Annual Caregivers Conference
Friday, April 11, 2025
LOCATION:
EdVenture
211 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Canal Room -
AGENDA:
9:00-9:30 am Registration
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9:30-9:45 am Welcome
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9:45-10:30 am Act I: Understanding the Intricacies of Medicaid
Speaker: Donna Day
Donna Day holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina. She is a senior member of the Policy Team at SC Department of Health and Human Services with over 39 years of experience with Medicaid and specializes in the Long-Term Care programs. She began her career as a caseworker in a local office and moved through the ranks as a Team Lead, Supervisor, Quality Assurance Reviewer, and Policy Team. As a member the Policy Team, she has assisted with policy writing, technical support for staff members and supervisors, training of Long-Term Care eligibility staff and community partners.
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10:30-11:20 am Act II: Exploring the Big Emotions in Caregiving: A First Hand Perspective
Speaker: Barbara Bloom
​Barbara A. Bloom is a native South Carolinian, born in Columbia, where she still lives; she attended and graduated from the University of South Carolina and worked for 40 years at the S. C. Criminal Justice Academy. She has also volunteered at PRISMA Parkridge Hospital and Pawmetto Lifeline. Since her Mom’s health issues and dementia diagnosis in 2017, she became primary care giver, overseer, and advocate for her Mother, who was her partner, primary, longest and most important relationship, anchor and best friend.​
Speaker: Ellen Hinsch
Originally from Atlanta, Ellen has lived all over the US, but Columbia has been home for over 20 years. Mark and Ellen have been married since 1981. Their only daughter is currently in grad school in Florida.
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Ellen enjoys crocheting, reading, hiking, and yard work. Her professional background is rather diverse, having worked in administration or Human Resources in a number of industries from psychiatric nursing to talk radio.
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Ellen was the full time caregiver for her mother for 5 years; she had both Lewy Body and vascular dementia. She believes that it is the hardest job you'll ever face but also the most rewarding, even more than child rearing. It is a badge that you wear forever.
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Ellen has held the role of Program Manager at Leeza's Care Connection for two years. Being able to provide to other caregivers the resources that she wishes she had known about back then is the reason she is thrilled to be a part of LCC.
11:20-11:40 am Act III: Round Table Discussion of Emotions
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11:40 -12:15 pm Intermission: Lunch
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12:15-1:15pm Act IV: All the Questions That I Always Wanted to Ask- Panel Discussion
Panel Members: ​
Coker Day, Owner/Founder, DayBreak Adult Care Services, Inc
Long Term Care and Coker go back a ways. I grew up around older adults/seniors.
My mother was a Director of Nursing in skilled facilities where I spent a few years after graduating from The Citadel as a salesman selling long term care software. In 2001, I opened DayBreak Adult Care Services to provide in-home, non-medical quality care to assist folks in the Midlands and Aiken.​​​​​
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Lisa Hostetler Brown, Certified Elder Law Attorney, LawyerLisa
Lisa Hostetler Brown is the Managing Attorney of LawyerLisa, LLC, serving the entire state of South Carolina from locations in Irmo (Midlands), Simpsonville (Upstate), Bluffton and Charleston (Lowcountry). LawyerLisa concentrates on elder law, long-term care planning, asset protection, probate avoidance, trust and estate planning, and life care planning. The firm’s focus is to better serve aging clients in an easy to understand and accessible manner that eases the burdens of navigating the various aging milestones.
Mary Beth Lamey, LISW-CP
​​​​Mary Beth Lamey, LISW-CP is a licensed clinical social worker. She obtained her Master of Social Work degree from the University of South Carolina and has worked in end of life care since 1999. In addition to serving as bereavement coordinator and a medical social worker with Lutheran Hospice, she also volunteers as a facilitator of the grief support group at Leeza’s Care Connection.
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Kimberly Davila, Executive Director, The Palmettos of Parklane Assisted Living and Memory Care
Kimberly is a Columbia College Graduate with a background in social work. She has been with National HealthCare for 25 years, the last fourteen at The Palmettos of Parklane as the administrator. Kimberly has a true passion for caring for the senior population and finds great joy in being a part of their everyday lives. Kimberly says, “being a part of The Palmettos has brought an increased awareness of how important retaining independence is for our seniors and the key to happiness later in life”.
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1:15-2:00pm Act V: Ageless Grace: Promoting Brain & Body Health
Speaker: Lisa Price
Ageless Grace is a revolutionary brain fitness program taught in 50 states and more than 30 countries, and over 3600 Educators have been certified to teach. The program consists of 21 simple exercise tools designed for all ages and abilities. These exercises, based on everyday movements that are natural and organic, focus on the healthy longevity of the body and brain.
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By practicing Ageless Grace for 10 minutes every day, you can improve you brain health. Ideally, Ageless Grace is a preventative measure, but if the signs of cognitive decline are beginning to appear, this program can improve your symptoms.
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Lisa Price is a certified instructor of Ageless Grace and is excited to share it with you at the conference this year.
