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Monday August 5, 2019
A1: Workplace Track
Location: Grand Ballroom C
Workplace Culture: What it is and Why it Matters
Sue Misiorski,New England Regional Director of Operations, SageLife
Meg Jones, Vice President of Human Resources, SageLife
Description: Culture is the character and personality of your organization. A thriving workplace culture attracts the best talent, drives employee engagement, and leads to a level of performance that underpins quality of care and quality of life. One of the biggest mistakes an organization can make is letting their workplace culture form naturally without first articulating what they want it to be. Together, we'll explore the elements of workplace culture, its impact, and hear from SageLife about how they approached an intentional culture building process in their senior living communities in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
- Define workplace culture.
- Explain steps to articulate workplace values and culture.
- Identify steps to align operational practices with espoused values.
Sue Misiorski got her start in long term care working as a Certified Nursing Assistant and Home Health Aide while attending nursing school at the University of CT. She has drawn upon her roots as a caregiver as she has devoted her career to building relationship centered senior living communities where quality of life, quality of care and quality of jobs are the norm. Most recently, Sue served as Vice President of Workforce Innovations for PHI (Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute), the nation's leading resource on the direct care workforce. At PHI, Sue supported clients across the full continuum of long- term care services, specializing in person centered care, leadership development, and workforce strategies to improve recruitment and retention. Prior to joining PHI, Sue held positions as Director of Nursing and Vice President of Nursing in multi-site skilled nursing homes in New England. Sue has supported the construction and opening of several new assisted living and skilled nursing communities, and has extensive experience with regulations, daily operations, and systems implementation. In addition, Sue is a national speaker on topics related to person centered care and recruitment and retention, is a collaborator with CMS on initiatives to improve quality of life, and an author of articles, curricula and handbooks on key topics relevant in senior living today.
Meg Jones is a seasoned C-suite executive in health care and human resources, with extensive experience in governance, strategic planning and execution, acquisition management, and large scale systems integration and change management. Her expertise in leadership development and succession, organizational effectiveness, infrastructure needs assessment, HR strategy and management, and executive compensation has informed her work. As a partner of ZeroToSixty LLC (Philadelphia), Meg collaborates with health care entrepreneurs and innovators at startup and early-stage companies to facilitate attainment of breakthrough improvements in healthcare and health status. She builds strategies, internal structures, systems and coordinating mechanisms that can be scaled to support and sustain accelerated growth. Meg is currently on full-time assignment with Sage Senior Living (dba SageLife), a small, privately-owned, for-profit company undergoing rapid growth in designing, building and operating senior living communities in the Mid-Atlantic region.
A2: Dementia Track
Location: Combs Chandler
Quality Dementia Care – Best Practices & Outcomes Measures
Sam Fazio, Senior Director of Quality Care and Psychosocial Research, Alzheimer's Association
Doug Pace, Director of Mission Partnerships with the Alzheimer's Association
Margaret Calkins, PhD, EDAC, Board Chair, IDEAS Institute
Juliet Holt-Klinger, Senior Director of Dementia Care for Brookdale Senior Living
Description: This session will discuss the importance of a person-centered model of care for persons with dementia who reside in long-term care and community-based settings. An overview of best practices will be reviewed and the panel will discuss the importance of outcomes measurement as an indicator of quality care. Attendees will learn how a culture of quality improvement can be achieved in any long-term care or community-based setting.
- Discuss the importance of person-centered care model to influence quality care in long-term and community-based settings.
- Identify best practices to measure the impact of person-centered care approaches.
- Discuss how an organization can move from measurement of outcomes to quality improvement.
Doug Pace is the Director of Mission Partnerships with the Alzheimer's Association. In this role, he provides strategic leadership with government and other organizations to enhance the Association's influence in the area of dementia care. Previously, Doug was the Executive Director of the Advancing Excellence in Long Term Care Collaborative (AELTCC). The AELTCC's major initiative is the Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Home Campaign, a national campaign to improve the quality of life and quality of care for the country's 1.5 million nursing home residents. Prior to AELTCC, Doug was the Executive Director of the Long-Term Quality Alliance (LTQA). Before joining the LTQA, Doug was the Director of the Long-Term Care Solution Campaign at Leading Age in Washington, DC. He returned back to Leading Age in March 2008 after 18 months as the Executive Director of the National Commission for Quality Long-Term Care at The New School in New York, NY. Before joining the Commission, Doug was the Vice-President for Culture Transformation and the Director of Assisted Living and Continuing Care with Leading Age. Prior to joining AAHSA in June of 2001, Doug was the President of Leading Age Tennessee in Nashville, TN. He is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator who ran a 210 bed multi-level facility including a SNF, NF, a secured Alzheimer's unit and assisted living before joining Leading Age TN.
Sam Fazio currently works in the Program Team where he oversees quality care standards and social/behavioral research initiatives. Prior to working for the Alzheimer's Association, Dr. Fazio worked for Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center at the Alzheimer's Family Care Center, an adult day center specifically designed for people with dementia. He has worked in the field of aging since 1987 and has a broad range of experience, including research, leadership and management, working with older adults and families, and direct care. Dr. Fazio has presented both nationally and internationally as well as published several journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Fazio is the author of The Enduring Self in People with Alzheimer's: Getting to the Heart of Individualized Care and the co-author of the book Rethinking Alzheimer's Care.
Margaret (Maggie) Calkins is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of environments for elders, especially those living with Alzheimer's and other dementias. She has spent many years exploring the therapeutic potential of the environment — social and organizational as well as physical — particularly as it relates to older adults in need of support. A member of several national organizations and panels which focus on issues of care for individuals living with dementia, Dr. Calkins speaks frequently at conferences both here in the US and abroad.
Juliet Holt Klinger, Senior Director of Dementia Care for Brookdale Senior Living, is a gerontologist specializing in person-centered programs for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. As a trainer and program designer for over 30 years, Juliet has developed and operationalized programs for national companies representing both skilled nursing and assisted living levels of dementia care. Juliet holds a bachelor's degree in Social Work and an Aging Studies Certificate from the University of Iowa and a master's degree in Gerontology from the University of Northern Colorado. In her role for Brookdale, Juliet currently designs and innovates care pathways and programming for s nearly 500 dementia care communities. Brookdale's dementia care solutions span from its newest early-stage dementia care communities to skilled nursing and assisted living levels of care. Juliet is also a proud board member of Pioneer Network.
A3: Leadership Track
Location: Carroll Ford
Organizational Change: One Neighborhood at a Time
Angie McAllister, Director of Cultural Transformation, Signature HealthCARE
Chris Cox, Chief Operating Officer, Signature HealthCARE
Brian Owens, Quality of Life Director, Signature HealthCARE, Washington Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
Description: In this session, you will learn how Signature HealthCARE led transformation efforts in 55 communities through the Neighborhood Model; communities in their rural segment with traditional nursing home buildings which did not undergo major construction. Participants will also learn about how they used person-centered practices, such as team huddles, as a launching pad for transformation within the neighborhood. Additionally, guides will share their innovative LEAN strategies that incorporate the entire neighborhood in decision-making and process mapping known as QUEST.
- Define the Neighborhood Model and discuss its value in overall organizational design.
- Apply ways to incorporate increased communication through the neighborhood huddle process.
- List ways that LEAN management style can be incorporated into the neighborhood model.
Angie McAllister serves as the Director of Quality of Life and Culture Change Operations for Signature HealthCARE. She has worked in skilled nursing services since 1995, where she entered the field in a nursing assistant position. Since that time, Angie has held several different roles. She is an Eden Alternative Educator and Mentor. Angie also serves on the International Board of Directors for The Eden Alternative. She is also an advocate of creative engagement, purpose-filled living and person-centered care in aging services.
Chris Cox started his career in long-term care at age 14 and went on to perform just about every nursing home job imaginable — CNA, laundry, kitchen staff — you name it. His dad worked in a hospital so you might say it's in his blood. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Long Term Health Care Administration from Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, TN, Chris worked as an Administrator at nursing homes in Florida and Texas. In 1998, he became a regional operator for Delta Health Group, Inc. and oversaw nursing communities in Northwest and Central Florida. Chris joined Signature in 2006 as a Regional Vice President of Operations and has overseen regions in Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky. He became Chief Operating Officer of Signature Hometown in 2011, when the company reconfigured operations of its homes into three distinct segments. He and wife Melinda have been married for 30 years and have four children together. "What I love about the job is transforming the facilities from institutions to true home environments — that's the cool stuff. We create the environment and the culture that I know results in better care and better quality of life."
Brain Owens made his start in healthcare as a Certified Nursing Assistant. Shortly after arriving at Washington Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, he began working as a Quality of Life Assistant, focusing primarily on cognitive and sensory programs. During this time, he developed his own programming in addition to the activities calendar and also worked on special projects. Later, he became the Quality of Life Director and has continued working in this capacity. During his time as a Quality of Life Director, Brian has helped pilot and facilitate person-centered care, and is a member of the Eden Alternative Registry. He has received the Champion Award for two consecutive years and serves on agile teams for developing cultural transformation and person-centered care initiatives. He also assists with onboarding new QOL Directors, and training others on the use of the Quality Assurance and Culture change tools that he has helped to develop. He is always on the hunt for new and creative programming, and his favorite quote is, "If the answer is no, how do we get to yes?"
A4: Engagement Track
Location: Nunn
Addressing Ageism Through Intergenerational Art Programming with People Living with Dementia
Elizabeth Lokon, Founder/Director of Opening Minds through Art (OMA)
Description: What happens when pairs of strangers from different generations get together to make art? Using the Opening Minds through Art (OMA), an art program for people living with dementia developed at Miami University, as a case study, OMA's founder will share the rationale for intergenerational art programming and the research evidence on its benefits for all involved. After a hands-on art-making session, you will experience and learn the bio-psychosocial processes that occur when art-making builds connections between strangers. This is a proven and positive way to address ageism and build a more age-inclusive sensibility in all of us.
- Define a new way of conceptualizing love between strangers in intergenerational encounters.
- List the health benefits that occur when we experience moments of connection.
- Discuss the complex relationship between reducing ageism and increasing positive attitudes toward older adults.
Elizabeth Lokon, MGS, Ph.D. is an artist, gerontologist, and educator and uses visual arts to build bridges across age and cognitive barriers. She is the founder and director of the Opening Minds through Art (OMA), Scripps Gerontology Center's intergenerational art program for people living with dementia at Miami University in Ohio. Since 2008, OMA has been building thousands of friendships between students and people living with dementia. The program has been replicated at over 200 sites in North America.
Location: Brown
Award-Winning Neuroscience Approach for Dementia Residents in Memory Care
Dr. Govind Bharwani, Adjunct Professor, Wright State University
Description: In this session, Dr. Bharwani, a Biomedical Engineer, will share the revolutionary approach that he and the team at Wright State University developed, providing practical solutions to address the needs of individuals living with dementia using Neuroscience techniques. This work, which has received six national awards for Alzheimer's and Dementia Care in Assisted Living and Memory Care, has resulted in a reduction of falls and the use of anti-psychotic medications.
- Discuss the basic understanding of Neuroscience as related to Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
- Explain what the residents are trying to communicate through their behaviors and actions.
- Discuss practical techniques to reduce stress and behavior problems using a combination of music, video, stimulating, tactile and reminiscent therapies.
Dr. Govind Bharwani served as a Director of Ergonomics and Alzheimer's Care at Wright State University (WSU) for 10 years. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at WSU teaching courses in Ergonomics and Lean Process Improvement in Healthcare and Manufacturing applications. Dr. Bharwani earned his PhD from WSU in Biomedical Engineering with specialization in cognitive ergonomics. He has developed an innovative Behavior-Based Ergonomics Program (BBET) for Alzheimer's / Dementia care which has received six national awards. BBET program is currently used in over 70 nursing homes in 11 states and has resulted in reduction in resident falls and in use of psychotropic medications for behavior management. This revolutionary program is changing the culture of Alzheimer's Care using a neuroscience approach. Dr. Bharwani has written several articles on Dementia Care which have been published in many journals and magazines. BBET program developed by Dr. Bharwani uses individualized music, video, stimulating and tactile therapies as opposed to group activities currently used in Memory Care.
Location: Willis
Translating our Professional Experiences of Death into Meaningful Service to Elders
Wendy Lustbader, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Washington School of Social Work
Ian Johnson, LICSW, Doctoral Candidate, University of Washington School of Social Work
Description: Pioneer Network is committed to changing the culture of aging in America not just in residential, age-segregated settings, but outside of these settings as well. This session's cutting-edge think-tank approach is bigger than how we help individuals. It asks those of us who serve elders (in all settings) to look inwardly at our own attitudes toward dying and death, as shaped by our professional experiences with witnessing dying and death in multiple contexts. We will also be challenged to think out loud about how to change the culture of our workplaces to better serve elders in this crucial aspect of life.
- Describe the nature of the lessons learned when we are bystanders to dying and death.
- Sketch components of approaches to dying and death, making use of lessons learned personally.
- Identify possible ways to improve or launch a positive and explicit culture of dying and death in various settings.
Wendy Lustbader, MSW, is the author of several books and essays that have earned her a national reputation in the field of aging. She is also a popular speaker at conferences throughout the United States and Canada, using storytelling to animate complex subjects. Additionally, Wendy is a skilled psychotherapist, having worked almost twenty years with people from all walks of life at a community clinic in downtown Seattle. Equally passionate as a writer, teacher, and therapist, she brings a social worker's lived experience to her writing, teaching, and service to older people. Currently, Wendy is an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work in Seattle. She is one of the co-founders of Pioneer Network and has been committed to culture change in aging for over 35 years.
Ian Johnson, LICSW is a social work practitioner with older adults and doctoral student at the University of Washington School of Social Work. He is interested in the ways the culture change movement can contribute to preparing the homeless housing care continuum for population aging.
A7: Quality Improvement Track
Location: Clements
Preventing Harm for Residents While Honoring Choice
Kelly O'Neill, Program Manager, Stratis Health
Marilyn Reierson, Senior Program Manager, Stratis Health
Kathy Dobson, Vice President of Senior Services, Lakewood Health System
Laura Ferguson, Administrator, Riverside Health & Rehabilitation
Angel Davis, MBA, MS, BSN, RN, QIN-QIO Nursing Home Subject Matter Expert, CMS
Description: One-third of nursing home residents experience an adverse or temporary harm event, and the majority of those are preventable. Join us to learn about a quality improvement initiative focused on preventing, detecting, and mitigating adverse events, harm, and abuse in nursing homes, while honoring each resident's rights and preferences. Participants will receive a Change Package with a model for safe care and actions to prevent events related to medications, resident care, infections, and abuse and will hear successful strategies and specific actions from two nursing homes working to improve the quality of life and care for their residents.
- Recognize the extent to which adverse events occur, and why we are focused on prevention of harm.
- Explain how the Change Package to Prevent All Cause Harm in Nursing Home residents was developed.
- Discuss the content in the Change Package.
- Examine how to use the Change Package for Quality Improvement to prevent, detect, and mitigate harm while honoring each resident's rights and preferences.
- Formulate next steps to prevent and reduce harm.
Kelly M O'Neill, RN, BSN, MPA, CPHQ, Program Manager with Stratis Health, is a national leader in healthcare performance improvement, with a focus on improving the quality of care and quality of life for people living and working in nursing homes. She provides leadership for resident/patient quality improvement and safety activities in nursing homes across the country as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) National Coordinating Center. She has co-led two national initiatives to identify strategies and actions high performing nursing homes implement to achieve excellent results and prevent harm and adverse events, while honoring resident rights and preferences, documenting findings in the form of Change Packages (2013, 2018). Throughout her career, Kelly has focused on the importance of knowing each person individually and supporting their needs and choices. She has a Master's degree in public and nonprofit administration. Kelly is a certified professional in health care quality, and a master trainer for AHRQ's Team STEPPS and Falls Prevention Programs. She serves on AHRQ's Technical Expert Panel for surveys on patient safety culture. Her nursing experiences include intensive care, acute care, and rehabilitation.
Marilyn Reierson, MS, has worked to improve the lives of those living and working in nursing homes since 1997 and has been actively supporting Pioneer Network and the culture change movement since 2004. Marilyn provides leadership for resident/patient quality improvement and safety activities in nursing homes across the country as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Quality Innovation Network National Coordinating Center. Through this work, Marilyn helps identify best practices in healthcare processes and procedures and works with CMS, QIN/QIOs, and nursing home staff to adapt and adopt these practices to improve quality of life and quality of care for those living and working in nursing homes. She works extensively with national stakeholders and partners, developing relationships to align initiatives and spread successful strategies, tools, and best practices.
Kathy Dobson is Vice-President of Senior Services for Lakewood Health Systems. She managed integrated health system departments of Social Services, Activities, and Spiritual Health for 18 years before transitioning to Senior Services Operations and then Senior Services Administration in 2014. Her lifelong career emphasis has been in advocating and educating on the needs of vulnerable populations and assuring autonomy, quality of care, safety and best experience for these populations. Kathy is involved in multiple department-level, system-level, and regional-level program development and implementation on behalf of Lakewood Health System.
Laura G. Ferguson, Administrator of Riverside Health & Rehabilitation in Thomaston, Georgia, has been a professional in long-term care for 35+ years. Her career began as a nursing assistant while in high school. She quickly fell in love with this field and continued to pursue a career in long-term care through employment and academic pursuits. After graduation, Laura continued to work in nursing homes, gleaning experience in activities, social services, admissions and eventually administration. She earned dual degrees from Mercer University in Business Administration and Human Services and a Master's degree in Education in Policy Development and Program Evaluation Program with an emphasis on Health Policy. Laura has served as an adjunct professor at Middle Georgia State University, for nine years, teaching Healthcare Administration. Through this role, she shared her passion for long-term care and assisted in the development of future field professionals, many of which have sought their own licenses as Administrators. Currently, Laura is enjoying her time with her two amazing children, who are both seniors and looks forward to continuing her studies in the near future, at a doctorate level and to return to teaching at a collegiate level. Laura has received awards for excellence in her field, including several Administrators of the year awards from corporations and three AHCA Quality Awards for buildings she has managed.
Angel Davis, RN, MBA, MS, BSN is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Long-term Care Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the Quality Innovation Network – Quality Improvement Organizations in the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, Division of Beneficiary Healthcare Improvement and Safety. In her current position, Ms. Davis is responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating QIO guidance, quality improvement policy and providing leadership and guidance for the nursing home task. She also provides leadership, policy and professional nursing expertise. Ms. Davis joined CMS in 2010 working as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Medicaid Division of Pharmacy and has also worked in the Center for Program Integrity. She has more than 20 years of proven healthcare experience in medical-surgical nursing, long-term care, quality improvement, hospital utilization review and case management. She also continues to work for an acute care hospital providing utilization review and discharge planning services in the emergency department.
Location: Breathitt
Overcoming Obstacles in Creating the Household Model
Thomas Grden, Principal / Project Director, Stantec Architecture
Renz Weinmann, Project Architect, Stantec Architecture
Description: The household model has become the prevalent paradigm in the long-term care industry, but does it seem unattainable within your physical plant or care culture? This session will explore ways to create households under difficult circumstances, will bring new ideas from other cultures and housing types, and will explore the social unit that is the household itself. Many nursing homes and assisted living communities have a physical plant arrangement that dates back to the 70s, 80s, or 90s when senior housing and care was very different. The culture of aging has changed, and with it both care attitudes and living environments must change.
- Gain fresh design ideas for what a "Household" can be.
- Reconsider what a realistic household size really is for staffing and budget.
- Learn successful ways to renovate older buildings and with tight budgets.
Thomas Grden's interest in design for elders began at the university level, studying Environmental Psychology and related topics in part under gerontologist Ed Ostrander PhD at Cornell. Tom has been active in Pioneer Network for several years, having co-presented at their national conference in 2016. Recently, he and his team presented at the Spring 2018 Conference of PACAH, The Pennsylvania Coalition of Affiliated Healthcare and Living Communities. He and Stantec have recently become part of the Southwestern PA Partnership for the Aging (SWPPA) because the organization addresses the broader needs of aging in the community, including its membership in the WHO Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities. Likewise, Tom and Stantec staff periodically attend workshops by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation in Pittsburgh because of their wide range of senior-related foci. At Tom's lead, Stantec, is a member of PACAH, SWPPA, PALA, the West Virginia Healthcare Association (WVHCA), LeadingAge PA, part of Pioneer Network, and VOICE!, to expand the firm's grass-roots knowledge of the needs of residents, their care-givers, and service delivery systems, as well as to furnish a designer's input from a North American senior living design practice perspective.
Renz Weinmann graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architectural Design in 1989. Renz's first internship was the small firm of Herman, Gibans, Fodor in Cleveland, Ohio. Projects included the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging's Alzheimer Nursing Home. Philosophically, Renz believes architecture services provide value and design to the built environment. Professionally, he is client service oriented. With over twenty-five years of professional experience in architecture, Renz is currently a Lead Project Architect at Stantec in Pittsburgh where his projects have included Senior Living, Nursing Home renovations and new construction for various clients, as well as Healthcare and other projects. Renz has co-presented on implementing person-centered senior living design, and currently leads A/E project teams in the design and construction drawings for senior living projects. In design document production, he provides design and technical guidance during projects, and is the resident expert in senior care code compliance.
Location: Sampson
Can Residents ACTIVATE Culture Change: You Bet! Here's How
Bob Sherwood, Esq., Resident, Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury
George Wedberg, Independent Living Resident, Ingleside at King Farm
Description: Two residents from two continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) at different journey stages will discuss the critical role of residents in shaping resident-directed culture. From outside the resident experience, employees and boards cannot fully appreciate what it's like to live in a retirement community. For many, old age looks better than anticipated. This session explores how life changes on entry to, and transition within, a community and why this calls for resident contributions to a thought process that promotes a resident-directed culture. Techniques used by residents in CCRCs in Virginia and Maryland will be shared.
- Describe the two communities represented, exploring how they see the role of residents in culture change and how residents see themselves relative to crafting culture change.
- Describe how residents are leading in changing two communities' culture and how residents describe techniques and tactics that have been used effectively to do this.
- Describe how thought process methods can help implement resident participation in culture change.
Bob Sherwood has been a resident in independent living for 11 years at Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury in Winchester, VA. He spearheaded a resident-led assessment of the quality of care at this CCRC which then launched their culture change journey. Bob served as a Pioneer Network Board Member from 2012-2017 where he chaired the Governance Committee and was a member of the Education Committee.
George Wedberg has been an independent living resident at the Ingleside at King Farm (IKF) CCRC in Rockville, Maryland for the past three years. He has served as a member of the IKF Healthcare Committee for the past two years and has initiated activities at IKF designed to bridge the divide between the Assisted Living and Independent Living communities.
A10: Thrive Center Session
Location: Thrive Center
Learn about Thrive Center
(session limited to 50 people)
Guide: Sheri Rose, CEO & Executive Director, Thrive Center
Description: Don't miss the opportunity to tour the Thrive Center and see first-hand the innovative technologies and products, dynamic programming for elders and clinical assessment tools on display and learn about how they are being combined with a clinical approach that is geared toward improving the quality of life for those affected by memory issues, like Alzheimer's and dementia.
- Gain awareness of how innovative technologies can enhance the lives of Elders
- Experience some of the latest technologies can improve quality of life for people living with dementia.
- Gain awareness of a variety of clinical assessment tools designed using new technology.
Sheri Rose is the CEO / Executive Director of the Thrive Center, a nonprofit innovation center focused on wellness and aging. She is also a partner at Commonwealth Leverage LLC, a healthcare professional consulting firm. Sheri previously held positions with AT&T, as Director of Sales & Regulatory. She also serves as President of the Metropolitan Louisville Women's Political Caucus & serves on the board of New Directions Housing Authority. She was named by Louisville Business First as "Top 20 People to Know in Aging." Sheri has a B.A and M.Ed. in Psychology from the University of Louisville.
|Take a short 5 to 10-minute walk from Galt House, the conference hotel, for a chance to experience The Thrive Center, an educational center designed to enhance the quality of life for those aged 50+. The center features innovative technology and specialized programming to enhance elder wellness.
Through its innovative products, dynamic programming for elders and clinical assessment tools, the Thrive Center is poised for global impact as a cutting-edge innovation facility to promote healthy aging.
B1: Workplace Track
Location: Grand Ballroom C
Workplace Culture: What Employees Want You to Know
Emily Dieppa, Workforce Innovations Consultant, PHI
Panel of Direct Care Workers
Description: Culture building needs to be a highly inclusive process, and it needs to be intentional. In this session, you'll hear from direct care workers about what they value most in a workplace culture, and what makes them stay. Through a facilitated discussion, you'll learn important questions to ask your own employees and have a chance to communicate directly with our panelists who serve as CNAs and Home Health Aides in long-term care.
- Explain the national demographics framing the workforce shortage.
- Identify at least 5 things that employees' value most in their workplace.
- Identify questions to ask your employees to learn what will improve retention.
As a Workforce Innovations Consultant with PHI, Emily Dieppa supports leadership and staff working in long-term care settings to create better quality jobs for caregivers and improve the quality and accessibility of care for consumers. For the past nine years, Emily worked to empower the direct care workforce by creating pathways to economic sustainability and addressing the systemic challenges facing long-term care workers. By creating a home care training center in Detroit, Emily connected incumbent personal care aides to advanced training, higher wages, and an accessible career ladder. She did this work in partnership with diverse stakeholders, including home care agencies, nursing homes, city officials, and labor unions. As Chief of Staff for a healthcare workforce organization, Emily has experience leading organizational development and culture change during times of transition. Rooted in mission-driven design, she created and facilitated internal staff development programs and leadership conferences for over 400 healthcare workers to foster personal and professional growth. Emily also currently serves as an advisory board member for the IMPART Alliance, where she collaborates with leaders across Michigan to address an ever-growing caregiver shortage and build the necessary infrastructure for a statewide personal care aide training program.
B2: Dementia Track
Location: Combs Chandler
A Theory Driven Framework to Engage Staff in Resident-Centered Care
Nimian Bauder, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Geriatrics & Extended Care, Veterans Affairs, Long Beach, CA
Description: This session will provide information on the utilization of a framework to increase staff engagement and cultural transformation change. There will be an introduction of the theory driven framework, the L.O.C.K Model, and how the L.O.C.K model helps with staff and resident engagement. It will also address the importance of staff-based efforts for meaningful change, looking at the "Bright Spots" for continued success. A case study showing how the framework lead to increased staff engagement and increased resident-centered care will be presented.
- Define engagement and discuss the benefits of residents & staff engagement.
- Compare focusing on successes vs. failures, applying principles of the L.O.C.K framework.
- Name & discuss the components of a quality improvement huddle and the purpose of the bright spots program.
- Evaluate how using the bright spots program can result in positive staff engagement, increased resident-centered care, and improve a quality measure of choice.
Nimian Bauder is Cultural Transformation Coordinator/Professional Practice Leader at the VA in Long Beach, CA. She began her registered nursing career in gerontology working in long term care, short stay skilled care, acute rehab, palliative and hospice care. Having obtained experience in these different areas helps her to appropriately implement resident-centered care changes in various settings. Nimian has 10 years of experience serving as an advocate for person-centered care. In her role, Nimian actively participates in culture change activities, preparing and equipping leaders and staff to implement person-directed practices and transform the culture of the VA's Community Living Center homes.
B3: Leadership Track
Location: Carroll Ford
Cultural Competencies & Diversity Planning: A Pathway Promoting a New culture of Aging
Peggy Brenner, Regional Director of Nursing, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities, Inc.
Jed Johnson, Managing Director-Aging Services, CARF International
Description: Embracing inclusion and celebrating diversity are hallmarks of delivering true person-centered care. This session begins by providing a framework that providers can utilize that facilitates holistic cultural competency and diversity planning. Documented factors that contribute to organizational excellence in diversity and inclusiveness will be discussed. Sample templates and related protocols utilized by CARF accredited aging services providers will be shared. Replicable examples of organizational efforts/initiatives from varied aspects of service delivery will be provided. These illustrations are what bring these plans to life. Measurement tools and methodologies to document outcomes will be provided.
- Differentiate between culture, diversity and inclusion.
- Describe how to develop a cultural competency and diversity plan in terms of age, gender, sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, socioeconomic status and language.
- Identify services that reflect and support the culture and diversity of each individual within the community environment.
Peggy Brenner received her MSN from the University of Pennsylvania with clinical experience in respiratory care, intensive care, medical-surgical nursing and gerontology. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing. She has served as a nursing educator at Holy Family University in Philadelphia and adjunct faculty at Bucks County Community College in PA. Peggy was a Director of Nursing and Nursing Consultant in long-term care prior to her employment at Acts Retirement-Life Communities. She is an advocate for person-centered living and serves as a culture change coach for Acts Retirement-Life Communities. This role gives her the opportunity to educate and inspire all stakeholders and implement practices that enhance person centered living within the communities. Peggy was an active member of the Board of Directors for VOICE (formerly PA Culture Change Coalition) and is presently an active member/participant of the PA southeast division of VOICE. She has presented various topics related to person-centered living at Pioneer Network's annual conference and for LeadingAge.
Jed Johnson is a recognized leader on caregiving, respite care, long-term services & supports, and quality practices in the field of aging services. He currently serves as Managing Director of Aging Services for CARF International. Prior to joining CARF, he was a member of the Easter Seals national office leadership team providing oversight to a $25M portfolio of federal, corporate and foundation funded initiatives supporting older adults, persons with disabilities and their family caregivers across the organization's 71-member affiliate network. Jed has extensive experience in home and community-based services (HCBS) having served as VP of HCBS for a faith-based long-term care provider in Pittsburgh, PA. He is the past board chair of the National Adult Day Services Association and past Treasurer of the American Society on Aging. Jed is a frequent speaker at professional meetings and has authored several aging services-related articles, publications and curricula. He has graduate degrees in both Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice.
B4: Engagement Track
Location: Nunn
Creating a More Livable Community for All: How They Did it in Louisville, KY!
Tihisha M. Rawlins, Associate State Director, AARP Kentucky
Barbara Gordon, Director of Social Services, Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency
Allison S. Smith, PH.D., AARP, Louisville Metro
Natalie Pope, University of Louisville Trager Institute
AARP has engaged policy makers, community partners and residents to help make communities livable for older adults. State offices, like AARP KY have used research to inform their planning and guide their approaches to make improvements in the area of livability. As its demographics shifts in Louisville, AARP-KY continues to use research to identify challenges and benefits of changing communities, and leverage this research to engage policy makers and residents. This session will highlight how using research can impact the livability of Louisville resident through community partnerships, outreach, engagement, messaging and advocacy. The guides will engage participants in interactive discussion and will share information on other cities within the Age-Friendly Community network.
- Discuss ways to use focus groups to listen and learn about community needs and ways to engage residents in public policy discussions.
- Discuss the many ways research can be used to improve the livability of a small city through community outreach, engagement, messaging and advocacy.
- Discuss AARP's contributions to making communities more livable for adults as they age.
Tihisha Rawlins is an Associate State Director at AARP. She serves as a member of the Kentucky team and is responsible for the development of strategies for effectively implementing AARP's work in local communities with external organizations, academic and business groups and AARP chapters and volunteers. Tihisha works to develop volunteer leaders and to recruit, match, orient, train, and support volunteers in Kentucky. She creates and implements formal volunteer policies and recognition plans. Provides technical assistance in the areas of meeting planning, communications, skill development, etc. Participates in training volunteers on priority issues, strategies, policies, and state specific initiatives and communications processes focusing on volunteer leadership development.
Barbara Gordon has several years' experience working in the community in various capacities, including Coalition development, planning and implementing initiatives related to health and wellness, and advocating for programs and services that will impact the quality of life of all citizens living in the communities she serves. She is also a Part-Time Instructor at the University of Louisville Kent School Of Social Work. She serves on the Board of Directors for Kentucky Association for Gerontology and is the Immediate Past-President. She is the Immediate Past-President for the Southeast Association for Area Agencies on Aging; and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association for Area Agencies on Aging. She serves as a member of the Regional Mobility Council for the KIPDA Region, the Kentucky Coalition for Healthy Communities, and is a member of the Kentucky Association for Area Agencies on Aging. Ms. Gordon has worked in the field of human services for more than four decades.
Allison Smith, Ph.D., Louisville Metro Government. Allison Smith is Community Engagement Strategist and Brownfields Program Manager in the Office of Advanced Planning for Louisville Metro Government, as well as a part-time lecturer in the Biology Department at the University of Louisville. She advises city agencies on effective community engagement and leads a work group focused on improving the city's outreach to residents. Her research interests include environmental justice and policy, affordable housing, inclusive community engagement in marginalized communities, and climate change effects on aquatic systems.
Natalie Pope is the Marketing and Business Specialist at the University of Louisville Trager Institute and Chair of Age-Friendly Louisville. She earned both a Master's in Social Work, specializing in Gerontology, and an MBA from the University of Louisville. Since becoming Chair of Age-Friendly Louisville, she has helped the organization successfully conduct a city-wide listening tour that resulted in a community-driven strategic plan. She currently helps Age-Friendly Louisville implement its strategic plan and improve the initiative's sustainability.
Retirement from YUM Brands in 2008, as an accounting manager, was only the beginning for Rita Morrow. Today, she is still giving back community service hours helping others. Rita's volunteering began long before she retired from YUM Brands (KFC) working with students in Junior Achievement. Now her activities include: AARP Tax Preparation, the Louisville Community Team and Driver Safety and she is a member of the Age-Friendly Leadership Team. Rita received the AARP Andrus Award for Community Service in 2012. The Andrus Award is AARP's highest award presented to a volunteer for community service, named for AARP's founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. She received a Master of Business Administration from Indiana Weslyan University. Rita is a mother and grandmother, enjoying the grandchildren's activities. Rita's other interest include travel and golf.
Location: Brown
Harnessing Music's Full Value in Healthcare — A New Gold Standard
Erin Spring, Co-Chair, Music Listening Workgroup/Owner/Director/Music Therapist at Central Ohio Music Therapy, LLC
Description: Music is all too often undervalued in healthcare, contributing to lost health gains & sustainability, unsafe and harmful applications of music, and loss of an integral aspect of our humanity, individuality and autonomy. In this session, guides will review resources including the American Music Therapy Association's Guidelines for Music Listening, board certified music therapists, research supported therapeutic music programs, and care agencies/communities that have successfully implemented standard and best practices of music in healthcare to support personalized care, fostered intergenerational and community bonding and delivered effective non-pharmaceutical interventions. Video examples and live music interventions will be included.
- Provide at least one example of how music can be used to support each of the following: person-centered care, intergenerational & community bonding, and non-pharmaceutical intervention.
- Describe at least 3 examples of how the expertise of a board-certified music therapist can be obtained and used to achieve challenging person-centered healthcare goals.
- List at least one source for obtaining information on each of the following: personalized music listening, therapeutic music programming, organizations & care communities with successful implementation of music as a standard of care.
Erin Spring has been a practicing, board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) in Ohio since 2007 and founded Central Ohio Music Therapy in 2010. She is a neurologically trained music therapist serving a variety of populations including the terminally ill, elders, and hospitalized patients. Erin holds a bachelor's and master's degree in music therapy from Ohio University and interned at the Cleveland Clinic Palliative Medicine Unit.
Erin is a member of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and the Association of Ohio Music Therapists (AOMT). She currently serves as the co-chair for the AMTA Music Listening Workgroup that provides support to music therapists developing music listening programs and advocating for safe and effective music listening experiences. She also serves as co-chair for the Ohio Music Therapy Task Force seeking licensure in the state of Ohio to increase access to music therapy services for Ohioans. She advocates for music therapy and the therapeutic use of music through presentations to local organizations, agencies and businesses. Erin enjoys including her two registered pet therapy dogs, Oscar and Rosie, in her work and advocacy for non-pharmaceutical approaches to healthcare.
Location: Willis
Age Queer: The Workshop
Ryan Backer, Age Activist, OldSchool.info
Description: This will be a visioning workshop about age, aging, and ageism. We will be (re)imagining the ways in which we can engage a pro-aging response to the barrage of anti-aging messages we are faced with every day. We are all age travelers, somewhere on the spectrum between older and younger. Where is our age pride? Together we can transcend the young/old binary and subvert traditional age markers. Everybody is welcome to participate in this workshop. Please bring something to write with as we will be exploring our own personal narratives in order to creatively approach the aging process.
- Through the use of reflection, gain an understanding of different chronological ages.
- Name and discuss the different words associated with age and aging.
- Compare and contrast thoughts and feelings around aging with vocabulary to describe aging.
Ryan Backer is an age activist striving to undo ageism within an intersectional framework. He has facilitated his pro-aging, anti-ageism workshop 'Age Queer' in NYC, Berlin, Dublin and Philadelphia. Ryan identifies as a white, non-binary, European-American 'old person in training', with an undergraduate degree in Gerontology.
B7: Quality Improvement Track
The Role of POLST in Advanced Care Planning: Supporting Choice at End of Life
Location: Breathitt
Rethinking the Building, Rebuilding the Thinking — Elders in Distress
Stacey Hall, Director of Social Work, Practice Partner, St. John's Home
Diane Bogaczyk, Director of Nursing, Practice Partner, St. John's Home
Mimi DeVinney, Dementia Specialist, St. John's Home
Description: It's not them, it's you! The number of elders with dementia living in long-term care increases every year. As a result, both the elders and staff require additional support. In our journey to achieve small homes, we have focused on identifying how environment affects well-being. At the same time, our Elder in Distress (EID) team takes a holistic approach to identify the source of the distress, especially in elders who are unable to articulate their needs. Instead of a traditional behavior plan, we are reviewing the individual and all those who touch their lives (elders they live with, staff, family, other elders' families). This relational approach has become our re-imagined purpose.
- Examine the difference between a behavior plan and a well-being plan.
- Attendees will create a well-being plan.
- Explore ways to initiate an EID team and how it can be used to promote person centered care.
Stacey Hall serves as the Director of Social Work / Practice Partner at St. John's Home, a long-term care community in Rochester, New York. With over 12 years' experience as a Director of Social Work in long term care, she has worked in several organizations at varying levels on their culture change journey. Stacey has a profound passion for elders and changing the culture of long-term care through the development of human connections and small homes. She is an experienced social worker who believes in the beauty of creating joy and enhancing the lives of elders.
Diane Bogaczyk has over 30 years of experience as a RN in a variety of settings, serving in the positions of DON and LNHA throughout the majority of her career. She has vast knowledge and experience in long term care working with elders living with dementia and their families. She is a Certified Eden Associate. Director of Nursing, Practice Partner (content expert) for the Nursing Department, with responsibility for daily oversight and resource management for eight Neighborhoods. Diane regularly provides assistance to Neighborhood leadership with establishing goals and work plans driving toward St. John's small homes vision. She serves on the Elder in Distress team, consulting with care teams and assisting them in the information gathering and problem-solving process, to improve care for those living with dementia, one elder at a time.
Mimi DeVinney is the Dementia/Quality of Life Specialist at St. John's Home in Rochester, New York, where she has worked for 19 years. After working for many years in Therapeutic Recreation, she was happy to be able to move into a role that focuses on elders living with dementia. Mimi has learned from a variety of training sources, such as Teepa Snow's Positive Approach to Care, Dr. Al Power's Dementia Beyond Drugs, Spark of Life and the Alzheimer's Association, but most of all from the elders who taught her over the years. Mimi has developed the dementia advocate program at St. John's home and completes training for staff. She is a Certified Eden Associate.
Location: Sampson
The Spirit of Sustainability in Person-Centered Care…and How Important It Is!
Gary Gibson, Director of Pastoral Care, Presbyterian Senior Care Network
Description: As we all know, Culture Change/Person-Centered Care is not a destination, it is a journey and a process that unfolds one day at a time. To improve the quality of life for elders takes a lot of hard work, dedication and devotion to what Pastor Gary refers to as "being called, not just accepting a job or position." Our individual spirit must be fed by what we are given the privilege to do each day. How do we keep that spirit healthy and fresh while continuing to address and assess the needs of our residents, families and staff? The SPIRIT of sustainability is not always easy to attain, especially if there are employees that don't share the same passion for it that you do. Maintaining a healthy spirit can and should carry us through the work week with purpose, motivation and a natural desire to help ourselves as well as others to grow.
- Help to develop a spirit of encouragement and support for PCC journey.
- Discuss the importance of how our healthy spirit can affect others daily in a positive way. Develop a process of keeping person-centered care in the forefront of what we do each day.
- Evaluate the ways in which we currently integrate person centered care into our daily routines and how to make them become best practices.
Gary Gibson is Pastor of North Buffalo Presbyterian Church, Washington, PA; Chaplain & Director of Pastoral Care, Presbyterian Senior. Care, Wash, PA; Chaplain & Hospice Spiritual Counselor for Washington Health System, Wash, PA; and teaches at Washington Hospital School of Nursing, Penn Commercial Business School, and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He has worked in HealthCare/Long Term Care for thirty years as a Chaplain and has been involved in Culture Change/Person Centered Care for twenty-one of those years. In his role as pastor, Gary helps residents make the transition to their new home as smooth as possible by constantly addressing and assessing their physical, social, philological and spiritual needs.
B10: Thrive Center Session
Location: Thrive Center
Virtual Reality Supporting Individuals with Dementia To Live their Best Lives
(session limited to 50 people)
Susan Ryan, Senior Director, The Green House Project
Carrie Shaw, CEO, Embodied Labs
While many dementia care models offer basic education and training for dementia care, most lack an empathetic approach that enables care partners to fully understand the perspectives of the person living with dementia to enable not just dignified and respectful care, but to support a meaningful life for each person that is living with dementia. This 90-minute session, held at the Thrive Center, will explore how two organizations have collaborated to integrate the Green House Project's unique dementia approach with Embodied Labs cutting-edge tool that immerses learners in the stories of those who are living with dementia by putting on a virtual reality (VR) headset and spending a few minutes as that person.
Participants will 'embody' the person living with dementia through the VR platform as well as learn core principles that define the Best Life dementia approach. The innovative approach to experiential learning will create new perspectives and insights for lasting impact on both staff and individuals living with dementia.
- Apply embodied learning theory and its ability to give your organizations' staff powerful insight into the perspective of an individual living with dementia.
- Discuss how virtual reality training can be integrated as a way to "fast track" understanding, empathy, and confidence by integrating usable assessments with a novel training tool, and how to apply that data to meaningful organizational change.
- Explore the elements of a new approach to dementia care and how it enables individuals living with dementia to thrive.
Susan Ryan has spent more than 25 years working with elders as a nurse and change agent. She has worked in a variety of elder care settings and helped to lead her previous organization's transformation to culture change by assessing industry innovation and developing strategic and educational protocols. Her passion for improving the quality of life for elders has been demonstrated in a variety of settings. Over the years, Ms. Ryan's concentration has been in the field of gerontology and Alzheimer's/dementia care. She currently serves as Senior Director of The Green House Project. Prior to working with The Green House® team, Ms. Ryan served on the leadership team of a non-profit continuing care retirement community, where the organization transformed their culture by assessing industry innovation and outcomes and developing strategic and educational protocols. Her experience includes leadership roles as Director of Nursing in long-term care and as a Geriatric Nurse Educator providing grant-funded programs to support deinstitutionalization of community seniors.
Carrie Shaw was a caregiver for her mother, who had early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and wondered, "If I could somehow step into my mother's shoes and learn about life with AD through her eyes, would that help me become a better and more empathetic caregiver?" That question, along with lasting lessons of her service in the Peace Corps, drove her to pursue her masters of science in Biomedical Visualization at the University of Illinois Chicago, where she met two of her fellow Embodied Labs co-founders. Embodied Labs has partnered with The Green House Project to offer embodied learning education to Green House partners through its Best Life dementia care program.
|Take a short 5 to 10-minute walk from Galt House, the conference hotel, for a chance to experience The Thrive Center, an educational center designed to enhance the quality of life for those aged 50+. The center features innovative technology and specialized programming to enhance elder wellness.
Through its innovative products, dynamic programming for elders and clinical assessment tools, the Thrive Center is poised for global impact as a cutting-edge innovation facility to promote healthy aging.
B11: Dining Track
Location: Clements
SAGE Conversation: The Deep Seated Issue of Choice
Linda Bump, Registered Dietician, Consultant Action Pact
LaVrene Norton, Founder, Action Pact
Panel: Lisa Pingel, Life Enrichment, and Timothy Neuman, Food and Nutrition Service Director, Brewster Village
Description: Join this experienced team to share ideas around the issue of resident choice and autonomy especially relating to food, eating, dining, convivium, rhythm of the day and simple pleasures. Using the frame of dining Linda Bump, RD, NHA, and the team will spark deep conversation around the difference between meaningful and token choice, and how to best support individualized resident decision-making. Join this energetic discussion and explore how vision, attitude and deep system change can imbue culture with choice.
- Describe the range of possibilities in honoring choice, particularly what is considered token vs meaningful choice, and the expected outcomes from honoring resident autonomy and self-direction.
- Describe the support of the New Dining Practice Standards and New Dining Practice Standards Toolkit to enable organizations to imbue culture with meaningful choice.
- Describe the deep system shifts that create a culture of choice and control.
Linda Bump is a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Nursing Home Administrator with a passion for resident choice and quality of life with a particular focus on the kitchen as the heart of the home. As an administrator, she has guided four organizations through transformations to a social model of care: Northome Healthcare Center, Bigfork Valley Communities, Meadowlark Hills and Pennybyrn at Maryfield. She has extensive experience as both an internal and external consultant in nursing homes and has provided education on culture change to 60+ nursing homes through her work with Action Pact since 1999. Linda leads the Action Pact workshops: Food for Thought, and Life Happens in the Kitchen. She is the contributor and author of Action Pact workbooks: Nourish the Body and Soul and Life Happens in the Kitchen.
A pioneer and champion of the Household Model, LaVrene Norton has been guiding organizations on their culture change journeys since 1984. She is recognized as the nation's foremost organizational change facilitator in long-term care and has taken her expertise to Ireland and Australia as well. In addition to building curriculum for the broad series of Action Pact workshops, intensives and consulting, LaVrene has led the Action Pact team in the development of a deep catalog of culture change and Household Model literature, workbooks and DVDs, most notably In Pursuit of the Sunbeam which she co-authored with Steve Shields. She holds a Masters of Social Work.
Tuesday August 6, 2019
C1: Workplace Track
Location: Grand Ballroom C
Workplace Culture: Creating an Inclusive Community
Sue Misiorski, New England Regional Director of Operations, SageLife
Tim Knight, Executive Director of Health and Wellness Services, Park Springs
Description: Diversity is the tapestry of long-term care. One in four direct care workers is an immigrant, and more than half are people of color. In addition, for the first time in history there are four generations working alongside each other. Our long-term care communities are home to workers and elders of all faiths, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and income levels. Together we will explore strategies to build meaningful relationships where each person's individuality is welcomed and respected.
- Explore the rich diversity of individuals working in Long-term care.
- Discuss what it means to be a relationship-centered community.
- Explore strategies for building meaningful relationships.
Sue Misiorski got her start in long term care working as a Certified Nursing Assistant and Home Health Aide while attending nursing school at the University of CT. She has drawn upon her roots as a caregiver as she has devoted her career to building relationship centered senior living communities where quality of life, quality of care and quality of jobs are the norm. Most recently, Sue served as Vice President of Workforce Innovations for PHI (Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute), the nation's leading resource on the direct care workforce. At PHI, Sue supported clients across the full continuum of long- term care services, specializing in person centered care, leadership development, and workforce strategies to improve recruitment and retention. Prior to joining PHI, Sue held positions as Director of Nursing and Vice President of Nursing in multi-site skilled nursing homes in New England. Sue has supported the construction and opening of several new assisted living and skilled nursing communities, and has extensive experience with regulations, daily operations, and systems implementation. In addition, Sue is a national speaker on topics related to person centered care and recruitment and retention, is a collaborator with CMS on initiatives to improve quality of life, and an author of articles, curricula and handbooks on key topics relevant in senior living today.
Tim Knight began his healthcare career working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in long term care in 1986 and became a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in 1987. After attending the nursing program at the University of New York at Albany, he obtained his license as a Registered Nurse (RN) in 1998 and obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Healthcare Administration in 2011. Tim is originally from Maine and relocated to Stone Mountain, Georgia in April of 2017 to assume the position of Executive Director of Health & Wellness Services at Park Springs.
While working in Maine, Tim served as a Registered Nurse in a variety of healthcare settings including acute care, long-term care and assisted living, introducing a person-centered, person-directed approach to each level of care. Tim served as the President of the Maine Culture Change Coalition and worked on several statewide projects that supported changing how traditional care is delivered in long-term care, memory care and assisted living.
Tim is currently working at Park Springs in Stone Mountain, Georgia where he continues his passion of culture change through the direction and support of the Household Model of Care and the Dementia Care Matters Butterfly model of care. In July of 2017, Tim lead his team in opening the new Pebblebrook Health Center and in August 2018, the Memory Care household at Pebblebrook became the first accredited Butterfly Home in the United States and was accredited at a Level 1, the highest possible rating.
C2: Dementia Track
Location: Combs Chandler
Dementia Care in Rehab: Research Supported Concepts, Tools and Approaches
Christopher Krause, Director of Rehabilitation, It's Never 2 Late
Carrie Chiusano, Executive Director – Dementia Care Center of Excellence, Presbyterian Senior Care Network
Description: Technology supported engagement can drive successful care for those living with dementia. Until recently though, evidence to support the efficacy of tech intervention for dementia care has been scarce as those individuals are often left out of the equation since technology is typically seen as a tool for people who are cognitively intact. New provider-driven research is changing that paradigm while validating new strategies. This session will offer new research and insights that will inform options, benefits, and pitfalls to avoid, as we share tools and methods that support care, regulatory compliance, and outcomes, while enhancing patient, family, and staff satisfaction.
- Identify the benefit of, and best options for, technology supported dementia care.
- Learn research validated methods and approaches and how they can immediately incorporate person-centered technology into the care for those living with dementia.
- Identify various clinical, operational, and regulatory outcome opportunities and how to reach them.
Christopher Krause has been an Occupational Therapist for the past 26 years, mostly working with elders. Early in his career, Chris provided treatment in acute care, sub-acute, outpatient, home health, and skilled nursing arenas. With a special passion for reaching those living with dementia, Chris focused his clinical and operational efforts on embracing innovation while making a conscious shift away from traditional approaches. By focusing on individual interests and any working elements of long-term memory, he has helped bring about a shift in the rehab approach to those living with dementia. Working with caregivers, providers, and therapists all over the country, Chris and his team continue to develop intervention techniques and tools to support meaningful and person-centered interactions that lead to improved clinical outcomes.
Carrie Chiusano has thirty plus years of long-term care experience with Presbyterian SeniorCare Network. This knowledge and experience led her to become a mentor, motivator and dynamic catalyst to lead Presbyterian SeniorCare Network's Dementia Care Center of Excellence. Carrie led the development of Community-Based Dementia Training modules addressing topics such as: Dementia… What's it all About, Finding the Right Words… How to Communicate, Behaviors… Finding a Creative Path and Family Dynamics. Initial participants of the training included RNs from the emergency department and the nursing units of local hospitals and then as the program continued, included the Quality Improvement team. Carrie's educational outreach continues with pretest and post-test validation of success and now has been expanded to include First Responders, local Fire Departments, Police Departments and EMS Teams from Erie to Washington, PA. As word of Carrie's sessions continues to spread so has the audience where education has been provided to an Employee Assistance Program as well as Park Rangers and Community Recreation teams through the Pennsylvania Recreation and Parks Society.
C3: Leadership Track
Location: Carroll Ford
Transformational Kindness: Mastering Emotional Intelligence to Practice the Golden Rule
Lia Levitt, CEO & Founder, Ain't She Sweet, LLC
Description: "Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see". — Mark Twain
To better exemplify kindness in practice, participants will take a tour on a road map of emotional intelligence. Through a scenic journey, this map will address how to avoid roadblocks and pitfalls associated with not treating others as one would want to be treated themselves. Become a kindness ambassador with a clear route to "tangible today" tips for embodying cognitive compassion. If you're ready to create a culture of empathy, understanding and awareness, this is the workshop for you.
- Define and demonstrate microinequities.
- Articulate "Cognitive Compassion."
- How to navigate the journey through the roadmap.
Lia Jill Levitt is a global citizen, having traveled to over 50 countries and is committed to redefining the conversation around aging. She left her corporate career in 2017, most recently heading up Enterprise Learning and Leadership Development for a financial corporation to start a company dedicated to intellectually inspiring seniors. She recently completed a memoir, "Ain't She Sweet: A Coming of (Old) Age Story," which details her blind grandmother's phenomenal transformation at a Connecticut nursing home. Knowing publication could take years, she combined her drive to empower elders with her lifelong public speaking experience to form Ain't She Sweet, LLC, a company named for her grandmother's favorite song. The company is focused in four areas: intellectual programming for elders, education for caregivers, partnering with provider marketing teams and as a resource for custom staff leadership training. Lia received her Master of Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania in Organizational Dynamics, Organizational Consulting and Executive Coaching in 2015. Her research is published through Penn Scholarly Commons. Lia also has an M.S. in Leadership & Strategic Management and a B.A in Communications, with a concentration in Human Relations. She currently writes as a regional editor for Grand Magazine, a national lifestyle magazine for grandparents.
C4: Engagement Track
Location: Nunn
Deinstitutionalizing Eldercare Through the Wisdom of Community-Centered Living
Joe Carella, Executive Director, Scandinavian Charitable Society of Greater Boston
Description: Community-centered living is built on gathering a community of people rather than housing and segregating a portion of the elder population. The impact, after implementing community-centered living in a small community, saw over 2,000 monthly visitors (not counting family and friends of residents) walk through the front door to create natural human connections. Led by Scandinavian Living Center Director, Joe Carella, who has spent his career studying and implementing community-centered living, this session will provide attendees with a framework for the philosophy as well as realistic ways to bring elements of community-centered living into their communities.
- Gain the tools to transform their community into an inviting gathering place promoting social interaction between residents and neighbors from the community at large.
- Plan and compare ways to encourage the residents and neighbors to engage more actively in the programs and services, thereby experiencing a greater connection to their neighborhood and friends.
- Appreciate that community-center living, with its associated programs and community-wide interactions, will be under continuous public scrutiny and support.
Joe Carella is the Executive Director of the Scandinavian Charitable Society of Greater Boston; parent company of the Scandinavian Living Center and Scandinavian Cultural Center. The design and development of the Scandinavian Living Center in Newton, Massachusetts, is based on the research and principles from his first book, "Unlimited Options for Aging." He has shared these concepts on a national stage. His second book, "Creating Unlimited Options for Aging, The Path Forward," was recently released and introduces the critical concept of community centered living. Joe has a MBA from Babson College and an undergraduate degree from Northeastern University. He was a founding board member of the Newton Cultural Alliance, which supports the performing and visual arts in the Newton and Boston area. He also serves on the board of Elizabeth Seton and Marillac Residence, Inc., two nonprofit elder care organizations in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
C5: Dining Track
Location: Brown
Did You Know, I Can Say No!?
Barbara Thomsen, CDM, CFPP, RAC-CT, QCP
Description: The rights of residents living in long-term care communities are guaranteed by the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987. This law requires nursing homes to "promote and protect the rights of each resident," with an emphasis on individual dignity and self-determination. The CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Mega Rule changes that began with Phase I in 2016 and are continuing with Phase III in 2019 have bolstered these rights in all areas of care in every nursing home. In this session, Barbara will explore with attendees their understanding of these rights, with an emphasis on these rights, specific to dining such as resident's likes, dislikes, preferences, and ethnic choices are honored.
- Verify understanding of the rights all residents have under the federal regulations.
- Understand how dining services works to honor resident preferences, likes, dislikes and ethnic choices.
- Develop strategies for aiding staff in responding appropriately to resident requests related to dining preferences.
Barbara Thomsen, CDM, CFPP, RAC-CT, QCP spent 7 years as the MDS/OASIS Automation Education Coordinator/Trainer for the State of Iowa/Iowa Foundation for Medical Care/Telligen. Previously, Barbara was employed in Long Term Care facilities for 10+years and has her degree as a Certified Dietary Manager & Resident Assessment Coordinator Certified, and QAPI Certified Professional. Additional responsibilities while at IFMC/Telligen in conjunction with the MDS/OASIS programs/ regulations, included Medicaid case mix reimbursement for the state of Iowa, Team member Iowa Medicaid Enterprise Nurse Reviewers, and partner Iowa QIO's (Quality Improvement Organization). She is the current Spokesperson of the Iowa Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals, National ANFP Legislative Chair and currently works with ANFP as their Education/Regulatory Consultant. Barbara has been implemental in training MDS 3.0 to over 4,000 providers since its inception in 2010 and is a respected trainer/educational partner for various Health Care Associations and state ANFP chapters as well as a National ANFP speaker and American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordination Presenter. Barbara continues to be active with CMS and is a current IMPACT Act TEP (Technical Expert Panel) member.
Location: Willis
Cultivating a Culture of Compassionate Care
Dr. Charla Long, JD, President of Go Long Consulting
Description: If you were to review your website or mission statement, you are almost certain to see the phrase "compassionate care." We all strive to provide services and supports in a compassionate manner, but few can substantiate their effectiveness in achieving this goal. In this interactive workshop-style session, we will collectively define and behaviorally describe compassionate care, discuss ways we can teach, reinforce, and enforce a compassionate environment, and explore an assessment tool that allows us to measure whether compassionate care is, in fact, being provided.
- Behaviorally define and describe compassionate care;
- Use effective practices to continually teach, monitor, and encourage staff to demonstrate desired behaviors to reflect compassionate care; and
- Create an assessment tool that can be used throughout their organizations to measure compassion.
Dr. Charla Long is President of Go Long Consulting, a firm focused on aging services and higher education innovation, and the part-time Executive Director for the Competency-Based Education Network, a national consortium of higher education institutions and statewide systems seeking to design, develop, and scale new models of student learning. Dr. Long was the founding dean of the College of Professional Studies at Lipscomb University and the creator of their nationally acclaimed competency-based education (CBE) model and badging ecosystem. She has over 20 years of experience in the higher education setting. Before leaving Lipscomb, Dr. Long served on the University's Academic Leadership Team, setting the academic vision for the entire University, and built, developed, and inspired a team of individuals to achieve college objectives. As Creator and Founder of The School of TransformAging®, she was selected by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to chair the Governor's Task Force on Aging. As Chair, she authored the Governor's strategic plan, drawing from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, to better meet the needs of older Tennesseans and their families. Over the years, Dr. Long has worked with multiple nursing communities on Directed Plan of Corrections and coordinated compliance efforts with CMS. She has trained thousands of direct service professionals in countless communities throughout the southeast United States. She has recently completed a CMS-grant funded, six-nursing home project in South Carolina designed to reduce the use of antipsychotics in dementia residents. The Chronicle of Higher Education named Dr. Long one of the Top 10 Most Influential People in Higher Education in 2016. The Nashville Business Journal in its inaugural class of award recipients named her a "Woman of Influence" for Innovation.
C7: Quality Improvement Track
Location: Clements
Transforming Care Through Age-Friendly Health Systems
Marie Cleary-Fishman, Vice President, Clinical Quality, American Hospital Association
MaeMargaret Evans, Age-Friendly Health Systems Advisory Committee Member, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Magdalena Bednarczyk, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Geriatric Medicine at Rush University Medical Center
Description: The nation's adult population over age 65 is projected to reach 83.7 million by the year 2050, an increase from 21% of the population in 2012 to more than 39% in 2050. Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States. The initiative is designed to meet the needs of older adults, looking beyond acute events, engaging the whole community, and achieving better health for older adults. By focusing on four key areas — what matters, medications, mobility, and mentation, we aim to improve care, safety and outcomes; improve patient and family engagement in care; and reduce length of stay and readmissions.
- Assess the need for health systems to become age-friendly.
- Review and apply the Age-friendly care model which focuses on implementing evidence-based strategies and practices across four core elements (improve patient care, safety and outcomes, improve patient and family engagement in care and reduce length of stay and readmissions).
- Review the progress and challenges of the initiative at the pilot sites and hear about how your organization can become involved.
Marie Cleary-Fishman currently holds the position of Vice President, Clinical Quality for the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) an affiliate of the American Hospital Association (AHA). She has been with HRET since March of 2014 and manages the High Reliability Practice area including the Hospital Innovation and Improvement Network (HIIN), the Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) work and a diverse portfolio of federally and privately funded projects.
MaeMargaret Evans serves on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Age-Friendly Health System initiative as an advisory council member. She provides insights on her experiences as an older adult navigating through the healthcare system. She will open the session with a short story to amplify the importance of this work and the potential impact that it can have.
Magdalena Bednarczyk, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Geriatric Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where she is the medical director of Rush Senior Care outpatient clinic and the Chief of Geriatric Medicine at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC). She is responsible for the strategic vision, planning and development of service lines targeting complex older adults living with multiple chronic conditions. Dr. Bednarczyk has been a Co-Investigator for the HRSA Funded Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program since 2015. She is the lead physician in RUMC's efforts in attaining the Age Friendly Health System designation. Dr. Bednarczyk received her bachelor's degree from University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana. She is a graduate of Poznan University Medical School in Poznan, Poland. She completed her residency in Family Medicine at Mt. Sinai-Chicago and her fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at Rush University Medical Center.
Location: Breathitt
Mattering Really Counts — Measuring Quality of Interactions
Dr. David Sheard, Founder, Dementia Care Matters
Peter Priednieks, Co-Founder, Dementia Care Matters
Description: Creating a culture of care where people living and working together really matter is the key. Staff really want to return to their original motivations in supporting people — creating positive moments of social interaction. In Dementia Care Matters, we call this 'Being a Butterfly,' and we believe that it is possible to measure and provide evidence of people's lived experience that shows progress and success in achieving positive moments of social interaction.
The Quality of Interactions Schedule (QUIS) is a validated observational assessment tool which measures, in a very simple accessible way, five types of care across a day in the life of a care home. From its findings, QUIS guides a whole care team on how to increase their focus on people mattering. This session will train staff how to engage in short periods of qualitative observation and provide guidance to participants on how to use this approach when they return to work, enabling them to measure their team's quality of interactions and culture of care creating real sustainability.
Quality of life starts with really seeing, hearing and feeling the minute by minute experiences of people and being determined to change the moment.
"Feeling you matter is at the core of being a person. Knowing you matter is at the heart of being alive. Seeing you matter is at the centre of carrying on in life." Dr David Sheard
- Understand how Dementia Care Matters can create a culture of care for people living and working in long-term care.
- Understand how to use the QUIS to measure care.
- Demonstrate how to engage in qualitative observation in order to measure their team's quality of interactions.
Global pioneer and dementia care change management specialist, Dr David Sheard has changed the future of dementia care through his radical and innovative dementia care 'Butterfly Model.' Founder of international award-winning Dementia Care Matters, David has grown the organization over two decades to be a world leader in culture change in dementia care across multiple care settings in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and the USA. David's aim is to shape culture change in dementia care and to emphasize the primary competency is in a model of emotional intelligence where 'Feelings Matter Most.' David's beliefs, values, boundless energy and passion have driven changes that to many were only a dream. His herculean effort has revolutionized the culture of care nationally and internationally.
Peter Priednieks, Co-Founder, Dementia Care Matters began his career as a Science teacher. In his late 20s, he moved to become an RAF Officer with responsibility for training and development, He went on to be a Training and Development Manager for the next 13 years. In 2000, he joined Dementia Care Matters as the Development Manager/Consultant of the team. As someone who has always worked from the perspective that each individual has their own reality and needs to be reached in order to realize potential, coming to the field of dementia care brought the different aspects to his personal and work life together.
Location: Sampson
Initiating Aha Moments! It's all in a Strong Foundation
Laci Cornelison, Project Coordinator, Kansas State University
Description: Have you hit barriers in implementing person-centered care? How can these be addressed head on? Learn strategies to initiate Aha moments in your team members and other stakeholders as you strive to implement deep changes to support person-centered care in your organization.
- Identify cognitive barriers to change.
- Evaluate outcomes from one method of producing Aha moments.
- Explore ways to initiate Aha moments & recommendations of additional resources.
Laci Cornelison (MS, LBSW, ACHA) is currently the PEAK 2.0 Project Coordinator with the Kansas State University Center on Aging. She is on a mission to serve and support organizations as they implement person-centered care. As a young person, Laci knew elders deserve to continue to direct their own lives where ever they are living and despite disease and illness. Laci is a licensed adult care home administrator and social worker with a background in the nursing home field. She is also a published author and advocate for quality of life for frail elders, particularly those living with dementia.
C10: Thrive Center Session
Location: Thrive Center
Using Compassionate Touch® to Build CarePartner Relationships
(session limited to 36 people)
Pam Brandon, President/Founder, AGE-u-cate Training Institute
V'Ann Giuffre, VP Operations, AGE-u-cate Training Institute
Description: Compassionate Touch® is an evidence-informed, proactive approach of skilled touch that helps prevent expressions of distress in people living with dementia while, at the same time, reducing job stress in care partners. In this session, you will learn why skilled touch is good "medicine" in dementia care; how touch strengthens care partner relationships; two Compassionate Touch® techniques; the clinical impact of skilled touch on behavior, pain, and anxiety; and case examples of integration in existing eldercare communities. The experiential focus of the session makes the knowledge "come alive" and attendees leave with a skill that can immediately be applied as a new tool.
- Describe how skilled touch enables care partners to connect and communicate in new ways with people with dementia.
- Competently perform two skilled touch techniques using the resources and instruction given.
- Explain, as evidenced by self-report, the clinical impact of skilled touch on behavior, pain, and anxiety of people living with dementia.
Pam Brandon is President and Founder of AGE-u-cate® Training Institute based in Dallas-Fort Worth. Drawing on over 20 years of personal and professional experience in caregiver education, Pam is passionate about embracing positive change in the field of aging training. A strong believer in hands-on learning, Pam is the creator of the Dementia Live™ and Aging Live™ sensitivity awareness training programs that are fast gaining worldwide interest. A professional speaker, trainer, and facilitator, Pam directs and leads the AGE-u-cate® team of professionals in creating innovative, evidenced-based and strong outcome-driven programs for long term care providers, healthcare, the public and nonprofit sectors. She is excited to be sharing innovative tools for dementia care professionals and the work that AGE-u-cate® is doing in their work with Texas Woman's University and helping these programs become integrated and sustainable within their organizations.
V'Ann Luedke Giuffre, Vice President of Operations, AGE-u-cate® Training Institute, Dementia Live™ Master Trainer, Compassionate Touch® Master Trainer, Ageless Grace® Certified Educator, TimeSlips™ Certified Facilitator. V'Ann has been an education specialist in school, business and conference settings for over 20 years. She finds great satisfaction in making learning come alive for people, whether aged 3 or 93. She brings her energized teaching style to her role as Master Trainer for Dementia Live™ and Compassionate Touch® and is a Certified Ageless Grace™ Educator. As AGE-u-cate's Vice President of Operations, V'Ann keeps the balls in the air, juggling logistical details. Born and raised in rural Central Texas, V'Ann now lives in Fort Worth.
|Take a short 5 to 10-minute walk from Galt House, the conference hotel, for a chance to experience The Thrive Center, an educational center designed to enhance the quality of life for those aged 50+. The center features innovative technology and specialized programming to enhance elder wellness.
Through its innovative products, dynamic programming for elders and clinical assessment tools, the Thrive Center is poised for global impact as a cutting-edge innovation facility to promote healthy aging.
Location: Ballroom B
Living Out Loud with Dementia
Jytte Lokvig, Alzheimer's and Dementia Specialist
Susan Balkman, Retired Therapist Living with Dementia
Description: Humans thrive with purpose and socialization. This is especially true of people living with cognitive disabilities. The Alzheimer's Café provides both in a judgment-free monthly gathering of people living with dementia and their caregivers, families, and friends. The focus is on enjoying each other's company while making art, sharing stories, songs, and snacks. In this experiential session, you'll try some of the no-fail projects enjoyed at the cafés and adopted nationally by many communities because they are appropriate and enjoyable regardless of the cognitive status or skill-level of the participants.
- Explore creative projects while discussing the importance of purpose to the well-being of an individual living with dementia.
- Define obstacles of living with dementia, including Alzheimer's.
- Experience the fun and inspiration that people living with dementia find when working in a group.
From her youth, Jytte Lokvig has been a leader in progressive movements, educational programs, advocacy for equality, and person-centered eldercare. She holds a doctorate in Management of Alzheimer's Caregiving and counsels individuals, families, and professionals in communication and caregiving approaches. Jytte designs meaningful lifestyle programs and conducts in-depth staff training for care settings. She has been particularly effective in working directly with people living with dementia, helping them find purpose and easing communication in their relationships whenever possible. In 2008, she founded the first Alzheimer's Café in the United States and Canada, located in Santa Fe, NM. She mentors others around the country to start their own cafés. By 2011, Jytte established the National Registry of Alzheimer's and Memory Cafés, which remains the most comprehensive list of current Cafés, over 400 by 2018. Since the mid-nineties, Jytte has been an important voice in the national dementia community, through her numerous appearances and publications: Alzheimer's A to Z, Secrets to Successful Caregiving; Alzheimer's A to Z, A Quick Reference Guide; The Alzheimer's Creativity Project; Alzheimer's and Memory Cafés: How to Start and Succeed with Your Own Café; Moving and More.
Susan Balkman believes that having a sense of purpose with dementia means not giving up and having something to look forward to. When she received the diagnosis of dementia and was given no guidance except to go home and get her papers in order, it took her breath away. She was young. What would Susan do with herself for the next two or more decades? Had she not met Jytte Lokvig, she would have lost her ability to LIVE OUT LOUD WITH DEMENTIA. Jytte asked what she loved to do. Since then, Susan's life has opened up again because of her work with clay.
D1: Workplace Track
Location: Grand Ballroom C
Retention 911: Hiring, Inspiring, Engaging, Retaining
Christopher Ridenhour, Director of Workplace Culture, SpiriTrust Lutheran
Description: No more "churn and burn." No more wishing, hoping, or finger-crossing to keep folks from rushing to the exits! Are you ready to make this the "Year of Retention?" First question: Where did things go south? The relationship between the applicant and organization starts off so promising! The courtship begins with the interview and moves to hiring! Each side enters this union bright-eyed and optimistic about a long and satisfying relationship. Every day afterward is another opportunity to choose the level of physical, mental, and emotional commitment. Organizations that fail to fully appreciate, coach, and inspire their staff, lose the battle to retain them in an industry notorious for burn out and under-appreciation. Great news ahead. This session promises to transform the energy traditionally reserved for handwringing, complaining, and worrying about the workforce crisis into strategies that create inclusive, positive, and cooperative work environments.
- Define and discuss the causes of poor retention and examine organizational and personal actions impacting job satisfaction and employee engagement.
- Assess their professional skillset against the research-based competencies necessary to coach and encourage others to higher levels of performance and purpose.
- Develop a 30-day plan that creates a departmental or building culture characterized by openness, accountability and the courage necessary to encourage new behaviors from influential colleagues.
Christopher Ridenhour serves as Director of Workplace Culture for a Pennsylvania-based CCRC and Social Services Management Company, where he has developed and delivered high-impact staff education focused on World Class Hospitality, Elevated Employee Engagement, New Supervisor Training, Aspects of Inspired Leadership, and Total Team Commitment, among other critical employee competencies. Christopher considers himself to have been blessed by the opportunity to travel to hundreds of organizations and scores of conferences over the last 16 years. He brings a national perspective to the participants/organizations, no matter how far along they are in their Culture Change journey. Characterized by a HIGHLY INTERACTIVE and participatory style, audiences are provoked to consider how interpersonal relationships impact EVERYTHING: the quality of our elders' lives, change management, staff retention, leadership accountability, and staff engagement.
D2: Dementia Track
Location: Combs Chandler
Living Well with Dementia: Expert Panel
Doug Pace, Director of Mission Partnerships with the Alzheimer's Association
Panel of Advocates Living with Dementia or supporting individuals living with dementia
Brian LeBlanc, Advisory Board Member, Dementia Action Alliance
Arthena Caston
Jay Reinstein
Description: This session will highlight the personal experiences of individuals living with dementia as they explore what it means to live well. A panel of advocates living with Alzheimer's and other dementia will discuss strategies to maximize independence, maintain a sense of identity, and plan for the future. Panelists will also discuss quality care from the perspective of those living in the early stage and offer insights on how care providers and caregivers can support their efforts to live well for as long as possible.
- To gain a better understanding of individuals living with dementia and who they are as individuals.
- To define what quality of care is through the eyes of someone living with dementia.
- To understand how to support independence and identity for people living with dementia.
Brian LeBlanc grew up in New Orleans, LA and has lived in the Gulf Coast area since then. He found his niche in the professional world as a Marketing and Public Relations Executive. Diagnosed in October of 2014 with Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease and no longer able to work, LeBlanc made a career change by using his voice to spread Awareness and Education about Living with Alzheimer's Disease. He now spends his time as a Keynote Speaker and Session Presenter at International, National and Local Conferences, Seminars and Workshops. He also teaches Crisis Intervention Team Training to Law Enforcement as to how to recognize individuals living with a Dementia-Related Illness. He serves on the Advisory Board of Dementia Action Alliance, the Early Stage Advisory Group of the National Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Advocate for the Alzheimer's Pensacola Bay Area, Alzheimer's Advocate for Dementia Alliance International, Keynote Speaker for Elite Cruises and Vacations for Dementia-Friendly Cruises and is the author of a blog: https://abitofbriansbrilliance.com.
D3: Leadership Track
Location: Carroll Ford
Making it Happen: Lessons in Change Management
Jill Vitale-Aussem, President & CEO, Eden Alternative
Description: Change is hard. So hard, in fact, that 70% of change efforts fail. When transforming our organizations to create a person-directed culture, it's critical that we understand the challenges that we will face. This session explores the dynamics of effective change leadership and provides participants with tools and the self-awareness necessary to successfully navigate change. Participants will explore topics such as: technical vs. adaptive challenges, the phases of competence, the theory of diffusion of innovation and being our best in times of stress.
- Gain tools to identify technical vs. adaptive challenges and how to approach them differently.
- Explore the phases of competence and learn how to celebrate failure and mistakes.
- Identify the people who can help us move our change efforts forward.
Jill Vitale-Aussem serves as President & CEO of the Eden Alternative, an international non-profit dedicated to creating quality of life for Elders and their care partners, wherever they may live. Jill has over 20 years of operational experience leading senior living organizations and has been involved with the person-directed care and support movement since 2008. She is a licensed nursing home administrator, a certified assisted living administrator and an Eden Alternative Guide and Educator. Jill is passionate about creating community cultures of excellence, growth, and empowerment and writes and speaks nationally on the topics of culture, leadership and ageism.
D4: Engagement Track
Location: Nunn
Chief Engagement Officers: Why It's Time to Hire a New "CEO"
Charles de Vilmorin, CEO, Linked Senior
Lindsay Weber, Director of Life Enrichment, Osgoode Care Centre
Description: The most successful senior living communities understand that purposeful living begins with an understanding of the needs and preferences of each resident. When a community commits to investing in leadership and education around quality engagement, it's time for the 'Chief Engagement Officer' (CEO) to step in. The first step is to define who is in charge of engagement and nominate them as the 'CEO.' Participants will review areas of opportunities within their current organizations, understand the concept of resident engagement from a research and operational standpoint and leave with a roadmap to person-centered care and the experience they provide their residents.
- Plan how to hire a 'CEO' and support them through ongoing education on evidence-based strategies for optimizing person-centered engagement.
- Discuss with management how prioritizing quality engagement can improve outcomes for staff, residents and the organization's bottom line.
- Create a list of how an organization can value Recreational Therapists and Activity Directors by providing them with the specific tools they need to succeed in their roles.
Charles de Vilmorin is passionate about honoring the older adult in our society. From his master's thesis on nursing homes, his close connections with the older adults in his family, to creating and leading Linked Senior, a digital engagement platform for senior care, Charles is an advocate for the person-centered movement. With Linked Senior, he has more than ten years of experience buildings solutions that value meaningful engagement strategies that meet the changing needs and preferences of each older adult. As featured in Senior Housing News this past summer, Charles started the Old People are Cool project to combat rampant ageism in our society and build intergenerational conversations and collaboration.
Lindsey Webber: As a small rural, stand-alone, long-term care home, change had happened slowly and the culture of the home was not ready to accept change. However, eight years ago, with the addition of some new members to the leadership team, including a forward-thinking Executive Director, change began to happen. Lindsay attended a two-day culture change workshop offered by Schlegel Villages in Waterloo, Ontario and her mission began. The long-term care home will be redeveloping by 2025 to meet the new Ontario provincial design standards for long-term care homes and what better time to start to change the culture of the home. In October 2018, Lindsey became a Certified Eden Associate. In the home, she is also the Quality Improvement Coordinator — change to enhance the lives of the residents is the very focus of her day.
D5: Dining Track
Location: Brown
We Imported Fresh Dining Culture: Our Resident Directed Culture Journey Accelerated
Bob Sherwood, Esq., Resident, Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury
Danny Festa, Director of Dining Services, Westminster Canterbury
Neville Samuda, Skilled Care Dining Services Manager, Westminster Canterbury
Erin Johnson, Dining Services Operations Manager, Westminster Canterbury
Description: The session will describe how a CCRC in Winchester, Virginia, changed its dining experience by importing culture change insights from the hospitality industry. Using a thought process methodology reported at previous conferences, the revised dining experience accelerated the journey of this community toward resident-directed culture. Central to this thought process is a newly emerging role for residents as they seek to help employees and trustees better understand what they as residents experience as they live until the end of their lives in a retirement community. The voice of residents is being encouraged, heard and appreciated. This is powerful contra-ageism.
- Demonstrate the thought process used by the team at Westminster Canterbury to advance this journey.
- Describe Culture Change in the Hospitality Industry.
- Report the impact of that culture's importation into SVWC and suggest others can do so too.
Bob Sherwood is a resident in independent living at Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury in Winchester VA. During his career as an international attorney and government relations manager, he led a major workshop designed to change the business culture of Pfizer International's Brazilian subsidiary. This turned the Brazilian operation from loss to profit. When he moved into Westminster Canterbury in 2008, Bob took an opportunity to launch and lead an assessment of the quality of care there, which led to a 40-page report adopted by the Board of Trustees as part of the community's three-year strategic plan. After sharing this report as a guide at the 2011 PN Conference, Bob was invited to join the Board of Directors, on which he served for six years. Back home at Westminster Canterbury, he continues to provide leadership in moving the community toward resident-directed culture.
Danny Festa was employed by Morton's, the Steakhouse, as manager of its restaurant two blocks from the White House in Washington, D.C. from 1999 to 2016. While there, he was a leader in converting Morton's from the old "NO" culture of the restaurant industry to the reformed culture of "Yes." Danny was then called upon by a new brain trauma hospital in Las Vegas to help create a better patient experience from the insights gained in shifting Morton's' culture. Danny left Morton's in 2016 to join Westminster Canterbury in Winchester as Director of Dining Services where he is working to totally revamp the dining experience.
Neville Samuda has been working for the hospitality industry since the age of 18, first for Sodexo at various Marriott International properties, including from 2000 to 2005 at Hebrew Home Retirement Community in Rockville MD, then for Sodexo from 2014 to 2016 at Westminster Canterbury in Winchester VA. When Sodexo's contract with Westminster Canterbury ended, Samuda stayed at Westminster Canterbury to serve in his current position as the Skilled Care Dining Services Manager.
Erin Johnson has worked at Westminster Canterbury in Winchester, VA for 17 years, starting work there when she was 15 years old, working as a server. She currently holds the position of Dining Services Operations Manager, reporting directly to the Director of Dining Services, Danny Festa. Her responsibilities include oversight of purchasing and meal planning, catering and staffing.
Location: Willis
Breaking Down the Boundaries
Lisa Pingel, Life Enrichment Director, Brewster Village
Tim Neuman, Food and Nutrition Services Director, Brewster Village
Description: Join us to hear about the journey of transition from a county run "Insane Asylum" to a home that empowers over 200 individuals to live their lives how they choose regardless of diagnosis. Participants will learn how a traditional model of care was transformed to one that is enhanced with life enrichment opportunities where villagers are free to move about their community. Organizational map redesign and new household roles such as the Homemaker, Life Enrichment Specialist and more will be defined. Attendees will gather useful tools and will learn how to expand opportunities for those that live with dementia.
- Define how we destigmatized long term care.
- Discuss organizational change that needed to occur to support person directed living in a household model.
- Understand how to create free movement and self-determination for all people living in long term care settings.
Lisa Pingel, Life Enrichment Director at Brewster Village, a county operated long-term care community in Appleton Wisconsin, has embraced culture change for the past 17 years. Graduating with a degree in Psychology has led to 26 years in the healthcare field with a variety of roles including: Social Worker, Program Services Director, Staff Development Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, and Life Enrichment Director. Assisting Brewster Village in transitioning to a household model and being an advocate of culture change/person-directed living has been a key role for Lisa. She has assisted in leading the team through Person First training and continues to instill person directed training in all facets of orientation and annual education. Representation on the Quality Assurance Team, Steering Team and being actively engaged as a Household Coordinator has helped Lisa meet her personal goal of assuring all villagers live the life they have envisioned living.
Tim Neuman, CDM/FPP, Food & Nutrition Services Director at Brewster Village. Tim has been in this role for about five years, coming to the field of senior living from a commercial hospitality background. By doing so, Tim has found his purpose — to work with and advocate for elders living in a long-term care setting. In no time at all, Tim worked to implement the New Dining Practice Standards and transitioned from institutionally prepared foods to household meal preparation and dining by implementing the Homemaker role. Tim continues to lead process improvement and promote person-directed living initiatives. He serves on QAPI committees including Corporate Compliance and Ethics, and is the chairperson for Community Maintenance & Safety, and leads efforts for Brewster Village's emergency preparedness program. In his role as Household Coordinator, he has the pleasure of supporting and getting to know villagers and team members much more closely. Tim is a 2017 graduate of the Leading Age Wisconsin I-Lead program.
D7: Quality Improvement Track
Location: Clements
Providing Trauma-Informed Care: A Path to Control and Empowerment for Elders
Jennifer McCarthy, Senior Program Coordinator for Care Transitions, Healthcentric Advisors
Description: In this session you will receive an eight-step change package to influence your ability to become a trauma-informed organization while enhancing your care response on three levels:
- The residents
- The staff
- The organization
This session will raise awareness about the special care needs of trauma survivors, including veterans, survivors of large-scale natural and human-caused disasters, Holocaust survivors and survivors of abuse. For these individuals, the incorporation of trauma-informed approaches is an essential part of person-centered care.
- Define trauma and understand its significance.
- Determine whether your organization is trauma-aware, trauma-sensitive, trauma-responsive, or trauma-informed,
- Explore the process to become trauma-informed with the HATCh Model domains.
Jennifer McCarthy has a bachelor's degree in Geography, master's degrees in Education and Counseling and is working towards her Doctor of Education in Health Professions Education degree. Additionally, she has earned her Lean Six Sigma Certification and is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC). Jennifer currently works as a Senior Program Coordinator for Care Transitions with Healthcentric Advisors. Prior to this, she worked as a practice facilitator helping Maine physician office practices achieve their quality improvement goals. In 2016, Jennifer received the Behavioral Health Excellence Award from the Maine Primary Care Association and in 2006, she was a Master of Change recipient from North Shore Community College.
Location: Breathitt
Creating a "No Bullying" Community: Practical Training, Recommendations and Programs
Tim Johnston, Director of National Projects, SAGE
Description: Community is an important aspect of successful aging, but communities often involve conflict and tension. How can we manage the bullying, aggression, or harms that often arise when people share the same spaces? Join us for a discussion to address: how to identify bullying behavior, strategies for preventing bullying, successful interventions when bullying is taking place, and different ways to support staff in creating a welcoming atmosphere.
- Learn how to distinguish between physical or social bullying and other forms of unpleasant behavior such as rudeness, aggression, or emotional outbursts.
- Practice three different techniques for responding to bullying when they see it occur.
- Identify at least three different organizational best practices and programs to prevent bullying in the community settings.
Tim R. Johnston is the Director of National Projects at SAGE. He is responsible for directing SAGE's national training initiatives, developing training curricula, and providing consulting services to both aging and LGBT service providers. He runs the SAGECare training program which has trained over 50,000 aging network providers on LGBT cultural competency. Tim's second book, Welcoming LGBT Residents: A Practical Guide for Senior Living Staff, will be published by Routledge in Fall 2019. In addition to facilitating LGBT cultural competency trainings, Tim is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences.
Location: Sampson
SAGE Session: Mentor as a Noun and a Verb
Megan Hannan, Executive Leader, Action Pact
Wendy Lustbader, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Washington School of Social Work
Ian Johnson, LICSW,Doctoral Candidate, University of Washington School of Social Work
Description: Join Megan Hannan, Wendy Lustbader, and Ian Johnson in a deep dive dialogue around mentoring. Who do we see and experience as mentors? How do we foster a relationship of learning together? Mentoring is one of the most meaningful aspects of culture change, spurring us to listen well to each other and to the people we serve. This session will tap into the experiences of those long on the road to culture change as well as newcomers, exploring how refreshment and learning occurs for all involved in these exchanges. This lively session will be filled with discussion and storytelling with the goal of generating creative ideas to take home with you.
- Describe the impact of mentoring on those starting out in culture change.
- Identify the elements in mentoring relationships that promote reciprocity in teaching and learning.
- Depict how the mentoring role can be returned to elders in any setting.
Megan Hannan leads a team of consultants who provide insight and support for transforming institutional culture, especially toward establishing the Household Model. Her expertise focuses on facilitating change through the high involvement of staff, families and residents, and fostering their collaboration in self-led teams dedicated to growing a vibrant life with and for people living with dementia. She has held leadership roles as a mentor with Eden Alternative International and as an executive board member with The Pioneer Network. She is called upon to present at numerous state, national and international conferences, including the World Congress on Alzheimer's and the Eden Alternative International Conference. Megan developed PersonFirst®, Action Pact's signature train-the-trainer program, and the workbook and video entitled, "Becoming Who They Were."
Wendy Lustbader, MSW, is the author of several books and essays that have earned her a national reputation in the field of aging. She is also a popular speaker at conferences throughout the United States and Canada, using storytelling to animate complex subjects. Additionally, Wendy is a skilled psychotherapist, having worked almost twenty years with people from all walks of life at a community clinic in downtown Seattle. Equally passionate as a writer, teacher, and therapist, she brings a social worker's lived experience to her writing, teaching, and service to older people. Currently, Wendy is an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work in Seattle. She is one of the co-founders of Pioneer Network and has been committed to culture change in aging for over 35 years.
Ian Johnson, LICSW is a social work practitioner with older adults and doctoral student at the University of Washington School of Social Work. He is interested in the ways the culture change movement can contribute to preparing the homeless housing care continuum for population aging.
D10: Thrive Center Session
Location: Thrive Center
Learn about Thrive Center
(session limited to 50 people)
Guide: Sheri Rose, CEO & Executive Director, Thrive Center
Description: Don't miss the opportunity to tour the Thrive Center and see first-hand the innovative technologies and products, dynamic programming for elders and clinical assessment tools on display and learn about how they are being combined with a clinical approach that is geared toward improving the quality of life for those affected by memory issues.
- Gain awareness of how innovative technologies can enhance the lives of Elders
- Experience some of the latest technologies can improve quality of life for people living with dementia.
- Gain awareness of a variety of clinical assessment tools designed using new technology.
Sheri Rose is the CEO / Executive Director of the Thrive Center, a nonprofit innovation center focused on wellness and aging. She is also a partner at Commonwealth Leverage LLC, a healthcare professional consulting firm. Sheri previously held positions with AT&T, as Director of Sales & Regulatory. She also serves as President of the Metropolitan Louisville Women's Political Caucus & serves on the board of New Directions Housing Authority. She was named by Louisville Business First as "Top 20 People to Know in Aging." Sheri has a B.A and M.Ed. in Psychology from the University of Louisville.
|Take a short 5 to 10-minute walk from Galt House, the conference hotel, for a chance to experience The Thrive Center, an educational center designed to enhance the quality of life for those aged 50+. The center features innovative technology and specialized programming to enhance elder wellness.
Through its innovative products, dynamic programming for elders and clinical assessment tools, the Thrive Center is poised for global impact as a cutting-edge innovation facility to promote healthy aging.
E1: Workplace Track
Location: Grand Ballroom C
Leading the Workforce through the Lens of Love
Susan Ryan, Senior Director, The Green House Project
Steve McAlilly, President & CEO, Methodist Senior Services
Description: This session shares the journey of two leaders who transitioned their organizational cultures to a place to live, grow, and thrive. With decades of experience, these leaders share a commitment to sustaining a compassionate workplace focused on learning and growth in a relationship-rich community. The leaders will share the impact of this culture on human resource policies, recruitment, and retention rates.
- Describe the culture of learning, relationships, and growth.
- Understand the strategies used by the speakers to transition to the new culture.
- Develop a list of 3-5 strategies that could be used in their own community.
Susan Ryan has spent more than 25 years working with elders as a nurse and change agent. She has worked in a variety of elder care settings and helped to lead her previous organization's transformation to culture change by assessing industry innovation and developing strategic and educational protocols. Her passion for improving the quality of life for elders has been demonstrated in a variety of settings. Over the years, Susan's concentration has been in the field of gerontology and Alzheimer's/dementia care. She currently serves as Senior Director of The Green House Project. Prior to working with The Green House® team, Ms. Ryan served on the leadership team of a non-profit continuing care retirement community, where the organization transformed their culture by assessing industry innovation and outcomes and developing strategic and educational protocols. Her experience includes leadership roles as Director of Nursing for a nursing home and as a Geriatric Nurse Educator providing grant-funded programs to support deinstitutionalization of community seniors.
Steve McAlilly, President & CEO, Methodist Senior Services, is a visionary when it comes to meeting the needs of elders. He is very passionate about "just doing the right thing and it'll all work out…" Prior to joining Methodist Senior Services, Steve practiced as an attorney and board member of Aldersgate Manor in Meridian, MS. Steve is responsible for the 12 campuses of Methodist Senior Services, serving elders on a very wide spectrum of Skilled Nursing, Assisted Living, Independent Living, Green Houses, Cottage/Villa, Meals on Wheels and his newest brain-child NEXT AGE, which is at this time a concept to keep elders at home while meeting their needs as a community should. Steve co-founded the Green Houses with Dr. Bill Thomas in Tupelo, MS and has since continued to build Green Houses throughout the state of Mississippi. He is involved with LeadingAge and with the Green House Home growth internationally.
E2: Dementia Track
Location: Combs Chandler
Breaking Down Old Bathing Culture in Dementia Care Settings: New Designs, New Programs, and New Success!
Juliet Holt-Klinger, Senior Director Dementia Care, Brookdale Senior Living
Description: In this session, a seasoned dementia care leader in assisted living will take you through the evolution regarding renovations of outdated bathing areas, creating person-centered and dementia-friendly bathing care, and developing bathing programming in dementia care communities. A review of the symptoms of dementia and their impact on bathing will be followed by a description of how programmatic and design changes have helped to support successful bathing with residents living with dementia.
- Learn how and why the symptoms of dementia can interfere with bathing comfort and success.
- Discuss the barriers to successful bathing that have been supported by old culture design and care ideas.
- Review how a movement towards person-centered programming/care led to more successful bathing for assisted living residents with dementia.
- Visualize newly renovated bathing spaces that have led to more successful bathing for assisted living residents with dementia.
Juliet Holt Klinger, Senior Director of Dementia Care for Brookdale Senior Living, is a gerontologist specializing in person-centered programs for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. As a trainer and program designer for over 30 years, Juliet has developed and operationalized programs for national companies representing both skilled nursing and assisted living levels of dementia care. Juliet holds a bachelor's degree in Social Work and an Aging Studies Certificate from the University of Iowa and a master's degree in Gerontology from the University of Northern Colorado. In her role for Brookdale, Juliet currently designs and innovates care pathways and programming for s nearly 500 dementia care communities. Brookdale's dementia care solutions span from its newest early-stage dementia care communities to skilled nursing and assisted living levels of care. Juliet is also a proud board member of Pioneer Network.
E3: Leadership Track
Location: Carroll Ford
Focus on Strengths! Building a Strengths-Based Culture in Your Home
Jessica Luh Kim, Director of the Resident Experience, Schlegel Villages
Jennifer Hartwick, Director of Strategic Projects, Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA)
Melanie Pereira, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Schlegel Villages
Village Leaders and Direct Support Team Members from Schlegel Villages
Description: What is the upside to living, working, and visiting an organization focused on strengths? Higher levels of happiness, engagement, performance, and retention. Happier residents, happier team members, and happier family members. Come learn how one organization started the journey to build a strengths-based culture in their long-term care and retirement homes and explore what you can do tomorrow to start on that journey of personal and organizational growth.
- Compare a strengths-based organization to a non-strengths-based organization.
- Name the benefits of strengths-based organizations
- Apply a strengths-based approach to individual and organizational leadership.
Jessica Luh Kim is Director of the Resident Experience at Schlegel Villages. In this role, Jessica has been a key component of Schlegel Villages' ongoing efforts to change the culture of aging in its communities. She is the lead designer of the organization's learning events and conferences, which all focus on some aspect of culture change, and she co-chairs the organization's Culture Change Support Advisory Committee. Key educational programs that help guide team members, families, volunteers and residents to a different understanding of aging were created under Jessica's guidance and stewardship. She also leads the development of a formalized Dementia Program at Schlegel Villages called LIVING in My Today which was developed in collaboration with people living with dementia, family members, team members, leaders, and community partners such as the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program and the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging.
Melanie Pereira is a Clinical Nurse Consultant within Schlegel Villages since 2009. She has been a RN for over 17 years in Acute Medicine, Palliative Care, Neonatal/Maternal and Child, Labor and Delivery, and now aligns with her ultimate passion in supporting residents' quality of life within LTC & Retirement Living. Melanie supports team members, residents, families and neighborhood communities in understanding the many layers of Dementia, Mental Health and to provide a greater acceptance of one's Chronic Illness. Melanie has had the opportunity to lead Schlegel Villages Personal Expression Support Team within Long-Term Care and Retirement since 2011.
Jennifer Hartwick has a passion for working with older adults and has over 17 years of both Retirement and LTC experience. She has both a Bachelors and Masters of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo. Over the years Jennifer has held several positions within Schlegel Villages which currently operates 7 continuum of care communities and 12 LTC Homes in Ontario. Her roles have allowed her to gain experience with a wide variety of operational issues. Today, she is the Director the Strategic Projects for the Research Institute for Aging – a charitable not for profit foundation dedicated to enhancing care and quality of life for older adults. In this role she is supports the Agrifood for Healthy Aging program (A-HA) as well as the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program (MAREP).
E4: Engagement Track
Location: Nunn
The Jill's House Story: A Relationship-Based Intergenerational Community…Making it Happen!
Janice Bays, PT, Jill's House
Nicole Bays, HFA, Jill's House
Description: This is the story of the creation of a relationship-based intergenerational community and how it enriches the lives of all involved: residents, children, care partners, visitors, volunteers, family, community. We will explain how we implemented The Jill's House Way in our assisted living, day visitor, and preschool programs. We will show what is different in a community that includes all ages and builds relationships based on respect. We will hear from people who have experienced The Jill's House Way and show how we reach out to our community to share our living well with dementia experience and eliminate stigma and isolation.
- Define and discuss the key elements of a relationship-based community.
- Discuss how an assisted living for elders and a preschool integrated into one community enhances life.
- Discuss how the connection of our intergenerational relationship-based community with the community at large, helps eliminate isolation and stigma.
For Janice Bays, the journey in Culture Change began at the Pioneer Network Conference in 2013. At that time, she had a long career as a physical therapist and as a clinician, educator, and manager. Her personal practice was person-centered, but she recognized that the system she worked in was not. Janice was the Vice President of Clinical Services for a therapy company and this experience led her to become an Eden Associate and then take her therapy company through the culture change process. She also developed a core program in dementia management for the therapists and then the Creating Meaningful Days program to share with their customers. Through her rehab career, Janice was privileged to experience The Green House model, but also experienced many more institutional situations. Jill's House gave her the opportunity to partner with her daughter to develop a relationship-based community focused on purposeful living. Janice is a member of the Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) Board of Directors, Chair of the DAA Optimizing Well-Being Workgroup, and member of the joint DAA/Eden Alternative Raising the Bar Project. She is a DAA Liaison for the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy and a founding member of Dementia Friendly Bloomington.
Nicole Bays has been part of the culture change movement since the late 90s when she became an Eden Associate under the direct teaching of Bill Thomas. She implemented Eden Principles at the skilled nursing community she was managing. Family responsibilities caused her to make a career change in 2008 and she became an elementary school educator. Nicole applied the principles of person-centered care to her work with children. In 2015, the opportunity arose for her to return to eldercare to develop an independent assisted living community. Nicole had a vision of a community where elders could receive the help they needed to continue to lead a purposeful life. This would be a House where people were well-known, valued and followed a normal routine with choices, engagement and joy. Children would be part of the House and would be connected to the community. This is truly a culture change community!
E5: Dining Track
Location: Brown
Pan to Plate: Bringing True Culinary Experiences into Resident Spaces
Tina Reilly, Manager of Culinary and Nutrition Services at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center
Misha Shtivelman, Director of Culinary and Nutrition Operations for Hebrew Rehab Center
Maureen O'Keefe, Household Model Operations Supervisor, Hebrew SeniorLife
Description: We will describe how we transitioned from a traditional model of main kitchen with standard tray-line and household kitchen operations for our long-term care community to a state-of-the-art industrial kitchen staffed with a professional chef and dining attendant on resident floors. We will share our improvement in nutritional outcomes by providing freshly prepared items for the residents. The shared connection between the chef and residents as well as the aromas of freshly baked goods have all contributed to the feel of their five-star environment.
- Compare and contrast the standard healthcare models of main kitchen and tray-line/ serving kitchen with personalized dining experience outfitted with a fully staffed industrial kitchen with food prepared on the resident floor.
- Define the rationale for implementing the new model of cooking and serving freshly prepared foods on the floor for the resident.
- Illustrate the steps taken to implement this new operation including department culture change, employee engagement, education, and training for new roles.
Tina Reilly, RD, LDN is the Manager of Culinary and Nutrition Services at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center. She oversees a team of culinary associates who serve the residents utilizing satellite kitchens. Her team also includes as dieticians, diet technicians, and the nutrition assistants who together are providing person-centered fresh meals as they work to support resident choice while maintaining compliance with nutrition, allergy and CMS standards.
Misha Shtivelman is a Director of Culinary and Nutrition Operations for Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, Jack Satter House Independent Living and is the Senior Staff Member leading dining group initiatives across the Hebrew Senior Life organization. As a leader in the field of Culinary and Nutrition, Misha has 20 years of experience in culture change and revitalization of the dining experience for young adults in colleges and universities as well as in a health care. Misha is passionate that food and nutrition choice, quality and experience in a person-centered environment is just as important as all other lines of services for our aging population.
Maureen O' Keefe is a Culinary and Nutrition Professional with extensive experience in project coordination, training and mentoring. She is the Supervisor of Household Model Operations on the newly renovated self-sustained kitchen and dining area. Maureen has been a Dietetic Technician at Hebrew Senior Life (HSL) since 1985. She is also a Licensed Realtor, Seniors Real Estate Specialist, and Volunteer for Ethos AgeWell West Roxbury. She also holds an Associate Degree in Science and Nutrition, is Serve Safe Certified, and a Palliative Care Champion at HSL. Maureen has demonstrated a lifelong devotion to seniors.
Location: Willis
Say "Yes" to Less Stress: Managing Stress for the Caregiver
Lisa Milliken, Education Specialist, Select Rehabilitation
Description: Family members who serve as caregivers have often been called the invisible second patients. These people are at an increased risk of overwhelming physical, social and financial burdens. This course will identify the most effective techniques to manage the inevitable escalating stress levels of caregivers, to include how senior retirement team members can best support these resident representatives. Recommendations will range from technology-based interventions to instrumental, emotional and informational support strategies.
- Cite the physical effects which may often result from the stress of caregiving.
- Identify signs and symptoms of unmanaged stress points.
- Cite the most effective techniques to manage the inevitable stress levels of family members.
Over the last 30 years, Lisa Milliken has served adults and elders as a clinician, manager, vice president, consultant, compliance, and education director and researcher and is most passionate about mentoring healthcare professionals in the post-acute settings. Lisa has recently been honored as a Distinguished Fellow with the National Academy of Practice and is a Certified Dementia Practitioner. She provides continuing education support to professionals in over 900 sites nationwide as Education Specialist for Select Rehabilitation. Lisa is a national speaker and has presented at over 150 conferences over the last 25 years.
E7: Quality Improvement Track
Location: Clements
Adding Mental Health First Aid to Your Person-Centered Skillset
Robert DeLauro, Consultant, 1199 League Labor Management Project
Paul Padial, Consultant, 1199 League Labor Management Project
Panel of Staff members from the Nursing Home Collaborative
Description: Individuals with "behavioral health" issues are moving into nursing homes in increasing numbers. Staff at all levels are challenged to provide appropriate person-centered care due to lack of appropriate knowledge and skills training. The CMS Standards of Participation now require nursing home staff to be "competent" in behavioral health care.
A group of NYC-based nursing homes has participated in a year-long Learning Collaborative to improve their knowledge and skills in this area. This workshop will highlight:
- "Mental Health First Aid" — a nationally accredited program to raise awareness and knowledge
- This workshop will highlight how to establish a learning community
- Innovative approaches to trauma-informed care and smoking in nursing homes.
- Increase awareness of mental illness in the general population & among nursing home residents.
- Introduce a process for engaging staff to meet CMS guidelines.
- Discuss strategies to intervene with residents who hoard.
Robert DeLauro is a consultant with Labor-Management Initiatives, Inc. He provides coaching and consultation to managers and direct care staff at nursing homes and hospitals throughout the New York City area. A social worker by training, Robert has worked in healthcare settings for over 40 years in direct care, supervisory and leadership positions. He has introduced and supported a person-centered care approach for residents of New York nursing homes through the Music and Memory program and the Behavioral Health Learning Collaborative. These programs have encouraged best practices for resident care and culture change within each participating nursing home. He is a certified trainer for Mental Health First Aid Training, an internationally-established program that provides the basic knowledge and skills necessary to respond to individuals in emotional distress or who are suffering from a mental illness. Robert is also an experienced educator who has taught a wide range of students, including certified nursing assistants, dietary workers, housekeepers, social workers, psychologists, registered nurses, physicians, undergraduate and graduate students.
Paul Padial worked as a Community Coordinator at Jewish Home Lifecare where he managed 100 long term care beds and was charged with creating communities of elders that reflected a person-centered philosophy of care, while maintaining the clinical integrity of the home. As a labor management consultant, he has worked on culture change as well as QAPI initiatives. Paul has a special expertise for developing positive and collaborative Labor Management relationships within NYC nursing homes. Paul received his Bachelor's degree in Social Work and later earned his MSW from Fordham University.
Location: Breathitt
Respite for All: A Friendship Revolution
Daphne Johnston, Executive Director of The Respite Ministry
Description: Volunteers can be a powerful resource in growing services for elders, but growing and sustaining volunteers is a challenge for many service providers. In this session, you will learn about a cost-effective model for providing quality of care for those living with dementia — and their volunteers, who are one of the keys to their success. The Respite Ministry is a community, faith-based respite program and this session will share how a sustainable plan was developed for recruiting and developing volunteers that support retention and quality outcomes. You will leave with tools and start-up materials, videos, and resources available for no cost from The Respite Ministry.
- Provide a vision of the need for community faith-based respites and how to replicate this work on a smaller scale.
- Provide a volunteer recruiting plan that is sustainable along with volunteer development for retention.
- Provide all the start- up material, videos, and resources available for no cost from The Respite Ministry.
Daphne Johnston has put her master's degree in gerontology and public administration to work for the community. Her personal mission is to help families, professionals and the community better understand that the volunteer model of care is the immediate respite for those living with dementia. The Respite Ministry helps individuals and their family members find purpose, community and the opportunity to live each day with meaning among their peers providing a break from the effects of the disease. Daphne has a wealth of clinical, administrative and teaching experiences that has led her to build a thriving Alzheimer's ministry which includes 150 dementia trained volunteers from the community, served over 500 participants and is in the process of developing a network of similar volunteer-led programs across the southeast and the country. Her program has logged over 60K hours of volunteer time with two employees over the past six years. Through the compassion of the volunteers, love and well-being are restored so that a person may continue to grow in their life's journey despite the challenges of dementia.
Location: Sampson
Out of the Box and Ahead of the Curve
Mel Coppola, President/Owner, Hearts In Care, LLC
Kim McRae, FCTA (Family Caregiver Turned Advocate), Co-Founder, Culture Change Network of Georgia, President, Have a Good Life
Description: Culture change has long been focused on nursing homes — the most institutional living environment. But the tide is turning, and occupancy rates are on the decline. It's time to change the culture of culture change and get out of the box and away from the silos. We must get ahead of the curve by engaging with everyone involved in elder care services, most importantly consumers. It's only through this kind of collaboration that we can make person-directed living a reality. Join us for this interactive "think tank" to explore how we can create our own communities of caring.
- Gain knowledge about and understand the impact of consumer education and awareness on breaking down the silos across the spectrum of aging services.
- Discuss past efforts to engage consumers and stakeholders from the spectrum of aging services in advocating for person-directed care and the culture change movement.
- Identify the stakeholders who are key to this collaboration.
- Re-imagine new opportunities for living the kind of life you want for your loved ones and yourself.
Kim McRae is a "Family Caregiver Turned Advocate." She comes to person-directed living and person-centered dementia care through a 12-year history as a family caregiver. Kim got involved with the Pioneer Network in 2006 and co-founded the Culture Change Network of Georgia in 2008. She has been actively working to improve quality of life for elders and their care partners for more than seventeen years. In addition, she founded About Face Technologies, which is focused on simple and intuitive assistive technology products for those needing simplicity. Kim is an inventor and holds five US and one UK patents.
Mel Coppola, founder and President of Hearts In Care, LLC, is a passionate and motivational presenter, team builder, facilitator, educator and consultant in the field of aging care. Areas of passion and expertise include: person-directed care in all living environments; a focus on well-being for all care partners regardless of cognitive and physical abilities; culture change; building awareness of ageism, ableism and other stigmata; empowered care partner teams; leadership; and quality of life and care at all ages and stages. Mel works directly with organizations to help facilitate deep and meaningful changes in the way Elders are viewed and cared for. In addition to numerous local presentations, workshops and trainings, she has presented at multiple aging conferences including the International Eden Conference, the Pioneer Network Conference, the Florida Conference on Aging and the Naples Conference on Aging. Mel serves on the Executive and Steering Committees of the Florida Pioneer Network, is an active participant with the Dementia Action Alliance, is the Immediate Past-President of Better Living for Seniors-Pinellas and is proud to be an Educator and Mentor with The Eden Alternative.
E10: Thrive Center Session
Location: Thrive Center
Beyond Bingo: Why Silent Discos Are the Next Big Thing
(session limited to 50 people)
Matt Reiners, Co-founder, Eversound
Description: A new trend for residents in nursing homes and assisted living communities comes from an unexpected source — dance clubs and music festivals. The "silent disco" takes personal access to music and the benefits that come from it to a whole new level.
We will be exploring the five Ws of a silent disco and understand why silent disco is considered the next bingo. We will also explore the health benefits of creative activities and arts/music-based therapies. It may or may not end with our very own "silent disco."
- Gain a better understanding of what silent discos are and why they are becoming increasingly popular among senior living communities today.
- Describe the five Ws of silent discos.
- Learn why silent discos are successful based on the latest research about creative activities and arts/music-based therapy.
Matt Reiners is a co-founder of Eversound, a technology company dedicated to ending social isolation for older adults by giving every resident the gift of hearing. After seeing his Grandmother struggle with hearing, Matt and his other co-founders, saw an opportunity to help re-engage our elders by helping them to hear again and decided to start Eversound in 2016. In less than two years, Eversound went from an idea on paper to being adopted by more than 500 communities and improving the daily lives of nearly 50,000 older adults nationwide.
|Take a short 5 to 10-minute walk from Galt House, the conference hotel, for a chance to experience The Thrive Center, an educational center designed to enhance the quality of life for those aged 50+. The center features innovative technology and specialized programming to enhance elder wellness.
Through its innovative products, dynamic programming for elders and clinical assessment tools, the Thrive Center is poised for global impact as a cutting-edge innovation facility to promote healthy aging.

subset: commoncrawl