Elevate Eldercare

It’s an “Elevate Eldercare” tradition: Each Thanksgiving, we set up a virtual gratitude table for the people who live the values of culture change every day.

This year, we welcome a team from The New Jewish Home’s Sarah Neuman campus in Westchester County, N.Y. — assistant administrator Miriam Levi, nurse Wendy McDonald, and CNA Joycelyn Scott-Adir.

They share the reasons why they’ve each spent at least two decades at Sarah Neuman, which created a unique set of Green House homes despite the organization’s inability to build new infrastructure on its traditional nursing campus. And we hope you join us in honoring the caregivers who support elders day in and day out, even on holidays, as we celebrate Thanksgiving.

Learn more about the New Jewish Home and Sarah Neuman: https://www.prairieeldercare.com/

Go inside the small homes at Sarah Neuman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFnHGKSYmM0

Upholding civil liberties, addressing fear, and creating flexible systems to support individuals who are living with dementia are passionate goals for the three guests on this episode of Elevate Eldercare. 

Susan Ryan sits down with Jennifer Carson, PhD, director of the Dementia Engagement, Education, and Research (DEER) program at the Univ. of Nevada, Reno School of Public Health; Al Power, MD, geriatrician and Schlegel Chair in Aging and Dementia Innovation at the Schlegel-U Waterloo Research Institute at the Univ. of Rochester, New York; Jen Wilson, vice president of well-being at Carol Woods Retirement Community, as they help memory care providers open their minds and their doors to living well with cognitive change

As the trio describes their quest to create “dementia-inclusive” communities, Wilson shares her 40-year career in supporting people with dementia, emphasizing the need for social justice and partnership with those affected. Dr. Power reflects on the negative impacts of segregated memory care, and Dr. Carson describes the Quest Upstream project, which focuses on reframing dementia, promoting well-being, and fostering inclusive environments.

You can learn much more about their work at the forefront of dementia care during their preconference session at the 2024 Center for Innovation Conference this November: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

Find out more about the DEER program here: https://www.unr.edu/public-health/centers-and-programs/dementia-engagement-education-and-research-program

Learn about Carol Woods Retirement Community here: https://www.carolwoods.org

For Michala Gibson, creating empowering environments for people living with dementia is both a professional and personal mission.

As the co-founder of Prairie Elder Care in Overland Park, Kan., Gibson has built a unique farmhouse setting for elders living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia — complete with a garden and farm animals.

She also serves as a family caregiver for her husband, Jim, who was diagnosed with young onset Alzheimer’s just last year.

She joins the podcast to discuss her journey through dementia care as both a visionary professional leader and loving family member, providing inspiration for anyone who has walked a similar path.

Learn more about Prairie Elder Care: https://www.prairieeldercare.com/

Watch a recent CFI webinar with Michala: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/projects/community-innovations-when-professional-becomes-personal/

As everyone listening knows, there was an election last night — but while another contentious political season comes to a close, the real work of policymaking in Washington and state legislatures is just beginning. 

To discuss the policy work that will have the most impact on the eldercare reform space, we invited two of our favorite experts on the show today — Anne Montgomery and Joe Angelelli. 

On this week’s episode, we’ll walk through the top areas where these longtime reform champions see potential for change — no matter what the federal and state governments look like next year. Here’s our conversation.

Attend our conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. next week: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

Learn more about the EINSTEIN Option: https://www.graypanthersnyc.org/the-einstein-option

Even the best communities that serve elders with varying levels of care needs often face a logistical problem: moving residents from one physical area to another as their care demands increase.

The Towers at Tower Lane, an innovative community in New Haven, Conn., eliminated that problem by creating services that come directly to residents’ apartments. No matter what they need, up to and including hospice services, Towers residents can receive it in the same unit they’ve called home for years.

It’s a key part of CEO Gus Keach-Longo’s vision for care that truly centers the person. He joins the podcast this week to discuss his long career as a champion for older adults — including a habit of asking “why not?” whenever someone tells him that something couldn’t be done for elders.

Attend our conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. next week: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

Learn more about the Towers at Tower Lane’s Proactive Partner model: https://towerlane.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/proactive_partner_model_brochure_1-28-21_1.pdf

As a child, Freeman Hrabowski had already made a bigger impact on the world than many people do in their entire lives: Inspired by hearing Martin Luther King Jr. speak at his church, young Freeman was arrested for protesting against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.

But Hrabowski didn’t stop there, building an impressive career in academia that culminated with a 30-year tenure as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He joins the podcast this week to discuss his commitment to lifelong learning and growth, and how he has worked to help generations of students make their own marks on the world.

Attend our conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. this November: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

Register for the last webinar in our 2024 Conference Preview Series — go inside a unique dementia care model on Thursday, October 24: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/projects/community-innovations-when-professional-becomes-personal

Far too often, eldercare reform is presented as a binary choice between mortal adversaries: providers who believe that regulators are out to get them, and regulators who assume every provider is up to no good.

The truth is obviously more complicated, and leaders like Jennifer Belden prove that there are ways to protect residents’ rights while also working with providers to improve the lives of elders. With a long background in health care, Belden brings both on-the-ground experience and a healthy dose of compassion to her work as director of Michigan’s Bureau of Survey and Certification.

She joins “Elevate Eldercare” to discuss her role and her ideas for a future where regulators and forward-thinking providers can achieve the shared goal of quality care and quality of life.

Attend our conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. this November: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

Register for the last webinar in our 2024 Conference Preview Series — go inside a unique dementia care model on Thursday, October 24: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/projects/community-innovations-when-professional-becomes-personal

As someone in her 40s living with multiple rare autoimmune diseases, Nancy Stevens doesn’t necessarily seem like a typical nursing home resident. But her journey through the long-term care system came with the same frustrations, challenges, and disappointments experienced far too often by people twice her age.

Stevens uses her experiences as fuel to help hundreds of fellow nursing home residents around the country, providing support and advocacy through the National Virtual Residents' Council and other organizations fighting for the rights of residents.

In honor of Residents’ Rights Month, Stevens joins the podcast to discuss her vital work and vision for the future of residential care.

Learn more about Three Wishes for Ruby’s Residents: https://3wishesproject.org/

Attend our conference in November: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

In today’s episode, Beth Furlong, RN, Community Relations Manager, and Hilary Camino, a certified neurologic music therapist at Sage Living in Jackson, Wyo., sit down with Susan Ryan. 

Furlong offers a history of the Living Center and its evolution into Sage Living, emphasizing the need for a larger, more home-like space. She describes the collaboration with architects to design a dedicated music and art center.

The two talk about the significant impact music therapy has had in their community for the past eight years, including how it has fostered resident engagement and outcomes such as reduced isolation and decreased use of psychotropic meds.

Camino’s work was showcased in the short film documentary, "Something Changed in the Room," a winner at the Toronto Documentary Feature & Short Film Festival in 2024.She shares her journey and the introduction of music therapy at Sage Living Center, explains the initial skepticism from the hospital staff and the successful pilot program they implemented. 

Whatever your notion might be of what a ‘music therapist’ does and the value it can bring to each of us, this conversation will inspire you to think and do differently.

More about Sage Living: https://www.sageliving.health/

More about Nordoff Robins Music Therapy here: https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/20.500.12289/4429/4429.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Link to short film: 

https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FBOtERCxdhdA&data=05%7C02%7Cjwright%40thegreenhouseproject.org%7C3195dd8fee9644e183db08dce47d29c3%7Cbc6dc8c871304f4383da60f11c51880a%7C1%7C0%7C638636473464784427%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=o9Ch6%2FFYhpa4U%2Ffww7B%2BTGxp1n7Cm81cnH5Q%2FjbnQMg%3D&reserved=0

Equity in aging is a topic that must be discussed more often in the field of eldercare. Today, Susan Ryan sits down with guest Marvell Adams Jr. to address this topic head on.

Together, they unpack the many ways in which he is working to dismantle inequities in aging and create communities of inclusion. 

Leveraging his two decades of work in the aging services field, Adams has created the Longevity + Inclusion Alliance Fellows program through his consulting company, W Lawson. He has held leadership positions at eldercare communities and organizations; holds a seat on the Center for Innovation board; and is also CEO of the Caregiver Action Network.

This episode examines Adams’ mission to foster true diversity in the eldercare space – including diversity of age, gender expression, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and so much more. In an age where simple concepts like acceptance and equity have become political footballs, Adams keeps working toward the inclusive, welcoming future we all deserve.

More about Caregiver Action Network HERE.

More About the Longevity + Inclusion Alliance Fellows Program HERE.