Keynote Panel sponsored by Medica Foundation

Moderator: Woody Love,
Board Member, Senior Community Services

Panelist: Dr. Arshia Khan, Professor of Computer Science, University of Minnesota – Duluth
Dr. Khan has earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer-Engineering, M.S. in Computer Science and Ph.D in Information Technology. Dr. Khan’s research efforts are directed at growing the new emerging field of biomedical and health informatics, specifically, in the areas of neuroscience, and therapeutic robotic assistive technology in combination with sensors and IoT (Internet of Things). She loves to teach, research and inculcate research interest among undergraduate and graduate students, encouraging and fostering a desire to pursue doctoral education.

Panelist: Amy Perron,Director, A System of Technology to Achieve Results (STAR)
Amy Perron is the Program Director for the Minnesota STAR Program. STAR is the state’s federally-funded Assistive Technology Act program. STAR’s mission is to help all Minnesotans with disabilities and older adults with functional needs. Amy has been with the STAR Program for six years. Prior to becoming the Director Amy served as STAR’s Assistive Technology Specialist.

Panelist: Krystal Wiebusch LSW, Social Worker, Senior Community Services
Krystal Wiebusch, LSW has been working with older adults and their families since 1996. She graduated from Saint Cloud State’s social work program in 2006 and has worked in nursing homes and assisted living facilities prior to joining Senior Community Services in 2012. She enjoys working with her experienced colleagues on the Senior Outreach and Caregiver Services team. Krystal specializes in community educational presentations, caregiver support, and support group facilitation. Away from her career she is a caregiver to her 65-year-old mother with dementia and cancer.

Session 1: Online Safety, Frauds and Scams

Online (and telephone) scam artists, often operating from overseas, use a variety of fraudulent schemes to trick people into sending money, often through wire transfers, or providing sensitive personal information that ends up being used to commit identity theft.

Attend this session to learn how these scammers gain trust and how to protect yourself, your loved ones or your clients.

This session sponsored by the Senior Community Services Board of Directors.
Information in this description was sourced from the Minnesota Commerce Department website.

Tony Ofstead, Director, CLEO, Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau
Tony was named as the Director | Chief Law Enforcement Official of the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau in 2022. Most recently Ofstead was the Captain of Special Operations at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis-9th District where he oversaw several different divisions within the law enforcement organization for the 3rd largest territory in the nation. Prior to that role Ofstead served with the Woodbury Police Department where he held a variety of different positions throughout his career to include investigations, narcotics task force officer, and canine officer.

Ofstead has a passion for personal development and growth in others and works with such organizations as the Trust Edge Leadership Institute, and has served on boards such as LEMA, USPCA, and the TBLMC. Ofstead has helped design and implement security processes for houses of worship and has helped plant a church for law enforcement and other first responders.

Joe Kaul, Tech & Program Coordinator, Senior Community Services
Joe currently provides technical consulting and support for Senior Community Services as part of his current duties, owned and sold his own IT support company. Joe also took the lead on developing our new service line that offers in-home and remote tech support & training for the older adults that our organization serves.

Session 2:  Smart DriverTEK — Focus on Driver Safety Technology
AARP’s Smart DriverTEK workshop is designed to help people age 50 and older learn about the safety technology they are likely to find in their new cars. Many older drivers don’t take advantage of these new safety features. The goal of the SDTEK session is to correct this, extending the number of years older adults are able to safely stay on the road.

We will preview nine key safety features that are available in most newer vehicles on the road today: smart headlights, reverse monitoring system, blind spot warning systems, lane-departure warning, forward-collision warning, drowsy-driver alerts, assistive-parking system, adaptive cruise control, and emergency-response systems.

John Severson, AARP SDTEK Instructor, AARP Driver Safety
John is a retired Presbyterian Minister and current AARP Volunteer Driver Safety and Smart DriverTEK Instructor. Following his retirement, he also worked for Apple Computer at the Mall of America for 9 1/2 years.

Session 3: Technology in Health Care
The future is now in healthcare with technology facilitating independence for seniors to age in place at home. We’ve entered an unprecedented time with over 60% of seniors owning a smart phone and investment and developments in remote monitoring, data connectivity, smart home technology and digital health applications occurring more than ever before.

In this session, we will explore the trends in healthcare technology and solutions that are both emerging and common in helping seniors stay healthy at home as long as possible.

This session sponsored by Optum.

Dani Fitzpatrick, Vice President Clinical Transformation, Optum
Dani FitzPatrick is a healthcare strategist with over a decade of experience solving the health system’s toughest problems. As VP Clinical Transformation at Optum, she leads a team focused on transforming healthcare with strategic solutions best connecting clinicians with over 2M patients in their homes annually. Dani lives in Robbinsdale, MN with her husband, two-year-old son and two Labrador Retrievers.

Vince Piersa, Vice President Clinical Operations, Optum
Vince Piersa brings 20+ years of leadership experience to Optum across several industries including retail, airline, government and healthcare. He has diverse leadership experience in finance, compliance, operations and program management. He currently serves as VP Clinical Operations where his team enables 8,000+ clinical staff across 50 states with technology strategy, support operations and program management.