Elevate Eldercare

In this week's episode, Al Power sits down again with Susan Ryan. Al is an internationally recognized dementia expert whose books, Dementia Beyond Drugs and Dementia Beyond Disease, are must reads for anyone supporting people living with dementia. His astute insights and expertise provide a voice of clarity that provokes us to think differently and apply approaches that value the unique needs of each person.

In this recap Marla and Mary take a closer look at Al's work at St. John's in Rochester and why he says it "became my lab for doing culture change". He is most proud of the work that continues at St. John's and why he was so pleased that he could move his mom into the Penfield Green House homes.

You might be surprised to learn that instead of becoming a geriatrician Al almost dedicated his career to music. Marla explores his latest music venture with singer/co-writer Anne Hills. The new album is called "Accidental August", and you'll enjoy hearing a bit of the music and what the lyrics include.

We also explore Al's passionate comments about society and COVID-19 and how "we have totally medicalized and pathologized the lives of people with dementia".

For more information on Al's recent music with Anne Hills: www.annehills.com

Read more about St. John's and the Penfield Green House homes: https://pressfrom.info/us/lifestyle/health-fitness/-567274-keeping-the-pandemic-at-bay-in-small-group-nursing-homes.html

In this week's episode, Al Power sits down again with Susan Ryan. Al is an internationally recognized dementia expert whose books, Dementia Beyond Drugs and Dementia Beyond Disease, are must reads for anyone supporting people living with dementia. His astute insights and expertise provide a voice of clarity that provokes us to think differently and apply approaches that value the unique needs of each person.

While this week's episode was recorded at the end of September 2020 and the discussion included some sobering statistics for COVID-related deaths among residents and staff in long-term care for the months of July and August. Al shares his thoughts on the especially harsh impact the coronavirus has had on people living with dementia and the associated ageism, ableism, stereotypes, and inequities in the system that exacerbate these challenges.

He also examines the devastating social isolation and loneliness that have occurred in nursing homes and offers candid perspectives and parameters for making decisions and negotiating risk for resuming visitation and fostering social connections.

Follow Dr. Power on Twitter: @AlPower12

The essential theme of this recap episode is "Rethinking our Approaches and our Mindset." Marla and Mary review the 37th episode of Elevate Eldercare with Susan Ryan and her good friend, Dr. Emi Kiyota. Emi is an environmental gerontologist and organizational culture change specialist.

She is also the founder and director of Ibasho, an approach that seeks to make communities more inclusive and resilient by empowering elders.

Both of us were fascinated by Emi's insight and unique perspective on the role of elders through co-designing socially integrated and resilient communities with elders both in developed countries and in developing parts of the world.

Marla calls Emi a "real thinker" and explores why each of us should be taking time to think! Find out more about the Ibasho café and what is included in the eight Ibasho principles.

Learn more about Emi here: https://www.gbhi.org/profiles/emi-kiyota

Read more about taking time to reflect: https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/the-two-hour-rule-taking-time-to-think

In today's episode, Susan Ryan engages her good friend, Dr. Emi Kiyota, an internationally recognized thought leader on issues relating to healthy aging, in a conversation about the importance of multi-generational design, the value of reciprocity, and creating opportunities for elders to give back to their communities.

Emi is the founder of Ibasho, an approach that seeks to make communities more inclusive and resilient by empowering elders. Emi describes the Ibasho concept, how it came to be, the critical elements for success, both in design and philosophy, its global reach, and her work in bringing the concept to the United States.

Finally, Emi and Susan talk about COVID-19 and its profound global challenges, not the least of which is the tension that exists between mitigating the spread of the virus with good infection control measures, and the critical need for elders to be socially connected.

For more information on Ibasho: https://ibasho.org/

Connect with Emi here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emi-kiyota-47a02410/

In this recap, Marla and Mary discuss the 35th episode of Elevate Eldercare where Susan Ryan sits down with her good friend and colleague, Mike Belleville. After a career in telecommunications and as a member of the Rhode Island National Guard for over a decade, Mike was diagnosed with early onset dementia.

While devastating, Mike has not let the diagnosis define him. He currently serves on the board of directors for Dementia Action Alliance and the Council on Aging.

Mike is adamant about using his voice to encourage and advocate for others and challenge beliefs and stigmas about people living with dementia.

Marla and Mary take a deeper dive into Mike's "Four Myths of Dementia." He initially delivered that message at a Green House Annual Meeting in 2018 and recently updated it for a special presentation to Green House partners. Find out why a line from one of Mike's favorite movies is his motto these days. And Mary talks about why a driving simulator created such a memorial moment for Mike and why you should never assume you know what might be meaningful to someone.

Mike's "Four Myths of Dementia" presentation: https://youtu.be/YS8KKGPrh-o

Susan Ryan sits down with her good friend and colleague, Mike Belleville. After a career in telecommunications and as a member of the Rhode Island National Guard for over a decade, Mike was diagnosed with early onset dementia.

While devastating, Mike has not let the diagnosis define him. He currently serves on the board of directors for Dementia Action Alliance and the Council on Aging. He recently participated in a year-long dementia initiative hosted by The Green House Project, known as Best Life Impact, where he offered counsel and guidance to nursing home providers and care teams across the country to better equip them to support people living with dementia.

Mike is adamant about using his voice to encourage and advocate for others and challenge beliefs and stigmas about people living with dementia.

Mike, who is joined by his wife, Cheryl, in this episode, talks about the power of family and relationships in providing support, understanding, and acceptance. The couple describe the path they took to find hope and tangible solutions in their journey and the need for caregiver support and respite, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on routines, normalcy and vital human connections.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-r-belleville-584b1b40

Find out more about the work of the Dementia Action Alliance here: https://daanow.org/

Marla and Mary recap this week's episode where Susan Ryan sat down with two architects from Perkins Eastman (PE), David Hoglund and Martin Siefering. David is a principal and executive director of PE, providing leadership for the firm's global senior living practice. Martin, also a principal and co-leader of PE's senior living practice, joined the firm in 1990, and leads many of the firm's most challenging and complex senior living projects.

Marla and Mary discuss how these two architects first got interested in designing for the senior community. Anyone remember Lawrence Welk? Find out why his name came up!

Both architects have a fierce determination to build homes that serve elders and staff members yet foster social connections and deep relationships.

Marla takes a look at why bringing in ideas from analogous fields turns out to be a potential source of radical innovation – and both David and Martin are forward thinking leaders.

Both architects have built Green House homes and Mary takes you on a short history of what types of GH homes have been developed over the years and why that innovation needed to happen.

Find out more about collaborating with different fields here: https://hbr.org/2014/11/sometimes-the-best-ideas-come-from-outside-your-industry

Find out more about the design of GH homes: https://www.thegreenhouseproject.org/solutions/build-a-green-house-home

Susan Ryan sits down with two architects, David Hoglund and Martin Siefering, from global architecture firm Perkins Eastman. David and Martin are co-leaders of the firm's senior living practice. Both are passionate about planning and designing compassionate and forward-thinking care for our elders.

With this in mind, Susan, David, and Martin discuss the physical environment in creating spaces that are conducive to building social connections and relationships for those that live and work in them, and how important it is to incorporate all stakeholders in the design process.

David and Martin examine the architecture and design through the lens of COVID-19 and infection control. In addition, they share why they believe the Green House/small house model is here to stay and how design elements of the model can help us rethink and reimagine the industry to spur further growth and innovation.

Finally, they talk about their Clean Slate Project and how that has informed their thoughts on the future and evolution of senior living.

Connect with David Hoglund here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-david-hoglund-faia-leed-ap-414bb3b

Connect with Martin Siefering here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-siefering-95582621

Robert Kramer, president & founder of Nexus Insights, is the focus of this recap with Mary and Marla. He spoke with Susan Ryan about something he knows very well: the seniors housing industry. Kramer, who founded the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC) and now serves as its strategic advisor, has lots to say about the pandemic's impact on the industry as well as the opportunities it presents.

Marla takes a deeper dive into the Jobs to be Done theory that Kramer mentioned. Find out what a milkshake has to do with it! Mary takes a closer look at why he thinks we need an engagement or contributor model of long-term care and how future congregate settings should look and feel more like your college days!

Mary and Marla also discuss his thoughts on design for the future of long-term care and how recent research on leadership and COVID-19 result in some interesting insights.

Find out more about Jobs to Be Done here: https://www.christenseninstitute.org/jobs-to-be-done/

Article with Dr. Jacquelyn Kung and Robert Kramer: https://www.mcknights.com/blogs/guest-columns/great-workplace-culture-can-save-lives-amid-pandemic/

Robert Kramer, president & founder of Nexus Insights, speaks with Susan Ryan about something Kramer knows very well: the seniors housing industry. Kramer, who founded the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC) and now serves as its strategic advisor, has lots to say about the pandemic's impact on the industry as well as the opportunities it presents.

Kramer, who draws from his experience as a state legislator, explains why he thinks the pandemic is a "huge opportunity" that would be shameful to waste. He also notes that those who work in the field should be proud of the great work they are doing.

Finally, find out why he believes that boosting community-based services will be good for nursing homes and how we shouldn't lose sight of the importance of preventing social isolation and loneliness among elders during a crisis.

Find out more about Kramer's company, Nexus Insights here: https://www.nexusinsights.net/