Shows
Elevate EldercareDignity in Aging Through Policy Innovation, Community Engagement, and Collective AdvocacyIn today’s episode, AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan sits down with Ben Veghte, director the WA Cares Fund, a state-run entity that provides working Washingtonians a way to earn access to long-term care benefits that will be available to eligible individuals. when they need them. Ben shares his inspiring journey from studying capitalism and social justice in Germany to directing the Fund. He and Susan explore why integrating housing, healthcare, and community is essential for aging with dignity, and he highlights the influence of the Dutch model—which prioritizes person-centered care, affordable housing, and strong community supports.
2025-08-2057 minElevate EldercareAgingIN: From Rebrand to Renewed Purpose in Person-Directed LivingThis podcast’s producer, Center or Innovation, now has a new name: AgingIN. With a mission to be the catalyst for person-directed living and empowered cultures in the community of one’s choice, AgingIN’s rebrand and new strategic direction was ushered in through a partnership with 3rd3rd Marketing, a marketing firm that specializes in senior living. In today’s episode, Susan Ryan sits down with Cynthia Thurlow, founder of 3rd3rd. Inspired by personal experiences with her grandmother and father, Cynthia’s journey into eldercare is deeply rooted in empathy, innovation, and a passion for improving...
2025-08-1351 minElevate EldercareTop Eldercare Policy Priorities for 2024 and BeyondAs 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 ye...
2024-11-0641 minElevate EldercareEliminating the Barriers Between Care Levels — and PeopleEven 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 ce...
2024-10-301h 03Elevate EldercareLeading Through Lifelong Learning and GrowthAs 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 stu...
2024-10-231h 01Elevate EldercareBreaking Through the Providers vs. Regulators FrameworkFar 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.
2024-10-1650 minElevate EldercareSpeaking Up for Nursing Home Residents EverywhereAs 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 disc...
2024-10-0942 minElevate EldercareThe Beauty and Benefits of Music TherapyIn 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...
2024-10-0259 minElevate EldercareWorking Toward Equity in the Aging ExperienceEquity 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 C...
2024-09-2541 minElevate EldercareA Pacesetter for Positive Change in Dementia CareTo be the developer of The Green House Project’s BEST LIFE Approach for supporting persons living with dementia, it takes a very special commitment to person-directed living, the dignity of risk taking, and maintaining mobility. This is certainly the case for today’s guest, Anne Ellett. As a certified nurse practitioner and gerontological nurse, a dementia specialist, educator, author and speaker who continues to learn from persons living with dementia, Ellett brings a perspective that few others in the field can. She sits down with Susan Ryan to talk about her unique journey in dement...
2024-09-181h 00Elevate EldercareThe Quest for Dementia-InclusionUpholding 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 m...
2024-09-1158 minElevate EldercareFrom Corporate Exec to Homeboy IndustriesIf you’ve never heard Homeboy Industries, you’re just a brief Google search away from discovering an incredible nonprofit that is considered to be the most the most successful gang intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the country. In this episode, Susan Ryan talks with Homeboy CEO Tom Vozzo, who will also give the opening keynote talk at our upcoming Center for Innovation 2024 conference this November. His book, “The Homeboy Way,” examines the many lessons he’s learned as CEO and how to bring the Homeboy philosophy to life as the perfect antidote to the massive tidal curre...
2024-09-0445 minElevate EldercareThe Social Prescription ConnectionBiophilia, the desire or tendency to commune with nature, is top of mind for author Julia Hotz, who joins the podcast to talk about her new book “The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging.” Hotz explains how the phenomenon of social prescribing, a non-medical approach to improving health by connecting with nature and community resources, is catching on in the United States after taking root in the United Kingdom. In addition to examining the research behind her book, she offers anecdotes to illustrate the power of nature, the arts, and ha...
2024-08-2849 minElevate EldercareProtecting Elders’ Right to Vote — Wherever They Call HomeIt’s a presidential election year in the United States, with politics dominating the headlines from now until November. For many older people living in communal care settings, the ability to vote isn’t always guaranteed, even though it’s a baseline right that citizens do not lose as they age. Kate Poppenhagen, formerly the long-term care ombudsman for Larimer County, Colo. and currently a Ph.D student in social gerontology, joins the podcast to discuss a new effort to ensure all elders can vote this November, regardless of where they call home — and regardless of the candidat...
2024-08-2148 minElevate EldercareThe Secrets of Resilient LeadershipThe ability to navigate crises is a vital trait for any leader — and so is the ability to emerge from a crisis stronger, bolder, and better than before. Dr. George Everly, a renowned psychologist who helped to pioneer the field of disaster mental health, joins the podcast to discuss the keys to strong, steady leadership both during and after crises — such as the COVID-19 pandemic in eldercare. Everly will lead a two-part masterclass session on the five pillars of transformative, resilient leadership at the Center for Innovation Conference, bringing together the Green House Project and Pion...
2024-08-1446 minElevate EldercareBuilding a Longevity-Ready Eldercare SystemSo many of the systems in place to support older Americans were created at a time when people didn’t expect to live much longer than 65, and the concept of retirement was a handful of years at most. Part of true system reform is acknowledging that elders today and tomorrow aren’t the same as they were decades ago, and that we must create new structures and systems to better match our changing demographics. This week, Maryland Department of Aging secretary Carmel Roques joins the podcast to discuss the Longevity-Ready Maryland Initiative – a comprehensive plan aimed...
2024-08-071h 08Elevate EldercareAligning Regulations with What Residents, Workers WantDeke Cateau is the kind of leader that the eldercare community desperately needs more of: committed to creating better environments for elders regardless of the challenges, willing to have nuanced conversations about the need for smarter regulations, and always inspiring others to do more than the status quo. The A.G. Rhodes CEO joins the podcast to discuss his Atlanta-based organization’s new household-model community for elders living with dementia, his vision for better alignment between regulations and what stakeholders actually want, and other perspectives from an already illustrious career as a forward-thinking eldercare champion. Le...
2024-08-0151 minElevate EldercareThe Universal, International Language of Small HomesWe go down under this week to speak with Angela Raguz, the chief operating and risk officer for HammondCare — a pioneering operator of small-home eldercare cottages in Australia, and one of CFI’s partners in the Household Model International Consortium. Angela dives into her 30-year career at the forefront of dignified and radically non-institutional eldercare services and supports, whether it happens in HammondCare’s small homes or in communities across the country through Dementia Support Australia, the organization’s direct outreach arm for individuals, families, and caregivers. Learn more about HammondCare and Dementia Support Australia: https...
2024-07-2452 minElevate EldercareBuilding Bridges Between Eldercare and Disability AdvocacyTireless advocate Carrie Leljedal returns to the podcast to discuss her work to bridge the worlds of advocacy for elders and people living with disabilities, which began after her adult son experienced a prolonged lockdown away from family and friends during the pandemic. She turned her anger and frustration into a new career as a champion for essential caregiver legislation, ensuring that families are never again locked away from loved ones — no matter what kind of care community they call home. Learn more about Caregivers for Compromise: https://caregivers4compromise.com/ Read the bill: https://ww...
2024-07-1753 minElevate EldercareGrow Bolder with Green House and Pioneer This FallIt’ll soon be that time again: We’re gathering the Green House Project and Pioneer Network communities together at the Center for Innovation conference, coming to Grand Rapids, Mich. from November 11-13. This week, join CFI team members Susan Ryan, Marla DeVries, and Stacey Bergmann for a preview of the conference, a discussion of why in-person connections are so important at this point in the history of eldercare, and what sets our event apart from others on the conference circuit. Take advantage of low early bird rates on our conference: https://thegreenhouseproject.org/2024-conference/
2024-07-1046 minElevate EldercareRethinking Technology’s Role in Eldercare and Senior LivingAcross all industries, it can be difficult to separate promising, useful tech solutions from the hype — especially in senior living and eldercare, which have historically been slow to adopt even basic systems like electronic health records and high-speed wifi. Parasol Alliance CEO Amber Bardon has spent nearly a decade trying to change that reality, working with providers across the spectrum to adopt and implement comprehensive technology plans. She joins the podcast to explain why leaders must rethink their organizations’ relationships with tech: Instead of “IT” being a person who stops by every once in a while to fix a bu...
2024-06-2644 minElevate EldercareLearning from Household Models Around the WorldWhile 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 acro...
2024-06-1951 minElevate EldercareLeading with Love: Celebrating and Supporting LGBTQ+ EldersWith 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 safe...
2024-06-1244 minElevate EldercareFighting Ageism Everywhere — Even Within the Eldercare SectorJust 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 ou...
2024-06-0549 minElevate EldercareBuilding Intentional, Active Communities for Elders — and Everyone ElseSteve 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/
2024-05-2946 minElevate EldercareDetermined to Spread Design Equity in Eldercare and Beyondnequities 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...
2024-05-2251 minElevate EldercareCreating Person-Directed Alternatives to GuardianshipAs 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 journe...
2024-05-1544 minElevate EldercareMeet the Nursing Leaders Building the Next Generation of EldercareIn 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...
2024-05-081h 00Elevate EldercareInside the Direct Care Workforce Strategies CenterWorkforce 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 ge...
2024-05-0138 minElevate EldercareLessons from a Lifetime of AdvocacyFrom 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 Vine...
2024-04-2454 minElevate EldercareImproving Nursing Home Care with Transparent DataYou 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...
2024-04-1739 minElevate EldercareOpening Creative Doors for People Living in LTCWhen Jennilie Brewster first started inquiring about volunteering at the Coler nursing campus on New York City’s Roosevelt Island, she never imagined that her work with the residents would have a national impact. Brewster – a writer, painter, and film producer – joins the podcast to discuss her work with OPEN DOORS NYC and the Reality Poets, a group of younger men of color, each affected by gun violence, who all found themselves living at Coler. What started as a powerful creative pursuit soon turned into a nationwide movement in the wake of COVID-19, as the Reality Poets filmed...
2024-04-1052 minElevate EldercareBalancing Risk, Responsibility, and Reward with Aging Tech: Part IIThe topic of responsibly integrating technology into eldercare communities is so rich and complex that we needed two episodes with Joe Velderman, vice president of innovation at Cypress Living in Fort Myers, Fla. to capture it all. Velderman returns to dive into the specific tech solutions that his organization has adopted across its life plan community, Cypress Cove, as well as its commitment to incorporating the resident voice into its technology decisions – and the role he sees technology playing in the lives of elders in the not-so-distant future. Explore Cypress Living’s services for older adul...
2024-04-0358 minElevate EldercareTackling Diversity and Inclusion on All FrontsMarvell Adams, Jr. not only talks the talk when it comes to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in eldercare – he walks the walk, holding multiple roles across the eldercare spectrum where he brings people of all ages, races, socioeconomic backgrounds, and points of view together to move the sector forward. Adams, who serves on the Center for Innovation board as treasurer, joins the podcast to discuss his work with his own consulting firm, W Lawson, and its Longevity + Inclusion Alliance Fellows Program; his new role as CEO of the Caregiver Action Network, which supports caregivers of all ty...
2024-03-2752 minElevate EldercareEquipping Solo Agers for SuccessReminiscent of the ageist discourse around the “silver tsunami,” the concept of people aging without the support of children or a spouse – once referred to as “elder orphans” – is far too often discussed as a problem, and not a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a new phase of life with friends, neighbors, and other people who bring us joy. Sara Geber helped to popularize the term “solo agers” to describe this cohort of older people, and she joins the podcast today to discuss the ways that people without extended support networks can still thrive as they get older. The author of se...
2024-03-2056 minElevate EldercareBuilding New Frameworks to Tackle Racial Inequality in EldercareThe idea that structural racism has a direct impact on all facets of American life – including the experiences of elders in care settings – shouldn’t be a controversial statement in 2024, but far too often, the question of equity and race-conscious policymaking gets wrapped up into a broader political discourse. Shekinah Fashaw-Walters, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, joins the podcast to discuss her framework for directly and bluntly addressing the racial disparities and inequities that plague our eldercare system – and her prescriptions for creating new policies, both at the legal and building...
2024-03-1353 minElevate EldercareRemembering Naomi Feil, a Pioneer of Dignified Dementia CareNaomi Feil, who originally developed the Validation method of supporting and communicating with people living with dementia, died this past December 24 at the age of 91. This week, we’re celebrating Naomi’s life with her daughter – and fellow champion for the dignity of people living with dementia – Vicki de Klerk-Rubin, executive director of the Validation Training Institute. Join us for a fascinating conversation about Naomi’s life, including her early-life escape from Nazi Germany, her formative experiences with elders, and the spread of the Validation method around the world. Seeing the human behind the diagno...
2024-03-0653 minElevate EldercareFinding the Will to Change Systems and Champion EquityTetyana Shippee first became fascinated with the power of structural forces to shape individual lives as a grad student from Ukraine studying the sociology of addiction in the United States. That academic interest soon expanded into gerontology and elder issues – including a two-year stint living in a continuing care retirement community as part of her studies. Shippee, now a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the associate director for research at the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation, joins the podcast to talk about her work to improve the systems that so of...
2024-02-2853 minElevate EldercareBalancing Risk, Responsibility, and Reward with Aging TechArtificial intelligence is the tech buzzword of the moment, but as eldercare providers know, implementing any technology in the aging space comes with its own unique set of concerns – even solutions that don’t go as far as generating complex written narratives or autonomously analyzing resident data. At Cypress Living, a senior living and home health provider in Fort Myers, Fla., VP of innovation Joe Velderman works to strike the right balance between embracing new technology and maintaining thehuman touch that people of all ages need when receiving care and support services. Velderman joins “Elevate Elderc...
2024-02-2149 minElevate EldercareBanding Together to Protect Empowering, Non-Profit CareAs non-profit nursing home operators continue to shutter their doors and cede ground to for-profits, one organization in New England is helping mission-driven organizations honor their unique legacies while providing vital, centralized logistical support. Legacy Lifecare chief philanthropy officer/founding executive Barry Berman and chief operating officer Betsy Mullen join the podcast to talk about their growing network of non-profit providers, as well as their incredible work at the Leonard Florence Center for Living – the first urban Green House community that for years has changed the lives of elders and people living with conditions such as multiple sc...
2024-02-1451 minElevate EldercareIncubating Innovations from Ideas to PracticeIndividuals and companies frequently develop new solutions to make life easier for elders and caregivers, but not all of them have what it takes to actually make the jump from theory to widespread practice. In Australia, that’s where ARIIA – Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia – comes in. Since 2021, ARIIA has funded a host of projects to test a range of technological innovations, workforce processes, and service delivery models, all with the goal of helping the best solutions scale across the country. The group also translates cutting-edge research into new best practices into easy-to-understand summaries that caregivers can di...
2024-02-0753 minElevate EldercareBuilding Safe, Empowering Spaces for Family CaregiversIn an eldercare field that’s populated with unseen and unsung heroes, family members of people living with dementia can often feel the most isolated and underrepresented. In the Greater Manchester area of the United Kingdom, Empowered Conversations creates safe, brave spaces for small cohorts of people on the caregiving journey to take a step away from their day-to-day stresses and struggles. By providing new skills and a non-judgmental forum for caregivers to openly sharetheir emotions, the program brings real benefits for both caregivers and people living with dementia alike. Empowered Conversations project manager Emma Sm...
2024-01-3153 minElevate EldercareFostering Creativity, Growth, and Fulfillment in Nursing HomesFar too often, people – even well-meaning folks who work in the field – fail to see nursing home residents as humans capable of the same growth, creativity, and fulfillment as people living in private homes. In fact, this ageism and ableism is a major reason why our imagination around reforming communal care settings is so narrowly focused on individual health metrics, and not overall wellbeing. Andres “Jay” Molina is living proof that one’s life as a productive, curious human doesn’t end upon moving into a nursing home. Since coming to New York City’s Coler nursing community at a...
2024-01-2433 minElevate EldercareDiversify the Perspectives, Reimagine the CareAs eldercare CEOs and women of color, Anita Holt and Frances Salinas are relative rarities in a sector that’s supposed to serve people of all races and backgrounds equally. They join the podcast this week to discuss their work at their respective communities – Holt at The Forest at Duke in Durham, N.C. and Salinas at Wesley Willows in Rockford, Ill. – and the various ways that emphasizing diversity has improved both care and the workforce. Holt and Salinas remind us that diversity is about ensuring that people of all genders, races, sexual orientations, and ethnic...
2024-01-171h 03Elevate EldercareRevisiting – and Re-Energizing – Teaching Nursing HomesRevisiting the Teaching Nursing Home was designed to pair Pennsylvania nursing homes with area schools of nursing, introducing up-and-coming nurses to careers in eldercare while also infusing age-friendly care practices into the communities’ operations. But according to Nancy Zionts, the primary investigator on the project – as well as the chief operating officer and chief program officer at the Pittsburgh-based Jewish Healthcare Foundation – the program went beyond the clinical, bringing an energy and enthusiasm to the participating nursing homes that had been sorely lacking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zionts joins the podcast to discuss the program’s succes...
2024-01-1056 minElevate EldercarePredicting the Future of Eldercare InnovationRobert Kramer – the founder of think tank Nexus Insights, as well as the co-founder and former CEO of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) – returns to “Elevate Eldercare” for another stimulating discussion on the big-picture future of eldercare. As providers and advocates focus on the individual issues facing the sector, such as persistent staffing shortages and new regulations, Kramer challenges everyone to think bigger about the types of services and supports that they’d want for themselves one day – and that, more pressingly, the Baby Boom generation will come to expect from an industry that too oft...
2024-01-0359 minElevate EldercareHighlights, Hardships, Hesitations, and Hope: 2023 in ReviewEvery December, we use the last “Elevate Eldercare” episode of the year to take stock of the previous 12 months and make some predictions for the year ahead. CFI logged substantial milestones in 2023: celebrating 20 years of Green House homes, taking the modelinternational with the opening of new homes in Australia, further integrating the GHP and Pioneer Network communities, and gathering the entire eldercare reform movement together in Pittsburgh for amemorable annual conference. But our work is far from done. Join CFI CEO Susan Ryan, chief learning officer Marla DeVries, director of network and community relations Stacey Berg...
2023-12-2744 minElevate EldercareChecking In with the Moving Forward CoalitionThe National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shook the eldercare world in April 2022 with a scathing report on the nation’s broken nursing home system. Less than two years later, the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition – formed in the wake of the NASEM report to operationalize its conclusions – has made substantial progress in addressing various quality improvement goals. This week, we check back in with coalition chair Alice Bonner and director Isaac Longobardi to see what progress has been made so far, where they have the most optimism about reform for the future, and ho...
2023-12-2045 minElevate EldercareFinding Hope and Light in the Darkest of TimesAs we navigate a holiday season set against the backdrop of global and domestic conflict, this 2021 interview with Dr. Edith Eger feels even more vital than ever. A psychologist and a Holocaust survivor, Dr. Eger has 96 years of direct experience with navigating troubled times – both for herself and in service of others – and her ability to find light in the darkness remains deeply inspiring. After enduring unimaginable cruelty as a Jewish teenager in Europe during World War II, she dedicated her life to helping people process and overcome their own traumas. This holiday, we could all...
2023-12-1358 minElevate EldercareSpeaking Up for Nursing Home Residents of All AgesIt’s easy to forget that not all nursing home residents are elders – and Vincent Pierce is dedicated to making sure leaders, advocates, and the general public remember. Pierce, a resident of the Coler nursing community on Roosevelt Island in New York City, wears many hats. He’s the founder of Nursing Home Lives Matter, an advocacy group formed during the yearlong COVID lockdown that robbed him and his fellow Coler residents of connection and convivium. He’s a poet, musician, and music producer. He’s the director of OPEN DOORS, an organization that uses art to connect an...
2023-12-0642 minElevate EldercareCreating “Unpretentious” Housing and Care for All Ages“Unpretentious” isn’t a word you see often in marketing materials for senior living communities, but it shows up several times in the description of Northaven Senior Living in Seattle. Darlene Storti, Northaven’s executive director, joins “Elevate Eldercare” to discuss this down-to-earth assisted and independent living community for lower- and moderate-income elders – as well as the organization’s plans to open the Nook, which will feature workforce housing with on-site early childhood care and education services for up to 100 kids. It’s all part of Storti’s vision to desegregate and destigmatize growing older for people of all ag...
2023-11-2949 minElevate EldercareGathering Around the Gratitude Table 2023Each Thanksgiving, “Elevate Eldercare” centers gratitude by handing the mic over to the people who make Green House homes such great places to live. This year, we’re headed out west to Wyoming to meet three team members from Green House Living for Sheridan: licensed practical nurse Kiara Charlson, HR manager and education coordinator Jon Lanning, and Shahbaz Necia Reynolds. Through their stories, you’ll learn why caregiving isn’t “unskilled labor” or an entry-level job – it’s a dynamic, rewarding, and noble career path that attracts the best people our communities have to offer. As lawmakers, providers, and adv...
2023-11-2251 minElevate EldercareCross-Pollination: Sharing Person-Directed Practices Across SilosStacey Bergmann joined the Center for Innovation this month as the new director of network and community relations – tasked with serving as the main liaison between the national organization and our local-level Green House Project and Pioneer Network partners – and today she joins the podcast to discuss her career, passions, and vision for the future of eldercare. Bergmann, an advanced practice certified therapeutic recreation specialist and dementia care consultant, has spent more than 20 years working to improve the lives of elders, most recently serving as the president of VOICE PA – a non-profit seeking to infuse person-directed care practi...
2023-11-1550 minElevate EldercareProbing the Incentives that Shape EldercareBrian McGarry’s research at the University of Rochester has focused on the ways that financial and economic factors affect care in nursing homes — a particularly vital topic as the sector continues to debate a contentious proposed staffing mandate, which could have a significant impact on providers in the years to come. McGarry joins CFI’s Alex Spanko for a discussion on the ways that incentives — sometimes intentionally, and sometimes unintentionally — affect quality and satisfaction in nursing homes, as well as the ways that policymakers can better link financial success with the services, supports, and outcomes that truly matt...
2023-11-0856 minElevate EldercareSurviving vs. Thriving: Training for Long-Term SuccessFor the last three years, many eldercare organizations haven’t had the ability to truly thrive, with leaders focused squarely on surviving the many challenges facing providers up and down the care continuum. But as we head toward the end of another year, it’s a good time to take stock and make plans for the year ahead — with an eye toward moving beyond merely surviving and reaching a place where both organizations and individual workers can truly thrive. Join CFI’s education experts Marla DeVries and Mary Hopfner-Thomas for an analysis of the ways that org...
2023-11-0156 minElevate EldercareReframing Nursing Home Reform as a Housing IssueIn both the public and policymaker imagination, nursing home reform is strictly a health care issue, the domain of state health departments and the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). But the prevalence of subpar nursing homes — and lack of empowering, person-directed alternatives to an aging long-term care infrastructure — is just as much the result of housing policy as health care regulations. Well-known LTC researcher David Grabowski of Harvard University returns to “Elevate Eldercare” to discuss his increasing focus on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a key lever for eldercare transformation. By tweaking...
2023-10-2542 minElevate EldercareThe Heart and Soul of Person-Directed LivingDavid Simpson is an accomplished musician who’s been singing since the age of 12, performing alongside music legends like the Staples Singers, Dionne Warwick, and the Drifters. He’s a visual artist who uses his drawings and paintings to lift others’ spirits and push himself to improve his craft. He’s a father, a sibling, and heart transplant recipient. And he’s a resident of the Thome Rivertown neighborhood, a unique full-continuum care community in the heart of Detroit that combines affordable assisted living, Green House homes, and PACE day services. David joins the podcast to recount his fascin...
2023-10-1835 minElevate EldercareEnvisioning an Eldercare System Beyond Nursing HomesThe discourse around improving the eldercare landscape tends to focus on narrow, discrete metrics: What’s the correct number of nursing home staff hours per day? How can we reduce rehospitalizations? What types of services can be provided in the home most efficiently? Scott Townsley, professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Erickson School of Aging Studiers and a longtime eldercare leader, recently challenged a group of industry executives to go beyond the silos and build a new system from scratch. The Center for Innovation released the results of that exercise in Beyond Nurs...
2023-10-1150 minElevate EldercareArchitecture as a Verb: Creating Human-Centered Aging SpacesBiophilic design – incorporating nature into the built environment – has grown in popularity in recent years, but the term itself may still seem daunting and strange, especially in an eldercare space where new development of nursing homes is exceedingly rare. Dr. Tuwanda Green, an adjunct instructor at Virginia Tech with more than 30 years of architectural experience, joins the podcast to discuss biophilic design as the process of creating human-centered spaces for all ages. The physical environment can have a substantial impact on day-to-day wellbeing, whether it’s enjoying the view of trees and flowers from a picture window in you...
2023-10-041h 03Elevate EldercareFinding Creative – and Social – Solutions to Top Eldercare IssuesFaced with the workforce issues plaguing the entire eldercare sector, Goodwin Living in Northern Virginia developed a citizenship assistance program for its immigrant employees – simultaneously boosting recruitment and retention while also providing a new social outlet for residents, who help their caregivers prepare for the citizenship exam. Looking for a way to help his mother respond to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, Goodwin Living CEO Rob Liebreich worked to develop the non-profit’s StrongerMemory program, which supports people in retaining and improving cognitive skills through simple reading, writing, and mathematics exercises. This week, Liebreich join...
2023-09-2757 minElevate EldercareRebuilding Trust After a Complete System FailureIn 2021, Dr. Samir Sinha was given a potentially daunting job: serving as the technical committee chair for a group tasked with establishing new, national long-term care standards in Canada in the wake of COVID-19’s devastation. Dr. Sinha, an internationally renowned geriatrician who serves as the Director of Geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the University Health Network Hospitals in Toronto, joins the podcast to discuss how he navigated the politics and logistics of reshaping an entire nation’s long-term care standards. By incorporating as many resident and caregiver voices as possible, and focusing as much on p...
2023-09-2053 minElevate EldercareEmpowering Elders to Build Age-Friendly CommunitiesBuilding truly age-friendly communities starts with incorporating elders’ needs, wants, and goals into civic planning. As the executive director of Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh, Laura Poskin works across the city to build bridges between elders and the decision-makers who can help create accessible, integrated spaces for people of all ages and abilities – all while centering the opinions of older people who far too often don’t have a seat at the table. Poskin joins “Elevate Eldercare” to discuss the World Health Organization’s vision for age-friendly communities, success stories from her organization’s work in the Steel City, an...
2023-09-1355 minElevate EldercareFind an Adventure No Matter Your AgeThis week on the show, we take a break from eldercare policy and best practices with a story of mindfulness and adventure. Previous guest Natalie Yates-Bolton – a senior lecturer in nursing at the University of Salford, Manchester in the United Kingdom – returns with her mother, Myra, for a conversation about their recent pilgrim walk through France. Natalie and Myra recently walked 32 miles along the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage route that people have traveled since the 10th century. Along the way, Natalie and Myra experienced the simplicity, peace, and perspective that comes with walking through nature and part...
2023-09-0648 minElevate EldercareBuilding Empowered and Collaborative Nurse-CNA TeamsThe relationship between nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in nursing homes can often be fraught with hierarchy and disputes over tasks and responsibilities, as well as the normal conflicts that arise in any workplace. To gain some insights into building collaborative care teams, we sat down with two leaders from an organization that’s excelled in that department: Presbyterian SeniorCare Network’s director of nursing Taylor McMahon and lead CNA Maggie Pernatozzi. These eldercare veterans have spent 10 and 18 years with the western Pennsylvania provider, respectively, and work together to create a person-centered care force that...
2023-08-3052 minElevate EldercareSupport, Guidance, Advocacy: Rethinking the Ombudsman RoleThe people who work in state long-term care ombudsman’s offices are unsung heroes for residents of nursing homes, assisted living communities, and other communal care settings, helping to amplify their voices when they aren’t being heard. This week on “Elevate Eldercare,” we dive into the present and future of the ombudsman role on both the macro and micro levels. First, former ombudsman Penny Cook – who recently departed from the Center for Innovation, where she served as chief culture officer – takes a global view of the position, probing the ways that states can expand the role to achieve t...
2023-08-2348 minElevate EldercareDesigning New Ways to Age in PlaceWithin the world of aging services, there’s perhaps no more popular concept than “aging in place.” But what exactly does that mean, and how can we make that an attainable goal for most people? To help answer that question, we turned to Christine Foster, an interior designer with a specific focus on developing new strategies and models to help elders age in place – whether that’s in their own existing homes, or new communal care settings designed to bridge the gaps betweenliterally aging in place and moving into a more formal care community. In both her w...
2023-08-1647 minElevate EldercareA Destination, Not a Regret: Nursing Homes as Community Hubsoe Carella has a bold prescription for the future of eldercare, starting with reimagining nursing homes as hubs for entire communities. Instead of looking for ways to iterate on the institutional nursing home, such as through assisted and independent living, Carella challenges the sector to imagine a future where people actually want to move into a nursing home level of care because that’s where the action is – friends, family, and the wider community gathering in places where people receive care instead of avoiding the setting altogether. It's a model that Carella pioneered at the Scan...
2023-08-0948 minElevate EldercareEnshrining Eldercare as a Civil and Human RightChristopher Laxton recently retired after a 40-year career in eldercare, including the last 10 at the helm of AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. He joins “Elevate Eldercare” to discuss his personal definition of retirement, reframing aging in the United States, and creating a world where eldercare – and health care writ large – is a baseline human right for all people. In this wide-ranging and provocative interview with Penny Cook, Laxton calls for universal health care access for people of all ages, challenging us to imagine a landscape where eldercare support services are exclusively non-profit or government...
2023-08-0250 minElevate EldercareLearning from the Past to Build a Whole-Person Health SystemWhen Georgetown University formed its School of Health last year, college officials deliberately left out the word “public” from the name – not as a slight against the profession, as dean Christopher King explains, but to indicate an emphasis on overall population health and wellbeing, not just traditional public-health initiatives like clean water and road safety. King joins the podcast to discuss the interconnected non-medical factors that determine the wildly disparate health outcomes in the United States, from race to housing to food. While there’s never been more attention on the social determinants of health, King challenges leaders...
2023-07-2658 minElevate EldercareBuilding Palliative Care Communities – Right from an AppWhile researching ways to improve the end-of-life experience as part of her PhD work, Andrea Grindrod discovered something interesting: People are almost always willing to help others experiencing the death of a loved one, but rarely wanted to ask for that help themselves. So Grindrod – who has personal experience dealing with end-of-life care for both her mother-in-law and husband – developed a suite of resources to break down the taboos about death and dying. The Healthy End of Life Program (HELP) app lets families build and sustain networks of care that ease the strain of caregiving and provide the...
2023-07-191h 07Elevate EldercareBridging the Gap Between Health and TechAs a physician with an MBA and a Silicon Valley programming background, Vipan Nikore has a rare perspective on the world of health technology. Nikore, co-founder and CEO of elder tech company Homecare Hub, joins “Elevate Eldercare” to discuss the gaps that exist between health care providers and the companies that create health-focused technology – as well as some potential bridges across those divides. From electronic health records to remote patient monitoring to telehealth, these advancements have changed the way we provide care, but providers across the care continuum still struggle with implementing health technology to the fu...
2023-07-1252 minElevate EldercareCelebrating 200 Episodes of Elevate EldercareJoin the Green House-Pioneer team for the celebratory 200th episode of “Elevate Eldercare.” What started as a pandemic-era project to stay connected with long-term care providers during extended lockdowns has evolved into a platform for voices across the care continuum. Alex Spanko moderates this conversation with the leaders who have hosted most episodes of the series – Center for Innovation CEO Susan Ryan, CFI chief learning officer Marla DeVries, and CFI chief culture officer Penny Cook. Together, they look back at some of the most powerful conversations from the first 200 episodes, and plot out a vision for the...
2023-07-0554 minElevate EldercareUsing Tech to Kickstart Person-Directed Care in LTCLong-term care is notorious for lagging behind other parts of the health care continuum – including hospitals and doctors’ offices – in the adoption of technology. As co-chairs of a Moving Forward Coalition subcommittee on health information technology, Gregory Alexander and Terrence O’Malley are working to change that. Alexander, the Helen Young alumni professor at Columbia University, and O’Malley – a retired geriatrician and corresponding faculty at Harvard Medical School – joined the podcast to discuss their vision for an LTC landscape where technology actually improves the lives of residents and caregivers. Listen as they go beyond the popular visi...
2023-06-2850 minElevate EldercareFighting the ‘Demographic Drought’ with Diversity, DollarsUnder Jeannee Parker Martin’s leadership, LeadingAge California has achieved some remarkable workforce development numbers, graduating more than 1,000 students from a CNA and home health aide training program – funded by a generous $25 million state grant – in its first year alone. While not every state has California’s budget surplus, dollars are only part of the equation. The California example provides a blueprint for how other states can use a combination of incentives, creative outreach to underrepresented communities, and technology to build up a long-struggling eldercare workforce. Join Martin for a conversation on the connections between workforc...
2023-06-2156 minElevate EldercareUsing Data to Break Stereotypes Around AgingIn his years marketing major brands like Gillette, Pepsi, and Dannon, Jeff Weiss never encountered any push to pitch products to consumers over the age of 55. Then, once he turned 55 himself, he realized that he didn’t feel like a different person just because he crossed an age milestone – he was still himself, with all the same evolving sets of desires, goals, and needs as people younger than 55. At Age of Majority, the marketing and research firm where he serves as CEO, Weiss seeks to break down the stereotypes that people – and, by extension, companies – hold about older pe...
2023-06-1450 minElevate Eldercare‘You Made Me Feel Relevant’: Telling Elders’ Tales on the RoadWhen Jack York first started bringing computers into senior living communities in the 1990s, he never could have imagined the ways elders use technology to stay connected with loved ones and their interests today – particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. But even back then, when PCs took up entire desks and internet connections required a landline, the goal was the same as it is now: keeping elders in touch with the people and ideas that give them joy and fulfillment. York joins the podcast to discuss his career in elder-friendly tech, including his current role as fou...
2023-06-071h 01Elevate EldercareFrom Aging in Place to Aging in the Right PlaceIn the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of aging in place – already the overwhelming preference for most people – received more media and political attention than ever before. But Ryan Frederick believes that the phrase, while well-meaning, is too passive and restrictive, implying that aging is something that happens to people with no agency of their own. Frederick, the founder and CEO of Here – a consulting firm aimed at helping individuals and organizations adapt to a world with ever-increasing human longevity – joins Susan Ryan to discuss the concept of aging in the right place, and what...
2023-05-3158 minElevate EldercarePrioritizing Emotional Safety in Long-Term CareThe traditional nursing home took its design and operational cues from hospitals – a setting defined by its focus on physical health over all other considerations. Since the late 1970s, Planetree International has worked to infuse humanity back into hospitals and, increasingly, health care settings of all kinds. In the beginning, that meant fighting a culture where visitors had strict time limits and patients weren’t even allowed to review their own medical files. Today, Planetree’s work encompasses all facets of emotional safety – a sense of overall wellbeing that still too often takes a backseat to physical conditio...
2023-05-2446 minElevate EldercareMoving Forward with Real LTC Workforce SolutionsLast year, the groundbreaking NASEM report on nursing home quality laid out a host of recommendations for improving the broken long-term care system in the U.S. While none of those suggestions is necessarily more important than the others, the topic of improving the LTC workforce is probably the one garnering the most attention from providers and policymakers. This week on the podcast, Dr. Kezia Scales and Dr. Jasmine Travers – the co-chairs of the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition committee dedicated to finding ways to implement the NASEM report’s workforce recommendations – dive into their work with h...
2023-05-1742 minElevate EldercareThe Case for Compassion in Eldercare and BeyondEldercare – and U.S. health care writ large – too often is a cold, impersonal experience for the people both giving and receiving care, as ever-increasing demands for efficiency and profit turn an intimate experience into boxes to check and line items on balance sheets. Dr. Stephen Trzeciak, chief of medicine at Cooper University Health Care and co-author of the book “Compassionomics,” seeks to change that with a simple yet bold assertion: Compassion for others in health care isn’t just good for people’s emotional wellbeing, but also their physical health and the operational strength of providers. Dr. T...
2023-05-1037 minElevate EldercareBringing Green House Homes to AustraliaWhen the Australia-based ACH Group agreed to become the first provider outside of the United States to fully implement the Green House model, CEO Frank Weits was taking the next step in his organization’s 70-year tradition of person-directed care – and building on his own experiences in eldercare, which began as a teenager growing up in the Netherlands. Weits joins Susan Ryan to discuss his vision for Healthia, the Green House community coming to South Australia later this year, and ACH Group’s commitment to “social role valorization” – the idea that the roles we play in life, whether that...
2023-05-0351 minElevate EldercarePowering Workforce Recruitment, Retention with DataMore than 30 years ago, current Center for Innovation board chair Michele Holleran launched her eponymous data analytics firm with a focus that was considered revolutionary at the time: measuring the resident and staff satisfaction at senior living communities. Holleran’s mission is now far more mainstream, and she joins “Elevate Eldercare” to discuss some of the more promising trends that she and her team have uncovered in recent years in a special preview of her new podcast, “The Data Dive.” For instance, for all the legitimate concern about building a resilient long-term care workforce, Holleran has found...
2023-04-2649 minElevate EldercareInside the First Annual CFI ConferenceFor the first time ever, The Green House Project and Pioneer Network are hosting a single conference under the Center for Innovation banner, and we want the entire eldercare community to be there! In this week’s episode, hear CFI’s Penny Cook, Marla DeVries, and Joan Devine talk about the engaging speakers coming to Pittsburgh from July 23-26, including “Compassionomics” co-author Dr. Stephen Trzeciak, groundbreaking dementia researcher Dr. Al Power, and many more! Plus, learn more about the special performance of “A Box of Memories,” a one-act musical about living with dementia coming to Pittsburgh all the way from...
2023-04-1941 minElevate EldercareAbilities, Not Deficits: The Montessori Approach to Dementia CareThe Montessori approach to education empowers children to learn by doing activities that emphasize their innate abilities, not by rote or one-size-fits-all lessons. Inspired by his family’s own experiences with the Montessori method, Cameron Camp decided to apply those principles to dementia care, a field where far too often people are boiled down to sets of symptoms and behaviors to manage within rigid, impersonal structures. Camp’s work with the Center for Applied Research in Dementia has helped to shift the traditional thinking around dementia services, focusing on elders’ retained abilities and what Camp calls “cognitive ramps” –...
2023-04-1244 minElevate EldercareOpening a Box of Memories: Exploring Dementia on StageDuring the pandemic, the father-daughter team of Duncan and Erin McKellar teamed up – over Zoom, of course – to create a passion project based on their unique life experiences and skills. As both a psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of older people and the son of a woman, Lizzy, who was diagnosed with early onset dementia at age 60, Duncan has extensive firsthand experience navigating the world of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Erin, meanwhile, is pursuing a doctorate in music, with a particular focus on using songs and the stage to address important issues, including social justic...
2023-04-0551 minElevate EldercareBONUS: Introducing the Mission Possible PodcastThis week, please enjoy the first episode of our new podcast series, “Mission Possible,” produced in conjunction with the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care and AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Each week, you’ll hear in-depth interviews and conversations about the ways that leaders can turn decades of reports and recommendations into real results for the people who live in and work in U.S. nursing homes. As the co-founder and former CEO of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), Robert Kramer has a deep and broad perspective on the f...
2023-03-2955 minElevate EldercareFounders’ Perspectives: Pioneer Network’s Rose Marie FaganWhen Rose Marie Fagan first applied for a job as a nursing home ombudsman, she had no prior experience with long-term care or health care in general – but her status as an outsider almost immediately proved to be a much bigger asset than a liability. With her fresh eyes, Fagan was able to clearly see the injustices of the era, including physical restraints, unsanitary conditions, and dehumanizing treatment of elders. That perspective inspired her to join in the founding of Pioneer Network in 1997, and while nursing homes have improved since her earliest days in the sector, Fagan co...
2023-03-2250 minElevate EldercareInside Key Nursing Home Policy DiscussionsLori Smetanka of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care returns to “Elevate Eldercare” for an update on the key nursing home reform policies that she and other consumer advocates are watching most closely – including minimum staffing levels, ownership and investor transparency, and finally incorporating real person-centered care principles into day-to-day operations at all communities. Many of these problems have been persistent for decades, but Smetanka continues to advocate on behalf of the people who live and work in nursing homes – with a particular focus on giving them a platform in a discourse that too often excludes...
2023-03-1545 minElevate EldercareFounders’ Perspectives: Pioneer Network’s Barry BarkanBarry Barkan played a crucial role in the formation of Pioneer Network in 1997, but his experience in eldercare goes back 20 years before that, to a fateful morning of reflection in Live Oak Park in Berkeley, Calif. Barry joins “Elevate Eldercare” and longtime colleague Penny Cook to discuss his five decades of advocacy for elders, starting with the then-radical – and far too often, still radical – idea that elders are people who are entitled to continued growth, fulfillment, engagement, and dignity. It’s impossible to hear Barry speak and not come away inspired, so tune in for a fascinati...
2023-03-0844 minElevate EldercareBringing Nature to Elders, One Garden at a TimeEven as a self-described “mediocre gardener,” Orla Concannon has brought the joys of nature to thousands of elders across the country – all by bringing the garden to them. Eldergrow, Concannon’s company, started out as a graduate school project but has since grown into a successful firm with national reach, empowering elders in a variety of settings to tend to indoor gardens while also enjoying the fruits of their labor through innovative and healthy cooking classes. Concannon joins “Elevate Eldercare” to discuss the power of nature to enhance the lives of all people, including older adults livin...
2023-03-0147 minElevate EldercareBuilding a Circle of Care for EldersAs the president of the Point Roberts Circle of Care board, Galen Wood has a unique task in a unique place – providing services and supports for elders in one of the most secluded spots in the United States. The town of Point Roberts, Wash. is what geographers call a pene-exclave. Located at the end of a peninsula, Point Roberts is surrounded by water on three sides and Canada to the north, meaning all land traffic has to come across an international border. In normal times, this presents a series of challenges, but during the pandemic and after, it...
2023-02-2250 minElevate EldercareRaised in Eldercare: The Story of a 16-Year-Old CNAHigh school junior Eli Grundy has been immersed in eldercare for as long as he can remember, thanks to his parents: One of his moms is the administrator of the Spearly Center, a unique skilled nursing community in Denver, and the other works for the Alzheimer’s Association. At age 12, Eli followed in his moms’ footsteps and started as an activities volunteer at the Spearly Center – so when he turned 16, the decision to earn CNA certification was the logical next step. Eli sits down with CFI’s Penny Cook to talk about his decision to serve eld...
2023-02-1534 minElevate EldercareArt and Expression at Any Age“Elevate Eldercare” often welcomes academic researchers from across the aging field, but Anne Basting is the first English professor to sit down behind our mics. Basting is a firm believer in the power of art and creativity as a medium of communication and connection for people living with dementia. From putting on a production of the ancient story of Ulysses at a long-term care community to conducting storytelling sessions for elders over phone lines during COVID, Basting sees the extraordinary potential of people to keep learning, growing, and creating at any age. Join us for a po...
2023-02-0854 minElevate EldercareReports to Results: Solutions for Real ChangeThe new year year kicked off with another report analyzing the failures of the nursing home system during COVID-19, this time from the HHS Office of the Inspector General. But while understanding the mistakes of the past is important, the time for retrospective reports has long since passed – and policymakers have the tools to effect real change today. Join CFI communications director Alex Spanko and health care policy expert Anne Montgomery for a conversational look at a variety of evidence-based solutions to the problems that plague eldercare in America, from HUD lending changes to a federally authorized pe...
2023-02-0149 minElevate EldercareLeadership at Play: Inside the Evolution of a Green House CommunityEvery Green House community is different, from the people who call it home to the surrounding neighborhood and landscape. At Londonderry Village in Palmyra, Pa., outside of Hershey, the Green House homes come with the wafting smell of chocolate, an intergenerational play park, and people-powered vehicles known as trishaws. We sit down with Londonderry Village president Jeff Shireman to discuss how he transformed his vision for Green House homes in the fields of Palmyra into a decades-strong reality – including a fiscally responsible board that won’t allow anyone to move out for financial reasons, and dedi...
2023-01-2557 minElevate EldercareTaking Action with the Moving Forward CoalitionThe Moving Forward Coalition launched with a clear but ambitious goal: Operationalize the host of recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM) 2022 report on the state of nursing home care. This week, we welcome Moving Forward leaders Alice Bonner and Isaac Longobardi to talk about the group’s mission and work, and how everyone in long-term care – from residents to caregivers to family members to policymakers to academics and everyone in between – can get involved and make their voices heard. We’ll take a particular dive into the four main themes of...
2023-01-1842 minElevate Eldercare2023 Eldercare Reform OutlookThe past year brought significant momentum for real eldercare reform, and the year ahead promises even more progress toward our goal of overhauling the long-term care system in the U.S. and abroad. We’ve gathered a group of CFI leaders – CEO Susan Ryan, chief culture officer Penny Cook, strategic advisor Ann Montgomery, and communications director Alex Spanko – to discuss the trends that will shape the LTC sector in the year ahead, from a predicted nursing home sell-off to the fate of strong reform proposals on the federal and state levels. Join us as we...
2023-01-1136 minElevate EldercareRethinking Geriatrics for a Person-Centered FutureDr. Michael Wasserman’s unique combination of professional experience makes him one of the most incisive voices in the long-term care reform space: As both a trained geriatrician and the former leader of California’s largest nursing home chain, Wasserman can speak to both the medical and financial problems baked into the eldercare system. He joins Penny Cook to share his vision for a person-centered care revolution in geriatrics, passionately arguing that a one-size-fits-all approach to health care – and particularly eldercare – has done more harm than good. As Wasserman puts it, if you’ve seen one 90-year-old woman, you...
2023-01-0440 minElevate EldercareLooking Back – and Forward – After a Year of ChangeIt’s been a momentous year for The Green House Project and Pioneer Network, as the two organizations formally united under the new Center for Innovation banner. Three CFI leaders – CEO Susan Ryan, chief culture officer Penny Cook, and chief learning officer Marla DeVries – look back on a year that saw the culture change movement gain even more power and influence among operators and policymakers. The executive team also dives into a 2023 that’s shaping up to be the most impactful yet for the Green House and Pioneer missions, from the 20th anniversary of the first Gr...
2022-12-2843 minElevate EldercareEmbracing Dementia as a Stage of LifePart of the enduring stigma surrounding dementia is the collective misconception that a diagnosis means the end of someone’s life – or at least the end of a person’s ability to contribute to society. Bobby Redman turns that notion on its head, living on her own and serving as an advocate for the entire community years after her diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia. In this episode, Redman shares the strategies that she’s developed to not just survive but thrive as an independent person with dementia, from both low- and high-tech supports around the house to her work wit...
2022-12-2155 min