Register to Attend

For all registrations completed after June 2, 2026 attendees will need to bring confirmation of their registration to the registration desk upon arrival.

AM Keynote

9:00AM-10:30AM

Navigating Eldercare Placement

Michael Hooker headshot
Attorney Michael Hooker

Attorney Michael Hooker has practiced law for more than 40 years, with the last 30 years devoted exclusively to elder law and estate planning. Throughout his career, he has served as a fiduciary for hundreds of elderly and disabled clients in roles including Power of Attorney, Trustee, Conservator, and Executor. He has also acted as guardian and health care proxy for individuals requiring medical and placement-related surrogate decision-making.

A strong and experienced team supports the firm’s work. Jill Turati, LSW has been an integral part of the practice for 25 years, while Estelle Stasz has handled MassHealth matters for nearly 20 years and was featured in The New York Times in 2017. Mike’s son, Jake Hooker, joined the firm in 2022, and together with additional staff members — many with nursing home experience — the team brings deep practical knowledge to elder care advocacy.

The firm focuses on MassHealth planning and applications, asset protection, estate planning, probate administration, guardianships and conservatorships. Deeply immersed in issues surrounding aging, incapacity, long-term care, and probate court matters, the firm offers both legal guidance and practical insight into the challenges families and providers face when caring for aging and vulnerable individuals. Of particular concern are the closure of certain facilities, bed availability and the lack of uniformity in program in eligibility criteria for various settings.

Mike’s presentation will provide an overview of this complex landscape while offering an insider’s perspective on the gaps in the system and the obstacles families and care providers often encounter.

PM Keynote

1:00PM-2:30PM

Music and Memory: The Accidental Creation of a 92-year-old Social Media Sensation

Randi Lebar headshot
Randi Lebar

Elaine Lebar began playing piano at the age of 3. She graduated from the High School of Music and Art in NYC, received a BA in music from Brooklyn College and an MFA in music education from the University of Missouri. She was an accomplished performer, accompanist, educator and composer. While living with dementia, Elaine became a TikTok star with over 250,000 followers, and has been featured in both local and national news media. Elaine passed away at age 97 in 2025.

Randi Lebar graduated from Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1978 with a BA in Chemistry and went on to receive an MD in 1982 from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She then served for 11 years in the US Navy, completing her Orthopaedic Surgery residency at the Naval Hospital Oakland. After serving as an orthopaedic surgeon in Okinawa, Japan, Dr. Lebar left the Navy and moved to Maine where she continued her orthopaedic practice. Now retired from medicine, Randi lives in Sagamore where she knits, crafts, gardens, and pursues her passion for all forms of dance.

Key Takeaways

  • No one has to do this alone! Resources are available including support groups and books (such as Creating Moments of Joy Along the Alzheimer’s Journey by Jolene Brackey and Travelers to Unimaginable Lands by Dasha Kiper)
  • Make the effort to recognize the potential of individuals with dementia and help them to realize that potential. Find their piano! Their happiness will reward you in more ways than you can imagine. My mom is not the only TikTok star with dementia!
  • Embrace the opportunity to learn from those with dementia by remaining open and making a real effort to connect.
  • Accept that relationships will change. Look for the silver lining in the new relationship rather than focusing on the loss.
  • Be in their world. Tell gentle lies to reduce anxiety. Use their dementia to your advantage when it will create happiness and joy. Go with the flow!
  • Acknowledge the powerful impact of music in enhancing the lives of those with dementia – and use it!

Create connection through their:

  • Passions and Purpose
  • Interests
  • Abilities
  • New Activities
  • Old Activities

Promote interaction by finding their piano.

Für Elaine Lebar
By TikTok fan @Dreww32

The vastness becomes intimate
Beginnings and Endings – two parts of a musical hug
Closer and tighter
The notes sound – and gently dissolve;
I hold on for as long as I can.

Love notes.

Now comes a storm all bluster and confusion
Nothing seems right,
Nothing is wrong.
Jumbles of sounds tumbling about
Made orderly by forgotten mastery.
Melodies carved ethereal sculpture from stone.
One after another – Hard strikes, and soft,
Answering only the Soul’s directions.

Nightingale to our hearts,
The moonlight cause and effect,
Songs from unknown and uncountable memory.
Not coaxed, but released
The notes, peace and joy and hope.
You are my smiles.