Colleen Blumenthal & Peter Longo Return as NIC Spring Conference Program Co-Chairs

In the first week of March, NIC will host its 2024 NIC Spring Conference in Dallas, TX. This year’s conference programming has been led by co-chairs Colleen Blumenthal (HealthTrust) and Peter Longo (Cantex Continuing Care Network). Learn what they recommend at this year’s event and what attendees can look forward to.

NIC: The theme of the 2024 NIC Spring Conference is “Turning Insights into Action.” What do you see as key insights and actions that our industry needs to effectively position for the future?  

Longo: One of the great things about planning the NIC Spring Conference is bringing together industry leaders with a wealth of experience to harvest their insights. Conference sessions are curated to build on these insights and bring together experienced speakers who will discuss how to leverage insights to create value. This year’s key insights revolve around leveraging technology, pursuing healthcare partnerships, and enhancing enterprise value through ancillary services.

Blumenthal: The Spring Conference in March comes at the juncture of results coming out from many of the NIC research initiatives and an inflection point in the capital markets. The sessions the planning committee has developed leverage these results to identify solutions to the challenges of margin erosion, a changing consumer base, and the middle market. The key insights attendees will take from the conference will allow them to proactively position their businesses to improve and thrive.

NIC: You serve as Co-Chairs of the NIC Spring Conference Program Committee. What are you most looking forward to when we all convene in early March?

Blumenthal: First and foremost: seeing everyone. Secondly: learning – in the hallways, at sessions, in meetings and, of course, at the reception. Attending NIC is how I keep my finger on the pulse of the industry.

Longo: It’s always a tremendous rush arriving at the NIC Spring Conference as you know you’re going to hear from some of the most talented and experienced professionals in the industry and come away with new ideas to act on. It’s also a great place to network and I always look forward to reconnecting with old friends.

NIC: Do you have other comments or thoughts that you would like to share?

Blumenthal: The Spring NIC has evolved from being the “baby NIC” to a forward-thinking, “where does the industry need to be in five, ten years” event. Attending the sessions at Spring NIC is how to stay ahead of the curve.

Longo: Beyond bringing great people together, another wonderful thing about the NIC Spring Conference is the time and attention that goes into creating compelling and actionable content. The 2024 NIC Spring Conference is entirely focused on networking, learning and innovation, and puts less emphasis on vendor relationship development, making it highly productive and enjoyable to attend.