I love living on Kent Island! The air just feels lighter on this side of the Bay Bridge! Since there are rarely conferences and opportunities for continuing education in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, I decided it would be fun to offer some programs for health, mental health and financial professionals close to home this year.
This week launches Jenerations Health Education’s first full day of 2019 CE education for professionals (Thursday, April 18) at the Holiday Inn Express in Grasonville. We will follow that up with two more events on Thursday, June 20. Then this fall we’ll wrap up the series with two more Thursday sessions, on September 19 and October 17.
For those visiting from the Lower Shore, the “other” side of the Bridge or from out of state, here is a list of my favorite restaurants and hangouts for lunchtime on our event days. There are also suggestions for breakfast, dinner, and live entertainment if you are spending the night!
Annie’s https://www.annies.biz/ Our sponsor Compass Regional Hospice has their gala here each year and they do a phenomenal job! Delicious seafood, steak, sandwiches and huge fresh salads. My husband Sean and I especially love the French dip (mushrooms instead of onions), burgers and the Cobb Salad.
Red Eye’s Dock Bar https://redeyedockbar.com/ Great music on the water. Terrific crab dip! Please note: they don’t open until May 5.
Fisherman’s https://fishermansinn.com/ Awesome seafood. Great sandwiches. My favorite entree: Stuffed rockfish with baked potato. We’ve never introduced the Gorgonzola Cheese Skins to someone who didn’t love them.
Jetty Dock Bar http://www.jettydockbar.com/ Beautiful water views, live music, good pub food.
Bridge’s https://www.bridgesrestaurant.net/ Spectacular water views and lovely outdoor seating. Amazing pizzas. The Seafood Club, The Rachel Sandwich and The Smash Burger rock!
Big Owl Dock Bar https://thebigowl.com/ Gorgeous sunsets, live music. Great Boardwalk fries.
Harris Crab House https://harriscrabhouse.com/ I’m originally from Philly so I never got the hang of picking crabs. But our friends love this place if that’s what you’re into. But Sean and I are big fans of their enormous homemade Nutty Buddie icecream cones.
Adam’s Grille http://www.adamsgrillekentisland.com/ Delicious barbeque—my favorite meal is chicken with baked sweet potato. Sean and I love the brisket nachos too.
Bada Bean http://www.badabeanki.com/ If you want breakfast or a fancy coffee before the morning events, this is a cozy spot. Breakfast sandwiches and acai bowls. They also have amazing lunch sandwiches and salads.
Carmine’s http://www.carminesnypizzakitchen.net/menu.html Great place to get a quick slice of pizza.
Fields of Heather https://fieldsofheatherbakery.com/ Lovely little bakery where doughnuts, pastries and breakfast sandwiches are homemade.
Pour House Pub http://www.pourhousepubki.com/menu.html Great staff and pub food. If you are staying local in town the evening before our events, they have trivia on Wednesday nights. Caesar salad, Pot Roast sandwich and Chicken & Waffles are our favorite items.
Café Sado https://www.cafesado.com/ is a favorite of our friends who love sushi. We aren’t big sushi eaters but the Thai food is quite good too. The fried icecream is amazing.
Rustico http://www.rusticoonline.com/ This is in “downtown” Stevensville. If you go here for lunch, you also can check out a few local shops. They typically have live music on Wednesday and Thursday evenings if you are staying in town for our events. My favorite items include the Zuppa di Tortellini, Antipasto Misti and the Gigantic Meatball.
Restaurants at The Inn https://www.baybeachclub.com/the-inn . A few years ago, a rustic but fancy hotel landed on Kent Island. Along with it came two good restaurants. One is Knoxie’s Table (upscale dinner) and the other is The Market (casual breakfast and lunch). It is a beautiful property with a relaxing outdoor firepit area where you can eat food purchased from The Market.
Luke’s Grille http://www.lukesgrille.com/ Awesome pub food. Great sandwiches, especially the chicken cordon bleu.
Well, there you have it—some great dining options for you to enjoy while you earn CE credits on Kent Island! We are grateful to the sponsorship provided by Bright Star Senior Care, Compass Regional Hospice, Hearfields and Somerford Place of Annapolis. Looking forward to seeing you soon and I hope you enjoy Kent Island as much as I do!
In celebration of Assisted Living Week, Jenerations Health Education, Inc. would like to formally thank all the very generous senior living communities who have sponsored our family caregiver and continuing education programs over the years. It’s been quite a privilege for our speakers to be welcomed into these buildings which house thousands of older residents all over the country.
1. Remember you are visiting a residents’ home. Attending an educational event in a senior living community is not the same as attending one in a conference center. The staff are always striving to make sure you have a comfortable experience but their priority always must be resident care. So if it takes a little time for the free coffee to be refilled, try to be patient!
2. Try to leave the restrooms and event space the way you found it. When a senior living community opens up its doors to professionals, an additional burden is placed on housekeeping and dining services staff. That said, if there is a major spill, be sure to alert staff immediately to reduce both visitor and resident fall risk.
3. Take a tour! Many of us need to run out the door after the event to get back to our busy patient and client schedules. But if you have some time try to join the staff for a quick tour. You never know if a client, patient or even your own family member would be a good candidate for their services someday.
4. Send a quick thank you e-mail to the staff member who invited you. You might mention that you appreciated the presentation topic or the delicious omelet station. But better yet mention something positive you observed or experienced that day. Did you watch a certified nursing assistant patiently assist a resident down the hall? Note the nursing assistant’s name and pass on the compliment! Everyone in healthcare hears so many complaints–make their day by sharing something you saw that was positive.
5. Leave a review on social media! Most senior living communities have a Facebook, Linkedin or Instagram page. Mention your positive experience and include a photo of you enjoying their special event (just be cautious about featuring residents in a photo unless you have explicit permission from the resident and/or his/her power of attorney).
You aren’t planning far enough ahead. Even you are able to secure a quality speaker with minimal notice, you want to advertise at least a month ahead of time. Unless you already have a following of “regulars” who are on the lookout for your event information, it’s likely to be a tiny audience if your lead time is short.
You assume prospective guests only need to hear about your event once. You know how fast-paced the world is. Don’t assume that one mailer will get the attention of your perfect audience. You want your ideal attendee to get sick of hearing about your event! Do e-blasts. Drop off flyers where your prospective guests congregate. Advertise in newsletters, newspapers as well as on social media. Ask non-competing industry partners to share with their networks. Make sure your guest speaker is engaged in this process as well.
You aren’t ready when they show up. If the room in which your event is to be held is still being set up, your guests notice. They also notice if there isn’t someone from your community on hand to greet them when they arrive. If food is to be served after your speaker presents that’s fine– but at minimum beverage service (coffee, iced tea, water, etc.) should be available when guests arrive. A good rule of thumb is to have your room and refreshments ready at least 30 minutes before start time. And make sure you (or somebody) from your community is able to say hello to those early birds.
If you plan ahead, market the heck out of your event and are bright-eyed and organized when your senior living event guests arrive, you will be on your way to building your senior living event momentum!
The founder of Jenerations Health Education, Inc., Jennifer FitzPatrick has over 20 years’ experience in healthcare and gerontology. The author of Cruising Through Caregiving: Reducing The Stress of Caring For Your Loved One, she is also a gerontology instructor at Johns Hopkins University and an Education Consultant to the Alzheimer’s Association. She helps you reduce stress and increase productivity, morale and revenue. Jennifer and Cruising Through Caregiving have been featured in Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, The Huffington Post, Reader’s Digest, Univision and The Chicago Tribune. She has also appeared on ABC and Sirius XM.
Do you host educational events for prospective residents and caregivers as part of your marketing plan? If so, do you hang out for the actual educational presentation? If you don’t, you are missing a wonderful opportunity to better understand the needs and desires of your prospective residents and the loved ones who help them make decisions.
Why might a salesperson at a senior living community want to hear these remarks firsthand? The prospective residents and family members are informally sharing either 1) objections that you need to know exist or 2) that your community may be the solution to the problem they have already articulated!
Don’t you want to be able to follow up with the attendee after the event to explore an objection highlighted during the event? Wouldn’t it be great if you were able to naturally explain how your community might be the solution to the problem they’ve identified? Consider this the next time you head back to your office to do paperwork after the speaker intro!
Stay tuned—next week I will be discussing how to get the most out of your events for professional referral sources.