Amy Lucht - is the CEO of Care Resource Connections and the Program Director of the SLPFD Community Health Program. Steve and Amy discuss the United Way Grant "Purpose Drive Paychecks" and how Care Resource Connection is working with the St Louis Park high School to bring the community stakeholders together to create a new Health Care Exploration Program with a mentorship component, and certification building to build a resilient CNA workforce to work in our community long term care, senior living, and hospital settings. And how at the end of the mentorship program the student will have gained the experience and have a deeper understanding of where they can focus their financial resources on a chosen career path all prior to graduation. Most importantly, how this program is filling the needed gaps in the healthcare workforce shortage in the senior care and healthcare space.

Cindy Carow Schiebe is currently a faculty member at Normandale Community College and teaches in the Public Health department, which houses the Community Health Worker Certificate. She is currently a board member of the MN Community Health Worker Alliance (CHW) and is the co-chair of the CHW Alliance Education committee. In addition to her 25 years of experience in education and community outreach, she has participated in many community level boards to help create greater access for her fellow community members. In this episode we discuss our the partnership the CHA has with Normandale College and the CHW Program and working with Care Resource Connection for the CHW internship program for SLPFD and other fire departments. We will share our joint work on the growing need for the CHW in the communities.

Jennifer Bauernfeind is the owner of one of six Minnesota Comfort Keepers in home care offices. Her locations are in Edina and Osseo, serving most of the west and northwest areas of the metro. Comfort Keepers will mark 25 years in 2023 as a leading care provider that serves adults over 18 in their homes with the goal of delivering the highest quality of care and elevating the human spirit. In this episode we discuss our partnership in the CHA Program, what value she sees coming out of this and what type of impact this work will has in our communities. We will also discuss how the home care industry is going to have think creatively to care for our seniors now and in the future.

In this podcast Amy Lucht CEO of Care Resource Connection, Steve Koering Chief of the St Louis Park Fire Department and Chad Ketcham LNHA, MHA  Administrator Villa at St Louis Park discuss the challenges sites are now facing with readmission to the Transitional Care Units and the gaps for a safe discharge plan to home with a fire fighter safe home visit. We discuss how the fire department and the long term care sites can collaborate beyond the fire prevention and emergency planning focus. And share how our pilot program has impacted positive change and reduced the readmission rates in our community pre-covid and now how those efforts needs to continue moving forward.

In this podcast Amy Lucht CEO of Care Resource Connection, Steve Koering Chief of the St Louis Park Fire Department and Betsy LaMarre; LALD, Executive Director Tower Light discuss how the SLP  LTC Group was formed, how we came together during the pandemic, and now today the need still exists for these creative partnerships to enhance the residents living experience. We discuss the weekly 911 call reports and how they help both the fire department and the sites, and how keeping the sites connected and sharing resources is still the ultimate goal in this community. We share our journey for others to learn how to start collaborating in their own communities.

n this  podcast Amy Lucht CEO of Care Resource Connection, Steve Koering Chief of the St Louis Park Fire Department and Barbara Klick, RN, MBA, LeadingAge Chair and CEO Sholom, discuss how Fire Departments and Senior Living Campuses can collaborate. How the 911 report Model, Care Resource Connection developed, helps bridge the gaps inside the facilities, supporting staff, connecting residents and the joint collaborative efforts and challenges with the high utilization of 911. Sharing the new challenges nursing homes and senior living campuses are facing today, and how we need to prepare.

A key activity at the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs is the focus on legislative issues which confront the fire service while creating space where discussion and information sharing can occur with stakeholders in attendance. A leader in this work for the State Chiefs Association is Fire Chief BJ Jungmann from Burnsville Mn and the current Legislative Chair. Chief Jungmann shares his perspectives as the Chief of a full-service fire department in the current environment, as well as the changing landscape of issues around EMS at the State Capital.

We had the great honor of presenting our work at the recent Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Conference in Duluth MN and while there we connected with T. John Cunningham the Fire Chief for the City of Brooklyn Park MN and the current President of the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association. John shares his thoughts on both his department’s role in community health, but also the challenges of addressing these issues across the broader Minnesota fire service.

Following the workshop, we presented on Community Health; A community Risk Reduction Strategy Amy and I met with two participants to gauge their feedback and to learn more about their specific challenges. Interim Chief of Moorhead MN, Jeff Wallin, and Battalion Chief Jeremy Hutchinson of the Cloquet Fire District in Cloquet MN share the unique challenges within their response area, and how what they learned might help them create change

In this podcast Amy Lucht CEO of Care Resource Connection, Steve Koering Chief of the St Louis Park Fire Department discuss how to get buy in to build community resource partnerships. How Amy began the call to action by developing bat lines and a process for others follow her lead with a common mission. Why it’s so challenging to navigate and connect resources. Learn why a call to action is vital to the overall population health initiatives, and why the fire departments are in the center of that call.