KENNETT SQUARE, Pa., Oct. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LTC ACO brought participating practices, clinical leaders, external experts and industry partners together in Louisville, Kentucky, October 5-6 for its 2026 LTC ACO Partner Summit, a two-day event focused on translating shared insight into practical strategies for success in long-term care value-based care.
Across the Summit, participants explored the clinical, operational and performance priorities shaping long-term care value-based care and preparation for the performance year ahead.
The event was designed to do more than deliver education. A central focus was creating space for participating practices and clinical leaders to share their experience, identify common challenges and help inform how LTC ACO continues to support partners across the long-term care environment. Partner collaboration, actionable performance data, continued investment in partner-facing tools and resources, and hospice and palliative care emerged as key themes from the event.
Across the agenda, Summit sessions reflected the range of clinical and operational work required for success in long-term care value-based care. Discussions included Medicare ACO benchmarking, clinical documentation and compliance, quality-measure performance, preparation for the new performance year. Participating practices also shared firsthand approaches to prioritizing ACO initiatives, using performance reports, addressing quality gaps and strengthening facility relationships. A panel of participating providers shared practical approaches to preparing for the performance year, using available performance reports, addressing quality gaps and working with facility partners.
“The strength of LTC ACO has always been in the experience and expertise of our partners,” said Brittain Brantley, Acting President and COO of LTC ACO. “Bringing everyone together reinforced the value of collaboration, shared learning and building solutions around the realities of long-term care.”
That value of shared learning was also reflected in feedback from participating practices.
“I appreciated hearing that other organizations are facing many of the same challenges we are in value-based care,” one participating practice attendee shared. “Having the opportunity to share experiences and think through solutions together was especially valuable.”
From performance data to action
One area of particular interest during the Summit was LTC ACO’s evolving approach to performance analytics. Attendees participated in a live demonstration of current performance dashboards designed to help teams move beyond retrospective reporting and use data more proactively to identify gaps, prioritize opportunities and support practice-level improvement.
The demonstration also reflected LTC ACO’s continued work to make performance information more accessible and actionable for participating practices. The focus remains on giving partner teams clearer insight into performance and helping translate that information into practical next steps throughout the performance year.
The discussion generated strong engagement from attendees and reinforced the importance of pairing accessible performance information with the clinical and operational support needed to act on it.
Bringing greater focus to serious illness, hospice and palliative care
The Summit also highlighted the role hospice and palliative care can play in improving value, quality, and patient and family experience in long-term care.
Ab Brody, PhD, RN, FAAN, Assistant Dean for Transformational Excellence in Aging at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing joined the Summit as a guest speaker to explore the clinical and business value of hospice care, along with challenges related to care coordination, dementia-specific needs, variation in hospice quality, and the timing of hospice enrollment. His discussion emphasized stronger collaboration among ACOs, primary care teams, nursing facilities, and hospice organizations, including earlier palliative care engagement, shared planning and better coordination among the organizations involved in a resident’s care.
Rather than viewing hospice length of stay as a standalone measure, the discussion encouraged a broader view that considers timing, acute care utilization, quality, resident and family experience, and transitions that may disrupt continuity of care. Dr. Brody’s presentation similarly emphasized total cost of care and highlighted both very late hospice enrollment and hospitalizations following hospice discharge as areas that warrant closer attention.
For LTC ACO, that conversation reinforced the importance of identifying serious illness needs earlier and strengthening coordination among participating practices, facilities and hospice partners.
“Hospice and palliative care can create meaningful value for patients, families, and the organizations caring for them, but that value depends on timing, quality, and coordination,” said Brody. “The opportunity is to build stronger collaboration across the ACO, primary care team, nursing facility, and hospice so that care is better integrated across the serious-illness journey.”
Carrying the Summit forward
LTC ACO is carrying the momentum from the Partner Summit into upcoming education, partner engagement and clinical initiatives. Conversations that began in Louisville will continue through future Office Hours, educational programming and direct collaboration with participating practices as the organization works to translate shared insight into practical action.
From performance data to clinical strategy, the Summit reflected a common goal: turning peer insight, performance strategy and partnership into action for long-term care patients and the organizations that serve them.
About LTC ACO
LTC ACO is the longest-standing Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organization (ACO) dedicated to Medicare beneficiaries residing in assisted living and long-term care facilities and the providers who treat them. Visit http://www.ltcaco.com to learn more and explore opportunities for participation.
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