2011 SHIP Conference Starts June 6

The 17th Annual SHIP Director’s Conference is just around the corner, June 6-9 in Dallas.

The SHIP conference is your opportunity to network, and hear directly from CMS about new initiatives and goals. We know you love to hear about enhancements to the Plan Finder, and we’ll also talk about the dos and don’ts of 1-800-MEDICARE. We also know you’re always interested in what’s happening at the National Medicare Training Program. The theme this year is “All Aboard for 2011,” and as usual, the training team has a new curriculum and some fun learning games we’ll let you know about.

One thing that’s different this year is the Plan Finder session planned for the last day (yes, we’re trying to keep you at the conference!). The session will give you a chance to work intensively with the updated Plan Finder, walk through different scenarios, and ask questions. Let’s face it, working with the Plan Finder can be tricky, so we think this new session will be a big deal for folks.

As always, you’ll also have an opportunity to talk to the Regional offices during the break-out sessions about issues specific to your state and region. We’re still working on topics, and asking you to come with your own topics, too. For those of you savvy folks on Twitter, the conference hash-tag is #2011SHIPCONF, and we hope you’ll tweet loud and clear.

There’s so much value in this conference! So much to learn from all the sessions: dealing with challenges, performance measurement, volunteer management, ideas on serving diverse populations. The SHIP conference is your one chance each year to get everything in one big bucket – it’s all there for you.

Hope to see you in Dallas!