Elevate Eldercare

Frequently lost in the debates over nursing home reform is an uncomfortable fact: the federal and state governments spend billions on care in outdated, understaffed institutions that don't always put residents' needs first, and we're all collectively getting what we're paying for.

By better aligning reimbursements with the factors that matter most to residents, families, and staff – private rooms, elder-directed programming, and sufficient wages and benefits – officials can change the long-term care landscape without necessarily changing a single regulation.

Laci Cornelison of Kansas State University's Center on Aging has been at the forefront of the push to link nursing home performance with reimbursement in her state. The Kansas PEAK 2.0 Project, for which Cornelison serves as coordinator, offers a blueprint for how other states and the federal government can incentivize change – and disincentivize the old broken model.

Learn more about the Kansas PEAK program: https://kdads.ks.gov/kdads-commissions/long-term-services-supports/peak

Explore the IMPROVE Nursing Homes Act: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/press-releases/green-house-pioneer-applaud-the-improve-nursing-homes-act/

Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org

Susan Ryan and Alex Spanko discuss a pair of interviews with care professionals conducted at the recent Pioneer Network conference.

First up, Lauren Flores – director of life enrichment at Green House adopter Mt. San Antonio Gardens in Pomona, Calif. – discusses her path from Disney to eldercare, and why she thinks more people should consider a pathway into working with elders.

Then, CNA Jonas Weitzman – better known to people on long-term care Twitter as @BigWrinkles – traces his journey from a job at a tech startup to caregiving at nursing homes during the pandemic.

Far too often, discussions about the "workforce crisis" in long-term care do not include the voices of the caregivers themselves, and we hope this episode offers a valuable window into what the very best caregivers need and want to stay and thrive in the sector.

Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org

Organizations in all industries have embraced the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their operations – but how can eldercare organizations go beyond trainings and workshops to create truly inclusive cultures?

We asked that question to a variety of leaders at the Pioneer Network conference this past July. Join an all-star team of voices from across the eldercare spectrum for a challenging, honest, and open conversation about the barriers that people of color, LGTBQ folks, and others still face when taking a seat at the table – and how we can work to make our communities welcome to all.

You'll hear from:

• Marvell Adams, Jr., founder and CEO of W Lawson and Green House Project board member
• Deke Cateau, CEO of A.G. Rhodes
• Ykeytta Spriggs, HR professional, Green House intern, and rising eldercare leader
• Sherrill Wayland, director of special initiatives at SAGE and program lead for the Long-Term Care Equality Index (LEI)
• Dan Stewart, associate director of the Aging Equality Project at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and LEI program co-lead

Learn about the Long-Term Care Equality Index: https://thelei.org/the-lei

Connect with Marvell Adams, Jr.: https://www.wlawsoncompany.com/

Read Brush Fire, Deke Cateau's book about his experiences at A.G. Rhodes during COVID: https://www.amazon.com/Brush-Fire-Covid-19-Nursing-Homes/dp/1638606692

Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org

The voices from the Pioneer Network conference continue to speak as Alex Spanko and Penny Cook break down a pair of interviews focusing on the need for inherent humanity – and not just medical care – in eldercare settings.

First up, Paul Falkowski discusses his advocacy for the vital role of nursing home volunteers, unsung heroes and lifelines for elders who were among those shut out of buildings during the pandemic. Paul challenges providers to see volunteers not just as extra hands for tasks but critical companions for elders who don't always interact with people outside of their caregiving teams.

Then Vicki DeKlerk-Rubin discusses validation training, the groundbreaking dementia care framework originally developed by her mother, Naomi Feil. Instead of challenging or scolding people with dementia for exhibiting aggression or confusion, validation training equips caregivers with tools designed to make elders feel heard, accepted, and understood.

Falkowski and DeKlerk-Rubin have different roles in person-directed care, but they have the same mission: caring for the whole person, not just a set of symptoms.

Learn more about Falkowski's work with VolunCheerLeader: https://voluncheerleader.com/

Explore the history and principles of validation training: https://vfvalidation.org/

Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org

In this edition of "Let Me Say This About That" we focus our discussion on health care innovations, a closer look at employees in skilled nursing and a new term for those team members – CAREFORCE, and why a formal alliance between the Green House Project and the Pioneer Network will be a single address for eldercare transformation.

This episode features: -Inside the Green House Project-Pioneer Network Alliance Penny Cook (Episode 152)

- Keep Learning, Keep Growing, Keep Thriving Louis Woolf (Episode 153)

- Respect, Wages, Education: Paying It Forward for CNAs Lori Porter (Episode 154)

- Beyond EAPs: Building the Mental Health Support Pyramid Kelly O'Shea Carney (Episode 155)

Learn more about Collage 360: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5627496/pdf/nihms854820.pdf

Take the Image of Aging Quiz: https://becca-levy.com/quiz/

Read more about Disseminating Innovations in Health Care: http://www.jvsmedicscorner.com/Miscellaneous_files/Disseminating%20innovation.pdf

Register for the conference in Denver! https://www.pioneernetwork.net/pioneering-a-new-culture-of-aging-2022-conference

Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org

During COVID, many long-term care organizations have leaned heavily on employee assistance programs (EAPs) to support employee mental health. While these programs are valuable, psychologist and consultant Kelly O'Shea Carney passionately argues that EAPs are just the tip of a pyramid of services and systems that providers must implement to truly foster mental wellbeing among residents and staff.

One-on-one interventions offered through one's employer can seem daunting for employees in any profession. Carney, a specialist in geropsychology and dementia care, joins the podcast to discuss the more natural ways that organizations can provide mental health services, from facilitating support groups for frontline staff and developing a culture where self-care is as important as resident care and regulatory compliance.

Carney – whose career in eldercare includes a stint as the executive director of Phoebe Ministries' Center for Excellence in Dementia Care – challenges providers to embrace the fact that every long-term care setting is a living, breathing community of humans, and caring for workers is a vital part of caring for elders.

Read Carney's recent article on strategies for creating wellbeing in health care settings: https://www.chausa.org/publications/health-progress/article/winter-2022/reducing-stress-and-fostering-well-being-among-health-care-staff

Learn about Carney's book on the vital need for better mental health supports for elders and workers in long-term care: https://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Long-Term-Care-Expanded-Professionals/dp/1433823667

Carney's website www.visionledchange.org.

Register for Pioneer Network's conference in Denver, July 27-30, your one chance to see Green House in person this year https://www.pioneernetwork.net/pioneering-a-new-culture-of-aging-2022-conference

Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org

When Lori Porter was a young CNA, she relied on the support – both moral and financial – of others to access the training she needed to advance her career.

As the co-founder and CEO of the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA), Porter has dedicated decades of her career to providing those opportunities for training and advancement to CNAs across the country.

Ahead of CNA Week 2022, Porter returns to "Elevate Eldercare" to discuss her top priorities for advancing the profession – a mission that recently received a huge boost from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Mathematics, which called for empowerment of CNAs as a top area of overall systemic reform.

Porter's experience as both a CNA and advocate brings an invaluable perspective often missing from the nursing home reform discourse, and her passion for the professionals who serve at the bedside is both an inspiration and a bold call to action.

Listen to Lori's first appearance on "Elevate Eldercare" from March 2021: https://greenhouseproject.libsyn.com/passion-and-fortitude-stories-from-a-cna-activist

Learn how to sponsor CNA memberships in NAHCA: https://www.nahcacna.org/champion-membership/

Access NAHCA's toolkit for celebrating CNA Week: https://www.nahcacna.org/cna-week/

Register for our conference with Pioneer Network in Denver July 27-30!

https://www.pioneernetwork.net/pioneering-a-new-culture-of-aging-2022-conference

Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org

Before he was the CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife, Louis Woolf's career started in consumer research, where he worked with Children's Television Workshop – the creators of "Sesame Street."

Those children's TV visionaries taught him a valuable lesson that he carries with him today: Whether it's young children, elders, people with disabilities, or other often marginalized groups, we do society a disservice when we assume that certain kinds of people can't learn, grow, and contribute to the world around them.

Woolf takes that commitment to ongoing growth seriously. Hebrew SeniorLife's home health and senior living programs challenge elders to set goals and stay active in their communities and passions – a philosophy that allows elders to thrive instead of simply managing their health conditions, with many residents even going in "reverse" from higher-acuity to lower-acuity settings.

Woolf joins "Elevate Eldercare" to discuss his organization's care strategy, as well as its creative strategy to bring more affordable – and more integrated – independent living options to more elders, regardless of income or health needs.

Learn more about Hebrew SeniorLife: https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org/

Register for our upcoming in-person conference with Pioneer Network in Denver, July 27-30! https://www.pioneernetwork.net/pioneering-a-new-culture-of-aging-2022-conference

Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org

Since we announced a formal alliance with Pioneer Network this spring, we've gotten a lot of questions: Why now? What will happen to the Pioneer brand? What are your plans for the future?

In this bonus episode, Pioneer Network CEO Penny Cook joins Susan Ryan for answers to those questions and more – including an exploration of Pioneer and GHP's overlapping histories and a preview of our shared event in Denver July 27-30.

In short, we're trying to build a single address for eldercare transformation, a place where organizations and individual changemakers can find all the resources and support they need to go beyond the status quo in long-term care.

Listen in and join us on our journey!

Learn more about the mission and history of Pioneer Network: https://www.pioneernetwork.net/

Register for the conference in Denver! https://www.pioneernetwork.net/pioneering-a-new-culture-of-aging-2022-conference

Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org

As we close out Older Americans Month, "Elevate Eldercare" takes a wider look at the societal problem of ageism with Paul Irving, the former president of the Milken Institute and the founding chair of its Center for the Future of Aging.

Irving, now a senior fellow at the institute, shares his bold vision of a future where people are just as excited at the prospect of aging as they are by other life milestones like college, marriage, and parenthood.

Join us for a challenging and thought-provoking conversation on how we can build a world where aging means continuing to learn, grow, and contribute – and where we stop asking people what the want to be when they grow up, and instead ask them what they want to do when they're old.

Learn more about the Center for the Future of Aging at the Milken Institute: https://milkeninstitute.org/centers/center-for-the-future-of-aging

Explore Encore, an organization that encourages intergenerational collaboration: www.encore.org

Join us at Pioneer Network's annual conference in Denver, July 27-30: https://www.pioneernetwork.net/pioneering-a-new-culture-of-aging-2022-conference

Show notes/call to action: Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org