Plenary Session Information
All attendees are welcome to participate in these sessions.
Key Findings from the 2026 Benchmarking Report
Now in its 17th year, the Benchmarking Report from Activated Insights is the most trusted resource for home care leaders. Built from survey data collected from over a thousand agencies nationwide, it reveals what’s working, what’s changing, and where top-performing providers are pulling ahead.The 2026 findings raise a question every home care agency should be asking: why are top-performing agencies pulling further ahead even as conditions improve across the industry? In this insightful session, Caleb Hendricks will walk through what the data shows and what it means for your agency in 2026.
Learning Objectives:
- See how your agency compares across the 2026 benchmarks.
- Understand what’s driving top performers ahead of the field.
- Pinpoint your highest-leverage improvement areas for the year ahead.
2026 Employment Law Update for Home Care
Join Littler attorneys Joshua Vaughn and Jay Athey for a high-level overview of the most significant employment law developments and legal trends impacting assisted home care employers. Josh will discuss (among other topics):
- The status of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Companionship and Live-In Exemption Regulations
- Recent Home Care Litigation & Employment Lawyer Pro Tips to Mitigate Your Risks
- The Importance of Arbitration Agreements to Mitigation Risk
- AI Use and Employment Law
Josh and Jay will lead an engaging conversation that addresses changes in employment law while walking through industry specific proactive steps employers can take to confidently respond to and reduce their risks of lawsuits or financial exposure in the face of a changing legal landscape.
Concurrent Session Information
Attendees will be able to choose to attend one of these sessions. Bring your team so you can access all the information that will be covered!
How to be a Leader in Compensation and Benefits Without Breaking the Bank
The struggle of “Profits, Pay & Benefits” is real. In today’s challenging business climate, successful home care agencies pursue ways to increase profits, meet compensation expectations of employees, and provide meaningful, accessible and affordable health benefits without breaking the bank. In this insightful session, Jeff Mitchell will share market conditions, tools, and programs that are available to help agency leaders profitably operate their agency while still being a leader in compensation and benefits.
The Hidden Cost of Caregiver Turnover
Caregiver turnover remains one of home care’s most expensive and disruptive workforce challenges. While wage increases are often viewed as the primary solution, many agencies need practical strategies that improve retention without significantly increasing labor costs.This session with Jesse Curry explores the hidden financial impact of turnover—including recruiting, onboarding, lost productivity, and caregiver burnout—while identifying workforce strategies that improve employee engagement and long-term retention.
Attendees will learn how to:
- calculate the true cost of turnover in their organization;
- identify benefits caregivers value most;
- evaluate affordable workforce support strategies;
- understand how accessible healthcare and wellness programs improve engagement;
- develop practical retention initiatives that strengthen recruiting and caregiver loyalty.
Participants will leave with actionable ideas they can apply immediately.
Financing Employee Benefits Differently
Employee benefits are one of the largest and fastest growing expenses for most organizations, yet many employers continue to fund them the same way year after year without fully understanding where their dollars are going.This session with Nate Jack will explore the different ways employers can finance their employee benefit programs and why the traditional fully insured model may no longer be the most effective path forward. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of alternative funding strategies, including level funded and self funded plans, and how these approaches can provide greater transparency, control, and long term cost stability.We will break down how data and claims visibility drive better decision making, where hidden costs often exist within current programs, and how pharmacy spend is impacting overall healthcare costs. The session will also highlight practical steps employers can take to evaluate their current funding model and begin building a more strategic, forward looking approach.This is an education focused session designed to give business leaders, HR professionals, and finance teams the tools and insights needed to make more informed decisions about their employee benefit programs.
Speaker Information
Listed alphabetically by last name. Click on a speaker’s photo to visit their company’s website.
Jay Athey, Littler Mendelson, P.C.
Jay Athey, a Shareholder at Littler Mendelson, P.C., partners with management to develop practical solutions to complex employment challenges. He maintains an active practice in New Mexico, Montana and Florida, representing employers in workplace law matters, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage claims at both the agency level and in litigation. Athey defends employers in wrongful termination cases and complex class and collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state laws. He also advises on compliance, policy development and workforce management, and provides training and guidance to leadership teams and boards on best practices and risk mitigation. Athey earned his J.D., cum laude, from Florida State University College of Law and his B.A., cum laude, from Flagler College.
Jesse Curry, Reef Health
Jesse Curry brings more than 40 years of leadership experience in employee benefits, franchising, wellness, and business development. A former licensed agent with New York Life Insurance Company, he specialized in employer-sponsored benefit strategies and workforce planning. Jesse later served more than seven years as Vice President of National Corporate Wellness for Massage Envy, leading employer wellness initiatives and strategic partnerships nationwide. He has also been a multi-unit franchise owner/operator and held leadership roles with The Joint Chiropractic and RedLine Athletics. Today, as Chief Development Officer at Reef Health, he focuses on innovative workforce and healthcare strategies that improve affordability, access, and employee engagement.
Caleb Hendricks, Activated Insights
Caleb brings a decade of experience in sales and marketing to Activated Insights. After building and selling a successful digital marketing firm, Caleb spent five years in healthcare recruiting and sales before joining Activated Insights in 2018. He now leads our sales department and advises home care agencies on how they can leverage new technologies to grow their business. Outside of work, Caleb enjoys skiing, mountain biking, and hiking with his wife, son and dog.
Nate Jack, Gibson
Nate Jack is a Partner and Employee Benefits Consultant at Gibson, where he helps employers bring clarity, strategy, and control to one of their largest and fastest growing expenses, healthcare.With nearly two decades of experience across HR technology, payroll, and employee benefits, Nate takes an education first approach to consulting. He partners with business leaders to move beyond the traditional renewal cycle and instead build long term strategies grounded in data, transparency, and measurable outcomes.Nate specializes in helping organizations evaluate funding strategies such as level funded and self funded health plans, optimize pharmacy spend, and implement solutions that improve both financial performance and the employee experience. His work is centered on one core belief, when employers understand their data, they make better business decisions.At Gibson,
Jeff Mitchell, Fueled Growth
Jeff Mitchell is a seasoned business executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience across several industries. He has served as CFO for several companies—including four public companies—where he built a reputation for simplifying complex business challenges into profitable solutions. Over the past decade, Jeff has developed an innovative program, working with world-class insurance carriers, that helps employers reduce costs while increasing employees’ take-home pay and access to healthcare. His focus is simple: helping companies become more competitive while taking better care of their people.
Joshua C. Vaughn, Esq.
Joshua C. Vaughn, Esq., is an employment defense attorney, Co-Chair of Littler’s Home Care Industry Group, and leader of Littler’s Home Care Toolkit. He represents employers in collective, class, and hybrid wage and hour actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state laws. Josh also counseling agencies on employment issues unique to the industry, including live-in care, proper regular and overtime rates and payment, day rates, rate manipulation, compensability rules related to travel time, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed Companionship and Live-In exemption regulations. Josh has represented home care agencies in litigation, Department of Labor (DOL) investigations, U.S. Office of Inspector General Investigations, state Attorney General investigations, and compliance audits. He regularly trains employers, writes on employment law, and has taught Technology and Employment Law as an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
