2020 Concurrent Sessions

A1: Transforming Aging through the Power of Reading 

Guide:
Susan Ostrowski, Co-Founder, Reading2Connect

Description: This session debunks three conventional, erroneous preconceptions involving: 1) our rigid belief of what adult text should look like; 2) our limited idea of what it means to read; and 3) our notion that elders, and those living with dementia, can no longer read. Attendees will learn how aging affects the reading process and will practice creating age/dementia friendly reading material. Together we will see how “interactive reading” provides support for expression and brings to light elders’ unique selves. Relationships are transformed and deepened. Most extraordinary, adapted reading connects elders with elders, lessening isolation and boredom, and providing authentic opportunities for independence, competency, and learning.

Objectives:

1. Enable older adults, including those living with dementia, to enjoy reading on their own.
2. Understand how to create engaging age/dementia-friendly reading material that is of a high standard.
3. Understand how integrating accessible reading into the lives of elders not only benefits the elders, socially and emotionally, but also benefits care partners, families, and younger generations.
4. Implement innovative, energizing activity programs and volunteer/intergenerational programs centered around interactive reading.

Bio:

For the past decade, Susan Ostrowski has worked as a speech pathologist with Elders in many settings, from their own homes to nursing homes. Six years ago, she co-founded an organization called Reading2Connect™. Reading2Connect’s mission is to disprove the commonly held preconception that people living with dementia can no longer read. Susan currently oversees university research exploring the relationship between reading and dementia, conducting field studies assessing the reading strengths and needs of older adults – and how to compensate for those needs in a variety of settings, from health centers to libraries. She produces age/dementia-friendly books and has developed several training programs for staff/care partners. Through her work, Susan teaches staff to empower clients/residents to read on their own. Susan’s life passion is to revolutionize the world’s concept of what reading material is “supposed to” look like. To envision a future in which, in the spirit of inclusion and accessibility, age/dementia friendly reading material is readily available and used widely.

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A2: Use Your Passion: Creative Approaches to Positive Aging 

Guides:
Jessica McCracken, Director, Ruth’s Table, COVIA
Heidi Wagner, Photographer and Creator of The Passions Project

Description: This session will examine the power of an image to shape the narrative around aging. We will recognize the role creative professionals play in a housing or care setting. Participants will explore how to bring passion to their work to foster an organization that is engaged, innovative, and attractive to future talent. The Passions Project and Ruth’s Table share their experience in working together to redefine aging in America. The guides will discuss the mutually beneficial partnership their organizations have developed and discuss how collaborative partnerships can further your mission and enhance your organization’s service model.

Objectives:

1. Analyze how the promotional images and language choices we make at our organization connect to positive feelings around aging.
2. Identify what drives us to do this work and gain skills to harness our passion into productivity.
3. Understand how to design, execute, and evaluate collaborative partnerships.

Bios:

Jessica McCracken is Director for Ruth’s Table, a gallery and workshop space located in San Francisco’s Mission District. Interactive, inclusive, and intergenerational, Ruth’s Table brings culturally and economically diverse people of all ages and abilities together to learn, share, and grow. Jessica previously worked with the Institute on Aging holding Director positions with both Center for Elders and Youth in the Arts and the Adult Day Center where she developed programming for those living with Alzheimer’s disease. Jessica holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from San Francisco State University where she concentrated in Nonprofit Arts Management. Jessica is the founding member and Artistic Director of Trash Mash-Up, a community based eco-arts program. With great dedication to collaboration, Jessica co-founded Creative Aging San Francisco, a collective of individuals passionate about the creative arts and its power to foster healthy aging and a vibrant San Francisco Bay Area. She is a highly skilled educator and program administrator who demonstrates a passion for the arts and a strong commitment to engaging others in its process.

For 25 years, Boulder, Colorado based photographer Heidi Wagner has used her camera to look closely at extraordinary people of all ages. Since 2013, Heidi has made The Passions Project the central focus of her creative work. Through The Passions Project, Wagner finds a platform to share the beauty and vitality she sees in people who are living their life to the fullest and living with passion and purpose. To date, The Passions Project has been commissioned and displayed in ten different states, including the LeadingAge national headquarters in Washington, DC. where a 90-piece installation is permanently displayed.

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A3: The Power of Partnership: Creating a Toolkit to Drive Sustainable Change 

Guides:
Danielle Watford, Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs, Maine Health Care Association
Nadine Grosso, Vice President and Director of Communications, Maine Health Care Association

Description: Adapting is inevitable and under enough pressure, change happens. The Maine Partnership to Improve Dementia Care is such an example of change drivers. Beginning in early fall of 2018, caregivers from across the state set out to prepare a change package that would assist Maine nursing homes with resources to better care for resident’s living with dementia, reduce the use of off label anti-psychotic medications and improve the overall care in our communities. This highly adaptive and inherently creative group set out to develop tools but created a much more dynamic and sustainable product in the end. When the right people are brought together in constructive ways, they can create powerful visions and robust strategies. This session will focus on how this Maine partnership developed a change package that was evidence-based and critical to the improvement of our nursing home communities.

Objectives:

1. Define best practices and outline core competencies for Quality Dementia Care.
2. List the specific steps for implementing the Dementia Care Change Package modules.
3. Identify actionable items and next steps for implementation.

Bios:

Danielle Watford currently serves as the Director of Quality Improvement and Regulatory Affairs for Maine Health Care Association and Vice President for the Maine Alliance for Resident Centered Care, the Maine culture change coalition.  She has served as an advocate for Maine elders living in LTC for the past 15 years by participating in the coalition and serving as the nursing home task lead for Maine’s quality improvement organization. Danielle has served on several planning boards focused on improvement of long- term care services and supports, including the Maine Council on Aging, Maine Dementia Care Partnership and Maine LTCSS Steering Committee.  Danielle holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology and industrial/organizational psychology.

Nadine Grosso has served as the Vice President and Director of Communications for the Maine Health Care Association for over 20 years. She is a co-chair of the Maine Dementia Care Partnership and has dedicated her life to the improvement and enhancement of long term care services in Maine. Prior to her work in Maine she served as the Director of Public Relations for the Health Care Association of New Jersey.

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A4: One’s Mindset Determines If Regulations or Payment Support Person-centered Care

Guide:
David Gifford, Senior Vice President for Quality and Regulatory Affairs, American Health Care Association

Description: Regulations, payment models and Five-Star measures dominate the nursing home setting. The mindset one brings to the table determines how these federal policies impact the care provided to residents as either driven by a person-centered care mindset or a compliance mindset. This session will explore how to not fall into a compliance mindset.

Objectives:

1. Explore regulations and how they are connected to and support person-centered care.
2. Explore Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) and how it is connected to and supports person-centered care.
3. Distinguish one’s mindset toward current federal regulations and payment models and quality measures.

Bio:

David Gifford, MD, MPH, is a geriatrician who currently serves as the Senior Vice President for Quality and Regulatory Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at the American Health Care Association. He oversees the Quality Department, which assists providers in their quality improvement efforts and works with administration officials on regulations and policies impacting the profession. Dr. Gifford serves on the Boards of the Advancing Excellence Long-term Care Collaborative and the Baldrige Foundation. He also chairs the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs Geriatric and Gerontology Advisory Committee, a congressional chartered committee to advise the U.S. Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs and Congress on geriatric services for veterans. He has served on numerous federal expert panels, including the CMS panel to develop the Quality Assurance & Performance Improvement program for nursing homes. Dr. Gifford is a former Director of the Rhode Island State Department of Health, where he received the National Governor’s Distinguished Service Award for State Officials for his management of the H1N1 influenza outbreak. In this role, he revamped the nursing home survey process to promote person-centered care practices. Prior to that, he served as Chief Medical Officer for Quality Partners of Rhode Island, where he directed the CMS national nursing home-based quality improvement effort. 

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A5: Creating and Supporting Dementia Friendly Cities 

Guides:
Pam Brandon, President/Founder, AGE-u-cate® Training Institute
Carrie Chiusano, Executive Director, Dementia Care Center of Excellence

Description: Stakeholders from across the aging spectrum are joining forces in the exciting national initiative to create Dementia Friendly cities. These communities are equipped to cultivate and maintain an environment that supports people living with dementia and their care partners. In this interactive session, participants will explore best practices and strategies, how to engage community partners and create networks of support and learn effective educational models for sector-wide benefit. Results from Dementia Friendly Fort Worth will be provided as a road map for success, as well as learn the challenges and how to overcome potential barriers. This lively session will be thought provoking and empowering!

Objectives:

1. Articulate the main components of the Dementia Friendly national collaborative.
2. Examine the strategies needed to implement and sustain a Dementia Friendly community.
3. Explore a case study example and discuss successes and challenges.

Bios:

Pam Brandon is President and Founder of AGE-u-cate® Training Institute whose mission is to develop and deliver person-centered aging and dementia training programs for professional and family caregivers. Pam’s passion for helping improve the lives of older adults was sparked by her own 15 year journey as a family caregiver. She then went on to develop family caregiver education programs, and in 2011 launched AGE-u-cate Training Institute to serve both professionals and families. She is the creator of the Dementia Live® simulation program, and directed the redevelopment of Compassionate Touch®, both programs being used by providers across the US, Canada and Australia.

Carrie Chiusano was instrumental in championing the Culture Change initiative for the Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, which led to the Network becoming CARF-CCAC accredited in 2011 in Person Centered Care. As Executive Director, Carrie is responsible for the integration of dementia care services across the various setting that comprise the Network. This includes spearheading dementia care program development in order to maintain state-of-the art programming uniformly across campuses. It also includes planning and implementing ongoing educational programs as well as building and maintaining strategic partnerships that can support the Network in their goal of enhancing the quality of life both for the individuals impacted by the disease as well as the family caregivers coping with the disease.

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A6: Reimagining Living with Dementia: Lessons Learned Implementing the Montessori Philosophy

Guides:
Laura Roy, Executive Director, Lutheran SeniorLife Passavant Community
Jennifer Brush, Director and Certified Montessori Educator, Brush Development

Description: Implementing the Montessori philosophy involves a culture change process that takes dedication, leadership, courage to challenge long held and deeply embedded beliefs and the strength to challenge engrained processes. This session will walk participants through the year long process and lessons learned while implementing the Association Montessori International Montessori for Aging and Dementia philosophy of care. This session will cover the step by step process used to train staff, increase staff and resident engagement, communicate with families, create a prepared environment and sustain the program. Lessons learned will be shared as well as helpful recommendations.

Objectives:

1. Identify the key components of successfully implementing the Montessori philosophy.
2. Identify and discuss both the barriers to implementation as well as solutions and strategies to overcome barriers.
3. Discuss lessons learned and acquire tangible ideas that can be used within the participants’ communities to implement the Montessori philosophy.

Bios:

Laura Roy’s enthusiastic leadership and passion for serving elders was instrumental in the creation of Abundant Life™, Lutheran SeniorLife’s model of culture change that encourages and enables elders and the staff who serve them to be who they were created to be. Her passion for person directed living began in 2001 and inspired her to reposition her community to include six nursing community households and two personal care households. Her passion also led her to serve on the Board of the Pennslyvania Culture Change Coalition for nearly 10 years and led the organization through a rebranding initiative which led to a new name for the coalition which is now known as VOICE—Voice of Inspired Change for Elders. Laura is a licensed nursing home administrator in the state of Pennsylvania and a graduate of the Coalition for Leadership in Aging Services through the University of North Texas and is a Certified Aging Services Professional.

Jennifer Brush, MA, CCC/SLP, Director, Brush Development is an author, consultant and researcher in the area of dementia care. She helps care communities around the world to implement the Montessori philosophy in long-term care. She serves on the Association Montessori International (AMI) Advisory Board for Montessori for Aging and Dementia and she is the only AMI Certified Educator for Montessori for Aging and Dementia in the US. Jennifer is the author of six nationally recognized books on dementia. Jennifer has over 25 years of experience both as a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) as well as an educator, researcher and consultant. She has led countless live national and international trainings, has facilitated ground-breaking research and managed innovative person-centered projects for the Ohio Council for Cognitive Health. Her expertise and passion for person centered care allows her to flawlessly bridge the gap between care communities and the individuals they serve.

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A7: Assuring a Wellness Culture for Elders and Team Members

Guide:
Lisa Milliken, Education Specialist, Select Rehabilitation

Description:  Research-based concepts support the wellness benefits of our team members, as well as the residents in our communities, beginning with seven dimensions of wellness.   This dynamic workshop will share evidence-based initiatives to achieve a higher quality of life through wellness for all who live and work in our communities.  Interactive strategies will be shared to improve each team member’s health and engagement; likewise, successful aging initiatives will be shared to minimize health risks and improve the resident’s quality of life.  Tools and resources will be included for immediate use in a variety of communities and accommodating for all session attendees.

Objectives:

1. List the seven key dimensions to improve a person’s quality of life when they are nurtured and prioritized.
2. Discuss ways to engage team members in an organization-wide culture of wellness.
3. Discuss ways to engage your leadership team and team members to encourage an organization-wide culture of wellness.

Bio:

Lisa Young Milliken, MA, CCC, FNAP, CDP has served adult and geriatric populations as a clinician, manager, vice president, consultant, compliance manager and education director, and is most passionate about mentoring healthcare professionals across the country.  She currently provides continuing education to healthcare professionals in 35 states as Education Specialist for Select Rehabilitation and has taught at over 200 national and regional conferences.

Lisa is a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, where she is a Member of the Forum Planning Committee and serves as Co- Chair of the Networking Subcommittee and Co- Chair of Education/Training and Practice Partnerships and is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), where she currently serves as a State Advocate for Medicare Policy (StAMP) for Texas.  Lisa is also a Certified Dementia Practitioner and mentors senior living communities in their development of effective non-pharmacological strategies and dementia program management.  In addition, she volunteers with community-wide programs in the Houston area to support caregivers of family members with a variety of health challenges.

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A8: All Stressed Up and Nowhere to Blow: Overcoming Negativity in the Workplace

Guide:
Christopher Ridenhour, Director of Workplace Culture, SpiriTrust Lutheran

Description:  Finally, the antidote to pettiness, unnecessary unresolved conflicts, and destructive attitudes.  No more uncooperative, unengaged, and uncommunicative behaviors. Unchecked workplace stress causes high turnover, low engagement, stress episodes, dysfunctional teams and suspect customer care. What real-life strategies exist to reacquaint yourself with that young, enthusiastic, optimistic, and energetic professional you used to be? Better yet, how can we reverse the “burn out” that characterizes negative actions and attitudes in our departments? During this “Attitude Day Spa” we will identify the key factors that cause workplace trauma, and most effective methods to minimize the damage. This session not only offers ways to cope, but also opportunities to practice the influence skills necessary for transforming the destructive attitudes and behaviors occurring around you.

Objectives:

1. Learn how to exercise courage and assertiveness in situations best solved with increased personal confidence and conviction.
2. Gain a crystal-clear understanding of the reasons and the conditions that create the behaviors which undermine the spirit of cooperation in order to develop strategies to combat them.
3. Create an action plan designed to help team members “embrace change”, “own problems”, and take “personal accountability” for their part in creating a dynamically cooperative and civil work environment.

Bio:

As Director of Workplace Culture for a Pennsylvania-based CCRC and Social Services Management Company, Christopher Ridenhour develops and delivers high-impact staff education focused on World Class Hospitality, Elevated Employee Engagement, New Supervisor Training, Aspects of Inspired Leadership, Total Team Commitment, among other critical employee competencies.

For the last 16 years, Christopher has traveled across North America and Canada keynoting and training for National Aging Associations including Pioneer Network (lead numerous sessions including Plenary), LeadingAge, American College of Health Care Administrators, American Health Care Association, National Center for Assisted Living, and the Ontario Association for Non-Profit Homes and Services for Seniors. Extraordinary participant evaluations have resulted in earning the distinction of becoming LeadingAge’s highest-rated speaker/trainer. As recognition for his years of service to hundreds of communities across Pennsylvania and the country, in 2015, Christopher was awarded LeadingAge’s Facilitator of the Year.

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A9: SAGE SESSION: Where We’ve Been and Where We Need to Refocus 

Guides:
Joanne Rader, RN, MN, Co-Founder of Pioneer Network, Consultant
Wendy Lustbader, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Washington School of Social Work 

Description:  Long-Term Care (LTC) has changed tremendously in the last 50 years.   As a long-term care nurse and a social worker who advocate for persons living with dementia, we have been witnesses and participants in much of it. This session will review milestones in LTC with personal stories of successes and failures as the field adjusts to changing needs and changing political and economic forces.  The take-home message is where do you need to focus next in a climate where simply surviving as a caregiver and professional seems to be the challenge? History can teach us a lot and inspire us. About 100 years ago when elders needed extra help, many lived with their families. Families were often bigger and more static (less moving around) than today.  It was common to have three generations living under one roof.  If people lacked resources or family, they went to the “poor farm.” Over time, that changed and legislation was enacted that made the formation of the long-term care industry possible and it became part of the medical-industrial complex. This session will explore the forces that grew the culture change movement and the forces that currently push against it. Great victories like restraint-free care, bathing without a battle, the development of new models of care and buildings designed as homes will be discussed. Participants will discuss, based on their own experiences, where they need to refocus to help create places where people choose to live, work, and experience meaningful life.

Objectives:

1. Understand that milestones that have taken place historically that have shaped LTC.
2. Understand the forces that drive culture change as well as those that restrict it.
3. Discuss where there needs to be a “refocus” in order to create the places where people can have a meaningful life experience..

Bios:

Joanne Rader is a recognized expert in the LTC culture change movement, She has published numerous articles and books addressing the emotional needs and behavioral symptoms of persons with dementia including Individualized Dementia Care: Creative, Compassionate Approaches, and Bathing Without a Battle which received AJN Book of the Year awards in 1996 and 2002. Joanne has spoken extensively throughout the country, and is probably best know for her work on the development of the program, Bathing Without a Battle.  Joanne is one of the Co-FOunders of Pioneer Network.

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.

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A10: Leading with DQ (Dignity Quotient) For Managers and Administrators 

Guide:
Leslie Pedtke, Owner, King Management Company 

Description: We can transform our cultures through shifting mindsets, opening hearts and treating others as we wish to be treated. It all begins with leadership changing the way they see the staff working most closely with the elders in the communities they serve. While we are committed to transforming our practices, we may be missing an essential link: caring for our staff with dignity. The same ingredients don’t make the same things when the ratios are different. Leslie Pedtke learned first-hand, through staff experiencing living as residents, that true transformation happens when we turn up the volume on our “dignity quotient.”

Objectives:

1. Attendees will assess their own strengths and how they can support success in their care partners.
2. Explore six DQ values and supporting behaviors.
3. Gain insight into providing peak performance feedback that creates positive results.

Bio:

Leslie Pedtke, LNHA is an Owner and Educator for Quality Improvement for King Management Company, which includes three skilled nursing communities and three assisted living/memory care communities. Her experiences as Administrator of Aviston Countryside Manor from 1994-2017, built a foundation of person-directed care. Leslie’s book, What Living as a Resident Can Teach Long-Term Care Staff: The Power of Empathy to Transform Care, is a teaching tool for long term care professionals, families and students. Leslie is a national speaker on dementia, culture change and workforce development and teaching empathy. She is currently the Board Vice-President and education coordinator of the Illinois Pioneer Coalition. Leslie graduated from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a Bachelors in Speech Communication and is currently a Masters of Health Care Administration student at Maryville University. 

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A11: Best Practices for Providing LGBT Affirming Residential Services 

Guides:
Sherrill Wayland, Director, SAGE
Nate Sweeney, Vice-President Skilled Services, St. John’s
Rabbi Erica Steelman, Director of LGBT+ Initiatives and Staff Chaplain, Abramson Center for Jewish Life
Dan Stewart, Associate Director, Aging Equality Project, Human Right Campaign

Description:  While older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults confront the same issues everyone else does when choosing aging services, the reality of life in long-term care for LGBT people can be drastically different from their non-LGBT peers.  This session introduces the Long-term Care Equality Index (LEI) for supporting LGBT Residents.  During the session, attendees will hear from peers working in long-term care communities who are implementing LGBT affirming policies and practices, review best practices developed by key industry stakeholders and take a self-assessment to assess LGBT inclusiveness in areas such as policies and procedures, resident services and supports, and community engagement.

Objectives:

1. Describe the need for LGBT inclusive residential services.
2. Identify best practices for serving LGBT residents.
3. Evaluate and recommend action steps to improving LGBT residential inclusion.

Bios:

Sherrill Wayland is the Director of National Education Initiatives for SAGE where she directs the operations of programs such as SAGECare and the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. She also serves as the SAGE lead for the Long-term Care Equality Index (LEI). Sherrill earned a Master of Social Work degree from the Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis and has over 25 years of professional experience in the fields of education, disability and LGBT older adult advocacy.

Nate Sweeney serves as Vice President of Skilled Services at St. John’s in Rochester, NY, a long-time leader in the culture change movement. He is the administrator for the nursing home, serving 400 elders, overseeing the medical, nursing, social work, spiritual care, therapeutic recreation, and dining departments. Additionally, he is responsible for Day Break, an adult medical day program caring for 30 elders, and the Penfield Green House Homes, which serves 20 elders in the first Green House homes built away from a campus, in the community. Prior to returning to long term care, Nate served as the Executive Director of the LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton Health Care, where his team launched Baltimore’s first social service infrastructure for serving LGBTQ elders and created May 16th as National Honor Our LGBT Elders Day.

For over seven years, Rabbi Erica Steelman has served as Staff Chaplain for Abramson Senior Care. In 2014, she initiated, created and has been leading Abramson Senior Care’s LGBT+ Initiatives and Task Force to make Abramson Senior Care more welcoming, affirming and competent in serving LGBT+ individuals. Under Rabbi Steelman’s leadership, Abramson Senior Care has participated in the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) since 2015. She strives to raise awareness of the existence of LGBT+ older adults, and to encourage healthcare professionals, administrators and academics to incorporate an understanding and appreciation of sexual orientation and gender identity into person-centered care.

As Associate Director of the Aging Equality Project, Dan Stewart manages the Long-Term Care Equality Index (LEI). The LEI, built in partnership with SAGE and Human Rights Campaign (HRC), addresses the concerns of LGBTQ older adults seeking long-term care. This is done by working with LTC communities to commit to providing culturally competent care and support their work to do so. Organizations will be supported by better understanding LGBTQ-inclusive policy and procedures. This will ultimately lead to a tool for LGBTQ individuals to find supportive communities. Prior to his role at HRC, Dan served as the SAGE Program Coordinator for PROMO, a statewide program providing services and advocacy for LGBTQ elders in Missouri.

B1: New Ideas Supporting Meaning and Purpose in Your Life Enrichment Program: Experience ‘Speed Dating’ Pioneer Network Style!

Session Facilitator:
Peter Illig, CEO, National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP)

Guides:
Debbie Hommel, Immediate Past-President, National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP)
Amy Laughlin, President-Elect, National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP)
Joyce Lamilla, Director of Business Development & Nutrition Services, Ben E. Keith Foods
Dawn Worsley President, National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP)

Description:  Come join leaders in the life enrichment and activities field for a fun, interactive session highlighting successful engagement approaches and techniques. Recognizing that there are so many great ideas, and that it’s hard to find the time to hear about them all, attendees will be participating in a rotating program of mini-sessions where you can learn tips and tricks and brush up on your skills and competencies for engaging older persons across the continuum of care.  It’s Pioneer Network’s version of “speed dating.” This session will be led by a team of expert practitioners from the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP) and the National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP) and related care providers.

Objectives:

1. Share five different approaches for supporting life enrichment for residents in their community.
2. Interact with guides who will be providing hands-on techniques.
3. Replicate at least one new approach to life enrichment in their community.

Bios:

Peter J. Illig is a nonprofit executive with a unique combination of business, legal and communication skills. He has served in a variety of leadership positions providing executive management and legal counsel to mission-driven organizations. He specializes in governance, alliance-building and strategic reorganization for long-term sustainability. He currently serves as CEO for the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals, a credentialing body for care providers using the Social Model of Care. Mr. Illig is a graduate of SUNY Buffalo School of Law, a member of the New York Bar and earned a post-graduate law degree in International Law from the University of Notre Dame London Law Program. Residing in the Metro DC area, he is a registered consultant with the World Health Organization and a member of the National Eagle Scout Association.

Amy Laughlin, BA, ADC, CDP graduated from the University of Leeds in England with a degree in Sociology and Social Policy and moved to the USA in 2002 to follow her heart and marry a charming southern gentleman. She began working in the field of senior living as an activities volunteer 17 years ago and quickly discovered the joy associated with educating, empowering and energizing senior adults. Amy currently holds the position of Director of Resident Services & HomeBridge at Westminster Towers, a Life Plan Community in Rock Hill, South Carolina. She is a former Board member for the South Carolina Activity Professionals Association and serves on the National Association of Activity Professionals Board as the incoming president. She is nationally credentialed through NCCAP and was awarded the South Carolina Activity Professional of the Year in 2014. She is a guest instructor for Winthrop University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology and has presented many workshops for activity professionals, senior living providers, healthcare professionals and groups of active seniors.  Amy an aspiring minimalist, blogger and seeker of a simpler life.

Debbie Hommel has over four decades of experience working in the field of therapeutic activities.  Starting as a director, becoming a consultant and finally working as the Executive Director of DH Special Services – Debbie has worked in a variety of care settings.   Currently, Debbie is dedicated to providing continuing education through face to face classes and on line through DH Special Services.  Debbie is currently active on the Executive Board of the National Certification Council of Activity Professionals, currently serving as immediate Past President. Debbie has presented to numerous activity and health care organizations throughout the United States.  She is a certified activity consultant with specializations in memory care, Montessori/Dementia Care and education through the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals and is a certified therapeutic recreation specialist through the National Certification Council for Therapeutic Recreation.

Joyce Lamilla is Director of Business Development and Nutrition Services for Ben E. Keith Foods.  In her previous positions as a consultant dietitian and nutrition specialist, Joyce worked with long term care and rehabilitative care locations, long term acute care, home care, and hospitals for over 25 years. Joyce holds a Masters Degree in Education from Pennsylvania State University – Division of Health Education, and she is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian.  She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Human Nutrition and Foods from Rutgers University and did her internship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ. Joyce completed the Texas Christian University (TCU) Neeley School of Business Executive Education Certificate of Adaptive Leadership in November 2016. She is currently the chair of the Dietitians in Texas Healthcare Communities group. She was named a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2017.

Dawn Worsley is the owner of Dawn on the Horizon, LLC in Baltimore, MD and she serves on a variety of boards and is the immediate Past-President of National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP). Dawn is an Activity Director Certified (ADC) with a specialization in Memory Care and Education, a Certified Eden Alternative Associate as well as Montessori Dementia Engagement Certified. She is also an authorized certification instructor with the National Certification Council of Activity Professionals. In addition to serving as an Activity Director, Corporate Program Development Consultant, Admissions & Marketing Director, Director of Alzheimer’s and Gero-psych units, Dawn serves as a Regional Clinical Specialist. She has a vast knowledge base in many facets of long-term care and community services and is considered a pioneer in her field regarding resident rights and culture change.  She is a National Speaker on a variety of topics for Health Care Workers, is published in both print and video, working in collaboration with The University of Maryland Video Press.

 

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B3: Supporting Decision-Making: Ensuring Elders Have a Say and Preferences are Honored 

Guides:
Marianne Bradshaw, Ombudsman Team Leader, Direction Home–Lima office
Maggie Calkins, Board Chair, IDEAS Institute

Description: Our days are filled with choices. Some big, some not so big. Some choices are easy, others cause sleepless nights. This session will examine how we make decisions, the biases and emotions that can influence these decisions, and practice effective decision-making in teams. We will explore some of the typical decisions that elders in LTC are often faced with, challenges and influences around these decisions, and how to ensure elders are supported and well-informed while maintaining autonomy and sense of self. We will also consider what to do when a person expresses a preference to do something perceived as risky.

Objectives:

1. Examine several shared decision-making models.
2. Learn a process for honoring choice while mitigating risk.
3. Understand challenging decisions in care settings and demonstrate approaches for supported decision making.

Bios:

Marianne Bradshaw has served as managing ombudsman for a regional ombudsman program in Ohio for the past 13 years. She is also an experienced trainer and facilitator, having been a training consultant with the Management Association of Illinois. As an ombudsman, as well as during her tenure as a Board Member for the Ohio Person-Centered Care Coalition, Marianne promoted person-centered care practices by working with provider staff to analyze care systems and processes, seeking solutions that supported the elder first, but also all care partners. Her interest in the inherent conflict between institutional care environments and the natural desire for “home” led Marianne to recently complete her Master’s degree in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution with a concentration on Collaborative Organizational Systems. Her belief in the importance of relationships, open communication, and inclusion in mitigating the effects of institutional living on the individual has been further strengthened through involvement in organizations such as Pioneer Network. For the past 10 years she has been a guest presenter on PCC for nurse aide trainees at a local career center. Marianne holds a BS in Organizational Administration.

Dr. Margaret (Maggie) Calkins has been recognized as a leader in environments for individuals who are living with dementia since the mid-1980s with the publication of the first comprehensive design guide on the topic. She is a well-respected researcher and consultant, with over 100 publications in both academic and trade journals. Maggie is a former Pioneer Network Board Member. 

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B4: Innovations in Culture Change Within the Framework of Federal Regulation Revisions and Payment 

Guides:
M. Elizabeth (Betsy) Kemeny, PhD, CTRS, Professor, Slippery Rock University
Melissa Tomko, Director, Woodside Place, Presbyterian Senior Care  

Description: Recently, both federal guidelines for nursing homes and the payment system (PDPM) have undergone major revisions. How can these revisions promote momentum for culture change initiatives in the future? What are some barriers, perceived or real, presented by these federal changes to culture change initiatives? In light of the new regulations, the Guides will share a strategy for integrating resident-centered care with implementation of the new guidelines with specific attention to engagement and life enrichment programs. Based on the integrated perspectives of practitioner and researcher, the presentation will explore leadership strategies and community-based initiatives between care communities and universities to further culture change.

Objectives:

1. List changes to federal regulations and payment systems that may impact resident-centered care and culture change initiatives.
2. Define the opportunities and barriers that the new regulations provide for person-centered care and further culture change initiatives.
3. Evaluate various leadership and facilitation strategies to integrate recent federal changes with a positive momentum for culture change in the future.

Bios:

Betsy Kemeny is an Associate Professor of Recreational Therapy at Slippery Rock University and a Certified Professional Gerontologist. She has 34 years working in various capacities to support self-determinism of older adults through using life enrichment programs. In the 1990s, Dr. Kemeny was responsible for developing the team to support the residents’ unique needs and preferences in care neighborhoods. From 1998 to 2004, she worked with a geriatrician to write and research a dementia-care curriculum with and for long-term care staff that included a person-centered approach to supervising staff.  Perceiving the significance for residents of making the care environment a better place to work, she focused on staff development for her doctoral dissertation. This study focused on best practices in staff development to promote person-centered care and culture change in care communities working with both older adults and those aging with developmental disabilities. More recently, she co-authored a book on Recreational Therapy for Older Adults. She has advocated for culture change in her profession, serving on the Board of Directors, currently President-Elect, for the American Therapeutic Recreation Association.  In her classroom experiences, she teaches undergraduate recreational therapy students to advocate for residents’ self-determinism as they go into the job market.

Melissa Tomko is the Administrator of Woodside Place of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network. Woodside Place is a Personal Care Community with an adult day services program serving individuals living with dementia. Prior to her Administrator role, Melissa was the Recreation Services Director at Longwood at Oakmont of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, Melissa served independent living, personal care, and skilled nursing, including a Woodside neighborhood that serves residents living with dementia. She has been a certified therapeutic recreation specialist for over 20 years, including 14 years serving long-term care. Melissa is also a certified dementia practitioner. She currently champions the Person-Centered Culture Integration Team throughout the Presbyterian SeniorCare Network Communities. Melissa serves on the Board of Directors for the Pennsylvania Therapeutic Recreation Society.

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B5: A Practical Guide to Engaging In Dementia Friendly Communities 

Guides:
Rachel Neal, Programs Coordinator, Person Centred Universe
Jim Kinsey, Vice President of Continuum Care Services, Planetree International

Description:  There are 50 million people living in our world with dementia.  Many of them are living in our communities and accessing businesses and services to complete activities of daily living to remain independent within their community.  With the population of people who are diagnosed with dementia only expecting to rise, it is important we learn how to best support these individuals through dementia-friendly culture and design changes.  In this session, the Guides will provide practical ways to inform dementia inclusive environments, and provide a look into what it’s like to live with dementia in the community.

Objectives:

1. Define why it is important to engage in Dementia Friendly Communities.
2. Apply tools to provide dementia friendly service.
3. Discuss dementia inclusive physical environments and create a plan to implement the learnings from the session into our everyday lives.

Bios:

Rachel Neal serves as Programs Coordinator at Person Centred Universe, a consulting and educational training company, that aims to make the world a better place for those living with dementia. Following completion of her Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in Gerontology at St. Thomas University, Rachel participated in an ‘Aging in the Life Course’ summer study program from the University of Graz in Austria. Rachel has worked in the long-term care field, specifically with persons living with dementia, for ten years, using her passion to work towards person centred culture change in the field of dementia. She has been an active volunteer for the Alzheimer Society of New Brunswick (Canada) for three years, facilitating support groups and educational/social events for people living with dementia and their loved ones. Through her work at Person Centred Universe, Rachel has developed content and taught several courses on topics such as: Activity Professionals, Dementia Education, and Dementia Friendly Communities. Most recently, she has developed a curriculum for businesses looking to better serve those living with dementia. Rachel has worked on projects relating to the field of dementia that range from creating/influencing dementia inclusive environments to coordination of Provincial Alzheimer Enhancing Care Conferences.

Jim Kinsey is the Vice President of Continuum of Care Services at Planetree International, a not-for-profit organization that provides education and information in a collaborative community of healthcare organizations, facilitating efforts to create person-centered care in healing environments. In his role, Jim is responsible for coaching and directing organizations to implement the Planetree Framework of person-centered care. He specializes in complex healthcare system implementation, long-term care environments and other post-acute environments. Jim is a strong advocate for reducing/eliminating biased care and enhancing the skills of professionals in the field of aging. He started in healthcare as a nursing assistant, later attending nursing school and has worked in a variety of settings including: high risk acute care, sub-acute and long-term care. He is a co-author of Planetree’s Long Term Care Improvement Guide, co-authored and served as content reviewer for Managing the Long-Term Care Facility: Practical Approaches to Providing Quality Care 1st Edition, (Perley editor). Jim will repeat this role for the 2nd Edition in 2020 and add chapters on person-centered care and resident move in. He is a sought-after speaker and educator for topics associated with person-centered care implementation and has created and implemented comprehensive staff, physician and leadership training curricula for Planetree.

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B6: Changing the Culturescape to Optimize Living Well with Dementia 

Guides:
Janice Bays, Physical Therapist, Jill’s House
Karen Love, Executive Director, Dementia Action Alliance

Description: Dementia is one of the most misunderstood conditions in the developed world. Care practices that focus on losses contribute to the erosion of well-being of individuals living with dementia. While person-centered practices are accepted globally as the gold standard, there is considerable imprecision surrounding these practices.

The Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) undertook a multi-year project in partnership with The Eden Alternative to establish a consensus-based conceptual framework and practice guidelines for person/relational-centered support and care. 

Objectives:

1. Name at least three benefits of using relationship-based practices in dementia care.
2. Define culturescape and discuss how our current culturescape must change to support people living well with dementia.
3. List at least three ways to apply relationship-based practices in their own experiences.

Bios:

Jan Bays started her culture change journey by connecting culture change and the rehabilitation community. While Vice President of Clinical Services of Creative Health Solutions (CHS), she became an Eden Associate and lead CHS to become a Person Directed Therapy Company. After over 35 years as a clinician and manager in geriatric rehabilitation, Jan turned her efforts to advocacy for people living with dementia. She had the opportunity to partner with her daughter to develop a relationship-based intergenerational community consisting of assisted living with specialty in memory care, preschool and a day visitor program that employs person-centered practices. Jan is a founding member of Dementia Friendly Bloomington which fosters innovative support for persons living with dementia in that community. She is an active supporter of service learning, which gives students opportunities to develop relationships with elders, at Indiana University. She is an active member of the Dementia Action Alliance, serving as a member of the Board of Directors, Chair of the Optimizing Well Being Workgroup and of the Brain Health Committee.

Karen Love is the Executive Director of the Dementia Action Alliance. She leads persons living with dementia, care partners and professionals in advocacy, education, and support for living well with dementia. Karen is a leader in person-centered practices in dementia care who advocates for treating dementia as a disability and using compensatory strategies to accommodate for changing abilities as a right. She led the DAA project to develop Best Practices for Living Well with Dementia and then created the partnership with The Eden Alternative to create the Raising the Bar Practice Guidelines to direct care in the Assisted Living setting. As a former long-term care (LTC) administrator, Karen has first-hand experience with person-centered care practices; she transformed several LTC communities to inculcating these principles and practices. Karen served as co-investigator on seven research projects (funded by the National Institute on Aging, U.S. Administration on Aging, and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia Research Award) to study and test person-centered practices. She has numerous articles about person-centered dementia care published in peer-reviewed journals and wrote a manual about person-centered practices for the National Association of Boards of Examiners of Long-Term Care Administrators that is used to educate administrators. Since 2011, Karen has championed person- and relational-centered dementia care practices nationally through the Dementia Action Alliance.

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B7: Developing Person-Centered Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities

Guides:
Michael Smuli, Founder/Chair, The Learning Community for Person Centered Practices, National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities, University of Delaware
Cameron Camp, Director of Research and Development, Center for Applied Research in Dementia
Tanya Richmond, Partner, Support Development Associates, LLC

Description:  Creating person-centered supports for individuals living with developmental disabilities has many important parallels with the person-centered care movement for persons living with dementia. In this session, we will present an overview of the person-centered approach for individuals with developmental disabilities, describe an ongoing project involving use of the Montessori method in a residential setting for individuals with developmental disabilities who also have dementia, and provide examples of tools for creating person-centered care for individuals with developmental disabilities that are highly relevant for working with persons living with dementia.

Objectives:

1. Discuss at least 4 relevant similarities in the person-centered approach to persons with dementia and persons with developmental disabilities.
2. Describe at least 3 activities/components of the use of Montessori methods to enhance person-centered care for individuals with developmental disabilities.
3. Describe at least 2 tools that are useful for both persons living with dementia and individuals living with developmental disabilities.

Bios:

Best known for his work in the development and implementation of person-centered planning, person-centered thinking and person-centered practices, Michael Smull has been developing community services for people with significant disabilities for the past 47 years.  He has worked across disability groups in 49 states and 8 countries.  His focus has been the development of the supports and services needed for all people to have lives of their own choosing within their communities.  In 1982, after 10 years of directing an agency offering a full range of residential, day, and clinical services for people who had both intellectual disabilities and behavioral health issues, the University of Maryland recruited Mr. Smull.  As the Director of the Community Support Unit, he was responsible for the development of a wide range of services and activities, including: The development (together with Susan Harrison) of a process of person-centered planning known as Essential Lifestyle Planning; developing and overseeing systems of planning and service development so that people with the co-occurring conditions of intellectual disability and mental illness could successfully move to community settings; helping people return to their home communities from institutional/congregate settings.  Mr. Smull has also been one of the founders of three community agencies which demonstrated best practice in supporting people living with disabilities. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Education and as an expert in lawsuits for plaintiffs, states, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Smull is the recipient of the 2006 American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Community Service Award and the Compass Award from the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (2015).

Cameron J. Camp, Ph.D., originally developed the use of the Montessori method as an intervention for use with persons living with dementia. He is a noted psychologist specializing in applied research in gerontology and currently serves as Director of Research and Development for the Center for Applied Research in Dementia. Dr. Camp gives workshops on designing cognitive and behavioral interventions for dementia internationally. These interventions are all designed to reduce challenging behaviors and increase the level of functioning and quality of life of persons with dementia. He has co-authored three college textbooks and published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Dr. Camp is a Fellow and Past-President of Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging) of the American Psychological Association, a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and a Charter Member of the Association for Psychological Science. His research has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, and the national Alzheimer’s Association. He is a recipient of the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research.

Tanya M. Richmond, MSW, LCSW, a partner with Support Development Associates, has over 30 years of experience working as a licensed clinical social worker. She has expertise in direct practice with older adults; children and their families; people who are deaf or hearing impaired; children and adults with developmental and cognitive disabilities; and individuals who are in crisis due to rape. She is the former director of the Center for Aging Research and Educational Services (CARES) at UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work.  Tanya works nationally and internationally with organizations who are implementing person-centered practices.  She also assists agencies to create and implement person-centered policy. Tanya is a certified person-centered thinking trainer and plan facilitator, a mentor for Person-centered Thinking trainer candidates, and an officer on the Board of Directors for the international Learning Community for Person-Centered Practices.

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B8: Live, Interactive and Virtual – the New Training Frontier 

Guides:
Stephen Goldberg, MD, Clinical Consultant, Mental Health Association of Maryland
Amanda Krisher, LCSW-C, Director of Training, Mental Health Association of Maryland

Description: The “Engage with Older Adults” skills training module meets CMS Phase II and III training requirements for behavioral health and has had over 2800 participants over the last three years. Results from the independent evaluation on the culture of care, staff turnover, resistance to care and time spent on behavioral health related issues will be discussed. This highly successful skills training program is now being converted into a live, interactive virtual experience. The successes and challenges associated with the launch of the multi-state pilot will be discussed and attendees will be able to watch a live demonstration of the virtual training.

Objectives:

1. Recognize the importance of ego and apply the concept of preservation of ego to positively impact resistance to care.
2. Discuss how the Engage with Older Adults skills training module impacts direct care workers’ rate of turnover, residents’ resistance to care and the amount of administrative time spent on behavioral health related issues.
3. List the challenges associated with conversion to a digital training platform.

Bios:

Dr. Stephen Goldberg started a consulting firm that provides psychiatric consultations in the areas of adult and older adult psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, management and assessment of dangerousness and violence, milieu management, staff development and training, mental health systems analysis as well as providing executive leadership and guidance to other health related enterprises. He has developed, in collaboration with the Mental Health Association of Maryland, the Engage with™ skills training programs that includes the Older Adults skills training module. This skills training focuses on preservation of ego and how direct care providers can engage in healthy working/caring relationships with older adults throughout all stages and conditions associated with aging. The training has gained statewide and national recognition for its success in creating a change in the culture of care.

Amanda Krisher is the Director of Training with the Mental Health Association of Maryland, Maryland’s only volunteer nonprofit citizens organization bringing together consumers, families, professionals, advocates, and concerned citizens for unified action in all aspects of behavioral health. Her focus at the agency is the Engage With ®Skills Training Programs. Amanda is passionate about working with older adults and providing a safe and healthy environment for aging. She is a proud alumnus of the University of Maryland School of Social Work and a Licensed Certified Clinical Social Worker. Amanda enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, baking delicious treats and cooking up a storm. She has prepared more than 75% of the burger recipes in the Bob’s Burgers Cookbook.

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B9: Transformational Change: A Partnership to Grow Elder-Centered Relationships 

Guides:
Marla DeVries, Director of Resource Development, The Green House Project
Miriam Levi, Assistant Administrator, The New Jewish Home, Sarah Neuman, Westchester 

Description: How does a large metropolitan organization transform the culture of two sites with minimal physical renovations and 1,000 employees? This presentation explores the partnership of The Green House Project and The New Jewish Home and the cultural transformation process to instill a relationship-rich, person-directed living environment through the application of the Green House model core values in a traditional long-term care setting. Participants will explore the importance of growing people and relationships, with Elders at the center and care partners that have a voice in decision making.

Objectives:

1. Apply the core principles of Real Home, Meaningful Life, and Empowered staff to a traditional environment to create a true cultural transformation.
2. Discuss Beliefs, Behaviors and Systems as a framework for deep cultural transformation and the development of Guide roles in a household model.
3. Evaluate how a traditional environment can be transformed through a comprehensive change process to create an empowered workforce and shared decision making.

Bios:

Marla DeVries has over 25 years’ experience in long term care, beginning as a long-term care ombudsman for nine years. During that time, Marla became involved in the culture change movement in Michigan and helped launch a statewide initiative to bring culture change across the state in an initiative that encompassed collaborating with state survey agencies, the state office on aging, the ombudsmen program, and long-term care providers. Marla worked for a nonprofit provider in Utah to support cultural transformation at five sites. While at The Green House Project, Marla developed the model fidelity tool, known as MERIT, that is administered annually to Green House sites to measure adherence to the Green House model. She has previously spoken at Pioneer Network, AHCA, The Eden Alternative, and several state and local conferences.

Having spent many years creating and sustaining innovative programs and person-centered care initiatives, Miriam Levi guides The New Jewish Home’s Sarah Neuman community through the transition from the traditional medical model to a person-directed care model, including the Green House and small-house models, on both the Manhattan and Westchester campuses of The New Jewish Home. Miriam is responsible for empowering the workforce by cultivating and supporting self-managed work teams within the nursing units and in individual departments. In addition, she provides in-services to over 150 employees each year on person-directed care practices and coaches and mentors organizational leaders and teams in creating a person-directed care environment. Miriam works directly with the Chief Experience Officer and senior management to strategize and implement person-directed care practices and education programs across the organization. Miriam directly supervises staff and oversees operations of three small-house model nursing home neighborhoods at the Sarah Neuman Westchester Campus.

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B10: Leadership and Sharing Power: What Happens When Something Goes Wrong, and Something Always Goes Wrong! 

Guides:
Anna Ortigara, Workforce Innovations Consultant, PHI
Christopher Mulrooney, Managing Partner Villas at Killearn Lakes and Assistant Dean for Clinical & Community Affairs at Florida State University

Description: Empowered staff and work teams are critical components of a deep cultural transformation to person-directed living. What does it take for leaders to trust and believe in staff to effectively move power to care partners and all staff? This session will cover the conditions to more power and to build the muscle to sustain the powershift through challenging times. A ‘real-time’ experience of a leader coaching a self-organized work team will be explored and dissected for successes and opportunities for improvement. PHI and the Villas at Killearn Lakes partnered to create and implement this person-directed, high-engagement model.

Objectives:

1. Explore a model of power sharing core to an empowered workforce.
2. Discuss a real-world example of sharing power and outcomes in good times and tough times.
3. Apply the model to individual experiences of participants and consider leadership practices which will sustain an empowered workforce culture.

Bios:

Anna Ortigara has co-created workforce models and person-directed living models over the course of her long-term care career. She served as the VP of Cultural Transformation for Leading Age Illinois and Director of Program Development for THE GREEN HOUSE Project® – National Team. Programs developed include LEAP for the 21st Century long term care workforce (MatherLifeways Center on Aging, Evanston, IL), Person-centered dementia care education and leadership programs (Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Chicago), THE GREEN HOUSE® Project Core Team Education (THE GREEN HOUSE® Project- National Team), Coaching Approach to Supervision and workforce recruitment and retention projects (PHI, Bronx, NY). Anna is a gerontological nurse and a Fellow in the Academy of Nursing and served on the Pioneer Network Board for six years and as President for two years.

For the past ten years, Christopher Mulrooney has been an Assistant Dean at the Florida State University College of Medicine and a member of the faculty in the Department of Geriatrics. He has developed an innovative “small house” neighborhood of 12-person assisted living homes built on culture change principles. Prior to his academic career, Christopher spent 30 years in direct service, administrative, consulting, and executive roles in health care and aging services, from C.N.A. to C.E.O. His post-graduate training includes research-based competency model development and competency-based assessment of emotional intelligence of health care executives, physician leaders, and paraprofessional caregivers using thematic content analysis of narrative data derived from Behavioral Event Interviews and other motivational interviewing techniques. He had the privilege of studying this theory and application under the tutelage of the late Harvard psychologist, Dr. David C. McClelland.

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B11: Darkness to Light: A Veterans Journey to Live Again 

Guides:
Jill Layne, Associate Chief Nurse, Harry S. Truman VA Hospital
Sharlene Galbraith, Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, Harry S. Truman VA Hospital

Description: An inspirational story of one Veteran’s journey from a somnolent life to living again. In this session, you’ll hear the heart wrenching path our staff had to endure to leap over the huge obstacles to change a Veteran’s perception of life. Through interactive exercises and discussion, you will learn how to engage staff and residents with effective communication to create a resident-centered care approach to change. Tactics used to assist in creating a change of culture for our Veterans will also be provided. These tactics are what brought our Veteran back to life.

Objectives:

1. Identify Residents at Risk for Polypharmacy.
2. Identify Residents at Risk for Isolation/Loneliness.
3. Collaborate with IDT and Resident to establish short term goals, long term goals, and an individualized care plan to promote independence. 

Bios:

Jill Layne, RN, serves as Associate Chief Nurse at Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital since October 2019. Prior to her current role, Ms. Layne was the Nurse Manager over the Community Living Center (CLC).   A registered nurse and former Licensed Nursing Home Administrator (LNHA), Ms. Layne has over 25 years of experience in health care having served in leadership positions in long-term care and home health settings since 1994.   As an advocate for person centered care, she has spoken locally and on a national level, including twice at the Pioneer Network Annual Conference.  She has served on the Pioneer Network Conference staff, as the conference photographer for two years and is a 2010 graduate of the LeadingAge Leadership Academy.  Ms. Layne also serves as an adjunct Professor at Central Methodist University. 

Sharlene Galbraith, R.N, AGNP -BC is employed as a provider for the Community Living Center (CLC) and has worked in the Geriatric Evaluation Clinic at Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital since January 2018, and previously worked for Jefferson City Medical group as a cardiology Nurse Practitioner. Ms. Galbraith has 30 years of health care experience, previous to becoming a nurse practitioner in 2015, she worked in various specialties in nursing such as, orthopedics, management, cardiology, pediatrics, medical-surgical, and Intensive Care. Ms. Galbraith is a member of American Society for Geriatrics and Sigma Theta Tau.

C1: Wendy’s Neverland: The Integration of Arts and Aging for Community Building

Guide:
Angie McAllister, Director of Quality of Life and Culture Change, Signature Health

Description: What if programming in nursing homes was so interesting that families and neighbors wanted to come and participate alongside Elders? What if it was so “out of the ordinary” that it sparked interest all over the community? Join us for an interactive journey into the world of “Wendy’s Neverland,” a site-specific performance by Elders, Staff, Volunteers and Artists in three Kentucky nursing homes.

Objectives:

1. Identify the role of creative engagement in community building.
2. Identify phases of long-range community building arts projects using the example of Wendy’s Neverland.
3. Summarize the impact of Wendy’s Neverland on all parties involved.

Bio:

Angie McAllister has worked in long-term care since 1995 when she entered the field as a nursing assistant. During the past 22 years, she has worked in many roles including that of an Activities Professional and most currently as Director of Quality of Life and Culture Change for Signature HealthCare. Angie has worked to improve the stigma and perception around aging and nursing homes in general through innovative programming and creativity. She also serves on the Eden Alternative Board of Directors where she works to drive person-directed practices in all healthcare settings.

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C2: Humanitude – Improving the Quality of Life of People with Dementia Through a Non-pharmacological Approach

Guides:
João Pärtel Araújo, BSc, MSc, MBA. Humanitude Trainer
Franck De Vivie, Director of Institute Gineste-Marescotti International

Description:  The aging demographics impose changes in society, in general, and in the healthcare system, in particular. Along with these demographics, there is the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, among them Dementia. For caregivers, family and the person itself, dementia can be difficult to understand and cope with throughout its progression. The main challenge identified in research is the management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. Even when there is a recommendation for non-pharmacological approaches, the majority of times medication is the only intervention that caregivers find available. Humanitude is a multimodal methodology of care that professionalizes the relationship established between the resident and the caregiver. This non-pharmacological approach has been developed for 40 years, and its living authors, Yves Gineste and Rosette Marescotti, concluded that any care intervention without relational consent can become harmful, resulting in defensive behaviors leading to a reduction in quality of life and life expectancy of people living with dementia. With 150 techniques that are scientifically validated and can be incorporated into care practice through training, Humanitude reveals an efficacy difficult to match with up to 95% reduction of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) prevalence. Its results have made it a very prominent methodology of care in countries such as France, Japan and the U.S.

Objectives:

1. Distinguish the Humanitude model of care from other humanistic care models.
2. Identify evidence-based relational techniques for daily care of frail elders and people living with dementia.
3. Describe measurable health outcomes from implementing Humanitude’s care techniques.

Bios:

João Pärtel Araújo’s mission is to bring joy into caregiving, regardless of setting and role, believing that life and happiness belong in healthcare.  In 2006, his grandfather was diagnosed with vascular dementia, and that made him to dedicate his life to geriatric and frail people care, searching for best caregiving practices to promote welfare and quality of life. João began as a caregiver, a nurse, a clinician, later becoming a healthcare director, and is now working as a trainer and a consultant.

Traveling worldwide to train, empower and inspire healthcare professionals, families, and people with chronic health conditions, he is actively working to change the lives of hundreds of people with a relational approach to care. He has worked with Humanitude since 2010, the methodology of care developed by Yves Gineste and Rosette Marescotti, that he personally learned from them, achieving the certification of Humanitude instructor in 2016.  He is currently the International Pedagogical Coordinator for Humanitude implementing this evidence-based methodology of care in Europe, Asia and America.

Franck De Vivie has a Masters degree in Management (1989 GEM – Grenoble Ecole de Management).  He worked for 20 years for a European food packaging group from 1992 till 2012 developing management skills at an international level.  In 2007, he was appointed VP Sales for the group. It was through his wife, Annie de VIVIE, that he became involved with Humanitude.  Annie has been in charge of the Humanitude network in France since 2004, and through her, Franck he had the opportunity to meet Rosette Marescotti and Yves Gineste on several occasions.  In 2013, they offered him the opportunity to join the Humanitude network and bring his experience to develop it internationally. Humanitude values before all network is growing thanks to encounters with people sharing the same values in countries like Belgium, Italy, Spain, Japan, Korea, Singapore and USA.

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C3: Healthy Rhythms of Light and Darkness: A Day in the Life of a Care Center Resident 

Guides:
Eunice Noell-Waggoner, President, Center of Design for an Aging Society
Naomi Miller, Senior Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/US Department of Energy
Jessica Collier, Associate Lighting Research Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Description: Research into circadian health and sleep quality for older adults is pointing to the importance of the intensity and spectrum of light entering the eye over the course of the day, as well as the quality of darkness at night. While light is one of the most powerful cues for circadian, hormonal and behavioral systems, residents living in nursing homes experience very little daily exposure to bright light or daylight and most homes are not designed to optimize natural light or to use lighting that is sufficiently bright.

Objectives:

1. Understand the importance of experiencing light during the day and darkness at night during sleep and discuss why residents of care centers may be prone to circadian disruption.
2. Describe the research project at the ACC Care Center using tunable LED lighting.
3. Point out the simple, smart approaches to achieve better light exposure over the course of the day for residents and limit harmful light exposure at night.
4. Explain how to achieve the best outcomes from tunable electric lighting, using the lessons learned from the project.

Bios:

Eunice Noell-Waggoner is the President of the Center of Design for an Aging Society, a not-for-profit organization, dedicated to improving environments to support the dignity, independence, health and safety of our aging population. She services on the Lighting for Older Adults and the Visually Impaired Committee of the Illuminating Engineering Society’s, the Low Vision Design Committee of the NIBS and the Lighting Topic Group of the FGI. Her primary focus is on lighting to support aging vision and daylight for human health, including circadian rhythm. Her personal experience with circadian disruption motivates her to focus on the problems faced by older adults. Eunice addresses the values of culture change through the environment. In 1992, Eunice Noell-Waggoner was the founding Chair of the Lighting for the Aged and Partially Sighted Committee of the Illuminating Engineering Society. She directed the development of the first edition of RP-28 “Lighting and the Visual Environment for Senior Living.” Her primary focus was on aging vision and the quality of the visual environment. Following the discoveries in early 2001-2003 of the Intrinsically Photo-Sensitive Retinal Ganglion Cell in the human eye, which receives and transmits to the body clock, her interest expanded to include circadian rhythm. Care center residents are at particular risk for circadian rhythm disorders, which affect sleep-wake cycles, in part because of aging vision, limited physical mobility, and lighting, as well as the quality of darkness at night. In 2017, Ms. Noell-Waggoner stimulated the formation of a collaborative research team to study the effects of circadian disruption in nursing home residents. Led by Brown University School of Public Health Center for Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation (Q&I Center), the team also includes Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a division of the Department of Energy, and the Center of Design for an Aging Society. 

Naomi Miller is an advocate for lighting and the visual environment for older adults. She has served on the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Lighting for Older Adults and the Visually Impaired committee for many years. The combination of her technical skills as a lighting designer and scientist coupled with her compassion for older people is a powerful force for change to ensure that residents living in care settings experience adequate light during the day and darkness at night to keep their sleep/wake cycle synchronized with the night/day cycle of light. Naomi’s position at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a division of the US Department of Energy, provides her a platform to distribute research finding and to educate others. Naomi’s contribution to culture change is now and in the future through her research.

Jessica Collier is an Associate Lighting Research Engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Portland, OR. She conducts lighting research to support the Department of Energy Solid State Lighting Program and is focused on LED applications and realistic settings technology evaluations. She has been selected to be part of a newly formed research team representing PNNL to investigate daylights impact to reduce circadian rhythm disturbance experienced by memory care residents. The University of Oregon’s Institute for Health in the Built Environment will be the lead organization, in collaboration with Brown University School of Public Health, Center for Long-Term Care Quality & Innovation (Q&I Center), a research center that conducts interventional research.

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C4: The Future of Falls Reduction: AI-Assisted Falls Reduction/Injury Prevention for Residents with Dementia

Guides:
Juliet Holt-Klinger, Senior Director Dementia Care, Brookdale Senior Living
Shirley Nickles, Chief Operating Officer, SafelyYou

Description:   In this session, participants will hear about a program to reduce falls, injuries, and hospitalizations, utilizing artificial intelligence technology that detects and records falls in resident bedrooms. We’ll review data generated and experiences learned from a recent Brookdale Senior Living skilled nursing & assisted living dementia care pilot of the technology. Learn how clinicians, care staff, dementia care specialists, interior designers, and therapists have collaboratively analyzed each fall to identify root causes and brainstorm person-centered ways to prevent further falls and how coaching plans can be developed to change culture in the community around falls prevention.

Objectives:

1. Gain knowledge regarding fall statistics; including their prevalence in LTC settings and what we know about where falls most often occur and specific considerations for dementia.
2. Learn best practices for elevating associate engagement in falls reduction, education and awareness around falls prevention, improving care quality, and compliance with falls response protocols.
3. Discuss and build the business case for using technology-based solutions to reduce the risk of falls and injury.

Bios:

Juliet Holt Klinger has close to 35 years of working in the dementia care field and in long-term care.  A gerontologist specializing in person-centered programs for people living with dementia, she is the Senior Director of Dementia Care for Brookdale Senior Living.  As an educator and program designer for more than 30 years, Juliet has developed and operated programs for national companies representing both skilled nursing and assisted living levels of dementia care. In her role for Brookdale, she is responsible for dementia care program development, implementation and quality assurance for Brookdale’s nearly 500 dementia care communities and provides strategy development and innovation for Brookdale’s dementia care product line.

Shirley Nickels, Chief Operating Officer of SafelyYou, is an entrepreneur and business leader with more than 19 years’ experience in healthcare technology. She is responsible for SafelyYou’s product strategy, marketing, customer experience and operations. Focused on client success, Shirley applies her vast knowledge in technology and artificial intelligence to enhance SafelyYou’s program and has successfully decreased resident falls by 40% and emergency room visits by 70% in partner memory care communities. She has extensively reviewed more than 2,000 videos of resident falls and is passionate about sharing this knowledge to help address the leading cause of injuries and hospitalization for older adults, especially those living with dementia.

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C5: Death is not a Four-Letter Word: Honoring Choice in Grief in Long-term Care Communities

Guide:
Michelle Olson, Gerontologist/Creative Arts Therapist, Creative Path Consulting 

Description:  Death in residential care homes is a common occurrence, yet it is often taboo and strongly avoided.  Staff and residents often express deep connections to one another in these settings, but when death occurs, there is often little to no support, training or space to share these feelings. This session will discuss the findings of Dr. Olson’s multicase, arts-based research from the voices of those who face these losses.  Shared findings will include poetry and artwork that was created within this research study.  Attendees will engage in a simple and enjoyable art experiential.  This session will help attendees to face their own fears surrounding this topic, normalize these important conversations and understand how to apply person-centered choice in regards to resident death within their care communities.  NO art experience needed–All are welcome!

Objectives:

1. Define terms such as death avoidance and disenfranchised grief as they relate to residential care homes.
2. Discuss at least two gerontological theories that support this research topic.
3. Discuss overview of presenter’s research findings of resident participants’ feelings and perceptions about death care practices within their care home.
4. Provide at least two suggestions for contemplative and compassionate approaches to holding death conversation/honoring rituals in eldercare settings
5. Create a simple meaningful piece of art which attendees take home and can create within their care communities.

Bio:

Michelle Olson is a social gerontologist and a licensed, board certified and registered creative arts therapist and has worked with older adults in long-term care communities for the past 21 years.  She founded Creative Path Consulting in 2012 providing policy and program consultations, staff education via experiential workshops and art therapy services with older adults within a broad spectrum of eldercare settings.  In addition, Dr. Olson works closely with not for profit organizations such as Meals on Wheels and the Alzheimer’s Association bringing engaging support programs for elders and care partners.  Dr. Olson strives to empower older adults and advocate for their quality of life including physical, mental, emotional and social well-being.  Other areas of specialization include: contemplative end of life care practices, advancing person-centered care, healthy aging across the life course, combating institutional and internalized ageism and creating dementia-inclusive and intergenerational communities and holistic interventions for those living with forms of dementia: including mindfulness, use of nature, positive psychology within expressive arts therapy.  She is also known as a creative bliss advocate, mindful nature lover and is always finding ways to bring these elements into her daily life and in her work with older adults.

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C6: Enhancing Person-Centered Care Practice for People Living with Dementia 

Guides:
Tena Alonzo, Director of Education & Research, Beatitudes Campus
Amy Kotterman, Director of Hospitality, United Church Homes

Description: This session will discuss enhanced, person-centered programming for people living with dementia. The discussion will include focus areas such as a review of current person-centered trends and research. Methods for engaging staff at all levels in participating in person-centered care and creating the adaptations that are needed for success will be discussed. Person-centered experts will share specific strategies for integrating enhanced, person-centered care across a senior living organization with multiple, unique sites. Positive outcomes for individuals living with dementia, their families, organizational staff and the organization as a whole will be illustrated. A basic method for implementing a next level person-centered care program in organizations will be highlighted.

Objectives:

1. Identify two aspects of dementia-specific person-centered care.
2. Describe three approaches for implementing a consistent person-centered dementia care program across multiple organizational sites.
3. Discuss three positive outcomes from implementing a person-centered dementia care program.

Bios:

Tena Alonzo currently serves at the Director of Education and Research for Comfort Matters, a dementia care education program founded at the Beatitudes Campus in Phoenix, Arizona. To date, Comfort Matters has educated more than 10,000 health care staff including physicians, social workers, nurses, certified nursing assistants, recreation therapists, environmental and food service professionals across the campus and in 22 countries. Tena has a background in gero-psychology with multiple degrees from Northern Arizona University.

Amy Kotterman RD, LD graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Dietetics. She is the Director of Hospitality Services for United Church Homes (UCH) where she has been employed for 27 years. Amy provides guidance and assistance to the communities to create a home environment that supports abundant aging and culture change initiatives. Amy is leading the culture change transformation throughout UCH through education and implementation of person-directed initiatives including the Hospitality: I LIVE it program, UCH culture change vocabulary, Comfort Matters dementia education program and oversees resident engagement and satisfaction. In addition, Amy works with the directors of dining services and culinary chefs to enhance the dining experience for the UCH communities.

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C7: Cultivating a Culture of Compassion: A Guide to Relationship-Centered Care 

Guide:
Denise Borgoyn, President/Owner, Borgoyn Consulting Services, LLC

Description: Our culture starts with our leaders. 92% of leaders know that compassion is important to their effective leadership, yet 80% say they don’t know how to grow in this skill. To become person-centered, organizations must place people at the very front of the corporate agenda, and actively develop leaders who have relationship-centric skills. In this dynamic session, we’ll explore four key components to leading with compassion at any level and discuss concrete actions to create an organization-wide culture of compassion, starting today.

Objectives:

1. Discuss the rationale for and benefits of compassionate behavior in the workplace.
2. Discuss how compassionate cultures foster inclusive, psychologically safe and connection-rich environments.
3. List four steps to LEADing with compassion and concrete steps and specific actions that can be taken away immediately.

Bio:

Denise Borgoyn has worked for over 40 years in the healthcare, human resources and aging services fields. She is a sought-after consultant and speaker on diversity, aging and disability issues, as well as workforce and culture change strategies. Living with a disability herself, Dee has long been an advocate for people who face special challenges. Dee holds a B.S. in Special Education with a Psychology minor from University of Nevada, Reno. She is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator in Virginia and a Senior Certified Practitioner in the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). She is the author of a book published in January of 2019, “28 Ways of Compassion: A Guide to Transformation and Leadership for a Relationship-Centric Healthcare Culture“. Denise believes that to change our cultures and become person-centered we need to enhance leaders’ skills in relationships and compassion, from the Boardroom to the Bedside.

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C8: High Engagement, High Success  

Guide:
Laci Cornelison, PEAK 2.0 Director, Kansas State University

Description: Have you ever been excited to implement something in your organization, but somewhere between the great idea and the execution it never took off? Involving team members from across your organization in the exploration, idea generation, planning, and execution of what you want to implement may be the simple key to success. Participants in the Kansas PEAK 2.0 program, implementing deep change to support person-centered care have proven that high involvement leads to higher success rates of tangible organizational change. Those nursing homes engaging 75-100% of their teams in the change process are 84.5% more likely to achieve objective success in person-centered care (Cornelison, et al., 2019). Learn how you can use similar strategies to attain success in your own goals.

Objectives:

1. Be able to define organizational involvement in the process of organizational change initiatives.
2. Illustrate and practice different techniques that lead to high organizational involvement.
3. Reflect on how these techniques could be used in attendees’ organizations to improve successful execution of goals.

Bio:

Growing up in the nursing home where her mom worked, Laci Cornelison was a gerontologist from the start. Those years of hanging out with older adults while her mom said to “keep busy” turned into her passion. Now she holds the official credentials of a gerontologist along with a long-term care administration and social work license. Laci’s experience has included direct leadership and clinical practice in an innovative person-centered care home, college instruction on aging, program leadership with the Kansas PEAK 2.0 program and research. When she is not boring her husband with talk of organizational change, healthcare, grading and research data, he is puzzling her with talk of the electrical parts he sells while her children create Ninja Warrior courses in the backyard.

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C9: Person-Centered Care & Implementing Rapid Neighborhood Design 

Guide:
Angela Imperiale, Assistant Nursing Home Administrator, Inglis House 

Description: Thinking about making Person-Centered changes in your organization? Come join us in a fun, energetic session, where you’ll walk away with practical tools to support your organization and journey. You will learn how to create dynamic roles, and collaborative strategies in order to effectively embrace a Person-Centered Neighborhood Model! — Neighborhoods!  You’ll hear the story of Inglis House journey, the voice of our residents, and the many lessons learned in implementing Person-Centered Care/Neighborhoods.  You don’t want to miss this exciting, interactive session so please join us!

Objectives:

1. Discuss Key Elements of Person-Centered Care.
2. Compare and define roles in Neighborhood Structure & Dining Experience improvements.
3. Compare and evaluate current characteristics that define a “Neighborhood.” 

Bio:

Angela Imperiale had the pleasure of initiating the Person-Centered Care journey at Inglis House first as a Neighborhood Life Leader, and then to the expanded the role of Lead to the entire organization. She was a part of the structural redesign as well as cultural redesign on the project work. Inglis House continues on their PCC journey, as it is ever evolving, leaving a myriad of experience, tools, and knowledge to share. Initiating this change in a building and organization that has been around for 140 years is quite a challenge. The team has been as calculated with communication, planning, tools, and implantation as possible. The products, experiences, successes, and failures of this work is what Angela loves to share with other long-term care communities or any organization that is contemplating a Person-Centered Culture Change or potential Neighborhood structure.

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C10: Using a Coaching Mindset to Implement your Vision 

Guides:
Walter Coffey, Managing Partner, WD International Consulting
David Sprowl, Managing Partner, WD International Consulting

Description:  This session is designed to demonstrate how a coaching mindset is a key driver to advancing culture change in your organization.  The presenters will introduce the HourGlass Mentoring/Coaching Model, which focuses on where you are now and strategies for moving forward.  A coaching mindset is about partnership, collaboration, and interdependence – all person-centered values.

Management expert Stephen Covey, reminds us that when you change the way you SEE things, it influences what you DO and the results you GET. Seeing more clearly ensures we get the outcomes we desire.  Topics to be presented include reframing, staff empowerment, leadership development, emotional intelligence, coaching supervision, and more!

Objectives:

1. To understand what a coaching model of leadership is and how it can drive the advancement of culture change.
2. To understand how the HourGlass Mentoring/Coaching Model can provide a basis for developing strategies to outcomes tied to staff development.
3. To understand the connection between seeing, doing and getting and how it relates to making changes for better outcomes.

Bios:

Walter O. Coffey is a Managing Partner of WD International Consulting.  He is committed to the education and development of individuals with an emphasis on supporting organizations to empower and retain their staff.  Walter is an international leader in the culture change movement and has the demonstrated ability to transform organizations to become person-centered.   Walter has worked with older adults for over 35 years. He served as the President & CEO of LeadingAge Georgia, the Georgia Institute on Aging (the education arm of LeadingAge) and the Center for Positive Aging (the consumer arm of LeadingAge) for 18 years. Along with developing and leading professional development and educational programs, Walter has made presentations at state, national and international conferences. He is passionate about facilitating the development of individuals and organizations, especially relating to quality, person-centered care and services.  He became a certified Eden Educator in order to engage and certify professionals and elders in the culture change movement.  In 2008, he co-founded and still co-facilitates the state culture change coalition for Georgia. During his career, Walter also served as the Administrator at Northminster Presbyterian Homes, Director of Assisted Living at Presbyterian Village, Director of Adult Day Services at the Alzheimer’s Association/Georgia Chapter, Assistant Director of the Georgia Council on Aging, Administrative Director of Georgia Gerontology Society, and in various ministerial positions.

David Sprowl is a Managing Partner of WD International Consulting and a certified Leadership Coach. He is committed to the mentoring and coaching of individuals with a focus on their professional and personal growth. As a seasoned educator, David has a demonstrated ability to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. David was the Executive Director of Lutheran Towers, a 203-unit high-rise affordable housing community located in the heart of Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. He led the transformative journey at Lutheran Towers for more than thirteen years.  David developed a strong management team and staff who were encouraged to explore and grow and were empowered to work together to create and implement innovative programs and services.  They developed successful care partnerships which provided the Elders living in the affordable housing setting with one of the strongest supportive service programs in the country.  Over 75% of David’s staff were certified Eden Alternative Associates which demonstrates his commitment to the person-centered philosophy.   David has been featured in the “Wisdom” section of the national magazine, “FutureAge”, for making a difference through servant leadership.  Over the course of his career, David has held the position of V.P. of Members Services for LeadingAge Georgia, Program Analyst for the Office of Inspector General for U.S. Health and Human Services, and various positions with the IBM Corporation.

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C11: Culture Changing Insights: A Resident-led Exploration of the “Resident Experience” 

Guides:
Bob Sherwood, Resident, Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury
Michael Williams, Administrator, Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury
Mary Jane Lee, Resident, Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury

Description: Living together in community until the end of our lives is a unique and little-studied experience. To search out the Resident Experience, residents at Westminster Canterbury in Winchester, VA initiated a cross-campus exploration. Using open-ended questions in small groups and conducting qualitative visual audits in memory support areas, a resident-written report of findings was shared with trustees, senior staff, employees, residents and families. About 30% of residents in all four levels of this CCRC participated. The entire community – from trustees to housekeepers – gained insights from the report that are helping to enrich our Resident-Directed Culture.

Bios:

Bob Sherwood, who during his business career served a major international corporation as area general counsel, business planner and public affairs officer, is a resident at Westminster Canterbury, a CCRC in Winchester VA.  Over the past 10 years, he has taken a lead in moving the organization toward resident-directed culture and continues to work for culture change at Westminster Canterbury, involving trustees and staff as well as residents.  Bob has shared his work on this journey at several Pioneer Network conferences.  He served as the first and only resident member of the PN Board of Directors from 2012-17 and currently serves on the Education Committee.

Michael Williams has worked as an Administrator/owner/operator in senior living for twenty-five years from the for-profit sector multi-facility nursing homes to a family owned assisted living and now a vibrant CCRC/Life Plan community. At the assisted living, Michael worked to implement culture change in the early 2000’s redesigning the physical plant and minimizing the medical model practices by staff. Responsible for all regulatory areas of the community, including the nursing/healthcare, assisted living, and memory support living areas, in addition to supporting the areas of resident services, wellness and chaplains. He also serves as staff liaison for the Resident Services board sub-committee and on the Interdisciplinary Team, QAPI and several sub-QAPI committees.

Mary Jane Lee is a retired Registered Nurse with certifications in Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing and Holistic Nursing. She worked as a nurse and volunteer in hospice care and a state of the art adult care center with focus on whole person well-being and client-centered care for thirty years. Mary Jane introduced hospice and holistic concepts in caring to health care providers and volunteers. She taught Therapeutic Touch to staff and volunteers for symptom management in hospice, hospital, and adult care settings. Mary Jane became a resident at Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury in Winchester, VA., three months ago. She is already volunteering as an observer and note taker for the Conversations re: Resident Experience in the health care and memory support areas. In serving fresh water to residents weekly in these areas, Mary Jane is learning how their lives may be impacted positively with increased awareness to individual needs and desires. She also frequently visits residents in those areas to assist them in doing things that they have difficulty doing by themselves.

D1:  Music Therapy: Singing & Communication 

Guide:
Sarah Morris, MA, LCAT, MT-BC 

Description: Singing is a powerful intervention in caring for and connecting with elders, one that is often underutilized in day-to-day work. In this session, participants will gain an understanding about Music Therapy and how music is used to facilitate communication, self-expression, and more. Explore techniques and interventions through live music experientials, case studies, and Music Therapy research. Learn the importance of clinical, goal-oriented music making when working with people diagnosed with dementia. Participants will walk away with new, creative techniques to interact and communicate with residents.

Objectives:

1. Discuss the definition of music therapy and techniques used in work with elders.
2. Explore the importance of singing from a neurological and clinical perspective.
3. Create and discuss new ways to engage with residents living with varying degrees of dementia.

Bio:

Sarah Paige Morris (MA, LCAT, MT-BC) is a Board-Certified Music Therapist and Licensed Creative Arts Therapist currently practicing in a skilled nursing community in New York City. Working to empower seniors to explore their creativity and find new outlets for self-expression, Sarah uses the power of the singing voice in a positive, non-judgmental way. With a background in musical theatre, she incorporates these theatrical elements in her work to inspire and encourage communication through singing. Also trained in Vocal Psychotherapy, Sarah understands how the use of the voice can make a positive impact on the body, mind, and spirit, and the importance of exploring the potential of the voice at all stages of life. She is working to continue culture change, through person-centered creativity along with person-centered care. Sarah advocates for the focus on ‘ability,’ rather than on one’s ‘disability.’ 

 

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D2: Engaging Seniors in Advocacy – Grandparent Activist Network Senior Civic Academy 

Guides:
Nancy Zionts, COO and Chief Program Officer, Jewish Healthcare Foundation
Kylea Covaleski, Program Assistant, Jewish Healthcare Foundation

Description: Older Americans are vital members of the community and often volunteer on behalf of others while leaving their self-interests behind. The GRAN Activist Network-Senior Civic Academy creates an opportunity for adults 50 years or older to be trained, activated and focus on influencing policy initiatives important to their ability to live well and safe in the community: senior housing options, the direct care workforce, transportation, elder law, and community engagement. In this session, the Guides will discuss engagement and education of seniors in advocacy, engagement and successful campaigning so they can go forth to enact change that benefits the community and themselves.

Objectives:

1. Discuss advocacy issues relevant to senior community members.
2. Discuss educational initiatives to inform seniors of the necessity of self-advocacy.
3. Create action steps for engaging seniors in advocacy efforts.

Bios:

Nancy D. Zionts, MBA, COO/Chief Program Officer for the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, is responsible for the grant agenda for the Foundation. Areas of focus include: Aging/Long Term Care and End of Life, Quality & Safety, Health Careers (including Fellowships and Community Health Workers). She is leading the planning for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s transition to Managed Long Term Services and Supports, as well as the Senior Connections Initiative. She is the lead principal team member on federally-funded projects, including the RAVEN (Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations among nursing home residents). Nancy has been active in the development of many of the Foundation’s initiatives, including its women’s heart health initiative, Working Hearts, Closure and Caregiver Champions Initiatives, The JHF Fellowship, On Death and Dying: The Elephant in the Room, the Pennsylvania Health Funders Collaborative, and in the development of relevant publications, including Longer Lives Better Health: Helping Seniors Preserve their Physical, Mental and Social Well-being, Moderating the Effects of Aging: A Caregiver’s Manual, and Closure Community Conversations Implementation Guide. Ms. Zionts has participated with the Culture Change movement in the past, as an advocate and funder, seeking to advance quality acre and living for seniors.

Kylea Covaleski is a Program Assistant for the Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF). Ms. Covaleski works on initiatives surrounding seniors, specifically, keeping older adults engaged in the community as they age.  Prior to JHF, Ms. Covaleski worked as a program coordinator for the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Project at the University of Pittsburgh, and as a graduate research assistant in adolescent behavioral health. Kylea graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with Masters degrees in Public Health and Social Work. Ms. Covaleski pulls from this experience to support the GRAN Activist program.

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D3: Person-Centered Environments, Quality of Life, and CMS: What Does Person-centered Care Look and Feel Like? 

Guides:
Thomas Grden, AIA, Principal, Stantec
Maggie Calkins, Ph.D, President, IDEAS Institute
Julianne Rogozewicz, NCIDQ, IIDA, LEED AP ID+C, Santec
Glenn Miller, Landscape Architect, need photo

Description:  Operators and administrators have long known that the physical environment in care residences are a frequent focus of surveyor reviews. Now, CMS has shown greatly increased attention to this area. The positive effects of therapeutic environments are well documented. Should this not be applied in the arena of person-centered care? This session will explore how improvements and changes to the environment can enhance and support person-centered care, and in the process enable care residences to achieve higher scores from CMS, increased marketability, and more favorable outcomes for residents as they enhance quality of life.

Objectives:

1. Consider what interior and exterior environmental considerations contribute to “person centeredness.”
2. Review what qualitative issues CMS is looking for in their surveys.
3. Learn how applying the WELL Building Standard practices can help staff better provide wholistic person-centered care.

Bios:

Thomas Grden has served as a Guide at the Pioneer Network conference in 2016 and 2019. He and his team also recently presented at the 2018 PACAH Conference, the 2019 LeadingAge PA Conference, and the 2019 West Virginia Health Care Association Conference.

Tom is involved with the Southwestern PA Partnership for the Aging (SWPPA) and with Stantec, is a member of PACAH, SWPPA, PALA, the West Virginia Healthcare Association (WVHCA), LeadingAge PA, Pioneer Network, and VOICE! (the PA culture change coalition), to expand the firm’s knowledge of the needs of residents, their caregivers, and service delivery systems, as well as to furnish a designer’s input from a senior living design practice perspective. In addition to his architectural degree, Tom studied Environmental Psychology and the Social Psychology of the Near Environment under gerontologist Ed Ostrander, and Architecture in Its Cultural Context, that laid the foundation for his interest in designing environments for the aging. Having had a parent and adult relatives in senior living and memory care environments, he has also seen environments and care from the resident’s perspective, all of which contribute to his specific interest in the design for person-centered care.

Margaret Calkins, Ph.D, M.Arch., is widely recognized as an expert in the creation and evaluation of long-term care settings, particularly for individuals living with dementia. She is President of I.D.E.A.S., Inc., and Chair of the Board of the IDEAS Institute, both of which seek to improve environments for elders through the conduct of rigorous, applied research, dissemination of evidence-based information and resources, and individual partnering with designers and care providers. . She is passionate about enhancing our understanding of the influences of the designed environment on elders, especially individuals who are living with dementia, and using environmental design to support individual, interpersonal, social and organizational processes and goals. Dr. Calkins believes that the values and practices of person/patient/family-centered care are an essential component in the design of any type of health care setting. With the changing demographics and aging of society, virtually every home, health care setting, building and neighborhood could (and should) be designed to be elder friendly. A Kenyon University course in the psychology of aesthetics and courses at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design led her to specialize in the impact of design on people rather than the design of buildings. Beginning with her book, Design for Dementia in 1988, Dr. Calkins has been at the forefront of elder-supportive design. She is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences in the U.S. and abroad, is a Founding Member of SAGE-Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments, is active with The Gerontological Society of America, EDAC, and the Alzheimer’s Association, and is a former member of the Pioneer Network Board of Directors

For over 30 years, Julianne Rogozewicz has had a lead role on teams delivering excellent design solutions. As part of Stantec’s Pittsburgh Senior Living Design Group, she brings fresh perspective to our design projects, providing stimulating interior environments with creative ideas and spatial character, mentoring younger staff and engaging clients. Juli has also a breadth of experience on healthcare and hospitality projects that she can factor into any project. She brings innovative solutions to client’s problems, creating efficiencies while designing appropriate and comfortable environments. She understands current trends and listens to understand and meet the needs of residents, operators, and staff. Juli heads the Interior Design group within Stantec’s Senior Living Design Studio. She has been the lead interior designer on a number of nursing home projects, including a major new-build 144-bed Continuous Care, a 40-bed Long Term Care Residence, and a variety of Nursing Care renovation projects.

Glenn Miller is a registered landscape architect with more than 30 years of site planning experience. He begins each project by developing a complete understanding of the project’s goals and the project site. He knows that effective land planning provides the roadmap to realization of a project’s intent. Glenn’s strong leadership and management skills and his capacity to work collaboratively with the entire project team and all stakeholders make him an asset to any project team. Daily, Glenn oversees project production, site design, and client contact in the preparation of site plans for healthcare, education, residential, commercial, institutional and recreation projects.

Glenn has a unique sensitivity to developing exterior environments that meet the needs of users with unique age, health, or physical needs. Collaborative design of a ”Healing Garden” for a cancer center, “Comfort Centers” for hospice, pleasant environmentally safe courtyards for Memory Care, or the multifunctional outdoor space for the blind, low vision, and/or mentally handicapped clients as well as staff of the Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services [BVRS] of Pittsburgh that offers clients access to a sensory garden, orientation and mobility course and outdoor picnic areas – “person-centered care” is at the heart of his designs.

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D4: Avoiding Drugs Used as Chemical Restraints: Changing the Culture of Care

Guides:
Lori Smetanka, Executive Director, The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care
Jonathan Evans, MD, MD, MPH, CMD, FACP

Description: Use of drugs as chemical restraints continues to be far too common in America’s nursing homes and there continues to be misconceptions and misinformation by many about the use of anti-psychotic and psychotropic medications for individuals living with dementia. Join us for an exploration of rights, rules, person-centered care, informed consent, and strategies for advocacy and consumer education that will help us change the culture of care. Your input into this effort is welcomed and encouraged!

Objectives:

1. Discuss the uses of antipsychotic medications and impact on individuals living with dementia.
2. State three common alternatives nursing homes could use instead of prescribing antipsychotic medications.
3. List ways to become an active part of the consumer education campaign.

Bios:

Lori Smetanka currently serves as the Executive Director of The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, an organization with over 40 years of experience educating and empowering consumers regarding issues in long-term care communities and promoting best practices for quality care delivery. During her tenure as Executive Director and Director of the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center, Lori has worked directly with Long-Term Care Ombudsmen, providers, staff, consumers and families to promote best practices in long-term care services and supports. Our annual conferences highlight the benefits of person-directed care and we collaborate with the Pioneer Network, whenever possible.

Jonathan Evans, MD, is the Medical Director of two nursing homes. He is Vice-President of The Consumer Voice Governing Board and serves on the Pioneer Network Board of Directors. In his article for Caring for the Ages (August 2017), he wrote this about Person-Centered Care and Culture Change: “Throughout history, the fields of medicine and nursing have always been guided by an ethical framework that has aspired and strived to put the best interests of the patient first. This often has been accompanied by a paternalistic attitude that assumes patients cannot know or decide what is in their own best interests as they are not experts in medicine. But how do others really know what is in our best interest – especially if they don’t really know us, our preferences, or our goals?” From his biography: “Evans sees relationships as an essential part of health care. He was among the earliest advocates of the culture change movement, persuading elder communities to shift from physician- and facility-oriented programming to person-centered care. He considers the details of an elder’s life story as essential as a medical history. “Most medicine is meant to cheat death,” Evans says, “but in geriatrics, we accept death as normal. Our goal is to help people live and not just survive.”

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D5: Elder Centered End of Life: Legacy, Vigil, Transition and the Doula 

Guide:
Sandra Place, Healthcare Educator and Consultant, Rolf Consulting

Description:   Elder Centered Care Sharing is foundational. Nowhere is this more important than at end of life. The End of Life Doula can bring deeper meaning and greater comfort to the dying process. Doula work aids Elders in achieving self-actualization at the end of life through creative legacy work, designing the death vigil and support of Elders, families, care partners and significant others with compassionate support and guidance. Learn how Doulas can be integrated into the work of the nursing home with relative ease. Doulas can make your end of life program its most meaningful for Elders, families and care partners.

Objectives:

1. Discuss and explore End of Life as a developmental stage and wholly part of being an actualized human being.
2. Define and discuss what an End of Life Doula and Doula work is and how it supports the death and dying process.
3. Create a legacy project and vigil plan.

Bio:

Sandra L. Place is a licensed nursing home administrator currently working for Rolf Consulting providing healthcare education and consulting. Ms. Place has been in health care administration for over 38 years from physician practice management, acute rehab and hospitals, to the last 24 years in long-term care. She is a long-time advocate of Elder Directed Care and utilizes her graduate degrees in psychology and holistic health to aid in the development of innovative programs in the nursing home setting. Ms. Place’s last home achieved the Eden Alternative’s Milestone Four. Her homes have won numerous state and national quality awards and honors. Ms. Place is a Certified Eden Alternative Mentor, Educator and Guide and teaches at the Michigan State University Henry Center for Executive Development as an instructor for the Nursing Home Administrator’s Course. Additionally, she is a certified healthcare musician (harp), End of Life Doula, certified in mindful meditation and a Reiki Master Teacher.

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D6:  Validating Solutions for Two Dementia Dilemmas:  Esteem and Exercise

Guides:
Stephen Klotz, Executive Director of Validation Education, Country Meadows Retirement Communities
Maureen Sirianni, Memory Care Outreach Specialist, Country Meadows Retirement Community of South Hills
Kim Eichinger, Executive Director of Fitness, Country Meadows Retirement Communities

Description:  When an older person becomes increasingly confused, disoriented and memory impaired, they are branded with the word DEMENTIA.  But we know that, rather than becoming “mindless” as that word denotes, new and hidden parts of their minds are unveiled.  Mental and emotional shackles are shed, distant memories are awakened, and hidden traits are revealed.  Some care providers see difficult “behaviors;” Validation practitioners perceive pent up emotions and unrecognized human needs.  Some activity and exercise professionals see reluctant and resistant residents; validators recognize outside-of-the-box opportunities for beneficial, engaging movement.  Attendees will recognize the stigma and low expectations inherent in common approaches to dementia communication and exercise programming.  They will apply Validation beliefs, attitudes, and techniques to dignify individuals and engage their unique interests, needs, and abilities in PERSONalized exercise experiences.

Objectives:

1. Identify familiar and unfamiliar words, phrases and sayings that stigmatize dementia.
2. Recognize common roadblocks in traditional exercise programs and routines and how they hinder participation and dignity of individuals living with dementia; Foster empathy toward potential participants.
3. Apply the Culture Change-friendly principles and practices of the Validation method to older persons living with dementia; Define the Validation method, Familiarize attendees with key Validation principles (Individual Worth, Acceptance, Empathy, Emotions, and Needs), and Practice several basic Validation techniques.
4. Form new goals and approaches for exercise and movement that are inviting, engaging, and satisfying for elders; Explore existing programs and ways to reconfigure them; Try out approaches to physical activity that will stimulate participation.
5. Participants identify one existing program to make more validating, and one new validating program or activity to implement.

Bios:

Steve Klotz is the Executive Director of Validation Education and a Certified Validation Master Educator with Country Meadows Retirement Communities, based in Hershey PA.  From childhood on, Steve has been under the influence of older adults.   As a pastor and then senior care chaplain for 23 years, he worked alongside many older people.  In 1999, Steve began intensive studies of the Validation Method, which focuses on empathy and respect to build trusting relationships with elders living with dementia.  As a certified Validation Master Educator, he teaches this person-centered approach to all co-workers at most of the 12 Country Meadows campuses.  He has led elder-affirming workshops on Validation and aging topics across the country.  In recent years, he taught multi-session certification courses in Fairfield CA and Sheridan WY.  Steve is also an adjunct professor at York College of PA, teaching a two-semester Validation Worker certification course, plus “Ethical Aspects of Human Services Professions” and “Social Aspects of Aging” courses.

Maureen Sirianni is a motivated, compassionate care provider and educator. Maureen has worked for Country Meadows Retirement Community in Bridgeville, PA for the past 24 years. She has worked hands-on, providing guidance and support to families and their loved ones living with Alzheimer’s disease. She has provided not only personal care, but also social, emotional, cognitive, and purposeful enrichment as the Memory Support Program Manager. Her goals are to mentor, teach, and lead by example those who care for seniors living with memory impairment. Maureen believes that Validation Method can reopen a world of possibilities where relationships can be dignified, maintained, deepened and ongoing even in this most fragile phase of life. With patience, compassion, and a willingness to listen without judgment, Maureen is able to not only build trust and rapport enabling her to be that safety net for those she cares for; she is able to teach others how to see beyond the illness and truly see the emotions of those living with Alzheimer’s disease.

Kim Eichinger is the Executive Director of Dynamic Living: Fitness and Life Enrichment for Country Meadows Retirement Communities, based in Hershey, PA. Starting out as a personal trainer and gym owner, she knows the crucial role of individual attention, encouragement, and adaptability in building strength, balance, and stamina for everyday living. She develops and guides the fitness instructors at s 12 senior living campuses, and often steps in to provide extra assistance and new ideas. Kim is ACE certified and has an AA degree in Gerontology.

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D7: Empathy and Human Connection: The Keys to Supporting Elders 

Guides:
Heather Palmer, National Director, Cognitive Well-Being, Amica Senior Lifestyles
Laura Evans, Assisted Living Coordinator, Amica Stoney Creek

Description:  The ability to support and serve others requires empathy, understanding and human connection. The Amica Cognitive Well Being program uses multi modal and experiential training to teach team members to truly and deeply understand the cognitive and physical challenges faced by those they serve. Through a variety of education and awareness training programs, Amica Team Members are taught to 1) internalize what they learn in the cultural, language and educational context that makes sense to them, 2) reflect on those learnings from both a personal and ‘other’ perspective and 3) apply that deep, empathetic learning to the Residents they serve.

Objectives:

1. Review and discuss the core components to the Amica Cognitive Well Being Program.
2. Learn and practice a unique approach to Behaviour Support.
3. Create an action plan with 1-3 actionable items participants can take back and implement.

Bios:

For over 30 years Heather Palmer has specialized in the areas of cognitive aging, cognitive rehabilitation, dementia and behavior, having helped over 7000 individuals improve the way they think, feel, and function. In 2003, she founded Maximum Capacity, Inc. and trains program leaders across Canada and the U.S. to run cancer-related brain fog programs. Originally an unrecognized condition, Heather and her programs have led to international understanding and support for cancer related brain fog, a condition affecting upwards of 80% of all cancer survivors. Currently, Heather is also the National Director of Cognitive Well Being for Amica Senior Lifestyles supporting the cognitive well-being of all Amica Residents, with a heightened focus on Team Member training and programming for Memory Care and Assisted Living. Across all populations she has worked with, the focus of her scientific and clinical career has been to 1) validate the experience of the individual being supported, 2) de-stigmatize what it means to have cognitive challenges, 3) advocate for equal rights and treatment for those with cognitive challenges, 4) teach tools and strategies to help people think, feel and function their best. At Amica, Heather has developed programs to train 3000+ Team Members to do the same.

Laura Evans is an Assisted Living Coordinator for Amica Senior Lifestyles. As a Therapeutic Recreationist, Laura has found herself in leadership positions in retirement residences that support the continuum of care. The Amica focus and approach to person-centered care, through Discovery and use of individualized wellness plans, resonates with Laura’s instincts and passion to support each and every Resident. This is evident as Laura is a Behaviour Support Program (BSP) Coach supporting the training of new BSP Coaches throughout Amica. Laura leads BSP in her residence to cultivate the culture of change towards individualized care. Laura is also a Cognitive Aging and Dementia Interactive Experience (CADIE) coach. This program puts individuals ‘into the shoes’ of a resident to experience the everyday challenges a resident may face. As an advocate for person-centered care, Laura supports initiatives to allow Amica to move toward and improve practices to achieve this goal. Laura, through her leadership, actions and dedication to educating residents and team members, is a key driver supporting the Amica culture change that started four years ago. Laura holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Sociology as well as a Post Graduate Certificate in Therapeutic Recreation.

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D8: Supporting Team Growth: Giving and Receiving Feedback

Guides:
Anna Ortigara, Work Innovations Consultant, PHI
Emily Dieppa, Workforce Innovations Consultant, PHI

Description:  PHI’s Coaching Supervision® lays out skills and values that foster team and individual staff members growth. This session will explore the key coaching skills of giving and receiving feedback. We are called on to be open to understanding the impact of our actions and to give supportive feedback to each other. Feedback can be used for performance improvement or to share the impact of someone’s behavior. When we experience a negative impact as the result of someone’s behavior, communication becomes challenged. Giving feedback and being open to receiving feedback creates pathways for healthy and reciprocal relationships.

Objectives:

1. Describe situations in which it might be helpful to give a teammate feedback.
2. Name some challenges in giving feedback, as well as name ways that they can help themselves and each other to manage those challenges.
3. Identify how to best receive feedback for growth and self-awareness.

Bios:

Anna Ortigara has co-created workforce models and person-directed living models over the course of her long-term care career. She served as the VP of Cultural Transformation for Leading Age Illinois and Director of Program Development for THE GREEN HOUSE Project® – National Team. Programs developed include LEAP for the 21st Century long term care workforce (MatherLifeways Center on Aging, Evanston, IL), Person-centered dementia care education and leadership programs (Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Chicago), THE GREEN HOUSE® Project Core Team Education (THE GREEN HOUSE(R) Project- National Team), Coaching Approach to Supervision and workforce recruitment and retention projects (PHI, Bronx, NY). Anna is a gerontological nurse and a Fellow in the Academy of Nursing who has served on the Pioneer Network Board for six years and as president for two years.

For the past nine years, Emily Dieppa has 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. Emily worked closely with PHI to develop the program’s curriculum and train a multi-disciplinary instructor team. As Chief of Staff for a healthcare workforce organization, Emily has extensive experience leading organizational development and culture change during times of transition. Rooted in mission-driven design, she has created and facilitated internal staff development programs and leadership conferences for over 400 healthcare workers to foster both personal and professional growth. Emily has long been a vocal advocate for quality long-term care. Is an advisory board member for the IMPART Alliance with leaders across Michigan to address an ever-growing caregiver shortage and build the necessary infrastructure for a statewide personal care aide training program. She has also worked with Michigan’s Olmstead Coalition to draft policy recommendations for the state’s Medicaid-funded services.

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D9: Global Innovation: Thriving with Dementia  

Guides:  Benjamin Surmi, Director of People and Culture, Koelsch Communities

Description:  People around the globe are experimenting with fresh ways to help people living with dementia thrive. What can we who work in the U.S. learn from people around the world? From social programs to technology to city planning to engaging the arts in new ways, the innovations are highly hopeful. Spark your own creativity. Broaden your knowledge of what’s possible. Look beyond our borders for inspiration.

Objectives:

1. Learn 7 myths about dementia and 7 values to guide professional practice.
2. Investigate how non-U.S. countries are supporting people living with dementia.
3. Consider how witnessing innovation beyond our borders can inspire change at home.

Bio:

Empowering people to thrive – no matter what disability or cognitive challenge they may live with – is the focus of Benjamin Surmi’s work as a social gerontologist. Caregiver, activity director, lifelong learning center director, and home repair coordinator were each roles that shaped his understanding of the unique needs of elders. He guides the person‐centered training for over 2,400 employees in 8 states and is currently implementing an evidence‐based approach to care from France called Humanitude. Benjamin coaches 70+ wellness directors who support over 1,500 elders. His passion is imagining the impossible and building alliances that make it possible.

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D10: Becoming Community Builders 

Guides:
Jill Vitale-Aussem, President & CEO, The Eden Alternative
Imelda Maurer, Director, Founder, In Service to Our Own

Description:  The person-directed care movement has made great strides in promoting individual preferences and autonomy. Taking this concept further requires creating environments where Elders not only make decisions about their own lives but have an opportunity for true influence on the culture and operations of the community. The current model of senior living is one of service and hospitality, turning those receiving services into consumers. In this session, we’ll explore bringing Elders (and those who support them) back to citizenship and creating communities where healthy norms exist and everyone has accountability to the whole. 

Objectives:

1. Compare the hospitality model with community building.
2. List the components that must be in place to create a sense of community.
3. Discuss stories and practical application of community building.

Bios:

For over two decades, Jill Vitale-Aussem has made changing the culture of nursing homes, assisted living communities and retirement communities her life’s work as a nursing home administrator, CCRC executive director and vice president of operations. In each role, Jill pushed back against the status quo and drove deep cultural transformation in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. These efforts not only improved the quality of life for the people who lived and worked in her communities but led to significant improvements in occupancy, financial and regulatory outcomes. Jill now serves as President & CEO of The Eden Alternative, an international non-profit dedicated to creating quality of life for elders and their care partners, no matter where they may live. The Eden Alternative has impacted the lives of people in sixteen countries around the world. Jill is the author of Disrupting the Status Quo of Senior Living: A Mindshift and speaks internationally on the topics of culture, leadership and ageism.

Sr. Imelda Maurer has thirty-one years’ experience in advocacy and leadership in aging services. She has directed communities at all levels of care. Over the past several years, she has worked directly with Sisters across the country; visited convent settings to learn about retirement programs; consulted with elected leadership teams; and presented at regional and national settings. A retired Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, Sr. Imelda has administered all levels of LTC communities. She has visited convent retirement centers across the country, gaining a general knowledge of programs, attitudes and needs; consulted with leadership teams of various congregations; and has addressed Sisters at regional and national gatherings, Sisters in elected leadership and Sisters living in retirement settings. Her blog, Providence Women, addresses issues of aging, advocacy around aging services issues, standards of care, ageism, aging and spirituality. She has had work published in National Catholic Reporter, including their project, “Global Sisters Report.”

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D11: Co-Creating a Quality Plan for Life! 

Guides:
Mel Coppola, President/Owner, Hearts In Care, LLC
Brian LeBlanc, Awesome Guy!, Dementia Action Alliance

Description: Much of the narrative we hear about dementia surrounds and supports the caregivers of those living with the diagnosis. Yet the Alzheimer’s Association estimates, in its 2018 Facts and Figures Report, that approximately 1 million people with Alzheimer’s Disease live alone. Brian LeBlanc spent over three years living alone, and living well, with Alzheimer’s Disease. Learn about the importance of his care partner team and the adaptations he made in order to help him live alone. Now in a relationship and no longer living alone, Brian takes his understanding of care partnership deeper in co-creating quality plans for both of their lives.

Objectives:

1. After learning Brian’s story, participants will recognize the desire to live alone and remain independent as a basic human right.
2. Identify members of an empowered collaborative care partner team.
3. Identify the importance of collaborating with care partners for future planning purposes by sharing experiences with other individuals living with dementia and their care partners, incorporating them into your life where applicable.

Bios:

As many people do, Mel Coppola served as a care partner to three of her family members. She followed that with seven years’ work in home care. The knowledge gained through those years brought her to the understanding that relationships are the heart of any good care experience.  So, in 2014, after earning her Certificate in Gerontology, Mel founded Hearts In Care, LLC to help spread the word that aging and support can be experienced differently.  Through Hearts In Care, Mel works with individuals and families, as well as organizations that span the spectrum of Eldercare services.  Mel’s passion shines through whether she is presenting a keynote address, a workshop, at a national conference, on radio shows, in webinars, trainings, or in someone’s home.  It doesn’t matter the audience—the message Mel brings is that everyone, no matter their age or ability, deserves to live a life filled with well-being!  Mel serves on the Steering Committees of the Florida Pioneer Network, is an active participant with the Dementia Action Alliance, and is proud to be an Educator and Mentor with The Eden Alternative.

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, Brian 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.

Brian serves on the advisory board of Dementia Action Alliance, the early stage advisory group of the National Alzheimer’s Association, is an Alzheimer’s advocate for both the Alzheimer’s Pensacola Bay Area and Dementia Alliance International, keynote speaker for Elite Cruises and Vacations for Dementia-Friendly Cruises, and is the author of a blog: https://abitofbriansbrilliance.com.

 

E1: How to Create and Use Memory Books for Those Living with Dementia 

Guides:
Jennifer Brush, Consultant, Investigator and Project Manager, Brush Development Company
Kathleen Roberts, Director Dementia Care Strategy, Living Branches

Description: Montessori for Aging and Dementia is a person-centered approach that supports elders in living meaningful and purposeful lives. Memory books play an important part of this philosophy, as they support those with cognitive impairment in engaging in conversations with others. Memory books also help staff learn more about elders and assist family members in having a quality visit. This session will explain the step by step process of a community wide implementation of memory books in the context of a Montessori program. The guides will also provide key takeaways that will enhance dementia programs regardless of if Montessori is in use and reinforce learnings by engaging the attendees in two interactive breakout sessions.

Objectives:

1. Define Montessori for Dementia and Aging which focuses on a person-centered philosophy of living.
2. Discuss Memory Books, the significant body of research on this topic, and their many uses, especially for persons with dementia.
3. Provide the key steps used to introduce, create and immediately implement Memory Books into a community.

Bios:

Jennifer Brush, MA, CCC/SLP, Director, Brush Development is an author, consultant and researcher in the area of dementia care. She helps care communities around the world to implement the Montessori philosophy in long-term care. She serves on the Association Montessori International (AMI) Advisory Board for Montessori for Aging and Dementia and is the only AMI Certified Educator for Montessori for Aging and Dementia in the U.S. Jennifer is the author of six nationally recognized books on dementia. Jennifer has over 25 years of experience both as a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) as well as an educator, researcher and consultant. She has led countless live national and international trainings, facilitated ground-breaking research and managed innovative person-centered projects for the Ohio Council for Cognitive Health. Her expertise and passion for person-centered care allow her to flawlessly bridge the gap between care communities and the individuals they serve.

Kathleen Roberts is responsible for the research, selection and implementation of the Living Branches dementia philosophy of care. Montessori for Aging and Dementia h focuses on supporting the person in an environment that is adapted to support memory loss and independence. The result is that people living with dementia are able to make meaningful contributions to their community, engage in meaningful activities in addition to having the opportunity to maintain, and even restore function. The approach is flexible, innovative and grounded in research.

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E2: Engagement Elixir: Enhancing Communication Experiences for People Living with Memory Impairment 

Guide:
Lia Levitt, CEO & Founder, Ain’t She Sweet, LLC 

Description: Conversational savvy is a learned behavior and for many, a lifelong evolution of ingenuity. Conversing with and truly engaging those living with dementia and memory-related impairment is challenging for senior living community staff, medical professionals, family and friends. Much of the communications towards those with memory impairment tends to be tactical or focused on the support of activities of daily living. Through multiple levels of disease progression, there are strategies to engage even those who’ve become non-verbal, in meaningful relationships. The art of asking questions, sharing meaningful stories and creating sensory experiences isn’t inherent, it is learned. Practicing these skills and taking a glimpse into a frustrating but important world, will offer a journey towards comfortable communication strategies for engaging, comforting, redirecting and supporting others. Memory loss does not have to end deep connection, but it does alter ways to sustain it. For those striving to support, start and maintain relationships with those experiencing memory impairment, this session will provide dynamic strategies to connect while continuing to care. 

Objectives:

1. Describe the impact of one-sided communication with those with memory impairment
2. Create and use a set of questions designed to evoke stories and conversations from those with memory impairment
3. Act as ambassador to train, empower and support others in using artful questions to engage residents, family and community members through artful questions

Bio:

Lia Jill Levitt, M.Phil., M.S., CDP, Founder & CEO of Ain’t She Sweet, LLC “grew up” in a nursing home for 19 years alongside her blind grandmother, who lived to age 99. Lia left a successful fifteen-year career in training and leadership development to write her (hopefully one day published) memoir and found a corresponding company devoted to bringing joy to the lives of elders and those who care for them. She is devoted to immersing herself in the field of dementia research and senior living and earned her Certified Dementia Practitioner Credential in 2019. Lia has earned graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in Organizational Consulting & Executive Coaching and from Manhattanville College in Leadership & Strategic Management. Her undergraduate degree is in Communications with concentration in Human Relations. Lia is a global citizen who has traveled to 59 countries and leaves for Chile, her 60th, in January 2020. Lia volunteers for organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association as a support group leader co-facilitating a support group in Darien, Sandy Hook Promise and a national Virtual Center, where she leads interactive video programs for homebound elders. She is fervently committed to redefining the conversation on aging.

E3: Rethinking Bathing

Guides:
Judy Miller, PEAK 2.0 Consultant, Kansas State University
Laci Cornelison, PEAK 2.0 Director, Kansas State University
Joanne Rader, RN, MN, Co-Founder of Pioneer Network, Consultant

Description:  Do you work with residents who consistently refuse showers, baths, and whirlpools? Does a resident holler, scream or become combative and tense during bathing? Stop the catfights! Bathing alternatives are an important tool in eliminating this caregiving challenge. Come learn about some important tools and strategies to empower caregivers in responding to residents from the bedside to the care planning process.

Objectives:

1. Discuss the importance of bathing and choices.
2. Increase understanding of alternative bathing options.
3. Leave with the tools to make decisions that support resident choice and maintain hygiene.

Bios

Judy Miller (RN) is currently a consultant with the Kansas PEAK 2.0 program, working with teams in Kansas homes to implement person-centered care practices. Judy’s entrance into a 30-year career in long-term care began in a local nursing home as a dishwasher, which inspired her interest in pursuing a nursing degree. After ten years working as an LPN, Judy accepted a scholarship to pursue her RN degree. The most rewarding service of her career were the 17 years spent as the Director of Nursing in a Kansas nursing home that embraced the journey of transforming from a medical model of care to a person-centered care home. Judy assumed a key role in the transformation from traditional hierarchical leadership to self-directed work teams. She also implemented strong resident directed care while maintaining high clinical quality of care and strong survey outcomes. She loves her role as a wife, mother and grandma!

Growing up in the nursing home where her mom worked, Laci Cornelison was a gerontologist from the start. Those years of hanging out with older adults while her mom said to “keep busy” turned into her passion. Now she holds the official credentials of a gerontologist along with a long-term care administration and social work license. Laci’s experience has included direct leadership and clinical practice in an innovative person-centered care home, college instruction on aging, program leadership with the Kansas PEAK 2.0 program and research. When she is not boring her husband with talk of organizational change, healthcare, grading and research data, he is puzzling her with talk of the electrical parts he sells while her children create Ninja Warrior courses in the backyard.

Joanne Rader is a recognized expert in the LTC culture change movement, She has published numerous articles and books addressing the emotional needs and behavioral symptoms of persons with dementia including Individualized Dementia Care: Creative, Compassionate Approaches, and Bathing Without a Battle which received AJN Book of the Year awards in 1996 and 2002. Joanne has spoken extensively throughout the country, and is probably best known for her work on the development of the program, Bathing Without a Battle.  She is one of the Co-Founders of Pioneer Network.

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E4: Adverse Events in Nursing Homes: Working Together to Keep Residents Safe 

Guide:
Jennifer Pettis, Associate Director, Long-Term Care, Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE)

Description: Adverse events are a significant problem in nursing homes. Federal regulations require that nursing home’s quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) programs include processes for systematic identification, reporting, investigation, analysis, and prevention of adverse events. These same regulations require a person-centered approach to care.

This interactive session will begin with a discussion regarding scope and types of adverse events and the imperative to maintain safety while honoring resident preferences. The Guide will share a variety of tools aimed at helping providers meet requirements for investigation and analysis of adverse events and person-centered strategies to maintain safety.

Objectives:

1. Describe the impact of adverse events among older adults.
2. Exemplify strategies to promote safety in all care settings.
3. Critique a community protocol for a high-risk medication using CMS’s Adverse Drug Event Trigger Tool. 

Bio:

Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE, WCC is the associate director of Long-Term Care for Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) at the New York University Meyers College of Nursing. Her responsibilities include expanding academic offerings, engaging current organizations, and seeking new relationships to expand the overall program. She also ensures the clinical education is consistent with national standards and enhances current strategy and goals. Previously a nurse researcher at Abt Associates, Jen participated in data collection, analysis, and reporting of healthcare payment, quality improvement, and quality reporting initiatives and provided technical assistance and training through a variety of post-acute care projects. She has extensive clinical, managerial, consulting, and training experience, including as a consultant to the Division of Nursing Homes at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Jen serves as adjunct faculty for SUNY Empire State College (ESC) School of Nursing and provides subject matter expertise to CMS and the Chase Consulting Group under the MDS/RAI User’s Manual Support and Maintenance contract. She is a board member of the National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy and the Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York and serves on the SUNY ESC Alumni Student Federation Board of Governors.

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E5: Partnering in Beloved Community: Birthing a New Culture 

Guides:
Sarah Culp, Spiritual Care Practice Partner/Director, St. John’s Home
Holly Powell, Therapeutic Recreation Practice Partner/Director, St. John’s Home
Deborah Swift, Pastor, South Church

Description: This session will detail an innovative approach to providing spiritual care to elders in a senior living community through intentional partnership with a faith community. In 2014, a small urban church gave up its building, though the congregation wished to continue worshiping. At the same time, St. John’s Meadows/Brickstone had been looking for a faith community to lead weekly worship for its residents. The resulting community, Fellowship of Faith, has created a new model of partnership that has since been replicated with astounding results for both entities. This session will provide all you need to do the same.

Objectives:

1. Define Partnership between the Acts of Faith and St. John’s.
2. List mutual benefits for the engagement and enrichment of the partners and enumerating the practical lessons.
3. Understand how to replicate this partnership in your community.

Bios:

Sarah Culp is responsible for providing expressions of spirituality for residents living across the spectrum of care: independent and assisted living as well as in long term care. Five inter-faith chaplains are supervised by Sarah across three campuses where she is responsible for the spiritual life and well-being of over 1,000 senior residents, staff, and families. She also oversees, coordinates and supervises a cadre of volunteers on a weekly basis. Prior to coming to St. John’s, Sarah has worked for over 30 years in the local church. She has provided spiritual care oversight within the St John’s community (independent, assisted, long term care) for the last four years. For two years prior, Sarah was the Director of Constituency Services for the Town of Irondequoit, NY where she advocated for residents and assisted the Town Supervisor with developing communication strategies about town policies and issues.

Holly Powell is responsible for providing meaningful life opportunities for residents living in long term care. She does this through supervision of ten recreation therapists, dozens of volunteers and contract workers, as well as planning and scheduling programming. These opportunities include all types of entertainment, networking with community organizations, one-to-one engagement, community-wide events, and supporting the direct-care staff through mutual partnership. In addition to Holly’s eight years of experience working across all levels of elder care in therapeutic recreation, she has served as a local church pastor, church music director, public music educator, pre-school teacher, and Reiki Master/practitioner.

Deborah Swift has been the pastor of South Presbyterian Church – an aging congregation with a median age of 72 – for the last eleven years. Prior to that, she did community organizing in the city of Rochester through Neighborhood Preservation Companies, was a public school music educator, performing musician and composer, Minister of Music at an urban church for 16 years, and author. Recently, she provided training in Senior Spirituality for the 800 CNA’s at Lifetime Health. She now serves as the Executive Director of Firebird Spirit, Inc. -the educational and consulting arm of South Church that shares the Beloved Community. In 2014, South Presbyterian Church sold its campus and continued its ministry through piloting a new model for ministry that supports organic, grass-roots responses to spiritual needs in the Rochester area. These 20 ministries, known as Acts of Faith, all occur in multiple locations. Several of them take place on the campuses of St. John’s. Deborah supervises a staff of professionals and volunteers numbering 18, providing in-service training and education as well as program development. She is responsible for pastoral care of the 255 program participants and shares the Act of Faith model nationwide through workshops and seminars.

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E6: Alzheimer’s Cafes – Building Evidence for this Simple, High-impact Program 

Guides:
Jytte Lokvig, Founder and Facilitator, Alzheimer’s Cafe
Susan Balkman, Assistant, Alzheimer’s Café
Elizabeth Lokon, Gerontologist, Scripps Gerontology Center

Description: An Alzheimer’s or Memory Café is the easiest and most effective program to set up for people living with dementia and their care partners. The person living with dementia can flourish in a safe and non-judgmental environment and make new friends and care partners often form long-term relationships beyond the café environment. There are hundreds of established Alzheimer/Memory Cafés but research on them is very limited. We will discuss the what, why and how to start Alzheimer’s cafés and set up a research agenda to build the evidence base for further development of these cafés.

Objectives:

1. Participants will be aware of the crucial need and importance of programs such as the café to create a sense of normalcy and purposeful participation in their communities at large.
2. Understand the big WHY of inclusion and purpose.
3. Identify the need for more research and understand the challenges still faced. 

Bios:

Jytte Lokvig has been in private practice since 1994 as a specialist in Alzheimer’s care and communication, coaching caregivers and working with communities on program and staff development. In 2007, she discovered the Alzheimer’s cafés in Europe and knew this might be a perfect way to give people living with dementia a chance to be out in public in a safe and stimulating environment. Jytte started the first Alzheimer’s Café in the U.S. in 2008 and has been is a leader in national efforts to spread the concept ever since. There are now over 600 cafés in the U.S. 

Susan Balkman tells us about herself here: I HAVE YOUNG ONSET DEMENTIA, of the Alzheimer’s type. My life is active. I participate in anything having to do with dementia, the Alzheimer’s café, lectures and educational panels on how to live well with dementia. I am a licensed therapist, LPC, LADAC, CPCC, in the field of psychology. During my 40 years of practice, I have presented on aging, cognitive functioning, and since my diagnosis, how to live well with dementia and creativity, finding purpose, and waking up every morning with a sense of meaning rather than a sense of dread. When I received the diagnosis of dementia and was given no guidance except to “go home and get my papers in order,” it took my breath away. I was young. What would I do with myself for the next two or more decades? Had I not met Jytte Lokvig, I would have lost my ability to LIVE OUT LOUD WITH DEMENTIA. She urged me to find my purpose. I now create pottery at Santa Fe Clay and sell them at public events. Jytte also introduced me to the Alzheimer’s Café and its wonderful community of caring and non-judgmental people. We laugh a lot, create art, and support each other.

Elizabeth Lokon: As the founder and director of the Opening Minds through Art Program at Miami University, Dr. Lokon is responsible for: (1) Teaching gerontology courses that develop empathy and skills the students need to serve as volunteers in the program; (2) Developing a training program and support system to teach activity professionals how to conduct this person-centered art program; (3) Maintaining the fidelity and quality of the program at replication sites; and (4) Maintaining the financial sustainability of the program.

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E7: 20/20 Vision: Addressing the Spiritual Needs of Residents, Families and Team Members 

Guide:
Gary Gibson, Director of Spiritual Life, Presbyterian Senior Care Network 

Description: The importance of the spiritual domain during our senior years is crucial as it still very much provides room for growth. As the aging process unfolds, the spirit is still capable of expansion, renewal or even new birth in later years of life. In spite of changes, losses and chronic health conditions, people can continue to cultivate their relationship with their creator or higher power. Our job is to help them stay connected with their spiritual support system and provide the fellowship they need and yearn. Let us work to provide comfort, encouragement and stability in times of change. Let us, with the clearest of vision, work to ensure residents’ spiritual needs are addressed to the best of our ability.

Objectives:

1. Create an environment of openness and willingness to discuss the importance of a healthy spirit.
2. Define the differences between spirituality and religion.
3. Compare various examples of spirituality and how it is practiced.

Bio:

Pastor Gary Gibson has been working in long-term care for more than 30 years. He currently serves as the Director of Spiritual Life for Presbyterian Senior Care’s Washington Campus where he also serves as Person-centered Care Champion. He also serves as the Chaplain and Spiritual Counselor for the Washington Health System. Pastor Gary has spoken at several national and international conferences regarding the importance of addressing and accessing spirituality in all phases of life but in particular for elders.

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E8: Achieving a Community of Caring by Making Compassionate Communication Universal 

Guide:
Jill Golde, Senior Vice President, Language of Caring, A Branch of Planetree International

Description:  Staff in long-term care are caring people. Yet, with heavy workloads and stress, it’s not unusual to become so task-oriented that they don’t COMMUNICATE their caring.  The result: residents, families and coworkers don’t experience them as the caring people they are.  Session attendees will learn a proven strategy for developing staff so every individual makes their caring visible and felt in everyday interactions. Attendees will experience the powerful Heart-Head-Heart Communication Model and the concrete skills that convey empathy and support and earn people’s trust and partnership.  The results:  life-affirming, satisfying resident experiences, appreciative families, and increased staff gratification and retention.

Objectives:

1. Identify the difference between being caring and communicating caring and articulate how communicating caring is essential to high survey scores.
2. Define and illustrate the Heart-Head-Heart Model and a set of concrete, learnable language skills that make caring visible in every interaction.
3. Identify a concrete plan for helping teams develop, master and use caring communication skills as the universal language that results in a pervasive, organization-wide culture of caring.

Bio:

Jill Golde brings over 20 years’ experience as a mission-driven consultant, trainer and culture change specialist for a broad range of private and public sector organizations. Expert in organizational change, transforming healthcare cultures and the human-centered care, Jill is known for her genuine connection and caring, her sense of humor, her astute observation skills and her remarkable ability to share her perceptions in a constructive fashion. An engaging presenter, she weaves firsthand experience and mind-opening stories into her sessions. With her appreciative focus, Jill is an inspiring, effective coach and team-builder – helping internal people plan and implement with focus, efficiency and enthusiasm. Full of integrity, she models the skills she imparts. Jill has consulted to many hospitals, health systems and medical practices, and trained thousands of healthcare staff in the skills that make the patient/resident and family experience anxiety-reducing, heartwarming, and healing. She holds an M.S. in Organization Development from American University and a B.A. in Education from Washington University.

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E9: Accessibility and Culture Change: Beyond Ramps and Grab Bars 

Guides:
Jed Johnson, Managing Director – Aging Services, CARF International
Peggy Brenner, Regional Director of Nursing, Acts Retirement Life Communities
Jennifer Hartwick, Director of Business Process Development, Schlegel Villages  

Description: When addressing accessibility, aging services traditionally focus on physical/environmental barriers of persons served. True culture change, however, challenges the field to look “beyond ramps and grab bars,” for residents … seeking a more holistic approach, including: financial, attitudinal, communication, employment, and other barriers encountered by diverse stakeholder groups. This session exams existing regulatory provisions (Section 504, ADA, Ontario AODA and others) and provides a framework that providers can utilize to facilitate all-inclusive accessibility planning. Both Acts Retirement Life Communities and Schlegel Villages have strong organizational commitments to promoting accessibility. Replicable examples of efforts and related resources will be showcased.

Objectives:

1. Discuss existing federal legislation/regulations related to accessibility that impact providers.
2. Define and describe a holistic approach to accessibility planning, including nine barrier types.
3. Utilizing and implementing an accessibility planning quality framework. 

Bios:

Jed Johnson initially connected with his life’s passion working from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. in a suburban Milwaukee nursing home. Throughout his career, he has continued to strive to make a difference and improve the quality of life of older adults and family caregivers. As a leader in aging services, his areas of expertise include caregiving, respite, business acumen, home and community services, transportation, aging and I/DD, and quality improvement. Prior to joining CARF, he served as a CARF surveyor while working for accredited organizations (Easter Seals national office and at the Jewish Association on Aging in Pittsburgh). As a member of Easter Seals national leadership team, he provided oversight of a $25M portfolio of federal, corporate and foundation funded initiatives supporting the organization’s 71-member U.S. affiliate network. Jed currently serves on the National Lifespan Respite and Center for Excellence in Assisted Living advisory committees. He is a frequent speaker at professional meetings and has authored several aging services-related articles, publications and curricula. As a social worker, the identification, remediation and removal of barriers for both persons served and their families has been an integral part of his professional career including training and technical assistance, performance measurement, management and improvement.

Peggy Brenner has attended the Choreography of Culture Change by Action Pact and presently functions as Culture Change Coach for 23 CCRCs. As a culture change coach, she educates and supports all these communities along their culture change journeys. She served as a facilitator for the Pioneer Network’s National Learning Collaborative and has presented with Barbara Frank and Cathie Brady at two Pioneer Network conferences about this project. She has also presented on various topics related to person-centered care at previous Pioneer Network conferences. Peggy has spoken at LeadingAge PA about Acts Retirement-Communities multi- site culture change journey. As the Acts Signature Experience (ASE) coach, Peggy attends the NE Community Steering Committee Meetings quarterly to mentor, guide and direct them on their ASE journey and evaluate their progress toward their goals. She plans a Regional ASE Summit annually or biannually for all NE communities which gives them the opportunity to share best practices and learn. Peggy conducts ongoing development of programs related to ASE, such as “word of the week” and an ASE Toolkit. She also orients all new employees on culture change and the ASE with a focus on learning circles.

Jennifer Hartwig has 18+ years of Retirement and LTC experience with a BA and MS degree in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo. She has held several positions within Schlegel Villages which currently operates seven continuum of care communities and twelve LTC Homes in Ontario, offering her experience with multiple operational issues. Jennifer is currently Director of Strategic Projects for the Research Institute for Aging – a charitable non-profit foundation dedicated to enhancing care and quality of life for older adults. In this role, she supports the Agrifood for Healthy Aging program as well as the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program. Jennifer has a passion for aging services including the identification and removal of accessibility barriers. As the CARF lead for Schlegel Villages, Jennifer provides support across all of the Villages with respect to development and implementation of accessibility planning that extends well beyond architectural and environmental barriers. Having been a part of the Schlegel Villages family for nearly 2 decades, Jennifer has supported many aspects of their Culture Change journey. She is privileged to have served as a Guide for prior Pioneer Network conferences.

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E10: Moving the Mountain of Organizational Culture Through Relationship Based Care

Guides:
Angie McAllister, Director of Quality of Life and Culture Change, Signature HealthCARE
Ryan Myracle, Culture Change Resources Coordinator, Signature HealthCARE 

Description: Are you a corporate leader with a vision to drive person-directed care in your organization? Are you at your wit’s end with sustaining and hardwiring change processes? Join us as we share with you ways to apply person-directed care leadership competencies to hardwire your organizational change practices. Additionally, learn how corporate leadership teams can not only drive lasting change but improve overall culture through the power of relationships.

Objectives:

1. Define the role of corporate leadership and how it relates to driving culture.
2. Identify competencies that top leaders can learn to drive organizational change through relationships.
3. Apply person-directed care leadership competencies to hardwire organizational change practices.

Bios:

Angie McAllister oversees Quality of Life and Culture Change Practices for 115 Signature HealthCARE Communities. She is responsible for training leaders to drive organizational change. An Eden Educator and Mentor, Angie has worked to bring 52 Signature HealthCARE communities onto the Eden Alternative Registry. She is currently working to sustain and drive organizational practices that are secondary to relationship development in 115 communities.

Ryan Myracle is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator and licensed Advance Practice Social Worker in the state of TN and has served in various roles in the skilled and long-term care field since 1998. Currently, he works remotely for Signature Healthcare in Louisville, KY as the Culture Change Resource Coordinator. Ryan first learned of culture change in the field of Eldercare while he was in college. That interest grew stronger as he began working as a Social Worker in skilled and long-term Eldercare settings. In 2003, Ryan became a Certified Eden Associate. In 2008, he became a Certified Eden Educator and Eden Mentor. Since then, he has used his passion for improving the quality of life for Elders and their Care Partners to inspire change through personal transformation and the blending of roles to better meet Elders’ needs.

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E11: Person-Directed End-of-life Care:  What I Learned from My Spouse Transformed Me

Guide:
Cheryl Kruschke, Professor, Regis University

Description: This session provides a unique perspective regarding end-of-life experiences taught to me by my spouse. I have been a nurse for 39 years and spent my clinical experience working in long-term care. I helped hundreds of individuals transition from life to death as part of my nursing experience and thought I fully understood the importance of person-directed care from the perspective of each individual. When my spouse was dying, he taught me what it really meant for him to make his own decisions regarding his life and ultimately, his death.

Objectives:

1. Define how true person-directed end-of-life care is accomplished in collaboration ‘with’ the individual and not ‘for’ them.
2. Review the historical perspective of the approach to death and dying in the United States.
3. Explain the person-directed approach to end-of-life care and decision-making.

Bio:

Cheryl Kruschke, EdD, MS, RN, CNE is a full Professor at Regis University. Cheryl teaches in the nursing program at the Masters degree and Doctoral degree levels in the areas of Leadership and Management, Gerontology, Finance, Accounting, Economics and Statistics. Cheryl’s nursing career began in 1980 as a LPN working in the long-term care setting. Her work in long-term care spans over 20 years in a variety of roles including nursing assistant, LPN, RN, Supervisor, Manager of Education and Quality Assurance, Director of Nursing and Nursing Home Administrator. Cheryl has had the opportunity to work with excellent teams, is an Eden Educator, Eden Mentor, and End-of-Life Doula. Cheryl has completed research related to the aging population including safety and person-directed care. Cheryl has extensive experience presenting seminars and speaking at National and International conferences on the topics of Geriatrics, Culture Change, Leadership, Management, and Adult Education.