Panelists

Shelley Dimick, Department of Vermont Health Access
Renee Taylor, Department of Vermont Health Access
Cheryl Willoughby, Department of Vermont Health Access
Nick McNeill, Deloitte Consulting LLP
La'Tivia Tipton, CSG Government Solutions
Ben Deifik, CSG Government Solutions

Description

Like any good blockbuster, our certification series couldn’t fit all the action into just one episode. “Part Deux” returns by popular demand - a direct sequel to a Vermont panel at a previous conference on the entire certification lifecycle. This time, we zoom into the high-stakes middle and endgame: executing the Operational Readiness Review (ORR), preparing for the Certification Review (CR), and mastering ongoing metric reporting.

If you caught the first panel, you already know that certification is no easy hero’s journey: there are unexpected plot twists, baffling acronyms (IAPD, OAPD, ORW), and, at times, more suspenseful back-and-forth with federal government partners than a cliffhanger finale. In this follow-up session, our battle-tested panelists swap “origin stories” for practical how-tos. Expect light humor as they share true tales of perseverance - so your team doesn’t have to make the same mistakes or miss the hidden shortcuts.

This session will build on last year’s foundation and dive into:

The reality of aligning with new and evolving process expectations (including PRA plot twists).

The nitty-gritty of Intake Forms, entry criteria, testing crosswalks, and metric reporting that just keeps on reporting, for legacy systems, MECT-certified systems, and/or new systems undergoing SMC.

Vermont’s lead role as a certification trendsetter (and what others can learn from their script).

Practical strategies, gotchas, and a collaborative mindset—essential for keeping agencies, vendors, and feds on the same page, or at least the same script.

Top Takeaways:

The Next Steps in the Certification Journey: From the middle chapters to post-certification, get a clear, actionable roadmap.

Best Practices & Pitfalls, Continued: Learn what works (and what trips you up) for ORRs, CRs, and beyond.

Teamwork, Encore Edition: New ideas for stakeholder collaboration - because sequels require an even bigger cast.

Whether you’re returning for Part Deux or just tuning in, we promise practical insights, answers to your pressing questions, and proof that even the sequel can have a lighthearted moment (or two).