Some industry conferences reflect the sentiments and points of view of the host organization, feeding attendees digestible agenda items around a theme. Other meetings of skilled nursing and other post-acute care stakeholders are driven by the energy of the crowd. The latter took place in Nashville recently with z-PAX Live!, a Zimmet Healthcare event that saw conferees take over the conversation on SNF tech and the need for change.

Ostensibly, the Nashville gathering aimed at connecting these stakeholders for an in-person discussion of the very lack of connectivity in the technology that currently runs the industry, be it connections within the provider’s walls or those to the other phalanx of clinicians, operators, and vendors who circulate in the long-term universe.

Moshe Scheinberg, chief marketing officer, Zimmet Healthcare Services Group, put into perspective on what transpired.

"What struck me most about z-PAX Live! was how quickly the room dropped the usual conference veneer. No sponsors, no scripts, just guest dialogue about what’s happening in SNF tech and what’s possible when people actually talk to each other,” he said.

“You could feel the shift happen. Operators challenging developers, developers challenging operators, everyone participating like it actually mattered. Because it does. Nashville gave us the backdrop, but the crowd gave us the momentum. If the week proved anything, it’s that our space is hungry for smarter connectivity and a platform that finally moves us forward together. That’s exactly what myzPAX is here to build."

Speaking on What Matters

Speakers included Marc Zimmet, CEO, Zimmet Healthcare Services Group, who addressed SNF-Software: Market Dynamics & Dysfunction: Chris Wood, chief platform officer, z-PAX, who conducted a Field Guide to SNF Software Development; and, an Operator’s Perspective panel made of Vincent Fedele (COO-z-PAX), Tim Fields (CEO, Ignite Medical Resorts), Mordy Perlow (COO-Arista Care), and Ben Kurland (CEO-Allaire).

Zimmet set the tone, challenging the established way in which software technology is deployed in the long-term care setting. Despite years of talk regarding the need for software and electronic health records to have interoperability with other systems, the sector has not moved fast enough or far enough on eliminating silos for resident health data.

Second-day topics and speakers included: The Development Game: The Business Case for SNF Software, Nicole Jasser (CFO-Zimmet Healthcare and z-PAX), Taylor Weis (principle- Chicago Pacific Founders), Alan Schabes (partner-Benesch), and Jason Paul (general partner-Aleph RDI); SNF-Side Stories, Heath Odom (chief engagement officer-z-PAX), Ernie Ianace (CEO and founder-CareAlly), Nir Shtein (vice president-GuardDoc), and Mordy Goldman (CTO-Omnivers). Lastly, Ferdous Khan, CTO, z-PAX, covered Building on z-PAX API and Developer Integration.

Comments or questions? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.