Engagement Expo

Engagement Expo

The Engagement Expo includes six stations where attendees will spend 15 minutes learning about something that they can use in their life enrichment program to help promote engagement. Not your traditional “activities,” but something innovative and out of the box that promotes real meaning and purpose. At the sixth station, attendees can participate in a 30-minute Dementia Live Experience, where they will gain a deeper understanding of what it’s like to live with cognitive impairment and sensory change

  • Conference attendees will be encouraged to sign up ahead of time…but walk-ups will be welcome as space allows (space for max 20 people)
  • Sign-up sheets will be located in the Engagement Expo area in the Exhibitor / Sponsor Gallery

 

STATIONS

Senior Science Fair
Join Brian Owen, Quality of Life Director, Signature HealthCARE at Washington Rehabilitation & Nursing Center and learn about the intergenerational Science Fair held annually through partnerships with local schools or children attending summer camp.  Students pair with Elders and together they participate in the entire process, including researching topics, designing experiments, building models or displays, and presenting their project in a competition held at the end of the program. Prizes are awarded and students receive a small scholarship to help further their education. The program was developed to serve as a regional event and ties into Annual Summer Camp for 2019.

Validation Techniques in the REAL World
Alisa Tagg, President of the National Association of Activity Professionals
, will be your guide at this station where participants will focus on understanding what validation is and how to apply the first technique known as “Centering.” This technique will allow you to become more self-aware and use it in daily practice.

Creating a Camping Experience for Your Residents
Imagine Elders and children coming together to experience life in a meaningful way! Join Ryan Myracle from Signature HeathCare as he shares some of the key points of creating a successful summer camp experience for Elders and the children of the Care Partners/employees in your organization. Signature Healthcare has a successful intergenerational summer camp experience in 50 or more of their homes each summer. This experience provides lasting relationships between Elders and children.

Storytelling and Life Narrative: Engaging Your Residents
Know the Person, one of Pioneer Network’s principles, is foundational to the work done by Angela Burton, Feet to the Fire Writer’s Workshops and Jay Newton-Small, Founder of MemoryWell. At this station, you will have the opportunity to learn from professional writers and storytellers how you can connect and create meaning and engagement for your residents through their stories.

Person-Centered and Dementia-Capable Activities are Crucial for Well-being and Success – But How Do You Really Make It Happen?
Visit this station, where Kim Warchol, President & Founder at Dementia Care Specialist, will provide an overview of person-centered, and dementia-capable care, with a focus on describing these concepts in relationship to activity programming. The “how to make it happen” critical components will be described, identifying the must-haves for any care community truly committed to providing effective person-centered, and dementia capable activities.

A Heart to Serve
Once a month, dedicated volunteers gather at their nursing homes and prepare a meal for those in need of a meal in their greater communities. Regardless of their physical and cognitive challenges, all willing participants have a role in preparation. Carrots are chopped. Cheese is shredded. Smiles are shared. They then make the journey to their local community where they serve the meals they’ve prepared. For the program’s participants, Community Meals it isn’t about hand-outs – it’s about outreach. The residents put their hard work onto plates and pass them across the table – what they get back is a room full of smiles, a few friends, and a renewed sense of purpose within themselves.

Dementia Live™ Experience 
In this high-impact 30-minute experience guided by V’Ann Giuffre, VP Operations, AGE-u-cate Training, you will be immersed into life with dementia, resulting in a deeper understanding of what it’s like to live with cognitive impairment and sensory changes. Dementia Live™ is an inside-out catalyst to change for those who live, work and visit in your community.

Engagement Expo Schedule – Final2