Concurrent Sessions B and C

Concurrent Session B

1:45pm - 3:45pm

Concurrent Session C

4:00pm - 5:00pm

B01 – Free-Thinking and Still Engaged

Wendy Caputo, Executive Director, Sunset Hall

Jacqueline Anderson Mattfeld, Director, Center for Creative Aging and Gerontology

Joyce Duca, Elder Resident, Sunset Hall

Sunset Hall, an organization serving free thinking elders, is dedicated to promoting independence of spirit and involvement in the world. The Center for Creative Aging and Gerontology at Harold Washington College serves those who are called to serve something bigger than themselves as they get older. Social activism and community engagement are the elixirs of later life.

Participants will:

- Learn how Sunset Hall was founded and how it has managed to survive since 1923

- Explore how Sunset Hall fosters community engagement and social activism for all members

- Explore how opportunities for meaning and purpose in later life can be fostered 

B02 – Quality of Life: Delineating between Deficient Practice, Common Practice and Culture Change Practice

Carmen Bowman, Owner, Edu-Catering

For each of the federal quality of life regulations, deficient practice, common practice and culture change practice are identified and discussed.  We will discuss "Tag 241: Dignity" and the common use of undignified language in institutions and suggest more dignified alternatives.  This session shares the content of a new culture change workbook of the same title, authored by the speaker, a former surveyor.  We hope to inspire you to re-think commonly accepted practices.

Participants will:

- Recognize each of the quality of life regulations at Tags 240-252

- List the many undignified terms used within long-term care and list potential dignified replacements

B03 – Staying Home: Housing Models of the Future

Ronald Bruno, Executive Director, Morningside retirement Services

Beth Bright, Administrator Fairport Baptist NNORC

Garth Brokaw, President/CEO, Fairport Baptist Home

This session demonstrates how elders can remain living in their own homes, despite progressive frailty, dementia or other challenging situations. Presenters from a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) and a Neighborhood NORC (NNORC) will show how community-based care can be linked with existing housing to allow elders to thrive with the reassurance of familiar surroundings.

Participants will:

- List types of partnerships, including technology, that enhance services within NORC and NNORC settings

- Recognize the NORC model and discuss these settings could be the dominant housing model of the future

- Outline why the NORC approach is particularly advantageous elders with dementia

B04 – The Eden JOURNEY:  It Is Not Just Bricks & Mortar, It Is The Spirit Within

Mary Powell, Director of Nursing, Douglas County Health Center

This presentation will highlight the journey taken by a county Hospital built in the 1930s to evolve into a 254-bed long-term care facility where "The Spirit of Eden" is alive and growing.  The journey focuses on eliminating loneliness, helplessness and boredom, not only for the residents who call the facility "home" but also for the employees who work there.  Being a facility supported by county tax dollars, the luxury of building a new facility where the ideal environment could be created was not an option.  The challenge was to create "The Spirit of Eden" within the walls of an existing structure through creative and innovative approaches.  

Participants will:  

- Identify three creative and inexpensive ways to promote "The Spirit of Eden" in a long-term care environment

- Learn three ways the Eden Alternative was implemented within the walls of an existing county facility built in the 1930s

- Learn how the "Three Plagues" of long-term care impact both residents and employees

B05 – Training that Transforms: Personalizing Care of People Living with Dementia

Teepa Snow, Dementia Care Specialist, Positive Approach to Care & Training

Melanie Bunn, Dementia Care Specialist

This session will provide a highly interactive opportunity to explore new approaches and techniques in providing service and care to people living with dementia or Alzheimer's disease. We will encourage learners to re-examine behaviors typically described as challenging or problematic and consider their role in interpreting these behaviors. We will also provide participants with concrete, practical and effective skills to change relationships and outcomes by choosing behaviors, words, actions and responses that match retained abilities and compensate for lost skills of the person they are attempting to help. We will highlight the use of the Adult Experiential Learning model to provide attendees with a framework to transform their own training efforts into interactive and care-changing events.

Participants will:

- Explore possible causes and reasons for observed "challenging" behaviors during care provision for people living with dementia   

- Compare typical approach versus positive physical approach skills when working with someone who has dementia   

- Discuss effective communication and cueing techniques to limit refusals and resistance to care

- Learn the components of the Adult Experiential Learning Model that determine one's ability to implement knowledge and skills into practice

B06–Culture Change - Theory to Action

Denise Gannon, VP Clinical & Support Services, Eliza Jennings Senior Care Network

Amanda Thoburn, Director of rehabilitation, Therapy Partners

Mark Beggs, COO, Eliza Jennings Senior Care Network

The last few years have seen an explosion of interest in long-term care culture change. Initiatives such as "neighborhoods" and "household models" have cropped up over recent years as a way to transform the "medical model" into one more focused on the quality of life of residents. In long-term care, as in other health care settings, many medical professionals worry about the clinical results of allowing residents to take control of their own care and daily routines in a person-centered care environment. We will share the story of how our community changed its culture and made it possible for residents to direct the care they receive. Our story will include ways we initiated change in our dining, diets, med pass and how therapy was delivered.  We will also describe how the members of our interdisciplinary team overcame their reservations and concerns to support the residents in the choices they make.

Participants will:

- Learn how one team implemented person-centered care while maintaining excellent quality of care

- Explore how to empower employees

B07 – Culture Change in a More Traditional Environment

Jean Heid-Grubman, Healthcare Administrator, The Holmstad, Covenant Retirement Community

Many organizations cannot afford the costly renovations that they may see as necessary in order to change their culture.  This session will discuss how to change the culture without significantly changing the physical environment.  The presenter will walk the audience through the change journey that her team experienced - the challenges they faced and the decisions they made, both successful and unsuccessful.  She will discuss the creation of neighborhoods, cross training of staff, change in resident routines, dining innovations, life enrichment programming and staff development.  This discussion will be guided by the journal the administrator kept during the journey as well as videotaped interviews with residents and staff.

Participants will:

- Explore a process for changing resident wake-up routines  

- Discuss changing bathing routines     

- Learn steps to create neighborhood teams     

- Explore seven distinct life-enrichment programs

B08 – Resident Directed Community Life: Activities Inspired and Led by Teams

Sandy Hennum, Director, Recreation Therapy, Neilson Place

Anita Schacher, CEO, Clatsop Retirement Village

Going beyond the typical monthly calendar planned by activity staff, this session will share successful resident and staff team approaches to planning meaningful activities within the neighborhood or facility environment. We will describe strategies and approaches to ensure that each resident has something to do, something to care for, something to care about, someone to love and something to hope for.

Participants will:

- Explore how activities can be team-inspired and led

- Learn strategies for creating resident-directed activity programming that is meaningful to individual residents and attempts to encompass all aspects of life

B09 – Power Sharing: Releasing the Energy and Life in Your Leaders

Gary Johnson, VP of Operations, Messiah Village

Emerson Lesher, CEO, Messiah Village

Messiah Village is in the midst of transforming its organization to a person-centered culture. Initially, there was considerable effort to empower nursing assistants without similar efforts to release power within supervisors and managers.  Senior managers took a deep transformational approach to addressing those issues, building their strategies on the wishes and desires of its residents. Messiah Village continues to work through the process of change. Our leaders have a deep desire to maintain accountability while creating a safe harbor in which to make significant changes.

Participants will:

- Discuss issues related to power relationships and how they change as hierarchy moves to non-hierarchy

- Explore the relationship between personal and professional transformation processes

B10 – CREATE NEW WITHOUT BUILDING NEW: How to Transform Your Existing Physical Environment on a Budget

David Wolterstorff, President, WAI Continuum

With growing senior expectations, new care-delivery models and evolving philosophies, care providers throughout the industry are exploring ways to transform their physical environments with limited means.  By repositioning the physical care environment, providers can find not only improved marketability, but also a solution where the environment supports services provided, with residents participating in their own care delivery.  Presenters will discuss ways to implement changes with the greatest impact as well as how to work with your structure, not against it.  We will identify strategies to meet a variety of physical plant goals and present real world solutions for:

- Adopting neighborhood configurations for closer staff/resident engagement

- Integrating technologies that eliminate the institutional model of care

- Accommodating resident lifestyles - improving marketability along with quality of life

- Using space to encourage resident activity 

Participants will:

- Learn the largest cost drivers in construction projects and how to avoid big-ticket purchases

- Discover untapped revenue sources that can be gained by making minor plant changes

- Learn how and where to focus change so that the greatest impact is realized

- Explore the impact of culture and environmental changes on key quality indicators

B11 – HATCh: Holistic Approach to Transformational Change

Michelle M. Pandolfi, Quality Improvement Consultant, NHQI

This session shares with individuals an approach to culture change using the HATCh (Holistic Approach to Transformational Change) model. It introduces participants to a holistic model emphasizing change within six domains in transforming a nursing home from institutional to individualized care. Filled with practical examples and an eye toward quality improvement, this session will offer participants a structure and strategy to serve as guide throughout their culture change journey.

Participants will:

- Learn the six domains that comprise the HATCh model

- Learn about the Pathway of Transformation

B12 – Person-Centered Technology: A Seamless Fit into the Culture Change Journey

Jack York, Owner, It's Never 2 Late

Joe Angelelli, Pioneer Network

Technology in long-term care is usually driven by operations and reporting requirements, not by the needs of elders.  This presentation will show how person-centered technology can fit seamlessly into your culture change journey.  You will visit two communities via webcam. One, a creative community in Illinois is using technology to drive an intergenerational program; the second, a community in Colorado, is integrating multimedia profiles into its care planning process. 

 Participants will:

- Learn ways that person-centered technology can benefit elders in your community

- Discover how technology can be a cornerstone of an intergenerational program

C01 – Eden at Home:  Taking the Eden Principles Beyond the Walls of Long-Term Care

Laura Beck, Program Director, Eden At Home

Beth Sanders, CEO, LifeBio

Eden at Home (EAH) applies the Eden Alternative's Ten Principles to empowering members of the larger community to re-think how we care for our Elders and each other. A set of grassroots-focused programs, EAH assumes that 1) Elders have a legacy or gift to share; and that 2) meaningful care nurtures the human spirit as well as the human body and encourages each person's unique capacity for growth. Session participants will explore how EAH offers both inspiration and practical tools for improving quality of life for Elders living at home and their informal care partners. Participants will also discover how EAHs Embracing Elderhood builds bridges between long-term care residences and the larger community via the power of our Elders' legacies, the Eden principles and intergenerational relationships. The session also features Embracing Elderhoods integration of LifeBio.com as a powerful user-friendly online system for legacy construction.

Participants will:

- Differentiate between "care partnering" and "care giving"

- Learn ways that even a home can feel much like in an institution

- Learn how a care partner team can actively support the health of their long-term process

C02 - SELF:  Making Waves Through Lifelong Fitness

Kathleen Brogan, Chief Nursing Officer, NewCourtland Elder Services

For many, a lifelong commitment to fitness is indeed culture change.  In this session, we will share the process of developing a wellness program for elders in long-term care and how it has generated motivation, interaction and determination among the residents and staff in seven Philadelphia-based homes.  SELF (Seniors Empowered for Lifelong Fitness) is a story of interdependence as residents and staff worked together to develop a program that promotes fitness.  Contests, parties, theatre and music were among the many techniques used to infuse this program into the everyday lives of the residents.  You will learn how yoga, line dancing and weight training can make a difference in the culture of your organization. 

Participants will:

- Learn the impact of wellness programs for elders in long-term care 

- Explore the various motivation techniques used to infuse the SELF program into each home

C03 – Outcomes of an Organization-Wide Leadership Intervention in a Long-Term Care Facility

Susan Gilster, Executive Director, Alois Alzheimer's Center

Leadership plays a key role in facility success - particularly in times of change and competition. This session will explore the impact of a leadership model introduced in an organization lacking leadership longevity and strategy.  Surveys, turnover/retention, agency costs, census and financial status conducted at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months following an intervention, with participation over 75percent.  We will explore outcomes and discuss mechanisms for implementing the S.E.R.V.I.C.E. model of leadership intervention.

Participants will:

- Learn the importance of a leadership plan and strategy

- Explore the impact of an organization-wide plan on staff/family satisfaction

C04– Dare to be Better:  The 5 Keys to Success at Work

Demi Haffenreffer, CEO, Haffenreffer and Associates, Inc.

Are you satisfied with what you are creating at work? Have you jumped from one position to another in search of your real niche and still feel unfulfilled? Now more then ever, long-term care needs committed, fearless, leaders willing to take chances to create an environment of shared values. Creating reality is not new - we all have this innate power to create our own realities. This workshop is about developing a balanced and creative profession for ourselves. The "Keys" are simple yet often complex exercises of creating goals in five areas of your professional life: Health, Relationship, Work, Spirituality and Calling. We will review the Keys in detail, discuss the principles of goal setting and develop goals in all five areas.

Participants will:

- Identify what is important in your professional life

- Apply principles of goal setting to 5 key areas

- Write one goal in each of the 5 key areas and discuss how these relate to your current position and creating change

- Establish a system for review and evaluation of your goals on an ongoing basis

C05– Championing Culture Change at the State Level: The Kansas Experience

Debra Zehr, President, Kansas Association for Homes and Services for the Aging

Kathy Greenlee, Secretary, Kansas Department of Aging

We celebrate and learn from the good work of thousands of long-term care providers who are on the journey of culture change. But their work does not occur in a vacuum. Macro-factors, including (but not limited to) public policy, public awareness, and professional and paraprofessional education have tremendous potential to catalyze or stymie progress.  Join us as we use the nearly decade-long Kansas experience as a lens to explore the role of macro-factors in the transformation of long-term care. We will share and brainstorm strategies to identify and engage the right stakeholders and leverage macro-factors to advance and support the transformation of long-term care in your state.

Participants will:

- Learn the importance of the macro-factors of professional and paraprofessional education, public policy and public awareness in advancing long-term care culture change

- Explore the statewide culture change journey in Kansas, including breakthrough moments, collaborative challenges and successes

C06 – Pain Management: Beyond Medication

Susan Newell, Healthcare Consultant, T.R. T.I.P.S., Inc.

When a resident is hurting, what else can you do to help?  What happens when the pills wear off? Effective pain management requires more than just medication. Come explore a variety of non-drug, pain management techniques that can be utilized by anyone and in various settings. The session will include active demonstration and hands-on work groups.

Participants will:

- Identify regulatory agency (OBRA/JCAHO) requirements/ expectations regarding pain management

- Identify key elements regarding pain management documentation (assessment, care plans, daily records, progress notes)

C07 – Become Your Own Researcher: Measuring without Money

Kathy Nyquist, Administrator, Beechwood Homes

Beechwood Continuing Care in Buffalo, New York, began its culture change journey in 2003. One of their goals is to "build the evidence" that culture change works. Proving the effectiveness of the initiative is critical to motivating staff, demonstrating sustainability and building relationships with potential donors and other external partners. Many facilities think they do not have the research skills or manpower to conduct outcome assessment. This workshop explores ways to use information and resources already at hand to help "tell the story" of effective culture change.

Participants will:

- Learn why outcome measurement is important

- Identify what things are important to measure

- Develop the framework of a plan for collecting, evaluating and reporting outcomes using sources they already have in their facilities

C08 – A Conversation About Culture Change and Professional Curriculum

Douglass Olson, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Jennifer Johs-Artisensi, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

As more consumers seek person-centered care, our educational programs must provide today's students (tomorrow's health and aging service leaders) with an understanding of the value of culture change and the foundation and tools to effect such change. In this interactive session led by faculty and facilitated by current practicum students, we will explore participants' own training experiences and possibilities for enhancing the traditional academic curriculum by intentionally infusing principles of culture change.

Participants will:

- List strengths and limitations in previous education and training of health and service leaders

- Learn how an undergraduate program for long-term care administration can advance culture change education through a variety of on-and off campus experiences

C09 – Living With Dementia:  From DISability to Ability!

Richard Taylor, Elder, National Speaker

Bill Keane, Consultant in Aging

Rather than emphasize the person's existing abilities, strengths and desires, traditional Alzheimer's care has focused on measuring functional loss, responding to negative behaviors and ensuring safe containment.  As a result, well-intentioned caregivers have DISabled the person with the disease from their unique potential and the fullness of life.  This session will examine the critical issues of communication and behavior in person-directed care, providing participants insights into their own DISabling values and behaviors, while learning new practices that will promote positive enabling and re-abling interactions and experiences. 

Participants will:

- Discuss the experience of DISabling, enabling and re-abling from the perspective of a person living with Alzheimer's disease

- Recognize their own values and behaviors as caregivers in dementia

C10 – Self- Determination

Elias S. Cohen, Executive Director, Community Service Systems, Inc.

One of the core values of culture change suggests that elders make their own decisions and shape their daily lives, regardless of where they happen to be living and their degree of physical ability.  Implementing this core value in traditional residential care settings can be difficult, but it has also been a challenge when elders strive to remain in their own homes.  This session will examine the disability-rights movement that has been growing in tandem with the culture change movement to see how the two can combine strengths.  We will probe ongoing dilemmas, with a view toward identifying ways to make fundamental progress.

Participants will:

- Discuss the concept of self-determination in a concrete, operational manner

- Examine the common strengths of the disability-rights movement and the culture change movement

- Identify ongoing dilemmas that have thwarted progress for both movements

C11 – If My Grandkids Can Do This, So Can I!  Real World Demos of How Today's Elders Can Enjoy Today's Technology

Wayne Olson, Senior Vice President of Healthcare Operations and Development

Steve Kell , Chief Technology Officer, Guardian

This hands-on demonstration session will showcase how several elders from a local Volunteers of America community in Minnesota are using technology in fun and meaningful ways.  Elders using this technology will show you how they are using flight simulators, virtual bikes, playing music and building life story profiles in creative ways, all taking advantage to today's technology. Elder invented the backbone of the technology we use today – it's appropriate they get a chance to use it!

Participants will:

- Discuss examples of readily available technologies that can benefit elders.

- Explore how elders integrate technology into day-to-day activities

C12 – Quality Indicator Survey:  Where Regulation Meets Culture Change

Andrew M. Kramer, President and CEO, Nursing Home Quality

The Quality Indicator Survey (QIS) contains 136 new quality indicators covering quality of life and quality of care issues that are not included in the MDS QI/QM calculations.  Although the QIS was designed for the federal survey, it provides the basis for a comprehensive quality assurance system for nursing homes. As a tool, it offers the possibility of helping nursing homes assess residents' quality of life and quality of care using structured information reported by residents, families and staff. These data, combined with information obtained through observation and record review, can be an important component in any culture change effort. In this session, we will discuss how the QIS methodology represents a resident-centered and comprehensive quality system for nursing homes.

Participants will:

- Explore the Quality Indicator Survey process

- Learn the QIS two-stage process and how a survey team uses the tools to assess a facility's performance

- Discuss how nursing home staff can use the QIS tools for an ongoing quality improvement program