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  • HFMA Indiana Pressler Memorial Chapter

    Building Connection and Confidence in a Changing Healthcare Landscape

Client Snapshot

The Indiana Pressler Memorial Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) brings together healthcare providers, revenue cycle leaders, and business partners across the state. Their annual conference and legislative update serves a dual purpose: delivering high-quality continuing education while strengthening relationships between providers and vendors in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment.


For this event, they engaged Amy C. Waninger to open the conference with her keynote session, Moving from Panic to Purpose.

The Challenge

Healthcare finance professionals are navigating relentless change — regulatory shifts, reimbursement pressures, technology disruption, staffing shortages, and heightened performance expectations. The conference organizers wanted more than a technically sound presentation. They needed a message that would:

  • Ground attendees in practical strategies for navigating change

  • Encourage meaningful connections between providers and vendors

  • Inspire greater volunteerism and chapter engagement

  • Set a positive, forward-looking tone for the entire conference


Many attendees were seasoned professionals. Some were vendors seeking stronger relationships. Others were providers looking for clarity and professional growth. The chapter leadership wanted a session that would resonate across roles while remaining actionable and relevant to the realities of healthcare finance.

The Approach

Amy partnered closely with the chapter leadership from the outset. Through structured kickoff and prep conversations, she clarified:

  • The provider–vendor dynamic within the room

  • The chapter’s desire to build genuine connection

  • The broader industry pressures shaping attendees’ daily work

  • The need for both practical tools and emotional grounding


Rather than deliver a generic change management lecture, she tailored Moving from Panic to Purpose to reflect the healthcare finance context. The session explored models of personal and organizational change while helping participants identify their own responses to uncertainty — including fear, resistance, and overextension.


Participants engaged in guided reflection exercises designed to help them:

  • Recognize unproductive patterns

  • Evaluate resilience strategies

  • Develop a personalized action plan for a current or imminent change


Throughout, Amy anchored complex concepts in real-life analogies and scenarios, ensuring the material was both memorable and immediately usable.

Our Results

Talkadot feedback report shows that 100% of audience found the session valuable and 94% want to hear this speaker again.

The impact was immediate and measurable.

  • 100% of respondents found the session valuable

  • 94% said they want to hear this speaker again

  • 97.1% rated the session relevant

  • 96.1% rated it practical

  • 95.5% rated it engaging

  • 95.5% rated it interactive


    • Beyond the metrics, the qualitative feedback revealed something deeper: the session resonated at both a professional and personal level.

    By opening the conference with clarity, practicality, and optimism, the session established a shared language around change — one that attendees carried into networking conversations, legislative updates, and breakout sessions throughout the day.

    “Booking Amy was seamless. She was reasonable in negotiations, fair in requests, transparent, and professional throughout. Her message kicked off our conference in a positive way and laid a foundation for success throughout.”


    — Billy McNeely, Event Organizer

    “Amy’s insight on the topics that she presented were very impactful toward our present day actions. For myself personally, I deal with stress at work from time to time. After hearing her speak, I believe that I have gained more than enough knowledge on how to overcome it.”


    — Brett Stringer, Audience Member

    “Amy is engaging and her message can be executed immediately. She was funny and used imagery and scenarios that make this easy to remember. I took notes!”


    — Kim Crowder, Audience Member

    Looking for a keynote on leading through change for your association conference? Learn more here.

    A Closer Look

    HFMA Southwestern Ohio Chapter's Women in Leadership Conference

    The HFMA Southwestern Ohio Chapter brought Moving from Panic to Purpose to its Women's Leadership Conference, along with 150 copies of her book for the audience. With 130 in the room and a slightly different audience profile, the organizer was confident the same message would land in a different setting.

    And it did. According to the chapter's Conference Organizer, attendees who had also heard the Indiana session said the Ohio version landed even better. The Talkadot results from a second HFMA audience were unambiguous:

    Talkadot feedback report shows that 100% of the audience found this session valuable and 100% want to hear this speaker again.
    • 100% of respondents found the session valuable
    • 100% said they want to hear this speaker again
    • 97% rated the session relevant
    • 96% rated it engaging
    • 95% rated it interactive
    • 94% rated it actionable

    The meeting planner's qualitative read tracked with the numbers. The room stayed present — not on phones, not checked out. Table discussions formed connections across the chapter, and the reflection exercises hit the right pace — substantive but not overwhelming.

    Amy C. Waninger presents from the stage in the background. In the midground, audience members watch intently from their tables. In the foreground, an audience member holds up a blue ballon with a worried face drawn on it. This balloon represents the audience member's feeling about change.

    “Just work with her — she's very flexible. She'll work with you on everything. Her goal is to be there, have everyone enjoy it, give them good tools, and have them connect. Engage with her. Do it. I would have no qualms ever recommending you for anything; not just women's groups, but any event.”


    — Alicia Henson, Conference Organizer,
    HGMA Southwestern Ohio Chapter

    Looking Ahead

    For association leaders, the role of an opening keynote is strategic. It shapes the tone, energy, and cohesion of everything that follows.


    In this case, HFMA Indiana’s leadership sought to combine education with connection. By addressing change head-on — while equipping attendees with tools to respond with purpose rather than panic — the conference began with momentum and shared focus.


    When professional associations create space for both technical excellence and human resilience, they strengthen not only individual members, but the entire ecosystem they serve.

    Ready to Set the Right Tone for Your Next Conference?

    If you’re planning a state or regional association event and want to open with a message that is practical, relevant, and immediately actionable, let’s start the conversation.


    Together, we can design an experience that equips your members to navigate change with clarity — and strengthens the connections that keep your chapter thriving.

    Book Your Discovery Call ↗