Elevate Eldercare

This week's episode of "Let Me Say This About That" covers two major topics all thanks to Katie Smith Sloan, president, and CEO of LeadingAge. Susan Ryan talked with her on Episode 59.

Get your seat belt fastened for this episode – it's packed with information and insights! Not only do we highlight the work and leadership of Sloan and LeadingAge, but we also take a deep dive into two areas she discussed with Susan.

We explore Level 5 Leadership – what it is, what it includes, and how it connects to Sloan, who describes herself as a quiet leader.

When Sloan was asked about the new administration in the White House, she mentioned that her biggest fear is our hyper partisan world. What does that mean in our country? We explore the polarization of America and that sparked research and discussion on a number of articles and some very tangible resources for you to use.

More about Level 5 Leadership here: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/level-5-leadership.htm

More about the cost of polarization in our country here: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_is_the_true_cost_of_polarization_in_america

More about Braver Angels here: https://braverangels.org/talking-across-the-political-divide/

More about Social Media here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-social-media-makes-us-more-polarized-and-how-to-fix-it/

Susan Ryan sits down with Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, an organization that represents more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations.

Sloan talks about LeadingAge, what it does, why it exists, and how the organization has used its voice to lead during the pandemic by interpreting changing guidance to produce tangible tools and resources for its members. She examines the power of a story to positively impact the national narrative about nursing homes and talks about leading during the most horrific time in our history.

In addition, Sloan talks about ageism, the associated devaluation of older adults, and how that has led to the nursing home crisis amid the pandemic.

More about LeadingAge here: www.leadingage.org

What better way to kick off your Valentine's Day weekend than learning about a leader who truly believes in a culture of love to operate a home care agency in the Baltimore, Md., area.

In Episode 57, Susan Ryan sat down with Danny O'Brien, founding CEO of Avila Home Care. At a time when the senior living field is re-evaluating the challenges of congregate care during a pandemic, home care is often the option that emerges as the solution for many people.

In this recap, Marla and Mary explore what it takes to fully embrace a culture of love and the qualities needed by the leader of the organization. They discuss the ten important characteristics of Servant Leadership and how O'Brien exemplifies each one.

Find out more about Servant Leadership here: https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/

Susan Ryan sits down with Danny O'Brien, founding CEO of Avila Home Care, a growing home care agency serving the Baltimore, Md., area. Prior to founding Avila, O'Brien served as senior pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Timonium, Md., with a congregation of over 2,500 families.

At a time when the senior living field is re-evaluating the challenges of congregate care during a pandemic, home care is often the option that emerges as the solution. O'Brien offers incredible insight into the factors that make home care work. His background as a pastor and as a frequent public speaker on topics that span senior living, leadership, and matters relating to faith is reflected in his conversation with Ryan.

This motivating and inspiring conversation is laced with snippets of O'Brien's path to ministry and ultimately how, in 2016, he made the decision to start a home care agency.

Lastly, he describes how word-of-mouth referrals helped to expand his caregiver workforce to more than 400 caregivers—all done without running a single ad! To this end, O'Brien explores the power of relationships in growing his business, and the role of leadership to shape a culture that prioritizes people, including the compensation philosophy and strategies he utilized during COVID-19 to keep caregivers safe.

Find out more about Avila Home Care here: https://avilahomecare.com/

In Episode 55, Susan Ryan had a conversation with George Everly, PhD, professor at the Center Humanitarian Health in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is also Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Since 2016 he has been ranked the leading author in the world in the field of crisis intervention, having authored 20 books and 100 published papers.

This week's recap with Marla and Mary takes a closer look into the crisis intervention programs discussed by Dr. Everly. We are all familiar with traditional first aid training so why not Psychological First Aid training? We explore RISE and why it was developed at Johns Hopkins—a unique peer to peer support program focusing on resilience.

Dr. Everly referred to the impact of social isolation and the principle of unintended consequences. We discuss that impact on elders and Marla shares a list of unique ideas for all of us to consider in our work to combat loneliness and build resilience during this pandemic.

Find out more about loneliness here:

https://www.worth.com/loneliness-the-hidden-pandemic-that-erodes-your-worth/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-disaster-strikes-inside-disaster-psychology/202011/psychological-survival-and-the-second

Susan Ryan sits down with George Everly, PhD, professor at the Center for Humanitarian Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Since 2016, he has been ranked the leading author in the world in the field of crisis intervention, having authored 20 books and 100 published papers.

Given Dr. Everly's achievements, Ryan taps into his wisdom and insights to tackle the growing workforce fatigue and stress brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He shares his observations gained through his experiences in responding to major disasters around the globe and talks about a model that helps to predict the psychological toxicity of any given disaster.

In addition, Dr. Everly examines how COVID-19 ranks by way of toxicity and further describes psychological first aid, what it is and is not, and why it is critically important to acquire at such a time as this.

Finally, Dr. Everly addresses the unintended consequences of social isolation, and gives some thought-provoking insights, questions, and a call to action.

Find Dr. Everly's research work here: https://www.jhsph.edu/faculty/directory/profile/209/george-s-everly

This week's recap with Marla and Mary explores a purposeful healthcare strategy for older adults. It's all part of the John A. Hartford Foundation and the "big idea" from its president and CEO, Terry Fulmer. She is definitely a woman on a mission!

In Episode 53, Susan Ryan had an inspiring conversation with Terry. She holds master's and doctoral degrees from Boston College, and her Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Post-Master's Certificate from NYU. She serves as the chief strategist for the Foundation, and is fueled by her passion for older adults, exceptional visionary skills, and preponderance for action.

Marla and Mary take a close look at the Age-Friendly Health approach and what it means for clinicians and what the "4M's" provide YOU in seeking better healthcare. Find out why Joyce Clifford was one of Terry's nursing idols. And Marla shares an interesting project to empower adults to prepare for their future and take the initiative to talk to their doctors, family and friends about what matters most to them at life's end.

Find out more about the 4M's here: https://www.johnahartford.org/images/uploads/resources/Better-Care-for-You-Guide-to-the-4Ms.pdf

Find out more about the Stanford Letter Project here: http://med.stanford.edu/letter/about.html

http://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/letter/documents/Letter-English.pdf

Susan Ryan sits down with Terry Fulmer, president and CEO of the John A. Hartford Foundation. Terry holds master's and doctoral degrees from Boston College, and her Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Post-Master's Certificate from NYU. She serves as the chief strategist for the Foundation, and is fueled by her passion for older adults, exceptional visionary skills, and preponderance for action.

Terry and Susan explore that history of the foundation and their priority areas, including a look at Age-Friendly Health Systems, why they are important, and where to find valuable and practical resources for consumers.

Terry talks about the COVID-19 crisis, the foundation's response to it, and her experience serving on the Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes. She also offers some provocative ideas for elevating eldercare—asking "why not," and "what if." As a woman of action, Terry believes it's time speak up and speak out in order to find solutions.

Find out more about the John A. Hartford Foundation here: https://www.johnahartford.org/

In this recap Marla and Mary highlight key concepts revealed in Episode 50 where Susan Ryan sat down with Deke Cateau, CEO of A.G. Rhodes, a non-profit long-term care organization with three communities in Georgia. Deke discusses the challenges of the COVID crisis, the personal grief he has experienced as his community endured the pandemic, and the resolve of leadership to curtail the spread of the infection.

In this recap it's a "Back to Basics" look at leadership, relationships and what COVID has taught us. Deke spoke passionately about each of those topics. Marla gives us some insight into his quotes from military leaders and his belief that COVID is a war. We discuss his unique reference to a "double pandemic" – the COVID crisis and racism. We discuss how Deke lead his team and the introspection the organization ultimately needed to undergo.

Find out more about leadership and management in a crisis here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/07/17/management-in-crisis-the-best-leadership-style-to-adopt-in-times-of-crisis/?sh=4e8545317cb4

Susan Ryan sits down with Deke Cateau, CEO of A.G. Rhodes, a non-profit long-term care organization with three communities in Georgia. Deke discusses the challenges of the COVID crisis, the personal grief he has experienced as his community endured the pandemic, and the resolve of leadership to curtail the spread of the infection.

Deke shares why he believes truth and transparency in communication are key to gaining public trust, and how that strategy played out during the crisis.

Deke, a native of Trinidad, calls himself a double minority, and he offers unique perspectives on what he describes as a "double pandemic" – the COVID crisis and racism.

Finally, he envisions a better future and issues a call to action to a wide stakeholder group that addresses our biggest challenges and systemic flaws.

Find out more about A.G. Rhodes here: https://www.agrhodes.org/