Shows
Elevate 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 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 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 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 EldercareBreaking the Binary Between Funding and TransparencyHarvard researcher David Grabowski returns to the podcast to discuss the financial incentives that have created our current long-term care landscape – and how small changes to the way the federal government funds and regulates nursing homes can lead to significant improvements in quality, safety, and satisfaction. Too often, nursing home reform is presented as a false binary between increasing government funding for operators or increasing fines for wrongdoing. Organizations that have adopted Green House and Pioneer principles have shown that the equation for care improvement is more nuanced than one carrot versus one stick – but still eminently achi...
2022-10-1251 minElevate EldercareWorkforce Voices: Different Paths, Same HeartSusan Ryan and Alex Spanko discuss a pair of interviews with care professionals conducted at the recent Pioneer Network conference. First up, Lauren Flores – director of life enrichment at Green House adopter Mt. San Antonio Gardens in Pomona, Calif. – discusses her path from Disney to eldercare, and why she thinks more people should consider a pathway into working with elders. Then, CNA Jonas Weitzman – better known to people on long-term care Twitter as @BigWrinkles – traces his journey from a job at a tech startup to caregiving at nursing homes during the pandemic. Far too ofte...
2022-09-211h 00Elevate EldercareRevisiting the Biggest Ideas of 2021In this last episode of the year, Susan Ryan and Alex Spanko look back at some of the guests and ideas that stuck with the entire Green House Project team from the “Elevate Eldercare” podcast in 2021. From the importance of inclusion in eldercare settings to the need for collaborative and transformative change, the leaders who joined the podcast this past year brought bold visions for the future rooted in their diverse experiences working in the field. The end of the year often comes with an urge to look forward – but with new COVID variants ensuring that t...
2021-12-2948 minElevate Eldercare“Let Me Say This About That” – Change the Incentives, Change the CareThis past summer, the American Bar Association overwhelmingly passed a resolution urging Congress to make private rooms and bathrooms, along with other small-home touches, a prerequisite for nursing homes to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding. In this episode, Mary and Marla take a closer look at the work of the longtime director of the ABA’s Commission on Law and Aging, Charles Sabatino, and his conversation with Susan Ryan and Alex Spanko. Mary gives us a closer look at the ABA Commission on Law and Aging and their mission. She also highlights the key points of th...
2021-10-2039 minElevate EldercareA Future Without Lockdowns: Inside the Essential Caregiver MovementSafe and effective COVID-19 vaccines brought a long-overdue end to a blanket federal ban on nursing home visitations this past March, but the surging delta variant has brought back the isolation and uncertainty of 2020 to nursing homes and other communal care facilities across the country. This week, Susan Ryan and Alex Spanko sit down with a pair of grassroots leaders working to ensure that family members and other loved ones will never again be locked out during a public health emergency. Mikko Cook and Carrie Leljedal share their deeply personal reasons for pursuing the Essential...
2021-09-2238 minElevate EldercareA Future Without Lockdowns: Inside the Essential Caregiver MovementSafe and effective COVID-19 vaccines brought a long-overdue end to a blanket federal ban on nursing home visitations this past March, but the surging delta variant has brought back the isolation and uncertainty of 2020 to nursing homes and other communal care facilities across the country. This week, Susan Ryan and Alex Spanko sit down with a pair of grassroots leaders working to ensure that family members and other loved ones will never again be locked out during a public health emergency. Mikko Cook and Carrie Leljedal share their deeply personal reasons for pursuing the Essential C...
2021-09-1558 minElevate Eldercare“Let Me Say This About That” - Building Pandemic Resiliency Amid Rising UncertaintyWith the delta variant surging among the unvaccinated and the looming specter of increased restrictions even for those who’ve gotten their jabs, the cycles of uncertainty that defined most of 2020 are currently making an unwelcome comeback. In Episode 107, Susan Ryan welcomes Tammy Marshall and Alex Spanko back on the podcast to talk about strategies for pandemic resiliency. In this episode of “Let Me Say This About That”, Marla and Mary take a closer look at some of those strategies and the benefits for our wellbeing. We explore laughter yoga, biophilic design and the workplace, plus the five s...
2021-08-1132 minElevate EldercareBuilding Pandemic Resiliency Amid Rising UncertaintyWith the delta variant surging among the unvaccinated and the looming specter of increased restrictions even for those who’ve gotten their jabs, the cycles of uncertainty that defined most of 2020 are currently making an unwelcome comeback. But for people who live and work in communal settings for elders, the stakes are much higher than the return of mandatory masking in indoor public spaces: How can caregivers, residents, and their families maintain the connections that were so often broken last year, while also not succumbing to ongoing pandemic burnout? Susan Ryan welcomes Tammy Marshall and Al...
2021-08-0456 minElevate Eldercare“Let Me Say This About That” – Looking for the Next Champion for Elders: A Tribute to Larry Polivka and Claude PepperLarry Polivka spent more than a decade as executive director of the Claude Pepper Center at Florida State University before his retirement this past May. In episode 105, Susan Ryan and Alex Spanko explore both leaders’ powerful legacies in the fight to revolutionize eldercare in America. In this edition “Let Me Say This About That”, Marla and Mary take a closer look at the Claude Pepper Center and all of the organizations and research that have come to fruition from the Claude Pepper Center and Foundation. Marla takes a close look at the center and all of the...
2021-07-3025 minElevate EldercareLooking for the Next Champion for Elders: A Tribute to Larry Polivka and Claude PepperLarry Polivka spent more than a decade as executive director of the Claude Pepper Center at Florida State University before his retirement this past May. In this episode, Susan Ryan and Alex Spanko explore both leaders’ powerful legacies in the fight to revolutionize eldercare in America. Pepper’s life took him from extreme poverty in Alabama to a lengthy career in both the U.S. House and Senate, where his upbringing inspired him to champion government programs aimed at making life better and more dignified for all Americans. His ongoing influence includes the center that bears his name...
2021-07-2855 minElevate EldercareLooking Back, Looking Forward: Marking 100 Episodes of Elevating Eldercare“Elevate Eldercare” hits a major milestone this week with 100 episodes, so Susan Ryan sat down with the newest member of the Green House Project team to discuss the biggest ideas from the podcast’s first year – and how they can be applied to the ongoing discussion around eldercare reform in America. Alex Spanko recently joined GHP as director of communications and marketing, having previously covered post-acute and long-term care for Skilled Nursing News in Chicago. Spanko discusses his motivations for leaving trade journalism to play a more active role in shaping eldercare environments before he and Ryan take a l...
2021-07-0756 min