging, Disability, and Transit Services (ADTS), Reidsville; Chip Cromartie, Adult Center for Enrichment , Greensboro; and Steve Fleming, Well•Spring Services, Inc., Greensboro.

The closing speaker, Mitchell Silver, Raleigh’s Chief Planning & Development Officer and Planning Director, cited the changing pattern of residence, showing how the graying of America, coupled with the 41 percent unwed mother birth rate and other demographic trends, will result in unique living arrangements in the future. He predicted new ideal living quarters will be four to six multigenerational homes arranged around open common areas where residents will look to the safety and wellbeing of each other.

About the conference…

Exchange of Ideas

The Supercharge event started us rethinking how we are connected to agencies that serve the same population we serve. Some pre-senters focused on their efforts to collaborate with other community programs. Others discussed how pricing and service changes are necessary because of changes in where and how aging adults are living. The event gave us ideas and motivation as we begin to update our pricing schemes and services while setting new goals for our agency.

— Crystal Lee Norman, Home Loving Senior Care

A Networking Opportunity

It was a great networking opportunity. I have already used the attendees contact sheet to
e-mail those I need to correspond with. When someone said that the services we provide are not “free” but are provided at “no cost” to the client/consumer, that’s what SHIIP does. I now say that our services are provided at no cost which makes a huge difference in stating the value of our services!

— Jeanie Schepisi,
Piedmont Area Regional Manager, SHIIP

On Partnerships

As founder of a new non-profit organization,
I found the section on partnerships and collaborations very informative. While I was aware of SCORE, it was good to know they are still in existence and available for consultation.

— Nancy Hall, Second Spring Arts

Mission and Vision

The mission and vision of Friday’s conference is exactly where we need to be focused.
Let’s face it; we all are building the long-term care system of OUR future which will care for us!

— Mark Hensley,
Alzheimer’s Support Specialist,
Division of Aging and Adult Services

Fall Conference Planned

The response to the Supercharge conference indicates that the agencies working with our senior population are hungry to learn more about delivering services in the most cost-effective manner possible. To sustain momentum, the Area Agency on Aging is planning a fall conference addressing an array of marketing topics, from defining and analyzing markets, developing and pricing services, and branding images to positioning, publicity, fundraising, and creating marketing policies.

The AAA invites our partners in the Aging Network to weigh in on topics they would like to learn about that will capture the most pressing issues and gaps in knowledge.

— Blair Barton-Percival, Director, PTRC Area Agency on Aging