Elevate Eldercare

While the Green House model is the most widely implemented small-home nursing care concept in the U.S., it's not alone — innovators around the world have developed person-directed, human-scale communities where elders of all abilities can thrive.

Belong, a non-profit provider organization, has brought its own household model — the Belong Village — to towns across the United Kingdom. CEO Martin Rix joins the podcast to discuss Belong's empowering suite of services, its membership in the Household Model International Consortiumalongside The Green House Project and Australia's HammondCare, and the lessons we can learn from forward-thinking eldercare leaders across borders.

Learn more about Belong: https://www.belong.org.uk/

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

With each year that passes, Pride celebrations become more and more mainstream — but in our current political and social climate, LGBTQ+ people of all ages continue to face demonization and stigmatization, a reality that is sometimes magnified for elders.

Today in the United States, about half of older LGBTQ+ adults live in states where they can legally face housing discrimination simply for being who they are.

Sydney Kopp-Richardson, director of SAGE's National LGBTQ+ Housing Initiative, joins the podcast to discuss her work to build affirming, dignified communities where LGBTQ+ elders can live together in safety, support, and joy. Kopp-Richardson reminds us that while we have a long road ahead toward achieving true equality, we all can continue leading with love — and fighting for what we know is right for people of all ages.

Learn more about the SAGE National LGBTQ+ Housing Initiative: https://www.sageusa.org/what-we-do/national-lgbt-housing-initiative-2/

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

Just about everyone who works in the eldercare space has heard about the negative effects of ageism in our society, but we can't truly fight age-based discrimination until we look inward — even within our own sector.

Jordan Evans, co-founder of Art Against Ageism, joins the podcast to discuss his experiences as a younger person in the eldercare landscape, and his strategies for encouraging everyone to embrace their age — and make the sector welcoming to young, old, and everyone in between.

Learn more about Art Against Ageism: https://artagainstageism.org/

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

Steve Nygren, visionary founder of the Serenbe community outside of Atlanta, returns to the podcast to discuss his vision for intentional communities where elders can age well — but not because they're designed exclusively for older adults, but for people of all ages to stay active, stay connected, and stay engaged with day-to-day life.

If you missed Steve's first appearance on the podcast, check out episode 87, "The Serenbe Story of Biophilic Living," to learn more about his background as a visionary developer and the tenets of biophilia.

Learn more about Serenbe: https://www.serenbe.com/

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

nequities in eldercare affect not just the quality of services but the physical spaces themselves: Far too many operators, policymakers, and investors believe that people receiving Medicaid-funded services simply deserve lower-quality, older, more institutional buildings to call home.

Kia Weatherspoon, the founder and president of Determined by Design, is determined to change those perceptions. Her firm provides high-quality, inclusive, and thoughtful interior design services to developers of affordable senior living projects and other new infrastructure.

Inspired by her esxperiences visiting a brother in prison and serving in the armed forces, Weatherspoon has dedicated her career to building welcoming, meaningful, and dignified spaces for everyone to call home.

Learn more about Determined by Design: https://www.determinedbydesign.com/

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

As the proportion of older Americans grows, so too will the ranks of "solo agers" – people navigating the aging process without children or other relatives. And for elders who need extra assistance in making major decisions around housing and finances, solo aging may lead to legal guardianship and outcomes that don't align with their values, preferences, or best interests.

Kimberly George, CEO of the New York-based Project Guardianship, joins the podcast to discuss her organization's mission: building more dignified, person-directed alternatives to guardianship that ensure elders' true wishes are honored at every step of the aging journey.

Learn more about Project Guardianship: https://projectguardianship.org/

Learn more about supported decision-making: https://acl.gov/programs/consumer-control/supported-decision-making-program

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

In honor of National Nurses' Week, we're sitting down with Dr. Donna Fick – director of the Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at Penn State University – and three of her Ph.D. student-researchers, Thakshila Dasanayake, Olivia Rubio, and Nahida Akter.

While their backgrounds and upbringing couldn't be more different, these nursing leaders are bound by a desire to improve the lives of elders through groundbreaking research. By building on a growing evidence base for person-directed care and other more dignified and empowering interventions, Fick and her students are blazing a trail for the next generation of caregivers and elders.

Learn more about the Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence: https://www.nursing.psu.edu/cgne/

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

Workforce development remains the number-one issue for eldercare providers of all types, and this week, we're taking you inside a comprehensive, nationwide effort to build the care force of tomorrow.

Laura Thorn, director of the Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center, joins the podcast to discuss this vital project from the Administration for Community Living and the National Council on Aging. Along with CFI resource development specialist Ella Lawson, Thorn describes the goals of this grant-funded effort – including bringing together leaders from states to share real solutions that work – and ways that people from across the sector can get involved.

Learn more about the DCW Strategies Center: https://acl.gov/DCWcenter

Sign up for e-mail updates about the Center's work: https://www.ncoa.org/page/direct-care-workforce-strategies-center

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

From a very young age, Paddy Moore learned the value of speaking her mind and advocating for those facing discrimination and exclusion, and she turned those lessons into a lifetime of fighting for others – whether it was creating anti-poverty programs under the federal Office of Economic Opportunity, working to de-institutionalize care for people living with disabilities, or working to build small-home alternatives to traditional nursing homes on Martha's Vineyard, where she has lived since the 1970s.

Moore joins the podcast to talk about her formative years in progressive movements, her work with Navigator Homes of Martha's Vineyard to develop a Green House-inspired community, and her vision for the future of intergenerational advocacy.

Read the CoGenerate report on what young people think about intergenerational connections:https://cogenerate.org/young-leaders/

Learn more about Navigator Homes of Martha's Vineyard: https://www.navigatorhomesmv.org/

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/

You can't fix what you can't measure, and for too many years, advocates and officials have attempted to reform the nursing home system without an accurate accounting of multiple metrics – including the flow of money and the track records of owners.

CFI strategic advisor Anne Montgomery joins the podcast to discuss her efforts to bring greater transparency to the long-term care landscape, as well as her advocacy for the EINSTEIN Option – a comprehensive federal pilot program that would support a variety of transformation efforts, including workforce development and the construction of small-home nursing communities.

Read more about the EINSTEIN option: https://www.mcknights.com/news/advocates-call-for-aca-backed-demonstration-projects-in-nursing-home-sector/

Save the date for our annual conference, coming November 11-13: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/