Being selected to present at the IHCA Annual Convention recognizes Valley Vista’s commitment to advancing person-centered care and sharing innovative practices that can improve the lives of residents across Idaho.
When it comes to caring for older adults, one simple question can change everything:
“What happened to you?” instead of “What’s wrong with you?”
That compassionate philosophy is at the heart of Valley Vista Care Corporation’s approach to behavioral and complex care; and it’s being recognized across Idaho.
This month, Valley Vista Care will be represented at the Idaho Health Care Association (IHCA) 2026 Annual Convention & Tradeshow, where two of its clinical leaders will share the organization’s innovative trauma-informed care model with healthcare professionals from throughout the state.
Justin Smiley, LCSW, Director of Clinical Operations, and Megan Meinberg, MA, Complex Care Program Manager in Sandpoint, will present “The Story Behind the Behavior: Practical Trauma-Informed Care” on July 30 at the Nampa Civic Center.
Their presentation highlights an interdisciplinary approach that helps care teams recognize how past trauma can influence behaviors and teaches practical strategies that can be applied in everyday resident care.
Many older adults carry the effects of trauma throughout their lives. Moving into a long-term care community can interrupt familiar routines, relationships, and surroundings; sometimes causing past experiences to resurface in ways that are misunderstood. Behaviors such as anxiety, withdrawal, wandering, or agitation are often meaningful responses to those experiences rather than problems to simply manage.
Valley Vista’s model encourages caregivers to look beyond the behavior and understand the person behind it.
The presentation moves beyond theory by providing practical systems, assessment tools, interdisciplinary collaboration, and individualized interventions that help care teams recognize residents who may be affected by trauma. The goal is to create environments that promote dignity, trust, emotional well-being, and improved quality of life while supporting excellence in resident care.
The IHCA Annual Convention & Tradeshow held July 29–30, brings together long-term care professionals from across Idaho to share best practices, innovative ideas, and the latest developments in senior care.
For Valley Vista, the opportunity to present isn’t simply a professional milestone, it’s an opportunity to share a model of care that was developed through a deep commitment to understanding people, honoring their stories, and improving the lives of older adults across Idaho.
As Smiley and Meinberg hope attendees will discover, trauma-informed care is more than a regulatory expectation. It’s a mindset that helps caregivers build safer, more compassionate communities where every resident is treated with dignity, understanding, and respect.
At Valley Vista, that’s the foundation of everything we do.
