Glowing Older: Recent Episodes
Nancy Griffin
The Glowing Older podcast covers innovation in senior living and the business of aging well. Join Nancy Griffin as she digs deep with innovators creating new models to improve quality of life for older adults. From new housing models and intergenerational living, to leading-edge age-tech and wellness programming that creates vibrant health, connection and purpose, the landscape of senior living is vast. Come explore with us.
Israel Cross, an officer in the United States Public HealthService, has devoted his career to improving the lives of older adults from a policy level. He discusses the most pressing challenges facing older adults, including financial security, caregiver support, access to technology, and the dangers of climate change..
About Israel
LCDR Israel Cross is a gerontologist and a dedicated United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officer with over fifteen years of experience. He is celebrated for his interdisciplinary approach to improving the quality of life for vulnerable populations, particularly older adults. Cross's collaborative efforts with professionals from healthcare, health information technology, and community engagement have been instrumental in elevating the standards of care for the populations he serves. His work is deeply rooted in addressing health equity, with a focus on the intersection of older adult health, caregiving, and climate change.
As a passionate advocate for older adult health and caregiving, Cross is committed to ensuring equitable access to healthcare and improving the well-being of underserved communities. His expertise and dedication make him a valuable asset in advancing health equity initiatives and driving meaningful progress in addressing the complex challenges facing aging populations. He is a certified dementia practitioner and holds an aging-in-place and home modification certification from University of Southern California.
Key Takeaways
- The most pressing multigenerational challenges of aging are financial security, caregiver support, access to technology, and the dangers of climate change. Currently, there are not enough policies that support economic security in later life. Older adults often lack adequate retirement savings, posing a significant challenge for multiple generations.
- The Latin phrase "cogito ergo sum" means "I think, therefore I am." Thinking about yourself positively as you age can have a significant impact.
- There is a shift from social determinants of health to social drivers of health. The term "determinants" implies a sense of finality, stripping people of their agency to manage their own health care and well-being. The principle of “Nothing about us without us” emphasizes the importance of involving people in decisions that affect their lives.
- The critical intersection of climate change and agingrelates to health equity. Older adults are most likely to be left behind during disasters. During Hurricane Katrina, over 70% of those who died were over 65. In the California wildfires in 2018, over 85% of those who died were over 80. In Hurricane Florence, over two-thirds of those who died were over 60. During the 2023 Hawaii fires, over 70% of those who died were over 60.
Rob Liebreich, CEO and President of Goodwin Living, discusses why the 60-year-old faith-based not-for-profit organization is a provider of choice, employer of choice, and champion of social good. Learn how Goodwin Livings complimentary Stronger Memory program has positively impacted tens of thousands of lives by improving brain health in three simple steps.
About Rob
Robert “Rob” Liebreich started his service as President and CEO of Goodwin Living in July 2019. He brings energy, compassion and a creative drive, as well as proven leadership in senior living for over 20 years.
Prior to joining Goodwin Living, Rob was the executivedirector of the Asbury Methodist Village (AMV), a 1400 person not-for-profit continuing care retirement community in Maryland. He has also held senior positions in marketing and operations for senior living organizations in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area and the Pacific Northwest.
Rob studied Business Administration and International Business and Marketing at Georgetown University and graduated 1997. He earned a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Senior Care and Housing from Johns Hopkins University in 2005. Rob is a Certified Dementia Practitioner, and his other passions include his family, travel, mentoring and brain health.
Key Takeaways
- Goodwin Living offers complimentary educational and career path opportunities for team members—80 to 100 team members every year work on future educational goals, with Goodwin Living taking on hundreds of thousands of school debt.
- Goodwin Living's diverse team of 1,200 membersrepresents over 65 different countries of origin, with a quarter of the team not holding U.S. citizenship. The Goodwin Living Foundation has supported more than 160 team members to become citizens, pairing them with resident mentors to study for the exam.
- A study from Japan shows that reading aloud, writing byhand, and doing simple math problems quickly on a consistent basis levels cognitive decline and, in many cases, improves brain function. Early interventions hold off the need for care.
- Stronger Memory clears the brain pathways by engaging the brain’s prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, which improves the “working memory” and improves the processing of information, based on research from George Mason University.
Jean Hartnett, MHSA, NHA, CDP, YTT, C.N.A., talks about her move from CEO of the largest nursing home in Nebraska to founding Radical Sabbatical, supporting individuals and senior living communities on their paths to healing.
About Jean
Jean Hartnett is a visionary health care leader with more than 30 years of executive experience serving the older adult population. She holds a master’s in health services administration, is a Certified Dementia Practitioner, a Certified Yoga Instructor, and a Certified Nursing Assistant.
Ms. Hartnett is an expert in trauma-informed care and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and founded Radical Sabbatical to help others turn past adversity into self-advocacy. With a deep understanding of the profound effects trauma can have on development and well-being, Jean brings a compassionate, evidence-based approach to support individuals and communities on their healing journey.
Key Takeaways
- Trauma informed is an approach that can be applied to resident’s and staff in senior living. Practitioners must view the individual through the lens of why they act a certain way, not simply their behaviors. All behavior has meaning.
- Adverse childhood experiences impact an individual’s entire life, including their older adult years.
- Moving into senior living can lead to trauma resurfacing because the coping mechanisms thathave provided emotional support throughout an older adult’s life may be cut off.
- Medicare-eligible older adults spend fifty calendar days in clinical environments that are not hospitals. That includes physician, physical therapy and occupational therapy, and other specialists.
Susan Filice, Life Enrichment Director at Stoneridge Creek Retirement, and Shirley Kaminsky, a resident at Stoneridge Creek, discuss opportunities for enrichment and connection at the progressive senior livingcommunity. They also share their work volunteering for Connected Horse—a leading nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with dementia and their care partners through equine-assisted programs.
About Susan
As an accomplished event designer, producer, and healthcare administrator, Susan Filice bring a diverse range of skills and experiences to her professional journey. With a passion for creating unforgettable experiences and enriching the lives of others, she has dedicated her career to fostering joy, wellness, and community engagement.
During Susan’s tenure as the Director of Medical Staff at a community hospital, she not only effectively managed the department but also spearheaded transformative initiatives. Recognizing the importance of ongoing medical education, she revitalized the Continuing Medical Education (CME) program, introducing innovative approaches and regional symposiums that garnered acclaim from the California Medical Association (CMA).
Transitioning to the role of Director of Life Enrichment at a prestigious senior living community, Susan embraced the opportunity to further impact lives on a broader scale. With close to 800 residents under her care, she orchestrates a dynamic array of activities and events tailored to enhance their quality of life. From cultural outings and educational seminars to engaging social gatherings, she strives to create meaningful experiences that inspire connection and fulfillment.
About Shirley
Shirley Kaminsky, a registered nurse has had a rich and varied nursing career over more than 4 decades made significant contributions to nursing and to people across the nation. She worked in nursing leadership roles in California. She had a clinical biofeedback practice for 12 years, before starting a Holistic Health Center in the East Bay area.
Shirley was appointed to the AFSP National LeadershipCouncil in 2008. She was elected to the National Board in 2014, and chaired the National Loss & Healing Council. She received the 2013 AFSP National Leadership Award for "her tireless efforts to serve survivors of suicide loss and support of AFSP's mission of suicide prevention."
Since her recent move to the Stoneridge Creek Senior Living Community, Shirley has become involved in many activities in the community as well as joining committees that are integral to the success of the community. Being a part of Connected Horse as a volunteer and now Co Chair of the annual fundraising event, has brought her back to her love of horses, nature and being of service to the population she is now a part of as an elder.
Shirley is also a musician, loves the outdoors, is a former water skier, scuba diver, cyclist and of course an equestrian.
Key Takeaways
- Stoneridge Creek has a resident advisory committee that provides feedback and ideas on creating opportunities personalized and meaningful experiences for residents.
- Stoneridge Creek’s 2023 “Healthier Me” program included fitness classes, like Steady, focused on balance and stability, and encouraged residents to engage in creative pursuits like watercolor painting. This year, the theme is "Explore in 2024," encouraging residents to explore new things and learn more about each other.
- Connected Horse gives volunteers the chance to reconnect with horses, put skills to work, stay physically and mentally active, feel valued and have a sense of purpose.
- Susan and Shirley are co-chairs of Connected Horse 2nd annual "Love Lassos with Love", to be held at Five Star Equestrian Center in Pleasanton on September 7th, 2024. Kansas Carradine, an expert equestrian, will be performing and there will be dinner and a silent and live auction and silent auction.
Hear gerontologist and age-tech venture capitalist Danny Kaplan share his perspective on aging services trends, including technology, shifts in care models, and addressing equity in senior care.
About Danny
Danny Kaplan is a General Partner at Equitage Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on the intersection of senior care, technology, and healthy aging. Danny was formerly a healthcare investor at Generator Ventures, where he worked on and continues to support investments including IntelyCare, Vesta Healthcare, VyncaCare, and Wellthy.
Prior to Generator, Danny was part of the early team at ClearCare, a leading web-based platform for home care agencies. Danny holds a BA in International Business from Dickinson College and an MBA and MS in Gerontology from the University of Southern California.
Key Takeaways
- The US Medicare Budget, being the primary payer of long-term care in the country, is an indicator of the growth of the senior care industry. In 2023, the budget was more than $1 Trillion, and by 2032, it will double to $2 Trillion.
- A major trend is the shift from care facilities to “aging at home,” though there are challenges with scalability due to efficiency and the staffing crisis.
- In combination with aging at home, “Adult Day,” where older adults can receive group care and connection, will become an alternative model to senior living.
- Right now, age tech is targeted more toward business-to-business opportunities but will shift to business-to-consumer in the next two generations as seniors become more comfortable with utilizing technology.
Scott Eckstein shares his unique and diverse background creating solutions for an aging planet. Learn about his current roles as Managing Director of Active Living International and Chief Strategy Officer for CiminoCare Care, challenges curating quality care for his aging loved ones, and passion for educating the next generation of senior living providers.
About Scott
Scott Eckstein has over 30 years of diverse research, analysis, development, operations, and education experience in the senior living space. He has been directly involved in senior living projects throughout the United States, South and Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia and specializes in providing strategic analysis, acquisitions, development, education, and operations advisory solutions for an aging planet. He is currently the Managing Director for Active Living International, an internationally focused senior living advisory firm, as well as Strategic Advisor for CiminoCare, a California-based middle market senior living operator.
Eckstein’s senior living experience began in the nascent days of senior housing. He has helped promote the creation of purpose built environments for senior wellness, lifestyles and care as well as having specialized in the creation and operation of a unique range of residential alternatives for the aging population worldwide, from active adult housing through the spectrum to memory care.
Eckstein has held management positions at numerous senior living operators: Brookdale, Emeritus (now Brookdale), Aegis Living, Sunrise Senior Living and ARV Assisted Living (now Atria). In addition, he was also the Director of Business Development at WellAWARE Systems (now part of Best Buy), a pioneer in the senior tech space. Eckstein was also, the Director of the Senior Living Program at Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration and was a Clinical Assistant Professor and Senior Living Executive in Residence at the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living in the Carson College of Business at Washington State University (in which whose formation he was actively involved.)
Key Takeaways
- A career in senior living and aging services is impactful because of the ability to make a difference in people’s lives for a few years rather than a few days in a hotel or resort. There are incredible opportunities, but the industries don’t market themselves well.
- Active adult (55+) communities servea younger age bracket needing minimal care. The category overlaps with wellness real estate and intergenerational housing. Independent livingadds care services and attracts people in their late 70s and 80s.
- One of the biggest problems in the active adult housing market is residents don’t want to leave as they age and need higher levels of care. In the United States, you can't push people out legally.
- The biggest challenges in senior living are related to management, leadership, training, and culture. They are intricately related.
- The silent generation and baby boomers are focused on wellness and technology, so senior living communities are incorporating Centersfor Healthy Living with massage rooms, fitness equipment and aging-related retail. Most communities offer telehealth post covid, and some offer a tech concierge.
- The most important questions to ask an assisted living community before signing on the dotted line include the turnover of team members and the training they receive, the flexible (or lack of) of the dining options. Dining is the major issue beyond care.
Katherine and her own coach and mentor, Shelley MacDougall, discuss the nexus of life and leadership and how to be mindful while making life decisions. Shelley’s extensive experience in executive coaching has provided her with a unique perspective on how to counsel people navigate many of life’s decision points, including career changes and finding fulfillment in retirement.
About Shelley
Shelley MacDougallis co-founder and principal of The Coaching Department, and serves as the Director of Leadership and Development for GGA Partners, an international consulting firm for private clubs, resorts, and residential communities. As a Certified Executive Coach with more than three decades of experience, including senior leadership positions with Marriott International and The Glencoe Club (Calgary, Albert), she is highly skilled at supporting individuals navigate challenges, shifts, and aspirations throughout their lives and careers.
Shelley's professional experience includes thousands of hours of executive and leadership coaching, as well as workshops and trainings for all levels of managers and employees. Over the years, she has designed and delivered numerous training and coaching programs as well as presentations.
You can find more about Shelley's work at www.thecoachingdept.com
Jon Siegel and Kasondra McCormick from The Perfect Companion, a boutique senior homecare and estate concierge services company, join us for a conversation about raising the bar for senior care services through five star service, a continuum of care, and working from the heart.
About Jon
As Founder and President of The Perfect Companion, Inc. (2008), Jon’s compassion, unique insights and ability to assess and determine the individual skill sets and personalities of his caregivers with the corresponding needs and personality of his clients, and his offering of “Ritz Carlton level” concierge care has been the major contributing factors behind the ongoing success of The Perfect Companion, Inc. Under Jon’s leadership, The Perfect Companion has been a 2022 and 2023 Inc 5000 award recipient and named as a Top Workplace by USA Today, Arizona Central.
About Kasondra
Kasondra McCormick is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for The Perfect Companion. McCormick has been with the company since 2018, filling several key leadership positions, including Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Operations, which contribute deep industry and operational knowledge to her new role as CIO.
Website: azperfectcompanion.com
Key Takeaways
- Aligning caregiver skill sets and personality with the individual needs and personality of the person who needs care is hugely important and impactful, yet often overlooked by service providers.
- To bring true hospitality tocaregiving, incorporating a holistic view of the individual and the family system is paramount. Caregivers should consider the psychosocial dynamics within families and individuals.
- The key word in caregiving is trust. Trustis the most important thing between a caregiver and a care recipient.
- Having a professional caregiver allows familymembers to be that: family – and focus on have “meaningful moments.”
Heather Brooks, CAPS, SRES, is an aging specialist and community educator focused on helping older adults age in the right place. She shares her ‘secret sauce’ for aging well in community—including universal design, age friendly home modifications, respite care, age-tech, and access to crucial social determinants of health.
About Heather
Heather Brooks is the National Aging in Place Council (NAIPC) Housing Committee Chair and Founding Chapter Chair for NAIPC in SE Florida. She has spent nearly three decades in real estate, specializing in helping seniors "Modify or Move." She is Certified Aging In-Place Specialist (CAPS)Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist (CAPS) and Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) and SFR® certifications National Association of Home Builders National Association of Home Builders.
Heather is the founder of "How 2 Age Your Way" and "Step Up Housing", connecting communities and promoting affordable housing for seniors. She is actively involved in NAIPC and SE Florida's founding chapter chair. She has been featured on top podcasts like the NKBA Webinar Series, spoken at the International Builders Show and advocate for aging in place through education and neighborhood initiatives.
Key Takeaways
- The nation’s housing infrastructure is insufficient to support the aging population. The average home is 44 years old and less than 5% of ournation's housing units can accommodate individuals with mobility issues.
- Sixty percent of falls happen at home, and one in four adults report taking a fall.
- Key aging in place features include step free entries and access to a bedroom and full bathroom on the 1st floor. Important home modifications include installing grab bars, non-slip flooring surfaces, improved lighting, multi-level countertops and replacing doorknobs with lever handles.
- Universal design goes beyond ADA requirements to design environments that are accessible and usable by all ages and all abilities, whether you have a wheelchair or a stroller.
- Age-friendly communities are huge drivers of aging well. They encompass more than the home you live in. Social determinants of health like access to transportation, medical care and connections to family andfriends are crucial for healthy longevity.
There are 4,130 licensed adult day centers in the US servicing237,000 people daily. The industry is experiencing huge growth as families recognizethe importance of taking breaks from caregiving. Adult daycare combats caregiverburnout and is significantly less expensive than homecare.
Opening Season 18, renowned gerontologist, educator, and coach Barbara Waxman shares her “genesis story” of what called her to working in eldercare, shifting perspectives around ageism, and embracing a longevity mindset.
About Barbara
Barbara Waxman, the founder of The Odyssey Group, is a highly sought-after longevity and leadership advisor, coach, speaker and author. Barbara translates cutting edge research and collective wisdom in ways that enable others to understand how the dynamics of our aging world impact individuals, communities, companies, and the planet.
Barbara's leadership as a gerontologist in the coachingfield has culminated in the transformative coaching model Entrepreneurship Turned Inward™️ (ETI), the evidence based Seven Lifestyle Levers Assessment™️ and the Longevity Roadmap™️. Barbara is an Advisor to the Stanford Center on Longevity, Stanford Lifestyle Medicine and is a faculty member at Chip Conley's Modern Elder Academy.
Key Takeaways
- Longevity is aging’s aspiration partner. Rather than “aging,” which refers to the biological maturation of our cells, “longevity” encapsulates the spirit of living healthy, joyful, and robust lives. Even if we aren’t fans of aging, we can be fans of longevity.
- Our expectations of aging are changing in real time. What used to be considered “old” is not anymore. Consider how your own trajectory and experiences has shifted your belief on what is “old.”
- Consider the term “preferment” versus “retirement”. We can reach a stage where we do not want to be anchored by a paycheck or other responsibilities, so we get to create a constellation of activities in the ways we prefer to do them.
- Don’t confuse an easy life with a happy life. Full lives are not devoid of challenge, exhaustion, or pain. You can create happiness amid struggles through a positive mindset.
In our final episode of Season 17, Dr. Kerry Burnight offers listeners a chance to examine ageism through their own attitudes toward aging and her perspective on how the field of gerontology has shifted in the last fewdecades. Gerontologist, professor, researcher, podcaster, and writer, Dr. Burnight is “America’s Gerontologist,” and provides relatable, digestible, and humor-filled insights on aging through articulating six core principles that support individuals to age well.
About Kerry
Dr. Kerry Burnight is a gerontologist on a mission to makeolder better. She served as a Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at the University of California, Irvine for 17 years. She is the co-founder of the nation’s first Elder Abuse Forensic Center, where her team of law enforcement officers, physicians, attorneys, and social workers have served over 2000 older adults.
Her research focuses on the two ends of the spectrum of the aging experience: wellness and purpose at the one end and loneliness and elder abuse at the other end. As a society, and as individuals, there is so much we can do to improve older lives. Burnight founded the national non-profit Ageless Alliance and serves on executive advisory boards for companies innovating in the aging space. She is currently writing a book and was recognized for herwork by the U.S. Department of Justice and has appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, The Doctors, Money Matters, and Headline News.
Key Takeaways
- Our health spans are a key componentof aging, and there’s lots of variability among the adult population.
- “Othering” older people is harmful. Weare, as a society, starting to acknowledge that intergenerational connection is both necessary to our health and is an antidote to ageism.
- Getting older is inevitable, growing older is not. It takes effort to continually grow and you have to think about what kind of older person you want to be and what will it require to get there.
- We are all – at least – somewhat ageist. Internalized ageism is really dangerous. We must start looking at our own ageist thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Six Principles of Aging:
- A: Acceptance (Accept Yourself)
- B: Be that Friend (the one who brings over soup,gives the best hug.)
- C: Challenge Yourself
- D: Decide to Give (Recognize what you have togive, and give it.)
- E: Educate to Navigate (Learn about resources tohelp you navigate your aging journey)
- F: Focus on Interdependence (Humans arenaturally interdependent; don’t silo yourself, especially as you age!)
Harry R. Moody on 50 years in the field of aging and making the world a better place
Harry “Rick” Moody, Ph.D., shares his opinions on positive aging, climate change, and the importance of finding meaning and purpose in later life. Gerontologist, professor, executive, speaker, writer, and activist, he is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Fielding Graduate University’s Creativity and Wisdom Program and author of the hallmark textbook Aging: Concepts & Controversies, in its 10th edition.
About Dr. Moody
Harry R. Moody is a graduate of Yale University and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University. He has taught philosophy at Columbia University, Hunter College, New York University, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He recently retired as Vice President and Director of Academic Affairs for AARP in Washington, DC. He is currently Visiting Professor at Tohoku University in Japan, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Fielding Graduate University’s Creativity and Wisdom Program.
Dr. Moody previously served as Executive Director of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College and Chairman of the Board of Elderhostel (now Road Scholar). Moody is the author of over 100 scholarly articles, as well as a number of books including: Abundance of Life: Human Development Policies for an Aging Society (Columbia University Press, 1988) and Ethics in an Aging Society (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992).
His most recent book, The Five Stages of the Soul, was published by Doubleday Anchor Books and has been translated into seven languages worldwide. He is the editor of the Climate Change in an Aging Society and Human Values in Aging newsletters. In 2011 he received the Lifetime AchievementAward from the American Society on Aging and in 2008 he was named by Utne Reader Magazine as one of “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.”
Key Takeaways
- Internalized ageism contributes to self-limiting beliefs, like: “I'm too old to play tennis anymore.” “I'm too old to learn to play an instrument,” You are never too old to learn.
- There are small things we can do for climate change that add up when you connect with other people doing small things. Begin where you are.
- Think globally, act locally. It is a false narrative to think you either act as an individual or act politically. You can and should do both because one reinforces the other.
- Positive aging begins by changing the way you think. Begin by believing there is always something you can do to make a difference in your own life and the lives of others.
- Aging is diminished reserve capacity. But that means reserve capacity. Decrement with compensation means recognizing there will be limitations and then finding an alternative (Ex: you can’t run anymore, so you walk.) Look for opportunities, find them and act on them.
- Dreaming is a natural organic function of humans and all mammals. Dreams show us what we already know, but do not yet see.
- The young and old are the most vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation. Successful intergenerational connections require reciprocity and mentoring in both directions.
To subscribe to Human Values in Aging and Climate Change in an Aging Society, email hrmoody@yahoo.com.
Kirsten Jacobs, MSW, Senior Director of Shared Learning at LeadingAge, shares insights on ageism, diversity, and leadership from her 20+ years in senior living. She talks about the importance of supporting peer-to-peer learning, promoting diversity at the top, and calling out the web of ageism, ableism, and other “isms”, standing in the way of aging well.
About Kirsten
With over 20 years of experience in older adult housing, services, and long-term care management, Kirsten credits her four late grandparents for her commitment to the field. Her undergraduate thesis project, dedicated to sharing art with older adults, set the stage for an ongoing interest in dementia and holistic wellbeing. Kirsten has held various positions—including administrator and executive director. Currently, she serves on the knowledge team at LeadingAge, a national association of elder-serving organizations.
As Senior Director, Shared Learning Initiatives, Kirsten leads and manages the organization’s wellness and dementia education strategy and other shared learning activities. Kirsten also guides a diverse set of education initiatives to advance LeadingAge’s ageism work and strategic focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Kirsten earned a Master of Social Work (MSW) and gerontology certificate from Portland State University (Portland, OR) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in arts administration and a minor in studio art from Scripps College (Claremont, CA).
Kirsten lives in her hometown of Portland, OR with her spouse, two kiddos, and goofy dog.
Key Takeaways
- LeadingAge’s shared learning approach creates opportunities for senior living providers to learn from each other. There is always wisdom in the room, whether virtual or physical.
- LeadingAge’s LTSS Center at UMass Leaders of Color Network provides career path support and mentorship for persons of color in senior living and aging services.
- Ageism starts with a youth-obsessed culture that reinforces the message that young is good and old is bad, starting with children's books and movies. By the time we are older, we have these really internalized negative feelings of what it means to grow old.
- Discrimination is layered. It' difficult to look at one “ism” without acknowledging other layers of oppression compounded with the experience of aging. The web of ageism and ableism is so intertwined it's impossible to separate.
- Leading Age Leadership Summit April 15th - 17th in Washington, DC. will address the implications of changing demographics and how to better support people in the experience of growing older.
The CEO of The Chopra Foundation shares global mental health and wellness initiatives, the importance of intentional intergenerational living and the seven principles of healthy living.
About Poonacha
Poonacha Machaiah is the CEO of The Chopra Foundation,dedicated to improving health, social, and planetary wellbeing—co-founder and CEO of Seva.Love the metaverse platform for wellbeing and ChopraX, a venture studio backing transformative entrepreneurs reimagining the future of health and wellbeing, along with world-renowned mind-body medicine pioneer and New York Times best-selling author Deepak Chopra, MD.
He has co-founded initiatives such as NeverAlone® to address mental well-being and suicide prevention. Co-founded CIRCA®, an anxiety management platform, along with Srini Pillay, MD - Harvard-trained psychiatrist and brain researcher. He is also the founder of Cyberhuman.AI, the personal AI digital wellbeing twin.
He is on the board of transformative companies such as The Healing Company, Beacon Media, Limitless Minds, and Reulay. He has also held senior management positions at Nortel, Iridium, Motorola, and Sasken. He holds an MBA from the College of William and Mary and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering.
Key Takeaways
The three core focus areas of The Chopra Foundation are Mental Health, Longevity (healthspan versus lifespan) and Conscious Leadership.
Mental health is a silent pandemic. The second leading cause of death among young adults is death by suicide. It is a “bookend” problem—effecting the very young and very old.
The science behind equine therapy is solid. The goal of the Healing Power of Horses initiative, in partnership with Stella McCartney, is to create a global network of equine therapy and therapists.
Intergenerational living needs to be integrated into the design of cities and communities. Combining the wisdom of age and the biology of youth is peak living.
Seva.Love is the global metaverse for wellbeing platform offering a next generation meditation experience.
The Chopra Center’s Seven Principles for Healthy Living: 1. Nourish your body, 2. Integrate movement, 3. Manage negative emotions, 4. Develop a mind-body practice, 5. Prioritize sleep, 6. Connect with community, and 7. Connect with nature.
Robert Krueger, CPA, PFS, Senior Principal at Alexander Randolph, provides insights on the importance of financial planning at every stage of life, how to reframe “retirement,” and the benefits of financial transparency with loved ones.
About Robert
Rob began his career in financial planning by first obtaining his CPA license and working for KPMG for over 7 years, during which time he rose to the level of senior tax manager and advised clients on various tax matters. From there he started his own tax and advisory company, working with individuals and small businesses and helping his clients with tax planning and financial resource management. In 2000, he merged his firm with Alexander Randolph Inc, a financial services company located in Northern Virginia, expanding his services by offering investment and wealth management, along with comprehensive financial planning.
Rob received his Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation in 2006 and continues to work with individuals in need of financial planning and wealth management services. His focus is on clients who are nearing retirement or have already moved into this next stage of life, helping them manage their investments so that they can feel financially confident and truly enjoy their lives.
Key Takeaways
- Financial planning is a wholistic approach that encompasses investment management, insurance, and estate planning.
- Financial planning is important at all stages of life. In each decade, the priorities of financial planning shift, not just for those about to retire.
- Avoid fixating on “the number”—the amount of money you’ll have when you retire. People should think about what they want to do – and what kind of life they want to live – and only then determine what they’ll need financially to support that lifestyle.
- Effective communication about finances with your loved ones is part of aging well. Talking about money can be uncomfortable, but having financial transparency helps your loved ones honor your wishes and support you in the best way.
Sarita Mohanty, MD, MPH, MBA, President and CEO of The SCAN Foundation, shares their goal of improving the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. Learn how this grant making and impact investing organization supports older adults in home and community.
About Sarita
Sarita A. Mohanty, MD, MPH, MBA, serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of The SCAN Foundation. The SCAN Foundation is an independent public charity that envisions a society where every older adult has the choices and opportunity to age well. Its mission is to ignite bold and equitable changes in how older adults age in both home and community. Previously, Sarita served as the Vice President of Care Coordination for Medicaid and Vulnerable Populations at Kaiser Permanente.
Sarita was formerly Assistant Professor of Medicine at USC; Chief Medical Officer of COPE Health Solutions, a health care management consulting company; and Senior Medical Director at L.A. Care, the largest U.S. public health plan.
Sarita completed her Internal Medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and research fellowship at Harvard Medical School. She earned her MD from Boston University, MPH from Harvard University, and MBA from UCLA. She completed undergraduate work at UC Berkeley. She currently is an Associate Professor at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine and is a practicing internal medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente.
Sarita enjoys international travel, tennis, and spending time with her husband, three kids, and her dog, Apollo.
Key Takeaways
- Americans do not have an accessible system of care. The infrastructure does not serve all populations equitably. There is a lot of fragmentation and a lack of care coordination and seamless focus on the individual.
- Vulnerable populations include lower income older adults and communities of color, and those in underrepresented geographies. We need more inclusive, equitable policieswithprivate sector investment and integrated community support.
- Technology solutions are not being created equitably to address health disparities and access to quality care.
- In the next years, next 10 years, we will have more adults than children in the US. We need to invest in older adults so they can contribute effectively to society.
- The narrative on aging is starting to shift, yet still wrought with stigma and discomfort. Older adults need to be viewed as valued, actively contributing members of our communities, rather than framing them as a burden.
- Intergenerational housing models are a growing trend. Older adults and people with disabilities, caregivers and their families, live in independent living units clustered around shared spaces in exchange for labor for caregiving, receiving good wages, childcare and other benefits.
- There's not enough workforce to support the growing aging demographic, so intergenerational constructs willbe critical.
Health and aging coach Al Lyman, author of Age Well and Feel Great, The Proven Path to Solving the Aging Puzzle and Going the Distance, shares his formula for healthy longevity. The Ironman triathlete offers practical tips for making positive lifestyle changes, and encourages small steps applied consistently for long-term success.
About Al
From a young age, Al Lyman took a cue from Walt Whitman when he said, “Be curious, not judgmental.” He has always wondered why some people live a healthy life until death and others suffer from chronic, debilitating illnesses. As a result, atthe tender age of 25 he made a conscious decision to die healthy, a concept he called ‘squaring the curve’ of life span vs. health span. Sadly, his Dad’s declining health and eventual brain cancer diagnosis that claimed his life at the young age of 65 illuminated this concept, inspiring Al to turn up the volume on his own journey to optimal health.
While watching the Hawaii Ironman on TV with his daughter, he impulsively announced, “I’m gonna do the Ironman!” That monumental decision propelled him to complete nine Ironman triathlons, while proudly displaying his #makehimproud arm tattoo (honoring his father). During this journey he was approached by other athletes who were drawn to his passion and desire to ‘go the distance’ for a healthier outcome, and as a result, Al spent two decades in high performance sports coaching.
Today, Al is known as the Age Optimizer, who helps you “live stronger in your second half.” He specializes in aging-related health coaching for mature adults determined to beat the ‘doctor dance’ and take back their lives. He teaches long-term physical, emotional and mental health techniques to help people over 50 conquer their inner critic. He personalizes every client’s path to wellness and a pain-free lifestyle. His signature Lyman Longevity Formula, in a few words, helps you spend more time with the ones you love, longer…and #makethemproud. Al is the author of Age Well and Feel Great: The Proven Path to Solving the Aging Puzzle and Going the Distance. He’s also the creator of the B.E.A.T. Aging Transformation, a nod to his life as a drummer, and commitment to march to a healthy beat.
Key Takeaways
- Health is our greatest wealth. Make the best choices to optimize health, but also enjoy life. Seemingly insignificant habits add up over time.
- Vitality and vibrancy are normal as we age, but we have to take action to create good health. The average American over 60 is on 2-3 prescription medications for chronic disease.
- Be proactive when it comes to healthcare decisions. Perform your own due diligence and advocate for yourself. Be willing to have challenging conversations with healthcare providers.
- Strength training is key to preventing age-related muscle wasting, known as sarcopenia. It's not about perfection; it's about consistency. Consistency leads to motivation because we start to feel the benefits.
Alban Maino shares his journey as founder of Memory Lane TV, a multi-sensory series of programs adapted for people livingwith dementia and their care partners, backed by 50 years of scientific research. Learn why standard television programming can be detrimental for those with cognitive impairment, and how Memory Lane TV can ease stress and anxiety and improve quality of life.
About Alban
Alban Maino is a Franco-American documentary film producer based in Portland, Maine, and the founder of Memory Lane TV, the “Netflix of dementia.” The creation of Memory Lane TV was inspired by his personal experience caring for his grandmother.
He explains, “When my grandmother, Rosette, was affected by Alzheimer’s, I searched for a tool, an intervention, something to help manage her symptoms, but found there were no effective options available. I delved into the published research and slowly discovered decades of investigations into sensory stimulation and memory. Eventually I was able to leverage my media background and construct some sensory stimulation tools based on that research that helped with my grandmother’s symptoms. This was the genesis of Memory Lane TV.”
Key Takeaways
- Standard television is not ideal for individuals with cognitive decline. Complicated plot lines and distressing content can be overwhelming.
- The best TV for individuals with cognitive decline is plot-free, image-focused, and calming. This kind of programming is a positive behavioral intervention.
- Television programming can serve as a redirection technique. Like young children, older adults with cognitive decline may need redirection to ease acute stress, anxiety, and fear.
- Combining images with olfactory stimulation can enhance therapeutic benefits. Smell is a direct pathway to memory, so providing aromatherapy along with TV programming can help with memory recall and enhance the experience.
Clinical Social Worker and family caregiving expert Stephanie Erickson talks about her new book Plan for Aging Welland sharespractical advice on how to navigate your family’s aging journey.
About Stephanie
Stephanie Erickson, author of Plan for Aging Well, was born and raised in California. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work, is a Certified Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment Specialist (CADTS) licensed in both Quebec and California.
She founded Erickson Resource Group, a clinical practice providing decision-making capacity evaluations for legal proceedings and expert opinions related to support for older adults. She also provides online consulting services for caregivers throughout North America. As a Family Caregiving Expert, she is a regular contributor on media outlets throughout the U.S. and Canada discussing topics related to caregiving, health, and well-being.
Stephanie is passionate about sharing her experience and knowledge and encouraging others to take control of their health and advocate on behalf of vulnerable populations. As a mom and entrepreneur, free time is hard to find. Yet, Stephanie always carves out time to enjoy the beach. She lives in California with her husband, two children and energetic golden retriever.
Learn more about Stephanie at stephanieerickson.com or find her on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Key Takeaways
- We have a crisis in the US healthcare system. One of the biggest challenges is access to quality consistent care. The care is often subpar, and the shortage of providers negatively impacts the quality of care.
- People don’t want to plan for aging well because they are afraid of getting older. Fears like having reduced mobility, getting an illness, running out of money and dying can feel overwhelming.
- Everyone wins when you plan. Create a life plan early in you're in your 40s and 50’s to share with adult children, family, and friends. We need a collaborative team approach to aging.
Aaron Hurst is the best-selling authorof The Purpose Economy and founder of the workforce engagement platform Imperative and nonprofit Taproot Foundation. Learn about the power of purpose, how to build a culture of meaning, and the next step in his socialimpact legacy, Shared Purpose, retreats and dinners for friends, couples, and colleagues to clarify their purpose and vision for the next chapter in their lives.
About Aaron
Aaron Hurst is an award-winning social entrepreneur who usescuriosity, creativity, courage, and care to navigate the world with purpose. He founded the Taproot Foundation, Imperative, Board.dev, and Shared Purpose. More importantly, he is a husband, father, and friend.
In 2013, co-founded and led Imperative, a venture-backed start-up, that developed the first employee purpose profiling technology that has enabled hundreds of thousands of people to discover and own their purpose at work. In 2020, he re-launched the company, creating the first enterprise peer coaching platform which has become a critical way to connect and develop employees in the hybrid workplace.
In 2001, he founded the Taproot Foundation, where he catalyzed the $15 billion pro bono service market in the US and helped establish markets in over 30 countries. The nonprofit was one of the pioneers in building cross-sector partnerships and helped accelerate the growth of corporate social responsibility.
Aaron’s best-selling 2014 book, The Purpose Economy, predicted the rise of purpose as a leading driver of economic growth and innovation. He coined the term ‘Purpose Mindset’ and in partnership with NYU developed the first commercial measure of employee fulfillment. He has led national and global studies on purpose in the workplace and in higher education in partnership with leading corporations and universities.
Key Takeaways
- The Purpose Economy was based on Taproot Foundation—a pro bono service to help business professionals use their skills to help nonprofits. The book makes the business case that purpose and meaning drive innovation and economic value creation.
- A key to having a sense of purpose and meaning in your life is strong relationships. Meaningful relationships and the need for purpose and meaning these are two of the biggest predictors of life span and quality of life.
- Research shows women over 55 are especially likely to have a purpose mindset. A purpose mindset is related to the strongestleaders with the highest performance. There is a strong case that people over 55 are the best employees. Recognition of the value of older people is a major opportunity for employers.
- At a Shared Purpose Retreat, attendees come with a “co pilot” – a spouse, sibling, or friend to share the experience and language. The co-pilot accelerates your ability to be vulnerable.
Nature-based art therapist and founder and executive director of Evergreen Minds runs community programs for communities, senior living, and healthcare professionals.
About Michelle
Dr. Michelle Olson is a lover of the outdoors and mindful and body-full practices. She is a social gerontologist, a licensed, board-certified creative arts therapist, a certified Montessori Dementia Care Professional, Certified Activity Consultant with aspecialization in Memory Care and she is also a Certified Forest Therapy Guide. Michelle teaches about mental health and social issues in aging including ageism at Montana State University.
During the pandemic, Dr. Olson founded a 501(c)(3) charitable organization called Evergreen Minds, Inc. which aims to reframe stigmas associated with dementia by connecting people in and outside of senior living who are living with dementia with Vassar College students and members of all ages in the Hudson Valley and New York City. This is done through a wide variety of meaningful dementia-inclusive experiences in and with nature and expressive arts.
Key Takeaways
- Creative arts therapies like visual arts, music, drama, and dance are valuable approaches for helping people living with dementia amidst changes in verbal communication. People with dementia rarely have opportunities to express their emotions and receive validation.
- Spending time in nature has physical, mental, and cognitive health benefits. Natural elements bring people together and provide opportunities for deeper connections with the earth, healing, and expression.
- The most common barriers that keep older adults from getting outside, particularly in senior living, are staffing challenges, safety concerns and temperature. Many senior living communities are not structured for residents to get outside. There is a fear of taking risks and team members are not even supported.
- Time in nature makes us less depressed and anxious and moreempathic, creative and grateful. Nature gives us what we need in that moment.
- Ageism and ableism are at the systemic root of issues in senior living and home care Segregating people from the rest of society eliminates daily opportunities for intergenerational connections.
Emily Freilino is a Senior Certified Sleep Consultant with Sleep Wise Consulting. For almost a decade, Emily has helped adults and children develop healthy sleep habits. Learn about how much sleep we need as adults and how to achieve restful, rejuvenating sleep at any age.
About EmilyEmily Freilino is a Senior Certified Sleep Consultant and proud member of Sleep Wise Consulting. Originally from the beautiful state of Colorado, she lived in the New York City area before settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband and two boys. After 10+ years working in advertising in NYC and dealingwith sleepless nights and exhaustion, she learned just how precious sleep is. Now she has been working in behavioral sleep for the last six years and partners with adults and children to develop healthy sleep habits. Sleep is precious, and Emily knows from personal experience how many theories on sleep exist that create confusion and not much help. She works to create customized plans for each individual and sticks by their side to help guide them through the process. Emily’s passion lies in helping others get the sleep they need. She believes that a well rested individual is someone that has more time to embrace what they love in life!
Key Takeaways
Restful sleep is possible – and it’s a skill. Learning to sleep well requires effort, consistency, and prioritizing your own health and well-being.
Stop wearing tiredness or exhaustion as a badge of honor. Our society prioritizes how much we are achieving, even at the detriment of our sleep and health. Lack of sleep causes serious medical issues. Lack of sleeping causes 1.2M car accidents per year; there’s a 200% increase in heart attacks in individuals with constant disrupted sleep, and it can lead to diseases such as Alzheimer’s.It’s a myth that older adults need less sleep. After adolescence, we need at least seven to nine hours of sleep throughout our entire lives.
The biggest indicator of how well you’re sleeping is how you feel. While we need 7-9 hours of sleep, don’t get too caught up in the hours. Really focus on how your body is feeling throughout the day and ask yourself if you feel rested, nourished, and able to thrive? Our mindset about sleep is key. Just like with aging, negative perceptions of our ability to sleep impact our actual ability to sleep well. Shifting your mindset about your sleep can help reset your patterns.
Christine Foster, CID, NCIDQ, EDAC is a Licensed New York State Interior Designer and 25-year veteran of the design industry. Learn about her innovative housing model that aligns affordable housing for caregivers with a multi-generational residential home for aging in community.
About Christine
Christine practices as a New York State Licensed Interior Design Professional and operates eight two three Interior Planning / Design LLC, located in Horseheads New York.
As a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, she received her BFA in Interior Design with a concentration in Environmental Studies in 1995. While New York State Licensure, and NCIDQ Certification attest to her understanding of public health, safety, and welfare requirements, her commitment to design extends well beyond these critical fundamentals.
Christine’s desire to align evidence in the healthcare industry with built environment led her to obtain the EDAC-Evidence Based Design Accreditation and Certification, in 2020. She continues her commitment to the utilization of built environmentas a tool for preventative medicine in the spaces she creates. Understanding how spaces impact our psychological and physiological well-being remains her true passion. Christine encourages the utilization of Biophilic and Trauma Informed Design approaches in her work. She maintains that these interventions are imperative to include in the planning of successful collaborative living environments.
Most recently, Christine has pioneered a grassroots community initiative in support of a model that aligns affordable housing for caregivers alongside a collaborative, multi-generational residential home for aging in community. Through this initiative, Christine has created an opportunity to elevate her knowledge of evidence-based design practice by connecting both established and evolving programs within the long-term care industry with built environment. Her affiliations with SAGE- Society for Advancement of Gerontological Environments and The Center for Health Design since 2018 has afforded the alignment of relevant research with design of the built environment.
Key Takeaways
- New models for senior living are essential. Retirement communities, nursing homes, or aging in place can no longer be the only options. It takes innovation and creativity to find new solutions.
- Connecting the built environment with long-term care could have profound impacts on aging. From the trajectory of many diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, one’s space can have a positive influence on varying aspects of aging – and it’s where a lot of other solutions lie.
- We need options for mid-market seniors. Currently, they are rare, and we have a "tsunami" of older adults needing solutions for longt-erm care.
- A collaborative housing model looks at separating the cost of housing from the cost of care. This housing model would home five to seven residents with an adjacent dwelling for a caregiver, rotating family member, student, or other community member. Among other things, it would help curb the loneliness factor of aging.
- Trauma-informed and biophilic design research is key to the success of collaborative housing models.
Patrick Roden, PhD, is the CEO of Aginginplace.com and author of Women, Aging & Myths: 10 Steps to Loving Your Long Life. Patrick talks about the free resources Aginginplace.com offers to support for older people and caregivers, how to change the narrative around aging, and the importance of lining up your tribe.
About Patrick
Patrick Roden Is a native of Oregon and spent the first years of his life crawling around the floors of a nursing home where his grandmother was head nurse. He feels this experience imprinted him and influenced his life's work. It was his "chance meeting" with 85-year-old marathon participant, Mavis Lindgren in 1992 that set Patrick on his current path. Acting as Mrs. Lindgren's medical escort for five marathons changed his view of what is possible in old age.
Patrick’s nursing career has spanned over three decades and includes ICU, CCU, Trauma Care, Inner-city Public Health, YMCA Cardiac Therapy Volunteer, and post-surgical recovery. In 2010 he was awarded The Lloydena Grimes Award for Excellence in Nursing from Linfield College School of Nursing (1st male ever to be awarded). He is a first-generation college graduate with a BS in Nursing, Masters in Adult Education and holds a Ph.D. in Gerontology. He is a Fielding University Creativity Longevity & Wisdom Fellow Human and Organization Development Scholarship recipient in recognition of scholarly contribution. Professional organizations include, The Oregon Nurse’s Association, Oregon Gerontological Association, American Society on Aging, and he is a Certified Aging in Place Specialists (CAPS).
He is the creative force behind aginginplace.com, author of the new book, Women, Aging & Myths: 10 Steps to Loving Your Long Lie, and a new series of Journals, What I Want You to Know About Aging, an intergenerational conversation starter and keepsake.
Key Takeaways
- The “biomedicalization of aging” model views aging as a disease. Also called the “peak and decline model,” the focus is on pathology andassumes an individual has a few good years followed by a steep downward slide.
- Women, Aging & Myths: 10 Steps to Loving Your Long Life showcases women who are debunking aging myths. A chapterfeatures Marianne Kilkenny who founded Women for Living in Community (WLIC) in 2007. WLIC has grown from an online website to a complete network of individuals, families, groups, and professionals, which focuses on the power of women as advocates and leaders for alternative housing choices.
- The narrative on aging needs to change. We are aged by culture not just biology. But we are aged by culture only if we agree to it.
Susan O’Connell, Spiritual Director of the Zen-Inspired senior living communities, Enso Village and Enso Verde (in development), speaks to how Zen is a transformative foundation for elder housing, building a healthy community, and bringing joy into everyday living.
About Susan
Susan O’Connell is the Spiritual Director of the Zen-Inspired senior living communities, a collaboration between the SanFrancisco Zen Center and Kendal Corporation. Their first community, Enso Village, is opening in Healdsburg, California in November 2023, and Enso Verde, its sister property, will be opening in Simi Valley in 2027. These revolutionary new Zen-inspired life plan communities are the result of Susan’s leadership and vision over the past 15 years as Vice President and President of the Zen Center Board of Directors, and the wisdom and experience of the Kendal Corporation.
Susan’s career wasn’t always rooted in Zen practices. In fact, she spent over 25 years in the entertainment industry working as a professional actress and developing and producing several films. It wasn’t until her visit to Green Gulch, the Zen Center’s Muir beach location, in 1987, that Susan’s interest in meditation was sparked. After a few years of exploring this new practice, she experienced a long series of losses and difficulties and in 1995 she decided to give up her Russian Hill apartment, give everything away and move into the San Francisco Zen Center in search of peace and refuge. Susan went on to receive priest ordination from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1999, was head monk (shuso) in 2004, and was given Dharma Transmission in 2017.
Today, Susan gives regular Dharma talks via the Zen Center,and is known for speaking on and writing about topics such as “The Power of Joy”, and “Transition- A Way to See What Matters.” She is passionate about sharing her wisdom on mindful and positive aging and after 27 years at the Zen Center Susan is now a proud resident at Enso Village in Healdsburg, spearheading the spiritual direction of Enso Verde as it is developed, and living her life to the fullest.
Key Takeaways
- Zen is what you think it is. It’s simplicity, calmness, and about being present, in its widest sense. Beyond that, it’s about living an equanimous life, being able to be flexible, and move with whatever is arising from having a strong base, cultivated by meditation.
- Community itself can be a healing modality. In Zen-inspired senior living communities, you can integrate quiet, meditation, caring about the planet, and this leads to a sense of community that is healing in and of itself.
- Dual caregiving, which often occurs at senior living communities, is when a person who thinks they’re “well” cares for another who they believe is “not well,” and the care becomes oppressive.
- Try to have buckets of joy. It can be easy to get caught on the side of loss, but there can be joy in just being alive.
The Founder of Booming Encore talks about how the digital media hub provides information and resources to help people design and live their best later life.
About Susan
Susan Williams is the Founder of Booming Encore – a digital media hub dedicated to providing information and inspiration to help people create and live their best later life. Susan is also the co-author of the book, Retirement Heaven or Hell: Which Will You Choose? and contributor to the book, Longevity Lifestyle by Design. Susan frequently writes and publicly speaks about the opportunities and challenges related to aging, retirement, and longevity.
Key Takeaways
- Older adults are choosing “slash careers” instead of retirement. An example is business analyst/dog walker
- We need to retire the word retirement. As people are living beyond standard life expectancy the whole concept of retirement is being questioned from a societal and personal perspective.Retirement means to withdraw, to pull back.
- Age-tech like wearables and sensors are being developed to support the 90% of people who want to age in their homes.
600,000 people across seven countries have tuned into Caregiving Worldwide Global Streaming TV Network, connecting people who take care of loved ones with companies that offer products and services to help them on their caregiving journey.
About Traci
Traci Lamb is the CEO/Founder of Caregiving Worldwide Enterprises and Caregiving Worldwide Television Network. She is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur who has created the only global platform in mass media that has shows specifically catering to caregivers worldwide and the healthcare industry.
After working for hospice for over 13 years, Traci saw a huge gap in the healthcare industry in that people taking care of their loved ones at home did not have a “one stop shop” where they could find products/services that could help them on their caregiving journey. With the creation of the Caregiving Worldwide TV show in January 2023, Traci decided to change that. By providing a platform that connected caregivers worldwide to various products and services that could help them, she was able to connect the dots and allow the synergies to come together.
With over 600k viewers across seven countries after the initial first 12 episodes, Caregiving Worldwide has now expanded to Caregiving Worldwide Television Network. Multiple new series and new talent with new innovative products and services will be pouring out of the network over the next few months and even years. The sky is the limit and Traci can’t wait to reach the stars.
Key Takeaways
- The Safe and Sound show on the Caregiving Worldwide Television Network is “QVC meets Angie's List for caregivers.”
- Caregiving trends include Boomers entering the caregiving space, corporations starting to offer caregivers benefits such as paid time off, and new innovative technology solutions.
- Top technology solutions include solutions for Alzheimer's and other types of dementia and virtual reality to combat social isolation. Technologies for older adults need to be easy for the user.
- The best thing to do is to prepare. Get with a community that can help you prepare. You don’t have to be isolated and alone.
MT Connolly is the author of The Measure of Our Age and a nationally-recognized expert on elder justice. She is a recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, as well as the architect of the federal Elder Justice Act and founder of the Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative.
About M.T.
M.T. Connolly is a leading national expert on elder justice, a MacArthur “Genius Grant" awardee, and author of the 2023 book, The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life. She was the architect of the federal Elder Justice Act, founder of the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative, and lead author of the Elder Justice Roadmap, shaping federal, state, and local research, policy, and practice.
She is also co-designer of the community-based “RISE” model intended to introduce holistic, hopeful, and effective ways to empower older adults, reduce harms, and promote elder justice. Learn more about her work at www.mtconnolly.com
Key Takeaways
- With aging, no decision ever stays made. You have toplan, and be ready to pivot when you need to.
- Most decisions when it comes to Elder Care are made from a crisis perspective. This limits your options, your ability to do research, and make sound decisions. Work to make decisions proactively.
- To help prevent elder abuse, plan, plan, plan. Talk about your life planning in advance, consider who you trust and will put in place to help make decisions, and what kind of resources that you need now and in the future.
- Often, our perspective on aging is largely built on fear. A more positive view of aging could help combat ageism and shift cultural norms.
- Caregiving is a team sport, not a solo endeavor. Caregivers have to learn to ask for help, not take it all on themselves, and build in respite.
Roberts Signore, President and Co-founder of Thrive Pavilion encourages the use of spatial computing and virtual reality to create authentic connections and interactions between seniors.
About Robert
Robert Signore is a well-respected leader in the field of virtual reality, with a focus on using innovative technologies such as Social Virtual Reality, Spatial Computing, and the Metaverse to combat social isolation and loneliness among older adults. He co-founded Thrive Pavilion Inc, a nonprofit organization that uses the Metaverse to assist older adults overcome isolation and loneliness.Throughout his impressive career, Robert has held various executive roles in Hi-Tech and Age-Tech companies. He is committed to utilizing VR/AR technology to create meaningful connections and improve the lives of older adults.
In addition to his professional achievements, Robert leads an active personal life. He is an avid runner, biker, and powerlifter, and he is dedicated to promoting social connection to improve older adults' mental and emotional well-being. With his unique blend of technical expertise and personal commitment, Robert can connect innovative technology with genuine human experiences, profoundly impacting the lives of those he serves.
You can reach Robert via email at president@thrivepavilion.org, or on LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/rsignore)
Key Takeaways
- The goal of Thrive Pavilion is to provide social connection through a virtual community center in Horizon Worlds, insidethe metaverse. More than 400 members from the USA and Canada currently engage in activities which are published on the website thrivepavilion.org. Members communicate through a Facebook group when not in VR.
- Spatial computing or virtual reality has a significant impact on older adults’ emotional and mental well-being. VR creates an emotional social connection between senior living residents like relationships in the real world.
- Using a Meta Quest Headset, members participatein activities as a computer-generated avatar with other members who are also avatars. All activities—including games like Uno, corn hole, bocce, darts, and mini golf, plus a theater company, health seminars and classes on aging and art—occur in computer-generated spaces.
- The advantage of spatial computing or virtual reality is it takes away high-tech abstractions. You interface with technology the way your body is designed to work, just as you learned to interface with the world as a toddler.
- A “vignette” is a three-dimensional art piece designed by an older adult and a 3D artist inside Horizon Worlds. The art piece recreates the visuals of the story, and you experience the memory as the older adult is explaining it.
Joy Loverde, best-selling author and eldercare visionary, speaks to important considerations on making housing decisions as you age, how to focus on transitions in response to change, and why you should always have older people in your life.
About Joy
Joy is the author of the best-seller, The Complete Eldercare Planner, Revised & Updated 4th Edition and Who Will Take Care Of Me When I’m Old? A seasoned keynote speaker and media spokesperson, Joy’s appearances include the Today show, CBS Early Show, ABC News, NPR and more. She is quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time Magazine, and many others. USA TODAY ran a four-part series on her employee eldercare programs. Joy works with professionals as a mature-market consultant. Visit Joy’s website: https://elderindustry.com
Key Takeaways
- Housing and health are interrelated; you cannot talk about one without the other. When thinking about where you’re going to live as you age, you must consider what resources to support your health will be available to you.
- Aging in place requires planning. Making sure you have the appropriate support and resources while aging in place is critical to longevity, especially when homecare services can be limited.
- Aging involves lots of change. Rather than focus on the acute change, focus on the transition. Explore the questions and possibilities that arise based on the transition.
- It is important to create a safety net as you age. This includes finances, but also the flow of people around you, your community, and the things that make your feel vibrant and supported.
- Aging planning can be overwhelming. Start your planning process by picking one thing to do. Let that sink inand be enough for a while. Then, go back to planning when you can.
- Having people that are 20-30 years older than you as part of your safety net is a gift. They can be your living answers to questions that cross your path.
Dr. Lakelyn Eichenberger, gerontologist, and caregiving advocate, shares her work to educate, empower, and provide resources for family and professional caregivers.
About Lakelyn
Lakelyn Eichenberger, Ph.D. serves as gerontologist andcaregiving advocate for Honor and Home Instead, the world’s largest providers of home care. Lakelyn began her career in a local Home Instead working one-on-one with aging adults. Today, she works to educate professionals, families and communities on the unique challenges older adults face and the resources available to help them thrive.
Lakelyn earned a PhD inGerontology from the University of Nebraska. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the topic of caregiving and aging and serves as a resource to major media including Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz. Lakelyn has a passion for helping others and giving back to her community. She is a board member of the National Alliance for Caregiving.
We are proud to have Lakelyn as an Advisory Board Member for Glowing Older!
Key Takeaways
- Caregivers often feel alone and isolated. The Caregiving Chatspodcast provides education and resources for people to plan for their caregiving journey, including information on Alzheimer's and dementia, aging in place, and self-care.
- We underestimate how the person we are caringfor feeds off our energy and mood. Take breaths and slow down when feeling anxious, rushed, and frustrated. Tap into homecare services and reach out to family members to build your care team.
- People are more comfortable planning for theirfuneral than the days, weeks and months leading up to it. We can pick out our casket and gravestone, but don’t want to talk about losing mobility, giving up driving, or needing help with activities of daily living.
- Families need to start having difficult conversations earlier. When making decisions in crisis mode, you are not gathering as much information as you should and are not evaluating all the options, which leads to regret, stress and strain.
- According to the Home Instead guide Action plan for successful aging, a majority of adult children (54%) surveyed described their critical conversations with parents as uncomfortable at times, difficult but necessary, emotional with yelling and tears, or difficult and unsuccessful.
The Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Primetime Partners talks about building a fundamental infrastructure to improve the quality of living of older adults, including applied technology for financial longevity, caregiving, mental health, and resources for social determinants of health.
About Abby
Abby Miller Levy has spent her career helping businesses and consumer brands grow as an operator, entrepreneur, and advisor, most notably in the wellness sector. Prior to Primetime Partners, she was Senior Vice President of Strategy & Growth at SoulCycle, where she oversaw business development and revenue growth outside the consumer studio business, with an emphasis on building new digital products. Abby teamed with Arianna Huffington to launch Thrive Global, a behavior change technology company focused on employee productivity and wellness. Abby served as President of Thrive Global and remains on the Thrive Board. Abby began her career at McKinsey & Company then led product development at OXO International. She is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School.
Key Takeaways
- Financial longevity is a key component to aging well. 50% of Americans are going to run out of money—not just because lifespans are increasing, but because we don't have an adequate infrastructure. People should start financial planning as early as possible.
- The number one resource to build your retirement savings is a tax free 401k. The second thing is to continue working. Forced retirement is going out the window—70% of Americans want to work longer.
- Only 11% of Americans have long-term care insurance. Many people assume incorrectly that Medicare pays for long-term care. Added to care expense are hidden costs such as home modification for aging in place.
- The cost is being borne by families. There are 53 million unpaid family caregivers who pay an average of $7,000 a year to take care of a loved one.
- Social isolation affects older adults disproportionally—50% of adults over the age of 85 live alone.
- Older adults don’t want to be stereotyped by age. They want to be aligned with their interests and passions versus numeric segmentation.
- Older adults are heterogeneous in interests, priorities, and attitudes, so marketers must consider microsegments not just sociodemographics.
The founder and CEO of Serenbe talks about the importance of fresh air, farm to table food, art, and education, and the community’s 20-year progression from breaking ground in 2004 to 500 houses, five restaurants, 35 businesses, and development of a leading-edge aging in place campus.
About Steve
Steve Nygren began his career in the hospitality industry, eventually starting a restaurant corporation that grew to 36 restaurants. In 1994, he and his wife Marie retired to a farm outside Atlanta, with their three daughters. Six years later, he became concerned about urban sprawl invading their adopted country paradise and in 2000 led the effort to create the Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance to bring together landowners, developers, and conservationists to find a mutually agreed upon solution for balanced growth. Through two years, a land use plan was adopted to preserve 70% of the 40,000 acres on the edge of Atlanta while providing 20% more housing that traditional suburban sprawl yield.
In 2004, the Nygren’s began the development of Serenbe interlacing agriculture with a range of housing choices mixed with shops, galleries, restaurants and a full-service Inn. The result is reminiscent of century old communities where many of your needs are within a walkable distance and neighbors know each other. Today, Steve serves as the CEO of Serenbe and lives in the community full-time.
Key Takeaways
- Serenbe contributes over a million dollars for art and environmental programming annually. Zoning requires 70% of the land to remain agricultural.
- Serenbe’s Montessori-based school has grown from a resident’s basement to the completion of a 100% geothermal multimillion-dollar campus with the first Tesla solar shingles on any commercial building in the world and they will be totally self-sustaining from an energy standpoint.
- The new aging in place campus, breaking ground in February 2024, is based on The Hogeweyk® dementia village in the Netherlands. There will be no gates or locks, no age restrictions, multigenerational living, and care based on needs and lifestyle.
- Feasibility studies are based on looking through the rearview mirror. There are a lot of roadblocks to cutting new territory—many developers do not have the passion, patience, or ability.
Scott Fulton, President of Home Ideations and The National Aging in Place Council®, is on a mission to improve the way people age. He shares his vision of aging well, which includes nutrition, exercise, connection, and community.
About Scott
Scott Fulton is a recognized health and longevity thought leader, celebrated for his pragmatic, systems approach to solving big challenges. He wears multiple hats as an accomplished business leader, adult educator, design consultant, and keynote speaker. Scott also serves on numerous community, national, and corporate Boards.
Driven by his dedicated mission to enhance public health and overall well-being, Scott serves as President of The National Aging in Place Council and is a proud member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
In his role as President of Home Ideations, Scott guides consumers and corporate clients to see opportunities in designing better solutions for tomorrow’s longevity needs. Notably, he recently designed and built a forward-looking home for his family that he calls the Livability Project, with functional design features for today’s longevity adults. A respected author, Scott has co-authored influential works such as "Eldercare 101," "Aging in Place Conversations," and "Longevity Lifestyle by Design." His latest project, "WHEALTHSPAN," is poised for release in late 2023.
As a co-host on "The Tattered Capes Podcast," Scott passionately shares his mission to foster awareness about the opportunities associated with aging, longevity, and the capacity to optimize for healthy and fulfilling lives. Beyond his intellectual pursuits, Scott is a multisport athlete, competing in numerous triathlon events, including two Ironmans.
Key Takeaways
- The community of the future adopts the best of senior living and aging in place and provides new ways of building connections.
- Lifestyle communities are more than a building—they create a lifestyle that is consistent with where you have been and where you are trying to go. The loneliest you can be is around a group of people where you don't belong.
- Hospitalization brings a host of negative health consequences, increasing the risk of dementia by 50%, a 30% increased risk of heart and stroke, and up to a four times higher risk of death.
- Nutrition and exercise are the cornerstones of health. There is no way to be healthy without daily movement, ideally 150 minutes of moderate intensity a week that gets the heart up.
- The pandemic brought more options to successfully age in place, including telemedicine and options for food delivery and home maintenance.
Syndicated columnist, author, and lecturer, Helen Dennis specializes in aging and the new retirement. Her more than 1,000 “Successful Aging” columns for the Southern California News Group reach 1.2 million readers weekly.
About Helen
Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging and the new retirement with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. She has received numerous awards for her university teaching at the University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology and for her contributions to the field of aging, the community, and literary arts. As one of the nation’s leading experts on preparing for the non-economic aspects of retirement, she has worked with over 25,000 employees at corporations, universities, and religious institutions to do just that.
Editor of two books, author of over 100 additional articles and frequent speaker, Helen is co-founder of Renewment®: and co-author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller, "Project Renewment: The First Retirement Model for Career Women" (Scribner). She has been recognized by PBS Next Avenue as one of the 50 influencers in aging. In her volunteer life she has been president of five nonprofit organizations and has been recognized with awards for her leadership.
Key Takeaways
- Ageism is the dominant theme in Dennis’ Successful Aging column. Other key themes include loss—of loved ones, physical ability, and jobs—caregiving, and cognitive health.
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There is a shortage of geriatricians in the U.S.—approximately 7,500 board-certified geriatricians for nearly 56 million people 65 and over in the U.S.
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Workplace and retirement are big issues for older adults—finding a new identity and sense of purpose as overarching themes. Dennis recommends taking a breath and thinking about what brings pleasure and joy.
- Aging is a hard sell. We need to figure out how to make it palatable and aspirational. Aging needs to be framed in both realistic and positive terms with a focus on opportunities.
Pamela Toto, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Occupational Therapy, shares details on the Pitt Healthy Home Laboratory which develops and evaluates technologies and home services to help people live safely and independently at home.
About Pam
Pamela Toto, PhD, OTR/L, BCG, FAOTA, FGSA, is a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and senior scientist in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Healthy Home Laboratory. She is also a Doctor of Clinical Science in Occupational Therapy Program at the University of Pittsburgh, an online post-professional clinical doctorate focused on strategies to implement best evidence in clinical practice. She is an occupational therapist, researcher and educator who is internationally recognized within her field for her expertise in gerontology.
Board Certified in Gerontology and a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association and a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, Dr. Toto has over 30 years of clinical experience as an occupational therapist providing services for older adults in the community and in long term care settings. Dr. Toto’s clinical and research interests focus on the implementation of client-centered interventions in “real world” settings to promote independence, participation and healthy aging in older adults. She is a national trainerand instructor for evidence-based programs including CarFit, Matter of Balance, and Skills2Care, and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and presentations, combined, on topics related to successful aging.
Key Takeaways
- Healthy Home lab brings together professionals who help people age in place to educate students about challenges and develops solutions. Professionals include nurses, social workers, engineers, occupational and physical therapists, physicians, and physician assistants.
- Occupational therapists are trained to help people across the lifespan with activities of daily living and help people maximize their bodies and minds. The goal is helping older adults remain autonomous and independent as long as possible.
- Housing stock in the United States is not ready for aging in place. Only 10% of homes are ready for people to age in place, and in the Northeast it is 6.8%.
- The dynamic between older adults and adult children is challenging. Older adults want autonomy and adult children choose safety over independence. Older adults are willing to accept some risk to maintain their dignity.
- It is important to have hard discussions when people are well rather than waiting for a crisis. We must figure out better ways to minimize the risk and find solutions for older adults. Eliminating a person’s chosen activity is not the solution.
- Young people have fewer natural opportunities to interact with older adults, so working with older adults is not their first impetus. Occupational therapy students are excited about the shift to a preventative model versus Medicare reimbursed “damage control.”
The founder and CEO of Happy at Home Consulting in Iowa shares the company’s progression from humble roots to a sophisticated offering of home modification and wellness consultations, resource navigation, safety evaluations, and community partnerships.
About Sydney
Sydney Marshman, OTD, OTR/L, is the founder and CEO of Happy at Home Consulting based in Des Moines, Iowa. In her own family's struggles with keeping Nana safe at home, Sydney recognized the unique role of occupational therapy in assessing how environmental factors contribute to aging well at home. Happy at Home provides therapy at home to older adults with her team of physical, occupational and speech therapists. In addition to traditional rehabilitative services, Sydney continues to increase access to home safety evaluations throughout the state.
Happy at Home presently provides the evidenced-based programs CAPABLE and HARP through collaborations with community partners. Sydney is presently acting as the President-Elect of the Iowa Occupational Therapy Association and advocates for accessible housing through her involvement with multiple state coalitions. She received her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from Drake University. In her free time, Sydney enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and their three dogs.
Key Takeaways
- The CAPABLE program run by Iowa’s Connections Area Agency on Aging helps older adults function safely in their homes. Participants receive up to 6 visits with an Occupational Therapist (OT), 4 visits with a Registered Nurse (RN), and minor home repairs/modifications and/or assistive devices to help individuals age in place and prevent falls.
- The majority of falls occur in the bathroom. It is considered a high-risk environment.
- Assisted technologies are game changers but need to meet people’s level of comfort with technology, the OT may recommend low-techsolutions like motion sensor nightlights, or high-tech solutions like smart home environmental control units.
- The Area Agency on Aging (AAA) offers resource navigation and a list of providers and services in each state. The AAA Assistive Technology Program allows older adults to check out technologies for 30 days at no cost.
Senior Advisor of Trilogy Connect Scott Townsley talks about stagnation in senior living and how we prepare for the avalanche of aging consumers.
About Scott
Scott Townsley has more than 30 years’ experience in the senior living and senior care field. He formed Trilogy Connect, LLC after serving as the managing principal of Third Age, Inc. – one of the largest firms dedicated to consulting and strategy for senior living organizations. He was also a principal within the senior living practice of CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP. Scott has worked with hundreds of organizations across the country as they have grappled with how to successfully navigate and drive change. He is known for his willingness to ask provocative questions and probe traditional thinking.
Scott has previously served as a Lecturer, Adjunct Associate Professor and Professor of the Practice with University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Erickson School, where he taught graduate courses on Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation. He has also served as the Chair of the Advisory Committee for UMass Boston’s graduate program in the Management of Aging Services. In 2016 he co-founded the Center for Innovation - a 501(c)(3) that sponsors The Green House Project.
Key Takeaways
- Innovation in senior living is incremental. There is a disconnect between what the consumer is looking for and where we need to go in the sector.
- Getting back to the way things were pre-Covid is not the answer. There is innovation, but not on a significant scale. One of the reasons is the gravitational pull of the status quo.
- We're facing an avalanche of aging consumers and we are not structurally prepared. We need investment in common areas, hallways, living units and pricing plans.
Carol Chiang, OTR/L, CAPS, ECHM, CHAMP, founder and CEO of Evolving Homes®, shares insights from her 25 years as an occupational therapist. As a “professional problem solver,” she helps clients create a personal advisory board to optimize their environment and quality of life.
About Carol
Carol Chiang is an Occupational Therapist, Aging in Place and AgeTech Expert. She is the founder of Evolving Homes® which specializes in luxury accessibility for homeowners designing their forever homes. She is the creator of Age in Place or Find a New Space®, a service which determines if moving to a new home is more cost effective than remodeling an existing home.
Carol is an Aging in Place and AgeTech consultant for Toyota Research Institute, MITAgeLab, AARP and AARP AgeTech Collaborative where she teaches innovators what challenges their target markets face. She has been a speaker at numerous conferences including the Planning for Longevity Advisors Network Form at MIT, University of Florida’s Parkinsons Symposium, UBS’s Family Forum and the Rehab Tech Summit. She has appeared in national webinars for the National Kitchen and Bath Association, AARP and Davis Phinney Foundation. She also filmed a pilot TV show about luxury Aging in Place in 2021.
Carol is a former elite athlete, missing the 1996 Olympic Team cut by 1/10th of a second. She enjoys challenges and has climbed Mt. Kilamanjaro, lived abroad as an ex-pat and speaks multiple languages including English, French, Chinese. She is very active in her community as a Rotarian and has a special interest in building multi-generational relationships between teens and older adults in programs such as the MIT AgeLab Omega.
Key Takeaways
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Planning allows for better decision making and saves money. Start home modifications early and evolve as needs change. Construction is challenging no matter how well you plan for it.
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Occupational therapists look at the big picture with a focus on what is most meaningful. An example is the addition of raised planter beds if you love gardening but can’t crouch down due to knee surgery.
- Fall prevention is not installing grab bars, it is looking at the whole person and all the pieces, including caregivers and finances.
- Social networks are a critical component of aging in place. Local community is vitally important for connection and support.
The founder and CEO of Second Act Financial Services shares his formula for helping older adults and their families find financial flexibility. Second Act allows people to take their time selling their homes, providing tailor-made bridge loan solutions and comprehensive resources to age well.
About Elias
Elias Papasavvas has dedicated his career to enhancing access to retirement housing and senior living. He is viewed as an authority on tailoring and delivering consumer banking programs for the elder population.
Elias is known for pioneering the concept of elder care loans and point of sale financing for senior living over two decades ago. As CEO of Second Act Financial Services, Elias successfully oversees the Division’s unique lending approach in its understanding of the needs of retirement housing providers, retirees, and their families.
Elias has been named a “Leader in Elder Care”; has served on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Assisted Living Association, the Advisory Board of the George Mason University Assisted Living Program, the Advisory Board of the American Seniors Housing Association; and is a past member of the American Seniors Housing Association Chairman’s Circle.
Key Takeaways
- Aging in place—especially for solo agers—can be lonely. Studies show social isolation is as harmful as smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.
- Considerations for moving into senior living include the level of independence and support needed for daily activities such asbathing, dressing, and remembering to take medication.
- Geriatric care managers (aka aging life professionals) can initiate hard conversations with aging parents and make assessments that are helpful for next steps.
- Multigenerational living is a viable alternative to senior living. Families are adding accessory dwelling units and in-law suites so older adults can maintain privacy and autonomy.
The co-founders of Art Against Ageism talk about the alliance of artists and art activists seeking to combat ageism and promote age positivity. Learn how artistic activism can change people's minds about stereotypes around aging and older adults.
About Meg
Meg LaPorte helps aging services entities dismantle ageism in creative ways so that their communities can be the best environments for elders to live and thrive. Having written about and reported on all things aging services for more than 22 years, LaPorte is a communications, PR, and marketing specialist who seeks to advance positive age beliefs and reframe society's perspectives about age and aging.
Since obtaining her MA in Management of Aging Services from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2014, LaPorte has been devoted to harnessing the power of storytelling, trend spotting, and idea curation to produce potent and compelling communications and marketing campaigns. She currently focuses much of her energy on Art Against Ageism, a nonprofit organization that identifies, amplifies, and creates artistic activism that confronts and tackles ageism, which she co-founded in 2021.
About Jordon
Jordan Evans is the Co-Founder of Art Against Ageism. He has always had a penchant for creativity and social entrepreneurship. While obtaining his BA in Management of Aging Services at the Erickson School of Aging Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Jordan discovered his passion for aging services, serving the Care Force, and consumers that make this industry so great. He currently serves as HERO Development program manager for KARE.
His passion for advocating for older adults, along with his desire to tackle ageism that affects all ages, led him to co-found Art Against Ageism along with Meg LaPorte.
Key Takeaways
Art has been a common tool for activism, from the civil rights movement to women's rights, to the AIDS movement.
Art Against Ageism installations create visual representations of ageism and bring senior living leadership, staff, and residents together for a common cause.
Senior living trends include migration and immigration reform, fully integrated intergenerational communities, and desegregation in memory care.
Berit Lewis shares insights from her new book Ageing Upward, A mindfulness-based framework for the longevity revolution. Learn how to create more acceptance, self-compassion and mental flexibility while overcoming unconscious negative beliefs and societal discrimination.
About Berit
Berit Lewis is co-founder of Thrive Life, customized mindfulness-based training programs. She is an accredited MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) Teacher, trained in ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and also trained at Mindfulness in Schools Foundations (MiSP) to teach .B Foundations for teachers.
She is a category 1 member of VMBN (Vereniging Mindfulness Based Trainers Nederland en Vlaanderen) and holds a BA (Honours) in Psychology, a MA of Communication and a MSc of Vitality and Ageing. She has extensive experience in teaching MBSR courses in groups or to individuals.
Recently as part of her master thesis at Leyden Academy for Vitality and Ageing she developed, taught and researched an online Mindfulness Based Vitality and Ageing (MBVA) course for older persons. She has previously also developed a successful mindfulness course for teenagers.
Before founding Thriving Life, she worked as a communication- and PR specialist in Denmark and Australia – including 10 years as a communications specialist at the Danish Defence. Berit is Danish, married to a Welshman and lives in the Netherlands with two teenage children.
Key Takeaways
- When we are mindful, we are better able to sustain attention and become aware of habits, thoughts, and behavior. Mindfulness allows the freedom to consciously make new choices.
- There is a lot of advice to help people avoid aging but not much about how to cope with the challenges that we will face as we age.
- Mindfulness breeds compassion. When we meet life with compassion and kindness, we are more resilient and emotionally intelligent.
Nicole Will shares insights from 120+ willGather podcasts episodes about family caregiving, the care economy, and senior living. Learn about her mission to bring senior living out into the community and empower older adults and families.
About Nicole
Nicole Will is a passionate advocate for our aging community, equipping older adults, family caregivers, and eldercare professionals with valuable information and resources. As the founder of willGather, she enlightens and expands people's awareness of leaders and initiatives in the care economy space through the willGather Podcast: Navigating the World with Your Aging Loved One. Nicole Will brings helpful resources, valuable information, and practical tools that will encourage and give hope to caregivers as they navigate the aging journey with their loved ones for a more meaningful and fulfilled life.
In honor of her grandma, she also founded Gigi Betty co. by willGather, a boutique gift shop raising funds and awareness for family caregivers. As a collective, we are a powerful force for good. A portion of all proceeds are donated to support caregivers. With over 20 years of experience in aging and senior living services, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services: Social Gerontology and is actively certified with NCCAP. She spent years as a Director at a well-respected senior living community overseeing the Therapeutic Recreation, Volunteer, and Spiritual Care departments. She also served on the MAPA board and as an adjuvant faculty member at the University of St. Catherine.
Her hands-on approach and advocacy are inspired by her close relationship with her grandma, who came to live with her family giving her a deep understanding of family caregiver needs.
Website and Links:
www.willgather.com
www.willgatherpodcast.com
Podcast on Apple & Spotify
www.gigibettyco.com
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/WillGather-1132074970266544
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/willgather/
YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/user/myEventConnect
Key Takeaways
- Family caregivers only look to senior living when there is an event or crisis. Senior living communities can provide education and support and serve as guides for adult children to understand the caregiver’s journey.
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Senior living community should partner with companies that provide solutions for aging in place. For example, occupational therapists that provide support systems for the home.
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Senior living combats social isolation and at its best provides opportunities for lifelong learning, purpose and joy.
Paula Hertel and Nancy Schier Anzelmo had a dream to support individuals with mild cognitive decline and their care partners through the magic of horses. Learn how their passion for horses and senior living collided in 2015 with Connected Horse, how research from Stanford and UC Davis shows a reduction in depression, improved sleep and increased feelings of hope and connection, and their plans to expand the ground-breaking programs nationwide.
About Paula
Paula Hertel, MSW, is a co-founder and President of Connected Horse, and she has spent the last 25 years focused on improving service delivery systems for elders in need of care and services through consulting projects and executive management positions. She has broad experience in senior housing and assisted living operations, staff training, regulatory compliance, new program development and family and community needs. She is the founder of Senior Living Consult and co-founder of The ElderHub and provides consulting services to organizations and individuals in need of operational and strategic direction regarding elder care services and program development. Prior to her current ventures, she was Executive Operations Officer for Emeryoak, LLC and Chief Operating Officer of AgeSong Senior Communities, operators of assisted living and dementia care communities, where she oversaw operations, marketing and new building development. Previously, she served as Vice President of Operations and Marketing for Elder Care Alliance, a nonprofit faith-based organization, where she participated in all phases of feasibility, development, and operations for its assisted-living, dementia care, and multilevel long-term care communities in California.
About Nancy
Nancy Schier Anzelmo, MSG, is a co-founder and Educational Director of Connected Horse and is a widely known, highly regarded gerontologist and Alzheimer’s/dementia care specialist, consultant, speaker and trainer. As principal and founder of Alzheimer’s Care Associates LLC, she strives to enable her clients to achieve excellence in dementia care. Whether the environment is assisted living, adult day programs, skilled nursing or home care, Nancy is dedicated to promoting “person-centered” care that offers those with dementia opportunities to grow socially and spiritually and to enjoy enriched an satisfying lives. Nancy’s career spans nearly 20 years and includes hands-on understanding of senior care marketing, operations, budgeting, program development, planning and evaluation gained as staff in a variety of long-term care setting. She is a faculty member in the Gerontology Department of California State University Sacramento and the Program Forum Professional Training Program Coordinator for the Alzheimer’s Association of California.
Key Takeaways
- Connected Horse takes a “research-first” approach to validate outcomes, partnering with Stanford’s Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) and the Red Barn Leadership Program and UC Davis School Center for Equine Health and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
- Outcomes from the 4-week Connected Horse program include reduced depression and agitation, improved sleep, increased complex engagement, increased language ability and relationship satisfaction at home or in senior living or adult day care programs.
- Studies show a horse can match your heartbeat four feet away and is quick to pick up on human emotions.
- The Home Sensory Engagement Kit showcases Connected Horse in a virtual setting, capturing the horse’s natural responses in a variety of settings. The box comes with a handful of hay and pieces of leather along with stories and photographs of horses to create a multisensory approach.
Katherine Lord promotes aging well and intergenerational connection through her work as Director of Community Operations at Club Management Association of America. She talks industry disruption, inclusive wellness, and the opportunity to support people at all stages of life.
About Katherine
Katherine Lord is a marketing, communications, and programming enthusiast who loves to bridge the gap between the strategic and tactical. She received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado, and her master's in social work from Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Currently, Katherine is the Director of Community Operations for the Club Management Association of America, where she curates educational programming and engagement opportunities for association members. She is dedicated to helping people, companies, and communities find and share their greatest gifts.
Key Takeaways
- Wellness trends in country clubs include recovery, focus on sleep, injury rehabilitation, nutrition, and intergenerational opportunities.
- Competitive offerings for older adults who can no longer play golf and tennis keep members engaged and relevant (an example is the pickleball craze). Our competitive side doesn't go away as you age.
- Progressive country clubs foster connections across generations. Older adults who are aging in place can use their country club to stay socially connected and active.
- Team sports are a great way to make friends because there is a commonality and shared goal. Research says it is harder to meet people and form relationships as we grow older.
With degrees in design, gerontology, environmental psychology, and community planning, Esther Greenhouse brings a unique perspective to housing and communities. Learn about Silver to Gold’s Enabling Design Approach that eases the staffing crisis by creating environments that support independence and allow people of all ages to flourish.
About Esther
Esther Greenhouse, CEO of Silver to Gold Strategic Consulting, is a strategist and environmental gerontologist bringing a unique constellation of experience and expertise in design, gerontology, environmental psychology, and planning, to help organizations and communities excel at meeting the needs of those 50+ and enable them to THRIVE!
Her unique Enabling Design Approach informed AARP International’s Equity by Design initiative, as well as the design of the nation’s first elder-focused Emergency Room at the request of Dr. Bill Thomas. Esther co-authored the American Planning Association's Aging in Community Policy Guide, is an industry scholar for the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures and served as the Strategic Director for one of the nation’s first Age-Friendly Centers for Excellence. The International Well Building Institute has appointed Esther to their newly formed Investing for Health Advisory.
For 10 years she was the primary caregiver for her mother.
Key Takeaways
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Environments impact the functioning and well-being of older adults, for better or worse. An optimal fit between the person and environment allows the highest level of independence.
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“Environmental press” (poor fit) pushes people to an artificially lower level of functioning that causes “forced frailty” and is costly to society.
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Status quo environments are designed for a small subset of the population—the average height male between the ages of 20 and 40. We design for the highest physical cognitive and sensory abilities; everybody else has to adapt.
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In 2010 we had approximately seven potential caregivers for every older adult. By 2050, it will be less than three. Enabling Design leverages the built environment to reduce demand for long-term care.
Jennifer is the co-host of the Biophilic Solutions™, a podcast about the human connection to nature, and faculty advisor at the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics and Brain Health Initiative— a collaborative effort that launched with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital.
About Jennifer
Jennifer is a 26-year serial entrepreneur in the wellness, beauty, and retail landscape. She created the first omni-channel beauty brand in the US in 1997, Beauty Bar sold to Amazon in 2010. Her retail concept became the first in America to incorporate biophilic design where she understood the connection between nature and the beauty space. Jennifer grew her business until she sold the
Utilizing her experience creating immersive retail spaces and living in a tent each summer for 30+ years, Jennifer incorporated Recharge Rooms for clients around the country to aid in calm and relaxation for corporate clients, hotel groups, and others. In 2017 she began creating Back to Nature programs, including her signature Wellness Walks in Central Park and around the country. Her new walking journal, Walk Your Way Calm, is a wellness handbook on how to use walking in nature as a potent tool for tackling stress and anxiety.
Key Takeaways
- Biophilia is our innate human connection to all living things. Connecting to nature and green spaces gives us life.
- Neuroscientists and doctors confirm the health benefits of nature on the body. Studies show looking at nature outside a window for 40 seconds can relax the prefrontal cortex.
- Outdoor activities like walking in nature and gardening promote awareness and lowers stress. Contact with living things in the soil builds the immune system and aids in brain health.
The “Ambassador of Elderhood” talks about approaching aging as a “Team Sport.” His newest venture, PLAYING TO WIN, is a Global Symposium on AgingMagnificently presented by Lifespark in partnership with The Eden Alternative. The 10-week online educational series focuses on creating strength, purpose, and belonging through gamification, combating ageism, and shifting the focus of wellness from “Me” to “We.”
About Dr. Bill
Dr. Bill Thomas is a physician, professor, entrepreneur, playwright, and performer whose wide-ranging work explores the terrain of human aging. His dedication to culture change and innovations for well-being led to him being named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the nation’s “Top 10 Innovators changing the future of retirement in America. He was also included in US News and World Report list of “America’s BestLeaders.”
Dr. Thomas is currently the Chief Independence Officer at Lifespark and the founder of PLAYING TO WIN, a Global Symposium on Aging Magnificently presented by Lifespark in partnership with The Eden Alternative. Learn more and sign up here.
Key Takeaways
- Dr. Thomas wrote four books focused on enhancing strength, purpose and belonging: 1. Aging Magnificently, 2. MESH (Move, Eat, Sleep, Heal), 3. The Good Life, planning for a better future, and 4. Better Together, aging as a team sport.
- Older people are often missing risk in their lives, and risk is an essential ingredient of strength, purpose and belonging. Risk is defined as entering a situation where we don't know the outcome.
- Lifespark hosts four Performance Leagues with teams, prizes, and a competition schedule—a Triathlon Tournament, Forklift Racing, the Grip games focused on increasing grip strength, and the Spark Challenge, a quiz show about aging.
- A cruel manifestation of ageism is the notion that older people either rise or fall on their own. The ticket to healthy old age is reciprocity—where you depend on somebody and somebody depends on you. Wellness needs to shift to the level of community.
Jeannie Ralston talks about the evolution of NextTribe, the travel and events company for women 45+. Learn about how NextTribe breaks down stereotypes about aging while providing opportunities for community and adventure.
About Jeannie
Jeannie Ralston is the co-founder and CEO of NextTribe, which informs, promotes, and connects women who are determined to “Age Boldly” (NextTribe’s tagline). In addition to publishing articles by top writers, NextTribe hosts events around the country and takes women on trips, both internationally and domestically.
Ralston’s work as a journalist has been published in National Geographic, Life, The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Allure, and many other magazines. Her years growing lavender in rural Texas was the subject of her memoir, The Unlikely Lavender Queen, published by Broadway Books; her e-book, The Mother of All Field Trips, was about the three years she and her husband homeschooled and traveled with their sons.
In 2018, she was named Digital influencer of the Year by Austin Woman magazine, and was a Folio Top Women in Media honoree. She also organizedand spoke at a SXSW panel called “How Midlife Women Work Their Entrepreneurial Mojo.”
Key Takeaways
- NextTribe’s growth numbers reflects an unmet need for women 45+, with 60,000 monthly unique website visitors, 100,000 Facebook followers, and an 20,000 subscribed to the e-newsletter, and 1,500 paid members. Fourteen trips are planned in 2023.
- The central premise of NextTribe’s content and events is to help women reach their potential and connect to likeminded women.
- Ageism starts with ageism against ourselves. You can’t change the fact that you are aging but you can change your attitude.
The Positive Aging Community is leading the conversation on aging well with professionals, older adults, and family members. Steve shares key trends and lessons learned from more than 300 interactive discussions on resources for senior living, aging in place, and thriving in the next chapter.
About Steve
Steve Gurney founded Retirement Living SourceBook in 1990. Drawing from the experience of observing his family care for Steve’s aging grandfather, he created a comprehensive publication to help others in the same situation. Steve has worked closely with nearly every regional and national organization on aging to help maximize their exposure and find solutions to their challenges.
In 1998, Steve sold his company to The Washington Post where he served as General Manager of Sourcebook and the Senior Living Solutions Division. In 2019, he re-acquired Sourcebook and re-branded as Positive Aging Community with a robust schedule of live and interactive programs.
Steve has a Masters Degree from the Erickson School of Aging Studies at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), where he alsoserved as an adjunct professor.
Key Takeaways
- Members in the Positive Aging Community are equal parts personal and professional—half older adults and families and half senior living and aging services.
- Positive Aging Community’s number one topic is solo aging. Most of us are solo agers in training—couples are unlikely to pass at the same time, and parents don’t’ want to burden their children.
- Assisted living and a trend towards aging in place with grassroots initiatives like The Village Movement have changed the landscape of support for older adults.
- Covid created an awareness about the unhealthy effects of loneliness and isolation. Social connections are an importantdeterminant when considering aging in place.
As senior columnist and on-air expert at Yahoo Finance and author of more than a dozen books, Kerry Hannon is on mission is to help people improve their lives and the lives of others—whether it's finding a dream job, starting an entrepreneurial venture, or securing a financial future.
About Kerry
Kerry Hannon is a workplace futurist and a leading expert and strategist on career management and work transitions, entrepreneurship, personal finance and retirement. Kerry is the author of more than a dozen best-selling and award-winning books, including “In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in The New World of Work,” “Never Too Old to Get Rich,” “Great Jobs for Everyone 50+,” “Great Pajama Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Working From Home,” “Love Your Job” and “What’s Next?”
She has covered all aspects of careers, business and personal finance as a columnist, editor, and writer for the nation’s leading media companies, including The New York Times, Forbes, MarketWatch, Money, PBS, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, among other national publications. Kerry has appeared as a career and financial expert on The Dr. Phil Show ABC, CBS, CNBC, NBC Nightly News, NPR, Yahoo Finance and PBS.
Follow Kerry on Twitter @KerryHannon, visit her website at KerryHannon.com, and check out her LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/in/kerryhannon. For Instagram users: https://www.instagram.com/kerryhannon/
Key Takeaways
- You are never too old to get rich. Focus on finding richness in your work and value in what you are doing.
- The workplace profoundly changed during the pandemic, particularly for those over 50. People were laid off and took early retirement. The shift was psychological as well as financial.
- By nature of the aging population, there is a tremendous need to keep workers on the job longer.
- Start planning in your 50s, what you might want to do in your 60s. 'Wade' into that territory by taking a class, doing some informational interviews or job-shadowing. Adopt a learning mindset.
Brian Patterson talks about his role as Goodwin Living’s Innovation and Development Chef, including mentorship, vocational culinary programs, and sustainability. Learn why Goodwin Living is a Washington Post Top Workplace for the past four consecutive years.
About Brian
Brian Patterson is the Innovation and Development Chef at Goodwin Living™, supporting dining services operations at the three senior living communities Goodwin House Alexandria, Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads and The View Alexandria. Brian also partners with local culinary programs to host internships designed to smooth the transition from the classroom to professional work in a senior living setting. He joined Goodwin Living in 2020, having previously worked for the American Medical Association, L’Academie de Cuisine and Glenstone Museum.
Goodwin Living touches the lives of thousands of people every day through its range of senior living communities, specialized health care services, community partnerships and philanthropic endeavors. With a mission to support, honor and uplift the lives of older adults and the people who care for them, Goodwin Living leads the way in expanding the places and ways we can all thrive and find purpose as we age. Older adults will discover options that meet them where they want to be, and those options are managed and provided by team members who represent more than 65 countries. Get more information at GoodwinLiving.org or by following Goodwin Living on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Key Takeaways
- Goodwin Living’s mentorship program is paramount to retention and recruitment success. Their partnership with local vocational culinary program Kitchen of Purpose, which donates meals to low-income families and individuals, and high school programs.
- The Kitchen of Purpose program has resulted in the successful matriculation of three interns to full-time positions. Cooks develop skills in a three-tiered job system where they move up the career ladder with attainable goals, progressing from a “Cook 1” to “Cook 3” role.
- Goodwin Livings sustainability efforts include a composting program to reduce waste, sourcing local ingredients, and community-wide recycling and conservation programs spearheaded with the resident “Green Team.” Composted soil is delivered to residents each spring to use in their garden boxes.
- Dining trends include interest in less formal dining spaces like cafes and to-go and delivery options. The key is flexibility and choice.
As Senior Vice President of Operations for Sunrise Senior Living, Denise Falco is helping residents design their preferred lifestyle in the heart of New York City. Learn how Sunrise is creating the best of urban living—from 5-star dining, to state-of-the-art technology, to a partnership with The Julliard School, to Silver LEED Certification and WELL Building Standards.
About Denise
Denise joined the Sunrise team in 2007 and has risen to Senior Vice President of Operations for both of Sunrise’s Manhattan communities, Sunrise at East 56th (now open) and The Apsley (opening this spring). In her role, Denise works across all aspects of the communities from business management and strategy, recruiting and training new hires, and resident and family services.
Key Takeaways
- Sunrise’s luxury projects in Manhattan have flexible spacesincluding wellness suites for physical and occupational therapy and extensive outdoor areas, including a rooftop garden with doors that open and close depending on the weather. Smaller suites turn into larger suites, depending on residents’ wants and needs.
- The 5-star dining program at Sunrise at East 56th features executive chefs from top US restaurants, and partnerships with local establishments such as Balthazar Bakery. Residents can continue to enjoy the things they are used to enjoying throughout the city.
- State-of-the- technology includes Philips wearables to monitor steps, movement, and vitals, digital signage, and a voice assistant.
The founder of Silvereco.org talks about the 2023 Silver Eco & Ageing Well International Festival at the prestigious Palais des Festivals de Cannes on September 18th. More than 30 countries are expected to participate in the most comprehensive B2B for aging services in the world. Highlights include the SilverNight International Ageing Awards, expert forums, an expo of aging services and products, and tours of senior housing and home care models in the South of France.
About Jérôme
Jérôme Pigniez is founder and president of On-Medio and SilverEco.org, the silver economy portal that lists all the players in the aging well sector. He is an expert in demographic transition, technologies for autonomy and the Silver Economy; he is invited to speak at conferences, write books and reports, and take part in working groups on the subject of ageing.
Jérôme was the reporter for one of the Silver Economy working groups of the Ministry of the Elderly and Autonomy, which followed the official launch of the Silver Economy branch of the government, and was entrusted with a mission to identify the players in this complex sector. He did so by co-founding several ageing well structures and founding On-Medio through which he supports and advises various companies in this field.
Finally, Jérôme is the producer and organizer of SilverNight, the SilverEco Awards and Aging Well International Awards, whose purpose is to discover and reward the best structures involved in supporting the elderly population. After a great international success in Paris and Tokyo, this annual event has been hosted since 2021 at the Palais des Festivals of Cannes as a part of the SilverEco & Ageing Well International Festival, the worldwide meeting of Silver Economy players. The event has continued to grow, gathering international representatives from all around the globe to build a better ageing well world.
Key Takeaways
- SilverEco Awards and SilverNight Aging Well International Awards are open to innovations in aging around the globe. Applicants pitch directly to a jury of experts on the first day of the Festival.
- The educational program features age-tech, senior living housing models, caregiver support, and marketing and communications to target older adults.
- The post-festival tour includes visits to senior living communities and home health venues in the South of France, including networking with the founders of innovative start-ups and representatives from the French government.
As professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Grabowski advises the US Congress on Medicare policy issues and nursing home reform. Learn about the recommendations from CMS’s Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes and the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine Commission.
About David
David C. Grabowski, Ph.D. is a professor of health care policy in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed research articles with a particular focus on long-term care. He has testified in front of Congress five times on issues related to the care of older adults.
Dr. Grabowski is a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. He has also served on several Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) technical expert panels, including the recent CMS Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes. He was also a member of the recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes.
Key Takeaways
- The pandemic has been a “crisis on top of a crisis.” COVID lifted the veil on social ills that have been present in nursing homes for four decades.
- There are two major challenges in long-term care and post-acute care in the U.S. 1. We underfund long-term care and post-acute care services and 2. We spend money on the wrong things without enough accountability for how public funds are being spent.
- Budgets need to transition away from nursing homes and towards home and community-based services. The Biden Administration tried early on to put more money into home-and-community-based services, but the effort failed.
- Nursing home reforms include consideration of minimum staffing standards, greater transparency around ownership and finances, and increased regulatory oversight to make certain facilities are accountable.
The CEO of Sparkle Success talks about the ways activity directors make a difference in senior living communities and the elevation of the position post pandemic.
About Bryan
Bryan Rife, CEO of Sparkle Success, has over 27 years in the healthcare arena and holds a Life Coach Certification through the Academy of Modern Applied Psychology and is nationally certified as an Activity Director with a specialization in education through the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals. He is also a Licensed Montessori Home Engagement Certification and MEPAP 1 APC course Instructor through NCCAP.
Bryan has previously served on the boards of the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals in Washington, DC and the Coalition of Activity Professionals in North Carolina. He is a former instructor for the North Carolina state approved Activity Director course and has traveled the country presenting at many different healthcare conferences and workshops as a keynote speaker.
Key Takeaways
- The position of activity professional has pivoted from playing games and doing crafts to a person-centered care approach. Today there is more inter-departmental interaction with nursing and administration to provide the best solution for each resident.
- The pandemic allowed insight into the invaluable impact that activities directors have on residents and elevated the profession.
- Activity professionals are hungry for education about programming and meeting the needs of people with cognitive impairment, different religions and cultures, and LGBTQIA+.
With more than 800 people certified worldwide, the Validation Training Institute provides virtual certification programs for aging service professionals and caregivers. Vicki de Klerk-Rubin shares her life work continuing her mother’s legacy, communication tips, and highlights of the upcoming Validation World Congress in partnership with #activitiesstrong.
About Vicki
Vicki de Klerk-Rubin is the Executive Director of the Validation Training Institute and a certified Validation master. She is the author of Validation Techniques for Dementia Care and Validation for First Responders. Together with her mother Naomi Feil, the founder of the Validation method, she co-authored the revisions of Validation: The Feil Method and The Validation Breakthrough. Ms. de Klerk-Rubin holds a BFA from Boston University, an MBA from Fordham University, and is a Dutch-trained registered nurse.
Since 1989, Ms de Klerk-Rubin has given Validation workshops, lectures and training programs in Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. She has also worked in long-term care in Amsterdam, leading Validation groups and training staff.
Key Takeaways
- “Crossing the street” into the world of an individual with cognitive impaired is foundational to the Validation Method. Be mindful—take a breath before you respond and pay attention to your tone of voice.
- Always have eye contact older adults—approach them from the front and reach them at eye level. “Talking down” to them can create anger.
- Never talk to the back of the head or approach from the side. You may not be heard, and approaching from the side can be scary for people with narrow peripheral vision, which happens naturally as you get older.
- Self-care is critical for caregivers. Without caring for ourselves, it's hard to give to others.
- The skills to communicate with individuals with cognitive impairment can only be learned by practice and getting feedback.They can’t be learned in a book or YouTube video.
As Spark Performance League Commissioner, Angie McAllister designs events that build strength, purpose, and belonging—with a healthy dose of competition thrown in. Learn about Lifespark’s TRYathlon™ Tournament and National Forklift Racing League, plus musings on next generation senior living and aging in place.
About Angie
Angie McAllister NHA has nearly three decades of experience in senior living, proudly having started her career as a Certified Nursing Assistant. She is currently the Spark Performance League Commissioner at Lifespark, where she is working closely with communities to build out an athletic league in senior living that supports the organization’s mission of empowering seniors to live fuller, more independent lives.
Angie was recently voted The Eden Alternative International’s Board Chair. She was the 2016 recipient of the Nancy J. Fox Leadership Award and the 2018 recipient of the Eden Alternative Champion Award. Her experience spans transformational growth, change management and person-centered programming that sparks creativity and engagement. Previously to joining Lifespark she led Quality of Life and Culture Change Initiatives for Signature Healthcare, working closely with communities to facilitate transformation practices and eventually assisting many to join The Eden Alternative.
Key Takeaways
- Lifespark commissions athletic leagues with teams, competitions, and prizes. The National Forklift Racing League is a contest using remote control forklifts—residents work as a team to stack the most poundage onto a set of scales within a time limit.
- There was backward motion towards an institutional approach during the pandemic, even in senior living communities with best practices.
- Along the lines of the Eden Alternative, personal transformation has to take place and the “blinders need to come off,” to transform the aging services industry. Relational trust is necessary to make to make big changes and spur innovation.
- Trends in senior living include a movement to smaller communities and intentional multi-generational concepts, and away from service-oriented hospitality towards engagement and citizenship.
- Activity professionals are the heart of senior living communities and underacknowledged for the work they do to improve residents’ quality of life.
One of the most powerful voices in the business of aging well, Bob Kramer shares his vision for transformational change in senior housing and healthcare, solutions for the crippling staffing crisis, and exciting collaborations with NIC and Nexus Insights.
About Bob
Bob Kramer is Founder and Fellow at Nexus Insights, a think tank advancing the well-being of older adults through innovative models of housing, community and healthcare. Mr. Kramer is also Co-founder, former CEO, and now Strategic Advisor at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). He is broadly recognized as one of senior living’s most influential and high profile thought leaders and connectors. With over 35 years of industry leadership, he has earned the reputation of “agent provocateur” in the seniors housing and care industry. He has been described as an “ice-cutter” and scout in identifying industries and trends that will disrupt the future of seniors housing, aging services, and aging more broadly.
In 1991, Mr. Kramer co-founded NIC to advance access and choice in seniors housing and care by attracting capital to grow the sector. Under his leadership, NIC became the go-to resource for data and analytics for the rapidly expanding seniors housing and care industry and an acknowledged thought leader for new ideas and trends impacting the provision of housing, services and care for older adults. Mr. Kramer stepped out of the CEO role in 2107 and continues to serve NIC as Strategic Advisor.
A former county government official and Maryland state legislator, Mr. Kramer was a leader on health and environmental issues while representing the state capital of Annapolis in the 1980s. Mr. Kramer was educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary.
Key Takeaways
- The staffing crisis is the second pandemic. Senior living communities are trying to do more with less. Staff are suffering from physical and mental exhaustion.
- Senior living needs to move away from a model based on care and assuming decline and deficit, to an aspirational model based on lifestyle and personalization.
- In the past 10 years, assisted living has focused on marketing care and stopped selling lifestyle, community and engagement. The future is about enabling a sense of purpose, belonging and connection.
- Age-tech has exploded. Ten years ago, the age-tech category was nonexistent. This year, CES (Consumer Electronic Show) partnered with the AARP’s Agetech Collaborative on an entire area dedicated to age-tech startups.
Charles de Vilmorin, Co-founder & CEO of Linked Senior, talks about leveraging real-time data to create more meaningful engagement and how #ActivitiesStrong is elevating the life enrichment role to the C-Suite.
About Charles
Charles is passionate about honoring the older adults in our society. From his master’s thesis on nursing homes and memory care, to his close connections with the older adults in his family, to creating and leading Linked Senior, a resident engagement platform for senior living, he is an advocate for the person-centered movement. With Linked Senior, he has more than twelve years of experience building solutions that value meaningful engagement to meet the changing needs and preferences of every older adult.
Charles is on the board of the Validation Training Institute that promotes the Validation Method work of Naomi Feil, and on the Innovation Council for AMDA, the American Medical Doctor Association. He also started the Old People are Cool initiative to combat rampant ageism in our society and build intergenerational conversations and collaboration.
Key Takeaways
- Historically, the Activity/Program Director position has not been taken seriously, with few opportunities for collaboration with other senior living departments. Data-driven systems prove the ROI of engagement and elevate the position.
- Activities Strong empowers and educates senior living professionals engaged in providing activities and programs that improve the lives of older adults. The platform offers bi-monthly educational webinars and an annual virtual conference.
- Linked Senior’s Benchmark Study shows senior living communities provided an average of 26 minutes of activities per resident, per day in 2022.
Joanna Mansfield, General Manager of Coterie Hudson Yards in Manhattan, talks about elevating the urban lifestyle concept. She shares her strategies for creating a boutique experience and using technology for uber-personalization and on-demand access.
About Joanna
Joanna Mansfield has been integral to launching Coterie, a luxury senior living development by Related Companies and Atria Senior Living. She joined Atria in 2012 and has served in various roles and leadership responsibilities including Senior Vice President of Care, Senior Vice President of Operations for Atria Home Care in New York, Resident Services Director, Executive Director and Regional Vice President. Most recently, Ms. Mansfield was responsible for all care operations for Atria's more than 200 communities across the U.S. and Canada and led care operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to joining Atria, Ms. Mansfield was employed by the New York State Department of Health as a Nurse Surveyor and the city of Ithaca as Wellness Director. Joanna holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Ryerson University in Toronto.
Key Takeaways
- Older adults want to stay near their children in urban locations so they can be active grandparents and access cultural institutions, fine dining, and shopping.
- Exclusive concierge services include in-home personized dinners with celebrity chefs, priority access to top rated restaurants, and free memberships to museums and cultural institutions.
- Coterie manages a fleet of Alexa devices with smart home features to communicate with residents and provide daily calendars and menus. Alexa is a direct connection to the hospitality team who curate a variety of experiences based on analysis of personal preferences.
- Culinary highlights include an open kitchen, collaboration with award-winning chefs, locally-sourced seasonal menus, and on-site sommelier for food and wine pairings, and nutrition consultationfrom The Mayo Clinic.
- Coterie’s wellness department uses the Mayo Clinic assessment tool, in collaboration with on-site physical therapy and occupational therapists, to create physical fitness programs and optimize balance and cognitive function.
The CEO of Delight by Design and MezTal talks about the progression of senior living and age-tech, new definitions of wellness, and her foray into venture capital with Third Act Ventures and AgeTech Capital.
About Sarah
Sarah Thomas is an accomplished leader of innovation. She serves as a global aging expert advising startups, large corporations and investors, with over 20 years dedicated to transforming the aging experience. Sarah is CEO of multinational staff-hosting company, MezTal in Guadalajara, Mexico & CEO of the consulting firm Delight by Design, creating age-inclusive products, brands, spaces and experiences that delight the consumer at every age.
Sarah has held key leadership positions across the US and Asia, developing and implementing strategic corporate innovation initiatives, including change management. She has served as Executive-in-Residence at Aging2.0 and currently serves as Principal Fellow in the Nexus Insights firm for aging transformation and Mentor to Techstars Longevity Accelerator. She also is co- founder of AgeTech News, a media platform for global AgeTech News and deal flow and sits as a Venture Partner to AGETECH Capital and ThirdAct Ventures.
Key Takeaways
- Consumer adoption of technology is increasing, including smart devices and telehealth, and more personalized, customized approach to technology consumption
- There is a trend towards a lifestyle approach, with resources for health, mental health, and general well-being in the senior living and consumer markets. The focus is on all the dimensions of wellness across our lifespan.
- Robotic food delivery can offload up to six miles per shift to a robot to save wear and tear on the human body from going from kitchen to table. The human experience can be much more personal and more around the customer service experience at the table rather spending time bussing tables.
- Saving burden on the body opens workforce opportunities for older adults to continue working or come back into the workforce.
- Membership models created a personalized approachthat matches activities based on personalized goals. With artificial intelligence, we can make suggestions based on predictive behavior.
The Founder & CEO of The Super Age and author of THE SUPER AGE: DECODING OUR DEMOGRAPHIC DESTINY shares his views on aging in place, the changing workforce, age-tech, and the return of the multigenerational household.
About Bradley
Bradley Schurman is an expert on demographic change and how it disrupts social, cultural, political, and economic norms across the United States and around the world. His deep understanding of population shifts, coupled with his grasp of emerging trends, makes him an authoritative voice into the future of everything.
He’s the author of THE SUPER AGE: DECODING OUR DEMOGRAPHIC DESTINY and the founder and CEO of the global research and advisory firm, The Super Age. He’s written for Newsweek, been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and USA Today, and regularly appears as a guest on podcast, radio, and television shows around the world.
Key Takeaways
- Nine out of 10 Americans want to live at home for most of their life, if not their entire life, and there are very little resources for aging in place.
- For the first time in history, the world population will have more people over 65 than under the age of 18 in less than a decade.
- The three primary spaces to focus on inclusive design in the home environment are the bathroom, the kitchen, and staircases.
- Inclusive design must extend to commercial spaces because more people are working and consuming longer.
- Super Age Inclusive Design (SAID) certifies organizations based in five verticals: 1. mobility, 2. hearing, 3. neurodiversity and cognition, 4. Vision and 5. dexterity and strength.
- We are returning to historical ways of living with multiple generations in a single home and traditional ways of working where retiring at 65 is not the norm. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States 75-plus workers were nearly double by the end of this decade.
- Like sexism, racism and homophobia, ageism won’t go away, but the numbers shrink in size with greater levels of inclusion. When older people play a productive role in society, they are welcomed.
- The ‘middle plus’ are highly connected, cognitively and physically fit, and willing to invest in managing their well-being and retaining their independence.
The Director of Public Messaging at LeadingAge, a national organization serving older adults through aging services providers, talks about Opening Doors to Aging Services. The initiative shares research, strategies, and tools for aging services professionals to positively promote this sector to older adults, families, and potential team members.
About Gwen
Gwen Fitzgerald is a communications professional and community activist. She serves as Director, Public Messaging at LeadingAge, a professional association representing more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. As project manager for the Opening Doors to Aging Services initiative, she develops and shares the research, strategies, and tools to guide aging services professionals in introducing the aging services sector to older adults and their families—and, in doing so, to shift perceptions positively.
Prior to joining LeadingAge in 2021, she worked with teams to develop communications and marketing campaigns that inspire audiences to act and advance public safety and human rights.
After business hours, she is a ceramic artist (hobbyist), dog fanatic, and Board member at Oakwood Arts in Richmond, VA, where she lives with her husband and dog.
Key Takeaways
- Findings from the Opening Doors to Aging study show extraordinary support for caregivers. Words to describe professional caregivers are strong and complimentary—compassionate, dedicated, essential and professional. Aging services professionals should incorporate the role of professional caregivers in all their communications.
- There is fear and denial of aging—resistance to thinking about the changes coming to our bodies and to our lives. Communication should be upbeat.
- Opening Doors to Aging recommends eight core communication strategies and a Provider Inspiration Guide with different types of communications channels. A visual design guide recommends words and pictures.
- LeadingAge created a public service campaign called Keep Leading Life that defines the sector and provider types.
- The aging services sector does not have a public perception crisis. The study asked, “What are your views of Aging Services?” and “Do you trust aging services providers?” Responses show the public views aging services favorably. Results show 68% have a positive view and 70% would recommend aging services to others.
The Associate Principal and Senior Interior Designer of THW Design and board member of the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers (AAHID)has been an advocate for inclusive and ethical design for older adults for 23 years. Learn about intentional planning to create spaces that reflect today’s residents’ interests and concerns for mental and physical health, the environment and social impact.
About Melinda
Melinda Ávila -Torio, NCIDQ, RID, CHID, CASP, LEED ® AP, IIDA is Associate Principal and Senior Interior Designer at THW Design, one of the nation’s top senior living design firms for nearly four decades. She is a CHID Board-Certified Healthcare Interior Designer through AAHID, a Registered Interior Designer (RID), Certified Aging Specialist Professional (Leading Age CASP) and Certified LEED AP (U.S. Green Building Council.) Melinda holds a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and Master of Science in Architecture from Virginia Tech.
Key Takeaways
- There is improvement in food service integration and the ways culinary arts are delivered in senior living. New models reflect generations of cultural traditions and health practices, while using technology to explore the world through food.
- Dining service has moved away from “three squares a day”and is intertwined in the physical environment with access to bistros, wellness cafes, libraries with local coffee, specialty pubs offering regional craft beer and wine.
- Intentional planning injects socialization as a key ingredient. Flexible multi-purpose rooms respond to residents’ needs as well as families and the community at large.
- Team members need well-lit, comfortable spaces for decompression and recovery. Services such as fitness, wellness, laundry, and food service should extend to staff.
The President and CEO of the 34-year-old nonprofit life plan community shares White Horse Village’s “secret sauce” for technology innovation, lifelong learning, and resident-driven programming on campus and in the local community.
About Len
Len Weiser has worked as a Director of Nursing for a Skilled Nursing Community, Nursing Home Administrator, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer for both profit and non-profit organizations. He has worked for single-site and corporate entities at the campus-level and on the corporate team.
Len serves on the LeadingAge PA Board of Directors. He completed his undergraduate degree in Nursing at Rutgers University, Master’s in Executive Nursing Leadership at Wilmington University and is in the final stages of completing his Doctorate in Business Administration at Wilmington University.
Key Takeaways
- Aging services will be more customizable and expandable. Senior living is becoming a service.
- Technology innovations include 24-hour access to telemedicine, smart home packages, and the K4Connect App that provides residents and families access to daily menus, trips, and events. Seventy five percent of residents touch one of those technologies daily.
- White Horse Village partners with the local community college to offer lifelong learning opportunities for residents on campus or virtually. It is a reciprocal relationship where residents are available for tutoring and guest lecturing at the campus.
- A newly formed resident sustainability committee focuses on sustainable and climate change initiativesto support on campus.
- White Horse’s wellness advisory committee partners with the fitness staff to craft wellness programming. The vast array of activities and services include an aquatics group, spin classes, massage therapy, and even Reiki energy work.
The leading marketing consultancy catering to older adults works with every sector of aging services—from large healthcare providers, to senior living and home care, to age-tech startups. Learn key findings from new research on the 50-million-large caregiver market in North America and why nine out of ten caregivers see technology playing a crucial role in the future.
About Jeff
Jeff is the President and CEO (Chief EvAgelist Officer) of Age of Majority, a research-driven marketing consultancy that helps organizations better understand older adults so that they can engage them more effectively. He is in the last wave of the Baby Boomers with over 30 years of marketing experience on both the client and agency sides of the business. Prior to starting Age of Majority, Jeff led Harbinger out of their Toronto office - a PR agency that is focused primarily on launching brands and marketing to women.
Over the years, Jeff has witnessed the dramatic changes of the aging population. In his experience working for and with major brands including Pepsi, Gillette, Dannon, KitchenAid and Unilever, he understands why corporations are missing the boat on the over 55 crowd and he knows what’s necessary to take advantage of this largest and fastest growing segment in business.
Key Takeaways
- According to the Connecting with Caregivers Research Report, about three-quarters of older adults are receptive to health monitoring through wearables and smart home environments. Top three age-tech sectors include #1 Wearables (approximately 40% of older adults are wearing a device), #2 Accessible communication in the home, whether that be smart speakers or some type of screen device, #3, In-home surveillance systems for safety and security.
- Age-tech senior living solutions most in demand include workforce solutions to free up staff, opportunities for incremental revenue, and products and services that promote residents’ continued independence and autonomy.
- The biggest mistake age-tech start-ups make is developing products and services without end user input. “If you build it, they will come,” does not hold true.
The University professor and nationally recognized expert on senior housing and aging services technologies talks about the Virginian Scholars Program, a partnership with George Mason University offering The Virginian’s residents formal, structured education. He also shares the technologies influencing senior living and new affinity communities catering to niche markets.
Andrew Carle is adjunct faculty at Georgetown University's Masters in Aging and Health, and advisor and consultant at The Virginian. As Georgetown University faculty, he provides development of and lead instruction for nation's only graduate curricula in Senior Living Administration. Previously, he was an award-winning Professor and Executive-in-Residence for the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University, establishing the first undergraduate curricula in the nation dedicated exclusively to the senior housing industry.
Carle’s 30+ years of executive-level senior housing and healthcare experience include Chief Operating Officer and VP - Business Services for multiple "Top-10" senior housing providers, and CEO, COO, and Director of Strategic Planning & Marketing for vertically integrated healthcare systems. As president of Carle Consulting, LLC, his clients have included industry leading senior living providers and organizations, as well as AARP, Apple, Nintendo, and UnitedHealthcare, among others. He served as Senior Consultant - Health Intelligence for J.D. Power and Associates in development of the first national customer satisfaction and certification program for the senior living industry.
Awards include “Best of the Best in Aging Services” from Aging News Alert and “Leaders in Aging – Mentor Award” from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. In 2010, Carle was recognized among six "People of Influence" for the senior housing industry by Senior Living Executive magazine. His work has been featured or cited in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, CBS News, CNN, PBS, NPR, and U.S. News & World Report, among others; and in more than 100 senior housing, aging services industry, and technology publications.
Key Takeaways
- The Virginian Scholars program is a formal academic curriculum for older adults, who can earn credit hours and even make the Dean’s List and graduate Magna Cum Laude.
- People who engage in lifelong learning rate higher in all dimensions of wellness and may experience declines in the progression of Alzheimer's disease and other types of cognitive impairment.
- Niche retirement communities such asAegis Living Lake Union in Seattle, Washington, the first completely green solar-powered community, and Nalcrest in Central Florida., a community for retired postal workers (no UPS, FedEx or dogs allowed), target residents with commonality.
- Productivity accelerators are technologies that address workforce issues, such as automating and analyzing data and performing routine tasks through robots.
- Aggregating data from individual tracking is helpful for prevention and detecting risk factors. Predictive analytics can detect issues months sometimes years early.
Joy is a foremost expert on elder abuse and developing evidence-based screening protocols in long term care. Learn about her role spearheading spiritual engagement, and why connecting to something bigger is critical for happiness and well-being.
About Joy
Joy is the Vice President of Elder Justice and Spiritual Engagement at RiverSpring Living, and Director and Managing Attorney of The Weinberg Center for Elder Justice at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. Joy co-founded The Weinberg Center in 2004. She was previously Director of Elder Abuse Services at the Pace Women’s Justice Center and an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan, where she served for eight years. Joy is a frequent speaker and writer on the issue of elder abuse and elder justice, including to the United States Senate, Special Commission on Aging.
Screening for elder abuse detection in health care and legal systems has been a priority for Joy. In addition to developing evidence-based screening protocols in long-term care, Weinberg Center Risk and Abuse Prevention Screen (WC-RAPS), she recently co-authored and published two research papers relating to evidence-based screening for elder abuse.
Joy’s work in long-term care also includes an active role in the creation of sexual expression policies for residents, a resilience/well-being program for caregivers, and a fresh look at death and dying in long-term care. Joy also developed a unique domestic violence prevention and intervention program for all employees of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. Like the Weinberg Center itself and many of its innovative projects, this program is easily replicable. Joy was a founder of the Elder Abuse Committee on the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.
In 2017, Joy was awarded the National Crime Victims Service Award by the United States Department of Justice. In 2016, she was recognized with an award of Distinction in Public Service by the New York Law Journal, and in 2010 she received The New York State Bar Association award for Excellence in Public Service. Joy is also a certified ISHTA yoga instructor and teacher of breathing and meditation.
Key Takeaways
- One out of ten older adults experience abuse in their lifetime. Most of the perpetrators are family members. Financial exploitation is the most prevalent form of abuse.
- Elder abuse shelters work well in long-term care communities because they are built around the needs of older people. At River Spring Living the shelter is “virtual” and integrated into the community at large. The SPRiNG Alliance, a network of regional elder abuse shelters, does extensive outreach and training to help communities start shelters.
- It is important to have conversations about end-of-life and long-term planning. As a culture we are too scared to talk about death and the dying process.
- Older people need to express themselves spiritually and connect to something bigger than themselves. It is a critical component of happiness and well-being. Part of spiritual engagement is getting out in nature.
James Balda is President & CEO of Argentum, a national trade association representing about 75% of professionally managed senior living communities in the U.S. Learn about the association’s non-stop advocacy and workforce efforts, and the grant from the Department of Labor to develop apprenticeships for 7,000 industry workers, resulting in 80% retention rates.
About James
James Balda is President and CEO of Argentum, the leading national trade association serving companies that own, operate, and support professionally managed senior living communities in the United States.
Throughout the pandemic, he has led the organization’s focus on critical political advocacy and action including obtaining first-in-line COVID vaccine status for assisted living residents, relief funding for senior living providers, and introduction of congressional legislation supporting providers and a strong senior living workforce, putting him on The Hill’s 2021 Top Lobbyist roster.
In 2015, when Balda joined Argentum—then known as the Assisted Living Federation of America—he directed a comprehensive rebranding of the organization and new key imperatives to reflect the greater scope, choice, and innovation on the rise in senior living. Prior to this, Balda served in several roles at the National Restaurant Association, where he was responsible for advancing the association’s business development, insurance, and financial services product strategy. Before this, he was senior vice president of membership and professional development at America’s Health Insurance Plans. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Maryland.
Key Takeaways
- Argentum provides members with professional development and training programs such as the Emerging Leaders, Women in Leadership, Executive Director Leadership, and Certified Director of Assisted Living.
- Since senior living is historically regulated at the state level, federal lawmakers failed to provide federal financial relief prioritization for vaccines and testing during COVID. Argentum and sister associations rallied and educated lawmakers, leading to the creation of the Elder Relief Fund.
- More technology companies are entering the senior living and aging services space. Solutions such as telehealth, smart homes, and wearables for monitoring and fall prevention are becoming ubiquitous.
- Increasingly we will see partnerships between healthcare companies and senior living communities, whether hospital systems, Medicare Advantage plans, or physicians’ groups, to improve quality of life and help residents age in place.
- Argentum projects the need for 1.2 million new hires over the next 10 years. Approximately 250,000 are new jobs; the rest is replacement for staff leaving the industry. Senior living competes with restaurants, retail and healthcare. Retention is critical.
- The senior living industry will be challenged with the issue of affordability. Some providers are coming up with innovative ways to address the middle market segment.
The Founder and President of the Dementia Society of America® talks about the misconceptions surrounding cognitive impairment, ways to improve brain health, and how the not-for-profit organization educates and empowers senior living communities and caregivers to better support those challenged with cognitive decline.
About Kevin
Starting as a young entrepreneur at age of 18 and having launched several start-up businesses in the security industry, Mr. Jameson built his career as a sales and marketing executive, which has included over 35 years with major corporate divisions of ADT, BOSCH, and Honeywell International.
Author, singer, inventor, and patent holder, Kevin has traveled to Europe, Asia, India, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America, and throughout North America to see how the world really lives. Kevin also has a personal story and connection to dementia. His first wife, Ginny, together for 32 years, died from dementia, and thus he leads the fight with thoughts, words, and deeds.
In 2016, Jameson was awarded a Doctorate of Public Service, Honoris Causa (DrHC) for his life's work, by his alma mater. His establishment of the Dementia Society nearly ten years ago is still a mission in the making.
Key Takeaways
- Senior living companies often “miss the boat” when it comes to dementia. Dementia is a syndrome not a disease (Alzheimer's is a disease.) Dementia effects more than memory. Early indicators of some types of dementia are personality and behavior changes.
- We can improve brain health and increase neuroplasticity by modifying risk factors and our environment. Important steps include improving nutrition, increasing movement, spending time outdoors, and creating cognitive reserves through lifelong learning.
- The Dementia Society offers presentations on dementia and brain health, virtually or in person, for senior living communities to share with prospects and residents. Informational pamphlets are provided to doctor’s offices and care communities.
The CEO ofThe Eden Alternative® discusses the new membership program making it easier for senior living communities to implement the Eden approach. Patrick shares research-based positive outcomes and how implementing Eden programs can reduce insurance premiums by 10-20%.
About Patrick
Patrick Bultema has served as Founder, CEO, and Executive Chairman of numerous companies, acted as an advisor to multiple venture-backed startups, and supported various social entrepreneurial initiatives. Throughout his career, one common theme rings clear – leveraging innovation to bring about dramatic, positive change.
Raised in a close-knit community where elders played an important role, Patrick has lived the values that drive the mission of The Eden Alternative. Deeply shaped by this experience, he is committed to expanding the reach and impact of Eden’s vital message. Patrick has an MDiv from Princeton and is husband to Lily and the father of their seven children, including three adopted daughters from China. Connect with him at pbultema@edenalt.org.
Key Takeaways
- The Eden Alternative membership is a mechanism for staying connected and belonging to the Eden community. Membership includes three levels, General, Growth and Certified (the highest level of recognition.)
- Insurance Companies report lower risk, better liability coverage and the ability to offer better discounts because of implementing the Eden approach.
- Eden is developing a technology consortium that can empower and streamline the implementation of person-directed Eden approach in senior living of environments.
The co-founder of The DAISY Foundation and the DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses talks about recognizing the extraordinary compassion that nurses provide every day. With 2 million nominations and 200,000 awards to nurses in 33 countries, DAISY’s impact is well-documented, contributing to a healthy work environment, nurse retention, and the patient/family experience. Learn about the DAISY-sponsored grant for nurses doing specific research in advanced care and treatment of older adults.
About Bonnie
Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, and her husband, Mark, were retired, growing wine grapes in Sonoma, when Mark’s son Patrick developed a rare auto-immune disease in late 1999. Upon Patrick’s death following an 8-week illness, they established The DAISY Foundation in gratitude for the nurses’ care Patrick’s and the family experienced when he was in the hospital. The DAISY Award was created to provide meaningful recognition to compassionate nurses.
Today, The DAISY Award is celebrated in over 5,200 healthcare facilities and nursing schools internationally. DAISY’s impact is well-documented, contributing to a healthy work environment, nurse engagement, and enriching the patient/family experience. Bonnie and Mark are passionate about honoring nurses, no matter where they practice, no matter where they are in careers.
Key Takeaways
- DAISY enables patients and families to say thank you for the nursing care they experienced by sharing their stories of gratitude and how it made a difference. Research shows patients feel it creates a balance.
- Meaningful recognition is relevant and specific—it is not a pat on the back or pizza at the end of a long shift. Nurses need to be reminded of the reason they became nurses. It ties them to their purpose.
- There is a growing body of evidence that meaningful recognition offsets nurse burnout.
- DAISY grants money to nurses who are doing research and evidence-based projects on the treatment of older adults (for example fall prevention or food security) and how to mitigate social determinants of health.
Generations Over Dinner is designed to alleviate ageism and loneliness by encouraging different generations to go deep at the dinner table. Learn how the founders joined a think tank of leaders in the aging space to create a turn-key program that any individual or senior living community can implement.
About Michael
Michael Hebb is the Founder of Over Dinner (Death Over Dinner, Drugs Over Dinner, Generations Over Dinner) and the author of Let's Table About Death (Over Dinner). He currently serves as a Board Advisor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts, is the primary editor of the COVID Paper; and in the recent past served as a Partner at RoundGlass and Senior Advisor to Summit Series, Theo Chocolate, CreativeLive, Architecture For Humanity, and Mosaic Voices Foundation.
In 1997 Hebb co-founded City Repair and Communitecture with architect Mark Lakeman, winning the AIA People's Choice Award for the Intersection Repair Project. In 1999 Michael and Naomi Pomeroy co-founded Family Supper in Portland, a supper club that is credited with starting the pop-up restaurant movement. In the years following they opened the restaurants clarklewis and Gotham Bldg Tavern, garnering international acclaim.
After leaving Portland, Hebb built Convivium, a creative agency that specialized in the ability to shift culture through the use of thoughtful food and discourse-based gatherings. Convivium's client list includes: The Obama Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, TEDMED, The World Economic Forum, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative, X Prize Foundation, The Nature Conservancy.
Key Takeaways
- Generations Over Dinner is the framework you need to have the experience. The turnkey program includes nine dinner scripts with three primary topics: love and relationships, purpose, and the future.
- Senior living communities can have their own Generations Over Dinner secure platform where they can plan dinners and invite residents and their kids, grandkids, and friends from outside the community.
- Loneliness is not alleviated by having more conversations or by being around more people. It is only alleviated by having high quality conversations and real connection.
The co-founder and Chief Solutions Officer talks about Artifcts’ online platform to preserve history while protecting privacy, and their goal to become a household name for all generations.
About Ellen
Ellen Goodwin is the co-founder and Chief Solutions Officer for Artifcts. Prior to co-founding Artifcts, Ellen served as Chief Solutions Officer of Knoema. She managed Knoema’s largest strategic client engagements. As CSO, she also directed content solutions and client services in concert with her role helping to drive the corporate product roadmap.
Before joining Knoema, Ellen served as an Intelligence Analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency, including serving more than one year as a briefer to a cabinet level official.
Ellen holds a B.A. in Business and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a Masters of Public Policy from Duke University. She is a member of the Chief executive network for women and volunteers with her daughter through the National Charity League.
Key Takeaways
- Artifcts will be adopting biometric options because they found users have difficulty remembering their passwords, so they write them down.
- To be a trusted site for security, there is a padlock on sensitive information so certain fields are impossible to share in error.
- Arifcts’ diversity of functionality appealed to AARP Innovation Labs. Users can create stories with text, photos, audio, and video and then connect with others.
Wendy discusses LIVunLtd’s wellness services and how a commitment to healthy living can increase revenue and property values. Learn about her flagship senior living project River’s Edge, the first luxury life plan community in Manhattan.
About Wendy
Wendy Bosalavage is the President and Chief Revenue Officer of LIVuLtd, which provides custom concierge, fitness and wellness experiences for residential and commercial buildings, spas and hotels, and senior living communities. LIVunLtd is a division of First Service Residential, the leading residential property management company in North America.
Wendy’s inexhaustible drive is fueled by her passionate belief that there is a direct correlation between maintaining the value of a property and offering facilities and services that provide residents with the opportunity for a healthy, balanced lifestyle. She has consulted on the design and implementation of innumerable fitness and spa facilities in luxury residential and commercial properties around the world. She earned her certificate as a Wellness Coach from the Institute of Integrative Medicine.
“What gets me excited is the shift in thinking and wide range of opportunities,” says Wendy. “People are open-minded and curious and are looking for a new platform to deliver wellness services in senior living.”
Key Takeaways
- Wellness facilities can't just check off the boxes. Developers recognize how important it is to have amenities that increase the value of revenue per square foot.
- LIVunLtd learned in focus groups that senior living clients want the services and physical space that you would find in any high-end luxury building. They want aquatics, hydrothermal circuits, classrooms for lifelong learning, and access to nature and art.
- Older adults want to be around people from all generations. They want to contribute and feel useful.
- With a wellness membership, residents make a commitment to healthy living. They've paid an annual fee and look forward to regularly having services.
The CEO of AIPEX Technologies share the latest in voice technologies and how virtual concierges can ease common pain points in caring for older adults.
About Dana
Dana Young founded AIPEX Technologies, a platform that enables tailored industry-specific solutions leveraging voice technology. AIPEX has solutions for both hospitality and senior living use cases. Dana is also the owner of The Lodge at Palmer Lake, a vacation rental in the north-central part of Washington state. He has over 30 years of experience in technology, with half of that managing teams of engineers.
He is a long-time Seattle resident with his wife and two daughters. You might find him on a tennis court when not focused on voice technology, entrepreneurial endeavors, or spending time with his family.
Key Takeaways
- Next generation voice technologies leverage partnerships with general-purpose voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home and custom voice assistants achieving specific objectives.
- Family portals connecting residents with loved ones via voice and video is a growing trend.
- Ambient Computing is on the horizon where technologies exist behind the scenes and voice technologies are prompted on multiple screens. An array of intelligent connected microphones has privacy architected into the system.
The founder of LivWell Health talks about providing one-on-one fitness training in senior living communities and as a personal in-home wellness service.
About Andrew
Andrew has always been involved in the fitness world. His love for health and wellness led him to an undergraduate degree in Exercise Physiology at Bowling Green State University then to a graduate degree from one of the nation’s top programs at the University of Southern California. The plan was to learn about the aging process and apply exercise principles to help senior populations live happier, healthier lives.
LiveWell Health opened in 2018 and has grown to a team of eight, with greater expansion on the horizon. LiveWell Health creates and executes one-on-one exercise routines for those over the age of 65 from the comfort of their own homes. Many of the LiveWell members have completed therapy protocols and are looking for increased benefit. Others wish to avoid or delay some of the common issues of aging in order to remain independent.
Key Takeaways
- The healthcare system makes it difficult to provide continuity. Spend more time with patients and our clients improves outcomes.
- Older adults want autonomy and purpose, to be challenged, motivated, and try new things. The biggest mistake made in senior living communities is treating residents as incapable.
- Out of pocket concierge medical centers that cater to the luxury market are a growing trend; they include fitness, nutrition, stress management, complementary medicine, and wellness services.
- Leading-edge technologies can identify strength balance and motion metrics.
The founder and CEO of W Lawson talks about his initiatives on the board of Leading Age and the Green House Project, the move to resident-directed supports and services, and his work breaking down barriers in the not-for-profit space.
About Marvell
Marvell Adams Jr. has known since high school that he would serve older adults as a part of his life’s work. He has been a project manager, nursing home administrator, CEO, facilitator, international speaker, coach, and educator. As Founder & CEO of W Lawson, he is continuing two decades of committed service to older adults with a focus on inclusion, belonging and creating communities for older adults that authentically welcomes them and their chosen family and friends.
In contributing to the next generation of aging services professionals, Marvell lectures to hundreds to high school and college students and currently serves as founding co-chair of the LeadingAge Cultural Competency Advisory Group. He is a founding member of the design team for the LeadingAge Summer Enrichment Program, which focuses on exposing BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) undergraduate and graduate students to the field of aging services.
Key Takeaways
- Most aging services focus on an affluent clienteleand homogeneous race and ethnicity.
- There is diversity among the direct care staff in senior living, but not in leadership. Women and people of color are disproportionately represented at the top.
- Starting in 2040 there will be an increase in individuals identifying as two or more racial ethnicities. The inclusion piece will be undeniable.
The Founder & CEO of Carefeed talks about the company’s secure, cloud-based and HIPAA-compliant digital communication solutions for skilled nursing and senior living communities. Learn how Carefeed creates efficiencies and improves the experience for staff, residents, and families.
About Terry
Terry’s entire career has been focused on digital transformation. Prior to founding Carefeed, Terry spent the last decade leading the hospital business unit at PatientPoint, a L-Catterton company. Healthcare is part of Terry’s DNA. His family has a long history in medicine—his father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all physicians. Although Terry chose business school over medical school, his deep connection with the industry makes Carefeed the ideal company with which he plans to make his own mark on the industry.
After seeing firsthand how antiquated some of the processes were in the post-acute care setting, Terry founded Carefeed with the goal to make the lives of staff at senior communities easier, while at the same time promoting trust and transparency among patients, residents, and family members. Outside of work, Terry and his wife spend their time chasing their eight children and attending a myriad of kid activities.
Key Takeaways
- Carefeed’s goals are two-fold: provide operational efficiencies and gives families information to promote trust and transparency.
- The benefits of digitizing communications include time and cost savings as well as compliance with state and federal regulations.
- The Carefeed family portal is a digital door where families can securely chat, check activity calendars and menus, pay bills and even check vitals.
As a strategic consultant and policy analyst, Jem takes a global, interdisciplinary approach to addressing the issues of an aging population. Here he shares his passion for making cities more green-friendly, and how places like Japan, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands make nature and interaction among generations part of the fabric of life.
About Jem
Jem holds an MA in Public Policy and an MA in International Development. He develops strategy and policies to support ageing in place and age-friendly social inclusion. A key strength is expertise in the design and execution of cross-country research in complex, dynamic sectors using quantitative and qualitative methods.
Jem developed all content for, and lectured undergraduates on, Disability, Social Inclusion and Universal Design in 2021 at University College Dublin. He presented to leaders of the Manchester Urban Ageing Research Group (MUARG), University of Manchester, on ageing in place in Japan and attitudes towards the elderly in Japanese society.
As a business consultant, he redefined strategy for over 200 clients at the highest level including NGOs/not for profits, city authorities, government ministries and leading multinationals. Projects generated regulatory changes, new product/service development and investment including M&A. Projects include ‘green’ public transport; accessible tourism for all; and facilitating governments' support transition from informal to formal trade in developing countries.
Key Takeaways
- Green spaces encourage walking and socialization. Being outside encourages intergenerational interaction and planned and spontaneous interactions.
- Insenior living communities green spaces replenish staff as much as residents.
- Trends like children staying home until their 30’s and grandchildren living with grandparentsare driving intergenerational living.
- Learning to play a musical instrument enhances well-being and improves memory—even at a most basic level, like strumming a guitar or playing a few arpeggios on a keyboard.
- Listening to music daily provides protection for your brain. It providescognitive resilience, improves memory and concentration, and helps alleviate and prevent symptoms relating to dementia and Parkinson's.
The founder of Artfull Enrichment talks about developing art programs in senior living communities, and their library of 200 online art programs, step-by-step programs video tutorials and live workshops.
About Cailey
Cailey Massey is an artist who has been developing and implementing person-centered art programs in older adult communities for over a decade. With hands-on industry experience, She has dedicated her career to elevating artistic opportunities for underserved populations and promoting the benefits of creativity.
Artfull Enrichment provides online access to hundreds of art programs that can be facilitated by in-house programming staff or used independently by residents. All programs are designed to empower participants, promote creative exploration, and support life enrichment teams.
“We need to remove the intimidation barrier around art,” says Massey. “Our programs are step-by-step so residents feel guided throughout the process. They are often surprised at what they're capable of creating.”
Key Takeaways
- Benefits of art include retaining fine motor skills, connecting with community, building relationships between staff and residents, and combatting social isolation. Moving into senior living is a transitional time and art is a good way to process emotions and feelings.
- Senior living communities can improve the impact and momentum of their art programs by introducing them in a consistent way. Attending once a week will get residents invested in the program.
- Create an art exhibition to share with family and friends. The art will have a more lasting impact.
- Collaborative activities take the pressure off individualsand build relationships with peers.
The founder & CEO of Empower Living talks about his new venture, his Master of Arts in Senior Living Hospitality from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, and why career path and empowerment go hand in hand.
About Mark
In addition to his role as CEO of Empower Living, Mark Reisman, CPA, is Chief of Acquisitions and Asset Management at Touzi Capital, a private equity firm specializing in senior living and multifamily investments. He oversees an $80M portfolio of twelve properties, totaling 990 multifamily and senior living units.
Mark is the former CEO, CFO and Interim COO of WindRiver Management Corp., where he managed 30 senior living communities in Texas, Florida and Oklahoma, including assisted living, memory care, and independent living, in addition to two 200+ bed multifamily communities. Management company revenues increased by 28% over 2.5 years, and the company transitioned from a strictly third-party manager to also owner-operator.
Key Takeaways
- Part of empowering staff is making sure they're productive and not wasting time on administrative tasks like scheduling and health records. Give employees tools and be a sounding board.
- Fall risk reduction needs and an offense and a defense, including motion detector sensors and video with AI technology that detects a fall once it occurs.
- It’s important to provide career path and educational opportunities to grow the next generation of senior living executives. Senior Living is notorious for having frontline workers who do not get promoted or promoted very far, so it's important to provide pathways for growth.
Nancy Griffin welcomes back Colin Milner, CEO of the International Council on Active Aging®. ICAA’s business and consumer initiatives create new paradigms of healthy aging across the globe.
About Colin
Colin Milner is the founder of the active-aging industry in North America. He is the leading authority on the health and wellbeing of the older adult, and has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of the “most innovative and influential minds” in the world on aging-related topics. An award-winning writer, Milner has authored more than 300 articles and contributed a chapter to the World Economic Forum book Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise?
His expertise has been sought by organizations around the world, including the World Health Organization, the White House Conference on Aging, the National Institute on Aging, New Balance, and the European Commission. He is the publisher of the Journal on Active Aging and has authored more than 300 articles on fitness, wellness, and the business of healthy aging.
Key Takeaways
- There are multiple models of wellness with the common goal of helping people to live better longer.
- ICAA latest research shows wellness is a growing priority. Eighty-one percent of the 459 respondents from senior living communities see wellness is a high or essential priority, compared to 60% in 2018.
- Fifty-three percent of respondents believe they have a culture of wellness, permeated throughout the organization and not just within the wellness center.
- The ROI of wellness includes attracting a younger, health-conscious residents and keeping residents at the community longer because they are healthier and more engaged.
- Senior living can’t rely on the government for funding. Government is all about the election cycles and trying to get funds will be extremely difficult.
The Founder of The Gerontologist Inc. talks technology, elder abuse, and the need to create autonomy for older adults.
About Kerry
Kerry Burnight, Ph.D., is a nationally renowned gerontologist and the founder of The Gerontologist, Inc., an advisory firm that helps companies understand and meet the needs of older adults. She is an aging expert determined to help others improve the second half of their lives.
Burnight spent 18 years at the University of California, Irvine, as a professor of geriatric medicine, where she developed a greater understanding of the tragedies and triumphs of growing older. There, she co-founded and directed the nation’s first Elder Abuse Forensic Center and the national non-profit, Ageless Alliance: United Against Elder Abuse, which works to eliminate elder abuse through awareness and advocacy.
She has served on the executive leadership team of GrandPad—a technology firm that developed a user-friendly, custom-engineered tablet that has connected over 100,000 adults to their loved ones. As chief gerontologist, she assembled a team of colleagues, ages 82-106, who uncovered thousands of frustration points and identified elements required for a successful product.
Her work has been featured on CBS News, The Doctors, Money Matters, The Dr. Phil Show, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. White House.
Key Takeaways
- Elder abuse is a $37 billion business—older adults duped by devious, savvy methods of control and financial exploitation.
- Legacy and autonomy are older adult developmental imperatives. “Taking care” of older adults is the opposite of what they are hungry for.
- We have been filled to the brim with lies about aging, fueled by a multibillion-dollar anti-aging industry.
The Co-founder & CEO of Bella Groves talks about how his caregiver-first perspective shaped his new venture, and the pitfalls of treating dementia as a normal part of aging.
About James
Jams Lee is an icon in senior living and aging services, as an executive in large corporations and as founder of several entrepreneurial ventures. In 2021, he transitioned from an executive position in an established senior living organization to launch three interrelated endeavors: Bella Groves, a consulting firm, and a leadership podcast. Bella Groves is a care education company providing dementia training for family caregivers, coaching to guide families in their care for loved ones, and a 32-bed dementia care residence that serves as the hub of learning and modeling care.
James is also owner of Bear Wise Consulting, an executive coaching firm and host of Level Up, a podcast dedicated to sharing self-growth and development ideas. He publishes a twice monthly newsletter on LinkedIn and is a frequent speaker on online platforms and at industry conferences.
Key Takeaways
- The average length of stay in a dementia care community is 18 months and the disease progression is more than 10 years. Senior living’s offering is incomplete.
- Bella Groves’ 32-bed memory care community serves as a working showroom of dementia knowledge.
- Senior living’s two primary technologies are analytical technology to help understand what's going on, and action-oriented technology like social connectivity tools that help take care of residents. A foundation of data analysis is the place to start—outside companies can’t provide the information.
- Genuine kindness happens at a small intimate personal level so the only true way to infuse it is with the people you interact with every day. Create a Ponzi scheme of kindness.
The Assistant Vice President of Wellness Strategies for Mather discusses his pivot from hospitality to senior living. Myers shares his wellness architecture for Mather’s new $500 million Tyson’s corner life plan community, which includes two full-service spas. Catering to senior living’s new generation resident, two-thirds of the depositors are Baby Boomers or Generation X.
About William
William Wesley Myers was Director of Spa & Wellness for Langham Hospitality Group before joining Mather as Corporate Director of Wellness Strategies in March 2021. In April 2022, he was promoted to Assistant Vice President of Wellness Strategies.
A well know executive in wellness and hospitality, Myers was named American Spa Magazine’s Most Influential Industry Leader three consecutive years. He has shape many leading-edge wellness facilities, experiences, and products—bridging gaps between authentic integrative therapies, consumer demands, and technology.
Key Takeaways
- Mather’s Wellness Model focuses on three drivers: autonomy, affiliation, and achievement. The culture supports residents to be independent and engaged in a sense of community for as long as possible
- Forward thinking senior living communities are shifting the focus from “sick care” to preventative care.
- There is a trend toward all-inclusive, resort style flat fee and credit or spend-down models that can shift wellness programming from a loss leader to a revenue center.
The CEO of SALT Chamber and Founder of the Salt Therapy Association discusses respiratory wellness and why dry salt therapy is an ideal offering for older adults. Learn how senior living communities can convert and existing space into a solo, couples or multipurpose salt room.
About Leo
Leo M. Tonkin has been CEO of several companies over the past 30 years focused on strategic, organizational, and leadership development. A pioneer and visionary with a passion for respiratory health and wellness, Leo was the first to bring salt therapy to North America in 2012.
As CEO of SALT Chamber, which has completed over 1,300 worldwide projects, Leo has become a leading authority on the design, build, and installation of salt therapy rooms, concepts, and facilities as a new business and for day spas, med spas, wellness centers, health practitioners, senior living communities and rehabilitation facilities to add salt therapy to their existing services.
Leo is also the Founding Chairman of the Salt Therapy Association, a not-for-profit trade organization providing research, education, and innovation for the salt therapy industry. He has recently been named Initiative Chair for the new Respiratory Wellness Initiative from the Global Wellness Institute.
Leo is considered a thought leader and a futurist in organizational development and is a published author, a highly sought-after keynote speaker and lecturer, and has written more than 30 programs from executive excellence and team building to communication and breakthrough thinking.
As a recent cancer survivor, Leo passionate about the health benefits of salt therapy and the difference it can make in people’s lives.
Key Takeaways
- Dry salt therapy involves the inhalation of tiny sodium chloride particles produced by a halogenerator, which pulls out pathogens in the mucus.
- As we age, the respiratory system becomes more fragile and more susceptible to ailments like COPD, asthma, and allergies. Dry salt therapy acts as an anti-inflammatory, opens the airway passages, and increases oxygen intake.
- Multiple research studies validate the positive impact of dry salt therapy on lung functionality and lung volume recovery times, COPD, asthma, allergies, and bronchial issues.
- Senior living communities can easily convert an existing space into a solo or a couple's salt room or create a larger multi-purpose room with social activities like stretching or yoga.
To request information on converting your space into a salt room, visit saltchamberinc.com/seniorliving
Dr. Tracey Gendron is the author of Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End it. She shares her insights from 25 years of experience as a gerontologist, serving as Chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology and Executive Director of the Virginia Center on Aging.
About Dr. Gendron
Dr. Tracey Gendron has a Master’s degree in Gerontology, a Master’s degree in Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. In addition to her book Ageism Unmasked, she has authored and co-authored over 30 scholarly manuscripts and seven book chapters on ageism and aging-related topics. She is frequently quoted in popular media outlets, including the New York Times, the Huffington Post, and U.S. News and World Report. Dr. Gendron has spoken about ageism in forums across America and can also be seen and heard as a guest speaker on numerous podcasts and video productions.
Dr. Gendron has dedicated her career to changing the landscape to develop an age- inclusive climate that facilitates growth and engagement in elderhood. Her personal and professional goal is to raise awareness of elderhood as the solution to the deeply embedded ageism pervasive within all cultures, settings, and individuals.
Key Takeaways
- Systemic ageism is embedded in all levels within our institutions, policies and procedures. It's everywhere, and invisible because we accept it as normal.
- The anti-aging industry clearly profits from ageism—fear of aging sells. To be anti-aging, ultimately means to be anti-living.
- The way we feel about aging influences our mental health, physical health and longevity. Fear of aging creates stress. The best way to fight ageism is to feel good about aging.
- Ageism underlies social isolation. It’s hard to find opportunities to contribute when you are not valued.
- Another type of ageism devalues the caregivers who support older people.
The Founder & CEO of UpsideHōM shares company milestones and how to create organic intergenerational connection and successful co-housing. Learn how this exciting alternative to traditional senior living is creating solutions for social isolation and affordable housing.
About Jake
Jake Rothstein is the CEO and Founder of UpsideHōM, whose mission is to enhance the quality of life for older adults everywhere. UpsideHōM is the first and only fully managed, shared living option for older adults, providing a turnkey, affordable and appealing alternative to traditional senior living.
Jake previously co-founded Papa - a company which pairs older adults and families with “Papa Pals” for companionship and assistance with everyday tasks - based on experience with his own grandfather (whom he called Papa). Witnessing the wide-spread nature of loneliness, isolation and unaffordable housing options for older adults, Jake developed the idea for UpsideHōM, which would provide a solution to more completely tackle these challenges at scale.
With a background in technology sales, operations and management, Jake has experience building and running successful, international teams, selling enterprise software into the Global 2000.
Jake holds a BA in Economics from the University of Florida. He is a FAA certified Private Pilot who enjoys flying, outdoor running and spending time with his incredible wife Sharona and their Goldendoodle Louie.
Key Takeaways
- Older adults believe they're more independent than they actually are. When moving in with UpsideHōm, people tend to lean more on their home managers than they think they will.
- Moving is an event that happens infrequently for most people, so they tend to forget the challenges of coordinating a move. With older adults, moving often surrounds a triggering event like the 5D's: death downsizing, divorce, disaster, and disability.
- The senior living industry puts people into buckets based on age, acuity, mobility, or accessibility, but people are more nuanced. Every human being ages differently.
- Technology can facilitate efficiencies to deliver human touch technology. It can drive efficiencies to coordinate services better, but it's going to be hard to solve the loneliness epidemic without human touch.
- At the core, intergenerational connection happens organically. UpsideHōm home managers facilitate organic engagement by providing access to experiences, events and activities both within the apartment complex and in the broader community.
- Half of UpsidHōm’s prospects are interested in co-housing. Co-housing works best when people are paired in advance, like the way college roommates are matched based on compatibility in a dorm room setting—it puts people into a neutral territory. Research show that people are less territorial move into a physical dwelling at the same time.
From developing university curriculum for senior living, to designing state of the art assisted living and memory care communities, Andy Carle has done it all. Learn about his newest project at The Virginian, where color-coded wings and multi-themed experiential engagement take memory care to the next level.
About Andrew
Andrew Carle is adjunct faculty at Georgetown University's Masters in Aging and Health, and advisor and consultant at The Virginian. As Georgetown University faculty, he provides development of and lead instruction for nation's only graduate curricula in Senior Living Administration. Previously, he was an award-winning Professor and Executive-in-Residence for the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University, establishing the first undergraduate curricula in the nation dedicated exclusively to the senior housing industry.
Carle is internationally recognized for defining a new category of senior housing—"University Based Retirement Communities (UBRCs)™" and a new sector of technology—"Nana" Technology™ (technology for older adults). He is co-developer of the innovative GPS shoe ("SmartSole™") for individuals with Alzheimer's at risk of wandering. The shoe was included in exhibition of "100 Most Important Inventions in History" by the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. His work has been featured or cited in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, CBS News, CNN, PBS, NPR, and U.S. News & World Report, among others; and in more than 100 senior housing, aging services industry, and technology publications.
His 30+ years of executive-level senior housing and healthcare experience include Chief Operating Officer and VP - Business Services for multiple "Top-10" senior housing providers, and CEO, COO, and Director of Strategic Planning & Marketing for vertically integrated healthcare systems. As president of Carle Consulting, LLC, his clients have included industry leading senior living providers and organizations, as well as AARP, Apple, Nintendo, and UnitedHealthcare, among others. He served as Senior Consultant - Health Intelligence for J.D. Power and Associates in development of the first national customer satisfaction and certification program for the senior living industry.
Awards include “Best of the Best in Aging Services” from Aging News Alert and “Leaders in Aging – Mentor Award” from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. In 2010, Carle was recognized among six "People of Influence" for the senior housing industry by Senior Living Executive magazine.
Key Takeaways
- Healthcare is an integral part of assisted living and memory care, even independent living. For example, special diets for chronic diseases and swallowing disorders.
- Health Administration students have already decided on a career in helping people—we can teach them the hospitality side and the role of senior living on the continuum of healthcare.
- The Virginian replaced underutilized life skills stations with large engagement rooms in a multi-themed setting.
- Intergenerational retirement environments and university-based senior living communities are popular and growing fast. Retirees today are not attracted to “elderly islands” and like the intellectually stimulating environment of a college campus.
- Technology to streamline operations will be critical. How do we automate? How do we make our labor more productive? How do we make one nurse's aide as productive as three today?
From corporate CFO to age-tech entrepreneur, Paige Wilson turned her lightbulb moment into a thriving age-tech enterprise. Find out how Naborforce’s form of “paid volunteerism” enables aging in place, combats loneliness, and provides access to social determinants of health and purpose for an older workforce.
About Paige
Paige Wilson is the founder and CEO of Naborforce. She spent the bulk of her career in the large corporate arena, holding several executive level positions, including CFO of a Fortune 1000 company. After struggling with the demands of caring for her aging mother while also trying to balance career and family, she began looking for a solution that could benefit other families who were facing similar challenges. She found that while the medical community continues to bring innovative solutions, there was a need for support outside of the medical world, often before regular medical care is needed. Naborforce bridges that gap between independence and medical care.
Paige holds a degree from The University of Virginia.
Key Takeaways
- Working in the gig economy is attractive to middle-aged women. The average “Nabor” is 54 years old. Eighty five percent are women, primarily empty nesters and retirees.
- Most older adults are still not comfortable with technology. Eighty percent of Naborforce’s revenue comes from the adult children booking through the app.
- Naborforce partners with life plan communities and assisted living to bridge staffing shortages and enable senior living without walls.
Age-tech pioneer Michael Mann advises and mentors early-stage startups to help founders design the best products for older adults. Listen to his views on technologies for aging in place and opportunities for growth in senior living.
About Michael
As founder of Tachyon Insights, Michael is an age-tech healthcare influencer who is passionate about empowering the lives of older adults and family caregivers. An industry influencer, he has 30,000+ LinkedIn followers and is a regular speaker at senior living and healthcare conferences. He is a mentor at 757 Accelerate and MedStartr Ventures. Michael credits his insight into caregivers and older adults to working as a social worker in skilled nursing facilities as a care manager and licensed assisted administrator, being a family caregiver and developing 1,000 + care plans.
Michael owned a care management company which supported Medicare/Medicaid dual eligible, and Humana members, where he oversaw initiatives that reduced hospital readmission by 32% over a 6 month period and 44% for chronic care members. The program dramatically improved member satisfaction, HEDIS measures, and quality metrics driven by risk individualized risk assessments. He also served as Chief Commercial Officer at Sagely, a wellness platform that empowers older adults and connects their families.
Michael holds a Masters in Healthcare Administration from George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health. He has a wife, daughter and 2 dogs, loves to surf, hike, and work out, and is a caregiver to his 89-year-old dad.
Key Takeaways
- Voice technologies are huge because that is the natural way humans interact.
- Home diagnostics are in the early stages of development. Processes such as drawing blood and eye tests will improve.
- Consumer-driven technologies will help older adults stay in their homes. Ninety percent of homes are not modified for later life.
- Senior living needs to be reimagined beyond the walls and have greater collaboration with homecare companies and hospitals. Senior living can deliver a platform of wellness and social services, but the real estate revenue model is not structured for the pivot.
Sky Bergman was inspired by her active 100-year-old Italian grandmother to document the wisdom of older adults. After spending four years interviewing 40 people with a cumulative life experience of 3,000 years, she released the film Lives Well Lived to critical acclaim.
About Sky
Sky Bergman (she/her) is an accomplished, award-winning photographer and filmmaker. Lives Well Lived is Sky’s directorial debut. Her fine art work is included in permanent collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Her commercial work has appeared on book covers for Random House and Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc., and magazine spreads in Smithsonian, Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel, Reader’s Digest, and Archaeology Odyssey.
Sky Bergman is Professor Emeritus of Photography and Video and a former Department Chair of the Art & Design Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. She has two short films about intergenerational connections currently on the film festival circuit and is working on a feature-length film that is a celebration of love.
Key Takeaways
- The Lives Well Lived intergenerational program pairs high school and college students and older adults, using the 20 questions from the film as prompts.
- Both the older adults and the young students say they have far more in common than their differences. The only difference is their age.
- Senior living communities can adopt their own Lives Well Lived project by downloading the discussion guide on the website, including best practices in interviewing.
WatchLives Well Lived on PBS, Amazon, and iTunes.
Founder and President of Brilliant Aging, Kay Van Norman’s mission is to bridge the gap between programming and a culture of wellbeing. Learn about her “stages of change” model for entering senior living and how sales and marketing can optimize engagement through a focus on person-centered wellness.
About Kay
Kay Van Norman is a healthy aging expert and former Director of the Keiser Institute on Aging. She serves on international boards, speaks and consults around the world, and has an extensive list of publications. Kay provides individuals with resources to create a personal Vitality Portfolio® to help senior living communities deliver on their wellness brand promises.
Key Takeaways
- The stages of change model for entering senior living includes precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation into action. Sales and marketing need a strategy for each stage.
- Wellness centers in senior living are underutilized. There are significant barriers to participation, including mindset, belief systems, ageism and ableism.
- Beliefs about aging drive health choices and behaviors. How do you help people change their mindset about aging?
- The people who thrive when they move into a senior living community are those who can internalize a mindset of well-being and take advantage of opportunities. Senior living needs to help people prepare in advance to thrive in community. The pivot to digital is the perfect opportunity.
For 25 years Tom Grape has been a pioneer in independent and assisted living, memory care and life plan communities. As Founder, Chairman and CEO of Benchmark Senior Living, he has grown the company portfolio to 63 communities in 7 states. Benchmark’s focus on culture has made the company an employer-of-choice repeat award winner with Fortune and the Boston Globe.
About Tom
When Tom Grape founded Benchmark Senior Living in a two-room office in Wellesley, Mass., he understood the significant health and social benefits his consumer-centered approach to senior living would provide people. Nearly 25 years later, Benchmark is one of the largest senior housing companies in the country, consistently receiving industry-leading resident and family satisfaction scores.
Tom’s commitment to seniors has gone beyond those served by Benchmark. He has advocated for all seniors and helped pave the way for the industry both regionally and nationally. He is a founding board member and former chair of Argentum, the national organization of senior living companies; an executive board member of the American Seniors Housing Association; and a member of the owner/operator advisory group and strategic planning committee for the National Investment Center (NIC) for the Senior Housing and Long-Term Care Industries.
In 1994, along with Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services and now Governor Charlie Baker, Tom was instrumental in writing the legislation for assisted living in Massachusetts. Such groundbreaking work was recognized in 2019 when Tom received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association (Mass-ALA). Tom is a frequent speaker, panelist and author on topics related to development, workforce, programming, and the importance of human connection in senior living.
Key Takeaways
- A key to Benchmark’s success is a concentration on core basic principles, applied over time..
- The Boomers are going to want the full array of choices that they've had throughout their lives. They are going to turn senior living on its head.
- As the senior living market matures, there will be more segmentation and greater differentiation among products. Examples are urban and middle market models and mixed-use developments.
- Technology startups often miss the mark on the real need. Most develop a product based on a perceived need, without understanding the senior living market.
- The various software packages for accounting, care, CRM, and others are still not integrated. Getting technologies to work together remains a fundamental conundrum.
After closing more than one billion of senior living transactions nationally, Scott McCorvie recently launched his own senior living company, Vita Senior Living. Find out why this native Floridian is banking on streamlined operations and an overall wellness model, combining healthcare with lifestyle improvement.
About Scott
Scott McCorvie, Founder and CEO of Vita Senior Living, leverages over 18 years specifically in senior living real estate finance, investment, and valuation. Prior to launching Vita Senior Living, Scott was CFO and EVP of Investments for a Florida-based senior living owner/operator (Alta Senior Living). Scott’s experience also includes time at two prominent healthcare REITs (CNL and Sentio), where Scott was successful in closing accretive senior living investments in markets across the country and was a vital member of the debt/equity capital and asset management leadership teams.
Scott worked for one of the largest, dedicated senior living real estate advisory firms, HealthTrust, where he completed over 500 senior living real estate appraisal and market study assignments in markets across the United States. Along with his industry experience, Scott leverages his undergraduate and graduate degrees in real estate from The Florida State University and The University of Central Florida, and produces an industry podcast, The Inner Circle of Senior Living.
Key Takeaways
- A strong defined culture is what separates good operators from great operators. The most important part of culture is having strong leadership.
- Multifamily housing is a better opportunity than hotels for adapted reuse. It’s hard to make the numbers work in a hotel conversion because costs are high, and design and safety components are not a good fit.
- Staffing and affordability are senior living’s biggest challenges—two things that are difficult to reconcile because one of the best ways to attract staff is to pay more.
As the founder and CEO of the Positive Approach, LLC, Teepa Snow is committed to educating individuals and communities about best practices in dementia. Her videos, training, coaching, consulting, and creative social media posts help millions impacted by this challenging condition, in more than 30 countries.
About Teepa
Teepa Snow is one of the world’s leading advocates and educators for anyone living with dementia or other forms of brain change. An Occupational Therapist with over 40-years of rich and varied clinical and academic experience, her philosophy is reflective of her education, work experience, medical research, and first-hand caregiving experiences. Her advocacy efforts led her to the development of the GEMS® State Model for understanding the progression of dementia and changes in abilities.
She also created the Positive Approach to Care® training strategies, which are effective techniques for anyone seeking to optimize care and support for those living with brain change. As the Education Director of Eastern North Carolina’s Alzheimer’s Association, she also helped to create the nation’s award-winning DVD entitled Accepting the Challenge: Providing the Best Care for People with Dementia. Her user-friendly approaches provide guidance and leadership to national efforts to promote best practices in care.
Key Takeaways
- What we previously thought was true about dementia is inaccurate in many ways. Cognitive impairment is not a normal part of aging.
- Impairment in the ability to walk quickly is one of the earliest indicators of dementia. There is a possibility a change in the cerebellar area that negatively effects our reactions to unexpected challenges in the environment.
- In people with dementia, there's damage to the part of the brain that allows them to see their changing abilities accurately.
- The senior living experience highly dependent on the leader. If the leader leaves, the whole system comes apart rapidly.
The new executive director of Milken Institute’s Center for the Future of Aging has a bird’s eye view on everything impacting aging. Former roles include chief lobbyist at AARP during the Affordable Care Act's enactment, and appointment by President Obama in 2014 to lead the White House conference on Aging.
About Nora
As executive director of Milken’s Institute Center for the Future of Aging, Nora Super provides strategic direction for two primary focus areas: Healthy Longevity and Financial Security. In 2020, she launched the Milken Institute Alliance to Improve Dementia Care, which seeks to transform and improve the complex health and long-term care systems that people at risk for and living with dementia must navigate. Super is a respected thought leader, frequent speaker, and prolific writer on healthy longevity and the economic and social impact of global population aging.
From 2014 to 2016, Super served as the executive director of the White House Conference on Aging, where she received wide recognition for her nationwide efforts to improve the lives of older Americans. She has also held leadership roles at the US Department of Health and Human Services, AARP, Kaiser Permanente, and USAging.
Key Takeaways
- Population aging is affecting all countries across the globe. A perfect storm is coming with people living longer and not having the financial means to live well.
- Covid brought awareness of the negative impact of long periods of social isolation and lack of engagement.
- Healthy longevity and financial security are intertwined—the healthier you are, the longer you can work or earn money and stay active. The more financial security you have, the more likely you're going to have access to fresh air and secure housing, which impacts your health.
- The Milken Institute released a report last year on new approaches to long-term care access for middle-income retirees. 15% of Boomers will incur more than $250,000 in long-term care costs: fewer than 40% of workers and 34% of retirees are reserving funds for long-term care and medical expenses in retirement.
- Dementia in the U.S. will nearly double over the next 20 years. Alzheimer’s disproportionately impacts women and diverse communities.
In his 30-Year Tenure as President and CEO of RiverSpring Living, Daniel founded the nation’s first elder abuse shelter and senior living’s fine art museum, multiple intergenerational initiatives, and New York City’s first luxury life plan community. Hear how Hebrew Home at Riverdale’s visionary programs are being replicated across the country.
About Daniel
Daniel Reingold, M.S., J.D. is President and Chief Executive Officer of RiverSpring Living, a leading non-profit senior care organization with a century of history and leadership, which includes the operation of the renowned Hebrew Home at Riverdale. Under his tenure, the non-profit has grown significantly, generated by the development of innovative and much-needed care solutions for older adults—including managed long-term care, assisted living, senior housing, and rehabilitation services.
As a passionate advocate for older adults, Reingold and his team opened the Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention, the nation’s first elder abuse shelter, in 2005. Reingold’s vision also includes the development of intergenerational initiatives. Project HOPE (Healthcare Offers Permanent Employment) is a unique program that provides students with the opportunity to complete their education while developing job skills. Students spend a large portion of each day at work sites around the Hebrew Home, trained by staff and building connections with Hebrew Home residents.
Reingold has become a highly visible presence on the national level, having testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and attending the 2015 White House Conference on Aging.
Key Takeaways
- Older adults do not want to be segregated by age. RiverSpring Living set up a high school for learning disabled students in the nursing home, and developed a strong relationship with Mount Saint Vincent, a small parochial liberal arts college. They are also exploring the possibility of graduate students and residents living together.
- Hebrew House at Riverdale’s Derfner Judaica Museum + The Art Collectionhas more than 5,000 museum-quality pieces. The museum and art center have had a profound impact on residents and staff.
- To put the U.S. elder abuse crisis in perspective, there are 1.6 million people living in nursing homes, and more than two million people living at home who are victims of abuse every year.
Proud industry disruptor John Gonzales, SVP of Consulting at Haven Senior Investments and President at Haven Senior Living, has been involved in every aspect of the business of aging well. Listen to his opinions on a healthcare versus hospitality approach, solutions for the middle market, and how to use social media to attract prospective staff and residents.
About John
John Gonzales has over 30 years of successful and progressive experience in the senior housing industry holding a succession of facility, regional and corporate level positions including Executive Director, Director of Marketing, Regional Manager, Director of Operations, Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer. He brings a depth of experience to a broad range of senior housing environments including Independent, Assisted Living, Alzheimer’s and Skilled Care.
With a unique ability to identify, motivate and direct resources, John deals effectively with cost containment, creative problem-solving, increasing work force productivity, and also possesses excellent human relations skills. He has a solid track record in developing leaders within our industry and is passionate about serving seniors guided by the culture of exceptional customer service.
John attended the University of Texas at San Antonio where he majored in Music and minored in Computer Science. He is an accomplished trumpeter and plays for military ceremonies and funerals and is a member of the Jazz Disciples.
Key Takeaways
- Senior living operators need to become adept at “reading the tea leaves” to look forward and craft the right message not only for today, but tomorrow.
- Marketing and operations need to have synergyand pull in the same direction. You can't fool people with your marketing. Bait and switch will backfire.
- Operators need to use the same social media tools to attract new employees as well as prospective residents.
- There are two camps in the industry: One thinks we can tweak the current model and the other thinks we need fundamental transformation.
- The population of middle-income seniors is growing the most rapidly, and finding solutions is always a hard trade-off. Conflict and difficult choices are the nature of the business.
The founder of the Ageful Living blog and a passionate advocate for the positive aging movement shares her opinions on empowered aging, caregiver support, and the tipping point of public awareness on ageism.
About Jeanette
Jeanette Leardi is a social gerontologist, community educator, writer, editor, public speaker, and aging wellness leader who has a passion for older adult empowerment. She finds special personal fulfillment in helping Boomers and older generations share their wisdom.
Leardi’s decades of experience as the primary caregiver to both of her parents changed her perception about the aging process and inspired her encore career. She wanted to help people appreciate elders’ inherent dignity, wisdom, and unique value as mentors and catalysts for social change. She accomplishes this through her publications, presentations and classes in journaling, spiritual writing, memoir writing, brain fitness, health literacy, ageism, intergenerational communication, creativity, and caregiver support.
Key Takeaways
- The fundamental issue concerning older adults is ageism. Solutions that don’t address ageism are Band-Aids.
- The brains of the older adults process faster and more accurately because they use both sides of the brain simultaneously. The corpus callosum between the two hemispheres of the brain gets thicker as we age and fully matures only in our 50’s.
- In a senior living community, systemic ageism occurs when the institution takes precedence over the individual residents. An ageist atmosphere reduces the bottom line, census, and employee satisfaction.
About Keren
Keren Etkin is the founder of TheGerontechnologist.com, a media platform that covers the global age-tech ecosystem and offers online courses through the AgeTech Academy, and the founder/director of AgeLabIL at Shenkar college in Israel, an interdisciplinary R&D center focusing on age-tech.
Named one of the most influential people in aging, Etkin is a sought-after public speaker and advisor for age-tech startups, investors in the longevity economy, care providers and organizations who work on innovation in aging. Previously, Etkin was the first employee at Intuition Robotics, maker of ElliQ, a pioneering social robot designed with and for older adults, and co-founder & VP of Product at Sensi.ai, a startup that developed the first artificial intelligence solution for remote care monitoring. She holds an M.A. in Gerontology and a B.Sc. in Life Sciences from Ben-Gurion University.
Find Keren onTwitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Spotify
Key Takeaways
- COVID has being an incredible catalyst for age tech innovation. The computer became the window to the world for older adults.
- Age-tech is a solution to the staffing crisis. Automating tasks allows residents to have more autonomy, thereby freeing caregivers to do what they do best.
- By integrating smart home and wearable technologies with personal wellness data, age-tech will allow older adults to live as independently as possible.
As the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Primetime Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund, Abby Levy builds companies from the ground up. Learn about the visionaries improving quality of life for older adults.
About Abby
Abby Miller Levy has spent her career helping businesses and consumer brands grow as an operator, entrepreneur, and advisor, most notably in the wellness sector. Prior to Primetime Partners, she was Senior Vice President of Strategy & Growth at SoulCycle, where she oversaw business development and revenue growth outside the consumer studio business, with an emphasis on building new digital products.
Abby teamed with Arianna Huffington to launch Thrive Global, a behavior change technology company focused on employee productivity and wellness. Abby served as President of Thrive Global and remains on the Thrive Board. Abby began her career at McKinsey & Company then led product development at OXO International. She is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School.
Key Takeaways
- Primetime looks for businesses that build major new pieces of infrastructure, such as GetSetUp, a live peer-to-peer learning platform for older adults.
- Fifty percent of older Americans are going to run out of money. FinTech offers tools and services that enable greater financial security.
- Senior living as a service (SLaaS) dis-aggregates the elements of senior living, such as healthcare, nursing, medication management, and social determinants of health like fitness, nutrition, sleep, mental wellness, socialization, and enrichment. Can these services be brought to a client’s home?
- Senior living communities are amazing resources for insights and experimentation, particularly around engagement.
The founder and CEO of Chelsea Place Senior Care and senior living podcaster on why he is bullish on adult day care as a cost-effective alternative to assisted living or home care, and the value of a good laugh.
About Kris
An entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in senior care, Kris Chana’s personal mission is to give older adults hope and a sense of purpose that helps them live their best life. Chelsea Place Senior Care (named after his wife, Chelsea) includes adult day care, private in-home care services, and assisted living.
Kris is the host of “The CAREpreneur” podcast and the show, “Senior Care Uncensored” which take people behind the scenes of a growing senior care organization. Kris documents exciting adventures that include taking seniors parasailing, flying, air boating, motorcycling, riding in mustang convertible, and much more.
A graduate from the University of Florida with a BS in Business Administration, Kris and his wife owned, operated, and lived in an assisted living facility for the first 3 ½ years of their marriage.
Key Takeaways
- Offering senior living services on site and at home allows a continuum of carethat meets people where they are.
- Senior living must attract a younger generation of service workers to the industry. Employees can make a difference in people's lives.
- Chelsea’s active day care leverages technology, for example, a 9’ x 16’ foot video wall that broadcasts interactive experiences and Obie, provides an active play platform.
As Partner and COO of Charter Senior Living, Jayne oversees 41 communities in seven states. Find out why the company nearly doubled in size in 5 months, and how a flat organization structure allows closer connection to associates, residents, and families.
About Jayne
Jayne Sallerson, a seasoned veteran in the senior living industry, is an investor, partner, and Chief Operating Officer at Charter Senior Living. For the past 25 years, she has served in various senior management roles for both large and small senior living organizations—exposing her to over 750 communities throughout the United States. She has developed and executed sales and operational infrastructures where the net result has been increased revenue, reduced expenses, and improved NOI. Her unique blend of sales and operations experience allows for a balanced approach of driving NOI while keeping customer and employee satisfaction at the core of operating strategies.
Jayne spent seven years as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Emeritus Senior Living prior to the Brookdale merger. She also has experience in software platforms specifically designed for senior housing. Jayne helped launch and was COO of Sherpa CRM, a first of kind CRM built to integrate empathy with sales. She is well-recognized within the senior housing industry and is a frequent presenter on a variety of topics for major national senior living conferences.
Key Takeaways
- Multiple management layers can disconnect corporate from the communities and the residents. Corporate exists to serve the field, not the other way around.
- Recruitment and retention are a challenge industry-wide, along with continued wage pressure.
- More attention is being paid to mental health. Burnout and COVID-19 fatigue are epidemic all the way to the top. Executive Directors are working extra hours, filling in shifts and working weekends.
With a winning combination of experience and innovation, Tana Gall is a leading voice in senior living. Listen to her insights gleaned from Merrill Garden’s 70 communities across 20 states, with 4,000 staff members and 7,000 residents, and her vision for moderately priced senior housing.
About Tana
Tana Gall is responsible for all aspects of operations and growth at the 70 Merrill senior living communities in 20 states – Merrill Gardens and Truewood by Merrill. Gall has over 20 years of experience in senior living leadership roles, and she is focused on creating a culture where the team members and residents thrive. Under Gall’s leadership, the company is recognized as one of the most respected providers of senior living in the country. Gall recently led the launch of the Truewood by Merrill communities with a focus on seniors in the underserved middle market.
Gall is an industry icon, serving as a member of the Argentum Board of Directors, and she was previously the head of the Argentum Executive Director Leadership Institute. She is focused on bringing new leadership to the industry and was instrumental in the establishment of the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living at Washington State University.
Based on her career accomplishments, Gall was asked to join the Bellevue College Healthcare Management and Leadership Advisory Board. She was also invited to join the International Women’s Forum, and was named a Woman of Distinction for 2021 by McKnight’s Senior Living, an award that honors women in senior living who inspire and impact the lives of residents and team members.
Key Takeaways
- Acquiring real estate at low rates is a must to make moderately-priced housing work.
- Limiting serving times and food options control labor costs for middle market dining.
- Customized wellness offerings are an expectation for the next generation of senior living residents—not only a gym, but access to personal training.
- There are many benefits to cross-training employees, including cost savings and increased staff satisfaction.
Len Fishman has worn many hats—Director of the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston, CEO of New England’s largest non-profit senior living provider, and CEO/President of LeadingAge. Listen to his reflections on decades of experience in long-term services and support, and predictions on future challenges and opportunities.
About Len
Len Fishman served as director of the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston until his retirement in 2021. The Institute is the research, policy, and public service arm of UMass Boston’s gerontology program, one of the oldest and largest aging studies programs in the world. Its main areas of focus are health and health care, long-term services and support, economic security, productive aging, and demography—with a special emphasis on low-income and minority older adults.
From 2000 to 2012, Len was CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife, New England’s largest non-profit provider of senior housing and health care. During his tenure, HSL became an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, serving as the school’s clinical research and academic teaching site in geriatrics.
Before joining HSL, Len was president of Leading Age, in Washington D.C., which represents 6,000 non-profit senior housing and health care providers, serving over two million seniors in the U.S. and Canada.
Key Takeaways
- One of the big societal changes in aging is people living longer.Within a little over 100 years, we have increased the human lifespan by over 50%. Most of the institutions that govern our lives were created when the human lifespan was much shorter. Now, however, people expect to experience another chapter in their lives.
- Home care has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, and much more is now being spent on home and community-based services and adult day care.
- Two thirds of the Medicaid budget is allocated to home and community-based services, up from one third. As a result, nursing home reimbursement has stagnated, and the state of the industry is dire. Occupancy is at historically low levels.
- Co-housing has not gained traction in the U.S., but there is a trend towards multigenerational housing.
Max Winters, Senior Associate at Perkins Eastman and co-host of the Shaping Dementia Environments podcast, talks about the company’s milestones, the importance of the built environment for older adults, solutions for the underserved 80%, and what the future holds for senior living.
About Max
A creative force in the senior living design industry, Max Winters, RA, has pioneered new thinking around aging-in-community approaches, innovative dementia environments, and the transformative role technology will play in the future of aging. A senior associate with Perkins Eastman in Pittsburgh, Max’s curious and compassionate nature has established him as a trusted advisor in the development of both long-term visions for senior living communities and dementia environments.
Max’s research and ideas have been published in The New York Times Magazine, Environments for Aging, and McKnight’s Senior Living, among others. As co-host of Perkins Eastman’s new Shaping Dementia Environments podcast, Max is helping to bring awareness and spark advocacy for better designed dementia environments in the United States.
Key Takeaways
- A key ingredient of designing for the middle market is figuring out the minimum “chassis”to keep entry fees as low as possible. Forming partnerships and congregating a critical mass of residents are also crucial elements for success.
- Projects like Opus Newton by 2Life represent an important shift in senior living. Besides cost savings from sharing amenities between subsidized and low-income housing, the residents benefit from a more diverse community by combining different socio-economic groups.
- The two biggest myths about dementia environments are 1. that the primary job of a senior living community protecting the residents from themselves and from other people, and 2. that the primary role of the physical environment is protecting other people from the dementia residents.
AARP Innovation Labs’ Rick Robinson, VP of Product Development, and Sasha Spellman, Startup Collaboration Director, discuss their 9-month journey since launching The AgeTech Collaborative™. Connecting industry leaders, investors, test beds, business services and startups, the platform generates big new ideas and sends thriving products into the $8 trillion age-tech economy.
About Rick
Rick Robinson is VP of Product development at AARP Innovation Labs. He has been VP of Startup Engagement at Innovation Labs since 2018, where he leads a team working with disruptive startup companies to develop impactful age-tech solutions. The Lab was recognized by Fast Company magazine in 2020 as one of 10 most innovative teams.
Rick has been a digital media executive, successful startup founder, and product leader creating customer experiences for the world's largest media companies and nimblest startups including Urgent.ly (co-founder), Digital City, AOL, AOL Time Warner, Webs.com, Sprint/XOHM, National Geographic Digital and Politico. He has spoken in the mobile, local, and social spaces at the United Nations, CES, SXSW, CTIA and has been cited by a variety of publications including The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.
About Sasha
Sasha Spellman is the Startup Collaboration Director at AARP Innovation Labs. In this role, Sasha is leading the efforts for the AgeTech Collaborative™ - a B2B community platform designed to support the age-tech ecosystem to connect innovative early-stage startups with investors, testbeds, corporations and more.
Prior to AARP, Sasha was at Consumer Technology Association where she fostered entrepreneurship and growth of small business by managing the startup program at CES called Eureka Park. She helped grow investment of early-stage startups from 100 startups at CES 2012 to over 1200 startups at CES 2020.
Key Takeaways
- The AgeTech Collaborative moves AARP into a more assertive position. In addition to providing information and research, the organization actively pulls people together to make a significant impact in this space.
- The Collaborative categorizes technologies into three buckets: health, wealth, and self. Health is care of body and mind, wealth offers solutions for savings and planning, and self helps add fun and fulfillment to people's lives.
- There are five major stakeholders in the age-tech ecosystem: industry leaders, test beds, the investment community, business services and startups.
- Criteria for startups accepted into the accelerator include strong founders, particularly those who have a strong idea attached to a personal issue, and a willingness to be flexible in terms of market fit.
The president of Home Ideations and Chair of the National Aging in Place Council®talks about the renewed focus on healthspan and the impact of place on aging well.
About Scott
Scott Fulton is a longevity authority and healthy aging advocate. An evidence-based researcher, innovator, entrepreneur and pragmatic engineer, Scott is recognized for outside-the-box, direct approaches to solve big challenges. He brings an uncommon systems mindset to public health and aging and believes most of us could easily add ten healthy years to life just by pausing, switching off the noise of life, and internalizing the healthspan opportunity within our reach today.
Scott is founder and president of Home Ideations, an education and consulting company focused on healthspan solutions. He teaches at the University of Delaware, chairs the National Aging in Place Council, and is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, National Health Association, and True Health Initiative Council.
Key Takeaways
- The not-for-profit National Aging in Place Council® is a senior support network based in Washington, DC, with chapters around the country. The number of older adults that want to age in place was 80% pre-pandemic, with the number today going over 90% according to most surveys.
- The three areas that everybody must cover to age in place are primary access to and from your home, the bathing environment, and workarounds for multi-level homes.
- Spouses often have different visions of where to grow older. One says “take me out of my home feet first” while the other has visions of living in a Disney Vacation Resort.
- Smart home technology and wearables will get even smarter. Instead of saying “you’re falling,” it will detect when you are at risk of falling and make suggestions about how not to fall.
- Technology is going to arm with precision data tailored to our specific genetics.
The founding president of the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers (NASMM) talks about her new book, life on the “other side of the fence” as a senior living resident, and ways the industry can improve the experience.
About Margit
Margit Novack is an entrepreneur, thought leader in aging and pioneer in Senior Move Management. Margit founded Moving Solutions in 1996, and is widely recognized as a leader the senior move management industry. She is the founding president of the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers (NASMM), chaired the NASMM Ethics Commission, and developed industry training. NASMM recognized Margit’s commitment and service by creating the Margit Novack Award for Excellence.
In 2020, Margit left the formal work world and began a new role as author, speaker, and champion of a re-visioned picture of aging. Her new book, Squint: Re-visioning the Second Half of Life, consists of memorable stories that illustrate larger themes, such as caregiving, forgiveness, family relationships, downsizing and more. Squint demonstrates that with the right perspective and "re-visioning," the future is rich with possibility.
Margit grew up in Philadelphia and has graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband and three dogs and divides her time between suburban Philadelphia and a home by the water in Maryland, where Margit often kayaks upwind.
Key Takeaways
- Senior living needs to promote lifestyle enhancement rather than safety and security, with emphasis on adventure and richness of the experience.
- Instead of painting a perfect picture and ideal timing, senior living salespeople should address “Plan B” when things don’t perfectly line up. For example, moving to a smaller apartment in a less desirable location with the intent of switching when a better one becomes available.
- Focus on agency and individualism. Often the objection is “I’m not ready to give up my independence.”
Senior living has an urgent caregiver crisis, with Covid creating even more challenges. Cathy Richard’s Power Up Program capitalizes on the relationships that exist between caregivers and residents. Small changes can have significant benefits.
About Cathy
Cathy Richards, M.A. is an exercise physiologist, wellness coach, and bestselling author of BOOM: Six Steps to a Longer, Healthier Life. After working in both corporate and senior living settings, Cathy developed her signature programs which focus on maximizing physical health, brain function, and energy levels for all ages. The unique message is “never too early, never too late.” As a professional speaker, Cathy unlocks key mindset shifts and strategies for lasting motivation and lifestyle change. She has been featured on numerous TV news stations and print publications including the Washington Post; you can find out more about her at www.CathyRichards.net.
Key Takeaways
- Senior living staff are more keenly aware of their own aging than the general population, and consequently more receptive to feedback.
- Age is a poor predictor of ability. Eight-five-year-olds can be traveling the world, doing Zumba and writing their memoirs, while others have significant cognitive and physical ailments.
- Intergenerational interaction is a growing trend, and one of the best ways to overcome ageism. The best way to implement this interaction is between staff and residents. Senior living can also pair college students with residents and encourage relationships with grandchildren.
In the past 10 years, Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living at Washington State University has grown from humble beginnings to a full-fledged interdisciplinary major in senior living management. Housed in the hospitality school in the business college, the Institute runs the gamut of non-credit offerings up through PhD options.
About Nancy
Dr. Nancy Swanger is the Associate Dean and Founding Director of the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living, housed in the School of Hospitality Business Management, and the Associate Dean for Inter-College Partnerships in the Carson College of Business at Washington State University. In addition to her administrative duties, she teaches various courses in the curriculum—professional development, senior living operations, and special topics focusing on current trends or industry issues.
Nancy has extensive restaurant experience as a co-worker, manager, district manager, and owner. She and her husband, Larry, owned and operated up to eight Subway restaurants from 1988-2017, and they own two independent concepts in Moscow, Idaho—Gambino’s and the Varsity Diner. Her research interests lie in the areas of senior living, quick-serve restaurant operations, food safety/sanitation, and hospitality curriculum. Prior to coming to WSU, Nancy taught at the University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College.
Key Takeaways
- The Institute’s three buckets include 1. education, 2. data analytics and research and 3. partnerships and service.
- The Faculty Fellow program collaborates across campus to leverage educators doing work in the aging space. The research effort spans multiple colleges, departments, and campuses.
- Hospitality and senior living are going to intersect in a big way for the greater good. There's going to be great opportunities for both sides.
- There will be growing demand for spas, salons, and wellness services. Baby Boomers will demand massages, facials, pedicures, and manicures, and other wellness services.
- We will see more partnerships in senior living, especially in the middle market.Operators won’t have to provide health care, food, and beverage and all the activities.
- The new generation of college students want meaningful purposeful work. What could be more meaningful than making the difference in someone’s life on a daily basis?
The CEO and Executive Director of Thrive Center talks about the world’s first and only non-profit devoted to promoting healthy aging with technological innovations and specialized educational programs, and the technologies changing the lives of older adults.
About Sheri
Sheri Rose is the CEO and Executive Director of the Thrive Center, a nonprofit innovation center focused on wellness and aging. She is also a partner at Commonwealth Leverage LLC, a healthcare professional consulting firm. Sheri previously held positions with AT&T, as Director of Sales & Regulatory. She serves on the Executive Board of the Women’s Political Council of Louisville and on the board of New Directions Housing Authority.
Sheri was named by Louisville Business First as “Top 20 People to Know in Aging” and was recognized by HealthTech Magazine as a woman to know in health IT. Sheri holds a B.A and M.Ed. in Psychology from the University of Louisville.
Key Takeaways
- The smart home is the focal point of the Thrive Center, showcasing various technologies such as smart appliances in a functional kitchen, voice applications, and sensors for non-intrusive motion detection.
- Collaborative ventures include partnerships with the AARP AgeTech Collaborative™, the National Institute of Aging and the (CABHI) Centre for Aging Brain Health Innovation in Canada.
- Thrive helps technology companies from Canada, Europe and Israel navigate the U.S. regulatory climate, including FDA approval and Medicaid/Medicare procedures.
- The biggest mistake startups make is not understanding the market. Senior living communities operate on slim margins. Entrepreneurs should develop solutions that drive operational efficiencies or additional revenue streams and can scale globally.
This long-term senior living veteran calls out the industry for being a one-trick pony. Find out why three quarters of the older adult market goes largely unaddressed, and the bigger market opportunity is farther up the pyramid of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—helping people satisfy their need for growth and self-actualization.
About Dan
Dan Hutson is chief marketing officer for Claiborne Senior Living, a privately held owner-operator of senior living communities throughout the Southeastern United States. He has more than 30 years of experience in helping organizations meet their marketing, communications, and strategic planning needs.
Before joining Claiborne, he served as chief strategy officer for HumanGood, the seventh-largest U.S. nonprofit provider of senior housing serving 10,000 older adults. As CSO, he was responsible for strategic planning, sales and marketing, corporate communications, and innovation and experience design.
Dan has spoken on senior living trends, marketing, innovation, and other topics at the NIC Fall Conference, SMASH Conference, the Argentum Chief Executive Summit, LeadingAge national and state conferences, and other gatherings of senior living leaders. He also has served on the advisory board of SMASH and the conference education planning committees for the NIC Fall Conference and LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO. His marketing and communication programs have been honored by the National Mature Media Awards, Content Marketing Awards, EXCEL Awards and Healthcare Marketing IMPACT Awards.
Key Takeaways
- Senior living needs to move away from a rigidly constructed living experience oriented around healthcare. It is not aligned with how people want to live.
- The nature of a care-based model makes us more risk averse than other industries.
- People equate their current homes with the greatest freedom to live life on their terms. They don't want to live in a setting perceived as limiting freedom and independence.
- There is an opportunity for senior living providers to work with outside partners to create greater value for customers.
The go-to analyst of age-tech shares her take on solutions for connection, health, and safety, how wearables will influence senior living, and why voice is the “killer app.”
About Laurie
Laurie M. Orlov is a tech industry veteran, writer, speaker, and elder care advocate. Her popular report Aging and Health Technology Watchprovides thought leadership, analysis and guidance about health and aging-related technologies and services that enable boomers and seniors to sustain and improve their quality of life. In her previous career, Laurie spent many years in the technology industry, including nine years at analyst firm Forrester Research. She has spoken regularly and delivered keynote speeches at forums, industry consortia, conferences, and symposia, most recently on the business of technology for boomers and seniors. She advises large organizations as well as non-profits and entrepreneurs about trends and opportunities in the age-related technology market.
Laurie’s segmentation of this emerging technology market and trends commentary have been presented in the Journal of Geriatric Care Management. Her perspectives have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Senior Housing News, CNN Health, and Consumer Reports. She has a graduate certification in Geriatric Care Management from the University of Florida and a BA in Music from the University of Rochester. Laurie has provided testimony about technology at a Senate Aging Committee hearing and consulted to AARP. Advisory clients have included AARP, Argentum, Bose, CDW, Microsoft, Novartis, Philips, and many others.
Key Takeaways
- Technologies for older adults are categorized into three primary types: connection, health, and safety. These technologies for senior living and aging in place are essentially the same yet deployed differently.
- Connection in senior living starts with broadband.The senior living industry has been late in getting adequate Wi-Fi, but the pace of adoption picked up during Covid.
- Telehealth is here to stay. There will be a hybrid set of offerings for medicine and mental health consultations depending on the condition of the patient and the distance to travel.
- Providers of new health technologies need be HIPAA compliant.Apple became compliant in eight weeks with the initial launch of their health application.
- There is a reincarnation of fall detection with wearables and home sensing technologies using voice, radar, and AI. In senior living, technology can notify staff of a fall and determine whether it is an emergency that needs medical attention.
- Voice technologies are a game changer for older adults. Until 2018, the only way to interact with a technology was to type, swipe, pinch, or zoom.
The Founder & CEO of SmartLiving 360 and Nexus Insights Fellow shares his thoughts on why “place” is so important and how senior living operators need to position to satisfy a new generation of older adults.
About Ryan
Ryan Frederick focuses on the intersection of place and healthy aging. His first book, Right Place, Right Time: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Home for the Second Half of Life, was released October 12 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
SmartLiving 360 helps institutions and individuals thrive in the Age of Longevity by providing strategy consulting services, real estate development services and consumer content. Clients range from leading health systems and billion-dollar institutional investment firms to national real estate developers to senior living providers. SmartLiving 360’s joint development with Federal Realty Investment Trust, The Stories at Congressional Plaza, is an age friendly apartment community in greater Washington, D.C. that has attracted national attention. Ryan publishes a consumer blog and other content at www.smartliving360.com.
Ryan serves on the national advisory board of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and is a Fellow for Nexus Insights, a think tank focused on new models of care and community for older adults. He is a graduate of Princeton and Stanford Business School and lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and three teenagers.
Key Takeaways
- Today we need be intentional about spending time with people and developing a social fabric.
- Longevity is mostly attributable to your lifestyle and environment, not your genes.
- Staying in the single-family home you have lived in for decades is rarely the right strategy across all chapters of life. Aging in place can mean loneliness and inactivity.
- New housing options will deliver universal design and “smart home” features while coordinating services for people as needed.
The consumer products designer holding numerous patents, Knopow spent his career applying user-centered design to purposeful projects. His company Motivo focuses on new generation mobility aids for older adults. His motto? “There's got to be a better way…”
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About Jeremy
Jeremy Knopow is c-founder of Motivo: Independence by Design. A Product Designer and Mechanical Engineer with over 25 years of Fortune 100 new product development experience, he has led innovation efforts at Kohler, SC Johnson, Fiskars, and Procter and Gamble. In 2012 following his late father’s battle with ALS, Knopow co-founded Motivo, Inc. to reinvent the world of mobility aids. Along the way, he has also been applied his design skills to broader problems ranging from hot showers for 9/11 rescue workers, improving sanitation in the slums of Nairobi, to fighting malaria in Ghana.
Knopow has been a frequent guest lecturer on user-centered design and social entrepreneurship at numerous universities around the world and is currently an Adjunct Prof. of Design at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s of Fine Arts in Industrial Design, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as being named on over 170 patents.
Key Takeaways
- The mobility industry is ripe for innovation. It is stuck in a time capsule with antiquated solutions dating back to the 1940’s.
- Motivo’s innovation process started with two years users of mobility products, doctors, nurses, rehab operators, physical therapists, caregivers, and senior living community operators, asking: “If you were to start from a blank slate, what would you ideally like to have in a daily mobility product?”
- Proprietary product features include a sleek, colorful design people could actually feel good about using, an upright stance to prevent hunching over, and enhanced functionality like a flip out seat, built-in tray and storage, and the ability to easily store by folding tightly.
- The logoed custom Motivo Tour is a vehicle for senior living communities to showcase their brand in a physical form. Opportunities include branded Tours and programs for prospective and current residents.
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After 40 years in Silicon Valley writing and consulting on innovation and technology, John Hagel’s 8thundertakes the most dominant emotion on the planet in his bookJourney Beyond Fear. Learn how senior living operators can tap into endless opportunities by pushing past the limitations of fear to change and innovate.
About John
John is a management consultant, entrepreneur, speaker, and author. He is driven by a desire to help individuals and institutions around the world increase their impact in a rapidly changing world. After recently retiring from Deloitte as a partner, he founded a new company, Beyond Our Edge, LLC, that works with companies and people who are seeking to anticipate the future and magnify their impact.
While at Deloitte, John was the founder and chairman of the Silicon Valley-based Deloitte Center for the Edge, focusing on identifying emerging business opportunities that are not yet on the CEO’s agenda. Before joining Deloitte, John was an independent consultant and writer and prior to that was a principal at McKinsey & Company and a leader of their Strategy Practice as well as the founder of their E-Commerce Practice. John has served as senior vice president of strategy at Atari, Inc., and is the founder of two Silicon Valley startups.
John is also a faculty member at Singularity University where he gives frequent talks on the mounting performance pressure created by digital technology and promising approaches to help traditional companies make the transition from a linear to an exponential world. He is also on the Board of Trustees at the Santa Fe Institute, an organization that conducts leading edge research on complex adaptive systems. He has also led a number of initiatives regarding business transformation with the World Economic Forum.
Key Takeaways
- The emotion of fear is completely understandable given the paradox of the Big Shift. Exponentially expanding opportunity creates mounting performance pressure as it intensifies competition and accelerates the pace of change.
- The three pillars of overcoming fear are narrative, passion, and platforms:
- Stories and narratives are different. Stories are self-contained, have a beginning, middle and end, and are not about you. A narrative is open-ended; there is no resolution. A personal narrative is a catalyst in the journey beyond fear.
- Passion is a common element in extreme performance improvement—The Passion of The Explorer is fuel.
- Learning platforms require action and people acting together.
- Hagel’s “zoom in zoom out” approach overcomes fear by focusing on short-term action that accelerates movement for longer-term opportunity.
- Find an edge to your existing business rather than changing the existing core and scale to the point where it could become the new core of your business.
- Moving beyond the limitations of fear is less about strategy and more about psychology because the “antibodies” that exists in large institutions are resistant to change.
- There is an opportunity for senior living operators to become trusted advisors. Greater value leads to greater access.
The new President & CEO ofThe Eden Alternative® discusses plans to grow the international non-profit, and how the more than 50,000 people trained globally see dramatic improvement in resident wellbeing, occupancy rates and employee morale.
About Patrick
Patrick Bultema has served as Founder, CEO, and Executive Chairman of numerous companies, acted as an advisor to multiple venture-backed startups, and supported various social entrepreneurial initiatives. Throughout his career, one common theme rings clear – leveraging innovation to bring about dramatic, positive change.
Raised in a close-knit community where elders played an important role, Patrick has lived the values that drive the mission of The Eden Alternative. Deeply shaped by this experience, he is committed to expanding the reach and impact of Eden’s vital message. Patrick has an MDiv from Princeton and is husband to Lily and the father of their seven children, including three adopted daughters from China. Connect with him at pbultema@edenalt.org.
Key Takeaways
· Employee turnover at an Eden community is typically half of a traditional senior living community.
· Minimal innovation has occurred in the elder care space. Technology and innovation need to be coupled with solid values.
· Technologies that create efficiencies and reduce tedious, laborious activities free care givers to be more involved with residents.
· Eden encourages staff to share meals with residents—"breaking bread” develops heartfelt connection.
This Top 50 Influencer in Aging and former AARP strategist discusses the increasing importance of geography, how voice technologies are driving innovation, and why sex is the unspoken hero of wellness.
About Jody
Jody Holtzman is founder and Senior Managing Partner of Longevity Venture Advisors LLC, where he works with innovative entrepreneurs, venture investors, public companies, and non-profit organizations to successfully leverage business and investment opportunities in the $8.3 trillion longevity economy. He is a recognized expert on health innovation and products and services of relevance to the aging population, and the opportunities and challenges presented by the demographic wave. He was recognized as a Top 50 Influencer in Aging by Next Avenue/NPR.
He has over three decades of experience helping companies grow by developing and implementing competitive strategies and achieving their strategic market goals. Jody was previously AARP’s Senior Vice President of Thought Leadership and Market Innovation where he conceived and built the first program to spark innovation in the market that benefits people over 50. In this role, he envisioned and developed the concept and market category of the $8.3 trillion Longevity Economy.
His thought leadership and achievements have been recognized in Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, Information Week, Marketplace, NY Times, PBS News Hour, VentureBeat and USA Today.
Key Takeaways
- On the technology side, it's all about voice, complimented by AI and machine learning. Think Amazon Echo, Alexa and Google Home.
- Social determinants of health expand what it means to be healthy beyond narrow definitions of medical care.
- When only 1 in 5 people over 65(10 million out of 50 million) would choose assisted or independent living, there is a larger societal need.
- Sex is the unspoken social determinant of health. It keeps your body and mind active, fights isolation and depression, reduces stress and chronic disease, strengthens the immune system, and increases metabolism. Yet Medicare does not reimburse sex-related drugs and products.
As the largest single campus continuing care retirement community in Arizona, Glencroft has been an incubator for innovation for 50 years. John Wenzlau and Steve Heller share details about their holistic approach to wellness that is inclusive for all.
About John
Currently, John Wenzlau serves as the President & CEO of Glencroft Center for Modern Aging in Arizona. Hired by the Glencroft nonprofit board to reposition the Center as a leader in the changing landscape serving seniors, Wenzlau pioneered the development of the ZoeLife™ Network, a faith-based lifestyle program that empowers aging adults to pursue vitality through a full, active and purposeful life. He co-produces and co-hosts the ZoeLife™ Radio talk show with 40,000 listeners on Facebook Live. He is the author of the forthcoming book titled, “Falling for ZoeLife.
Trilingual in English, French and German, Wenzlau holds a Master of Divinity and M. A. R. E. (Gerontology) from Southwestern Baptist Seminary; an MBA (Finance/Marketing) from Southern Methodist University; an M.A. (German/Linguistics) and a B.A. (Political Science) from the University of Oregon and has pursued Doctoral Studies (Philosophy) at the University of Munich, Germany. Mesa Community College, the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County District in Mesa, AZ, named him Teacher of the Year.
His passion is providing an alternative way of living for people who are aging in place, and to influence the perception that retirement can be the most energizing years of life.
About Steve
Steve Heller is co-founder of ZoeLife at Glencroft. A ZoeLife community empowers aging adults to pursue vitality through a full, active, and purposeful life, providing a holistic approach to wellness for senior living communities. Mr. Heller first implemented ZoeLife at the Glencroft where he oversees ZoeLife programs and operations.
Mr. Heller integrates ZoeLife principles with his extensive knowledge of exercise physiology and rehabilitation conditioning to help aging adults achieve and sustain the greatest level of independence and quality of life for as long as possible.
Heller is the Co-founder and Director of Fore-Max Training Systems for Westin Hotels & Resorts. He served for 16 years as an exercise physiologist and trainer for professional athletes (NFL, NBA, PGA, LPGA, MLB) within the luxury hospitality industry. His work and programs have been covered by New York Times, USA Today, Forbes andMen’s Journal, among others.
Key Takeaways
- Residents don’t pay extra for Glencroft programming. The faith-based campus is a low-income provider that makes all programs accessible to everyone.
- ZoeLife is inspired by the Blue Zones and six pillars of wellness physical, social, emotional, spiritual intellectual and vocational.
- Metrics confirm ZoeLife’s success. For example, the number of resident falls was reduced from 35 a month to 15. Occupancy and census also showed measurable benefits: Glencroft was at 92% occupancy was when ZoeLife was first introduced and went up to 98% in 2020—in the middle of the pandemic.
Learn how inclusive and inspiring designs foster a sense of purpose, encourage community and engagement, and improve physical, emotional, and mental health.
About Sarah
Sarah is CEO of the consulting firm Delight by Design, which creates age-inclusive products, brands, spaces, and experiences that delight the consumer at every age. She is an accomplished leader of innovation, serving as a global aging expert advising startups, large corporations, and investors. For nearly 20 years, she has been dedicated to transforming the aging experience.
Sarah has held key leadership positions across the US and Asia, developing and implementing strategic corporate innovation initiatives, including change management. She serves as the Executive-in-Residence at Aging2.0and is a principal consultant in the Nexus Insights a firm specializing in aging transformation. She most recently led all commercial activity for Seismic Holdings - a Silicon Valley-based company shaping human potential through integration of apparel and robotics to augment human strength and performance. Sarah’s commercial expertise helped position the organization for esteemed recognition by the World Economic Forum, Fast Company, The Economist and CES.
A published author, she serves in multiple advisory positions, sits on numerous boards and is an accomplished keynote speaker on topics such as healthy longevity and aging innovations.
Key Takeaways
- Aging in place does not necessarily mean staying in the primary home—it is wherever you choose to call home. People can visit family or move into a 6-months cruise ship or move onto a for a year.
- Taking a human-centered approach in the senior living setting means preserving the quality of the lifestyle that residents had at home.
- Innovators are finding creative ways of meeting people's needs wherever they live. Senior living providers are developing services beyond the walls of their communitiesto capitalize on the overwhelming desire to age in place.
- If big changes aren’t possible, small things can make a big difference such asupdating colors or finding alternative uses for space.
Foster Strategy plays in the space of innovation with some of the country’s top life plan communities. Learn about new consumer preferences, unique ways of delivering amenities, and the types of intergenerational connection breaking down silos and changing the face of senior living.
About Helen
Helen launched Foster Strategy, LLC in 2008, and as principal and lead consultant, she collaborates with a select group of clients to envision and execute wholly new approaches to community development and resident life. Helen’s clients include some of the nation’s most innovative community developers and operators, including Rancho Mission Viejo and Willow Valley Communities – organizations with which she has been affiliated since 2004 and 1996, respectively.
She maintains a specialty in age-qualified (55+) development, and she is Chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Lifestyle Residential Development Council. She is also Vice President of the Board for Willow Valley Communities and Co-Chair of the Global Wellness Institute’s Wellness Real Estate & Communities Initiative.
Key Takeaways
- There is a trend away from building redundant amenities and instead purposing intergenerational amenities at different times of the day.
- Amenity utilization should include accommodation of introverts, which was not a discussion 10-15 years ago. Passive amenities include places for relaxation and retreat that are detached from larger social engagements.
- Wellness real estate and wellness communities go hand in hand in a best-case scenario, but they are two different things. Wellness communities are driven by programming and speak to the spirit of connection between individuals.
- The desire to connect with nature intensifies as we get older. Walking paths and nature trails are critically important.
- Redundant programming in the day and in the evening will accommodate both retirees and working older adults.
With one foot in Silicon Valley and the other Washington D.C., Mary Furlong has the inside scoop on senior living. Learn about the innovations making a difference to older adults, and how a focus on family, creativity, learning, community, and vitality leads to success in the longevity market.
About Mary
Mary Furlong is Founder and CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates (MFA). Founded in 2003, MFA is a strategy, business development and marketing company headquartered in Lafayette, California. A serial entrepreneur, Mary founded the first social network for older adults, SeniorNet.org in 1986, and ThirdAge Media in 1996 (acquired by Ancestry.com in 2002), prior to MFA. She served as a White House Commissioner on Libraries and the Internet and has been honored as one of the top 100 Women in Silicon Valley by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, in addition to recognition from American Society on Aging and Ad Tech. Mary has also been featured in Fortune Small Business Top 25 and Time Digital Top 50.
Mary produces the Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit, the Washington Innovation Summit, and What’s Next Boomer Business Summit in the United States and co-produces What’s Next Canada in conjunction with CABHI. She is an adviser to the Ziegler LinkAge Fund, CABHI and numerous start-up companies.
She is a professor of entrepreneurship and Women in Leadership at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. She is the author of Turning Silver into Gold, How to Profit in the Boomer Market and The MFA Longevity Market Report. Her passion is helping entrepreneurs and organizations improve the lives of older adults by building products and services that make a difference. The MFA team brings intelligence, energy, and integrity plus a curated network of leaders to projects that transform the longevity market.
Key Takeaways
- The reputation of senior living is improving, attracting people from different fields. There is an enormous amount of talent coming into the longevity market.
- Best in class companies want partnerships with senior living communities looking for the next generation.
- Food and nutrition are ripe for innovation. Senior living should look to the hospitality industry for ideas.
Sara Zeff Geber wrote the book on Solo Aging—literally! The author of Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: A Retirement and Aging Roadmap for Single and Childless Adultsshares what concepts will appeal to this growing market and how senior living operators can satisfy their needs.
About Sara
Dr. Sara Zeff Geber, 2018 recipient of the “Influencers in Aging” designation by PBS’ Next Avenue, is an author, certified retirement coach, and professional speaker on retirement and aging. She has developed a niche specialty working with “Solo Agers,” people who have no children or who are aging alone.
Dr. Geber is the author of Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: A Retirement and Aging Roadmap for Single and Childless Adults (Mango Press, 2018) which was selected that year as a “best book on aging well” by the Wall Street Journal. With her speaking and writing, Sara has been raising awareness of Solo Agers for the past 10 years. She believes Solo Agers have unique needs in later life that warrant greater foresight and a more robust approach to planning.
Sara is a regular contributor to Forbes.comon the topics of aging and retirement and is a fellow at Nexus Insights, a think tank and incubator for revolutionary concepts in senior living and aging. A sought-after speaker at conferences on retirement and aging, Sara is active in the Retirement Coaches Association, the American Society on Aging, the Life Planning Network, the Transition Network, the Sonoma County Section on Aging, and the Gerontological Society of America.
Key Takeaways
- Twenty percent of baby boomer women did not give birth—half of previous generations.
- Clustered living environments with a neighborhood feel and communities that develop out of common interests will appeal to solo agers. (see Cozy Home Community)
- Senior Living operators will need to fill the gap for solo agers with no family support by partnering with service providers.
Eldera matches kids in 22 countries with older vetted mentors using leading-edge AI technology. Learn about their foray into senior living with Watermark Retirement Communities and how the platform weaves into a senior living wellness program.
About Dana
Dana Griffin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Eldera the global platform for wisdom sharing and intergenerational connection on a mission to tap into the time and wisdom of 1 billion elders around the world as a new natural resource for the next generation. Eldera is all about bringing back the Era of the Elders. She envisions Eldera as a virtual multigenerational village where kids benefit from social-emotional learning and increased resilience, elders benefit from a sense of purpose and expanded community, and most importantly everyone experiences more joy.
Dana was raised by her grandparents in Transylvania, Romania and has been guided by elder mentors throughout her life. A former data and advertising executive turned age-tech entrepreneur, AI for Good advocate and author of multiple trademarks and patents focused on aging and wisdom, Dana serves on multiple AI and Aging related boards. She has been advising, consulting, and speaking internationally about principled uses of AI for innovation, policy, and social impact and was recognized by AdAge as a “40 under 40 changing the advertising industry".
A Vedic meditator and outspoken fan of interesting people and good food, Dana spends her time cooking, training in Krav Maga and exploring human consciousness.
Key Takeaways
- Eldera’s vision is to leverage technology to harness the time and wisdom of our elder population and turn it into a new natural resource for all generations to thrive. When older adults are involved in society, everybody's does better.
- Intelligent algorithms find the best pairing to create strong long-term bonds between young and old. The strongest relationships come from differences; they create natural curiosity.
- There is evidence that mentorship is a key to success later in life. A Harvard study on childhood development showed that one-to-one non-parental, trusted relationships help kids develop resilience.
Sarah shares her journey from co-founding Connected Living in 2007 to today’s suite of technology and the progression from content management software to mobile apps, digital signage, in-room engagement through TV and Alexa, and Temi the personal robot.
About Sarah
Sarah Hoit is a career social entrepreneur focused on companies that impact larger social issues. She is currently CEO of Connected Living and Co-Founded the company in 2007 to provide families and communities with a private social network to bridge the “digital divide” for the millions of seniors who have been left out of the conversation. Connected Living provides a “high tech and high touch” way for families to connect, access goods and services, and enhance quality of life across the nation and soon globally.
Sarah was previously Founder and CEO of Explore, Inc., an education company that operated programs to meet the academic and social needs of every student through the integration of experiential learning, homework and skill lessons, physical education, and community services.
Prior to founding Explore, Sarah served as the Director of Business Planning in the White House Office of National Service, and then Deputy Director of AmeriCorps where she was a senior official in a national service program that has enabled over 1 million youth to serve their country.
Sarah holds a BA with Honors from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School (HBS), where she was awarded a public service fellowship. She has been a guest lecturer at HBS and Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business on social entrepreneurism and is a member of the Dementia Friendly America Board, the Tenacity Board.
Key Takeaways
- New developments tie in technology from inception with AI, motion sensors, smart switches, and temperature controls.
- Residents and family can participate together in Connected Living University through TV, interactive signage, or mobile app. Similar to Harvard Business School, courses are based on case studies instead of lectures to encourage discussion.
- Combating isolation is key to wellbeing. In-room engagement technology allows residents and families to connect virtually by doing yoga, reading the same book, or watching the same TV show together.
In-house physical therapy has become a necessary amenity for senior living communities. LINK’s “secret sauce” is seamless communication and crafting physical, occupational, and speech therapy programs based on each individual’s “story.” Avi shares his top trends in design, programming, and technology to improve health outcomes and quality of life.
About Avi
Avi Friedman is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Co-founder/COO of LINK Home Therapy, a leading therapy provider at senior living communities nationally. With 60,000+ therapy sessions in 2020, LINK is quickly establishing itself as an innovative disrupter in the senior living market.
With a background in education and healthcare, Avi developed a passion for spreading the gospel of gold standard care. He is driven by the desire to make the world a better place by transforming healthcare. The journey began with an idea that patients would receive better care if healthcare providers improved communication across the continuum of care by breaking down silos. With a fearless ability to implement changes in healthcare while creating value-add propositions that help operators achieve bottom line goals, LINK is uniquely positioned to grow.
Under Avi's leadership, LINK is focused on improving aging with initiatives that include:
- Tracking social determinants of health
- Utilizing cutting edge technology
- Weaving purpose throughout care to prevent loneliness
- Decreasing re-hospitalizations
- Developing a continuum of care tapestry
- Preventing falls with screenings/predictors
- Implementing AI wellness indicators
Key Takeaways
The healthcare system is fragmented. Connecting the dots with seamless communication leads to better quality care, a decrease in length of hospital stays and rehospitalizations, and lower healthcare costs overall.
Having the same therapist treat each patient through the course of their care benefits both sides. The development of deep connections lead to better clinical outcomes for the patient and higher employee satisfaction levels.
Gamification and fall prevention are top technology trends in physical therapy.
The Green House Project proves smaller is better—making national news for zero Covid-19 cases. Learn about their commitment to dignified spaces for those in need of long-term care, their universal worker model, and how treating the elderly as valuable and intrinsically worthy changes the paradigm of senior living.
About Susan
Susan Ryan, Senior Director of The Green House Project, is a leader in the strategic development of innovative thinking and cultural paradigm shifts. With international speaking and project management experience, she has served as an integral part of The Green House Project for over 12 years and has led the team through key transitions. In the quest for quality long-term care environments that are accessible and affordable, Susan has sought to leverage lessons learned from research conducted on the Green House model to develop protocols and metrics to ensure growth and sustainability.
A social entrepreneur with a passion for improving quality of life for elders and those working closest to them, she offers a unique combination of skills in Nursing, Gerontology, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and strategic marketing.
Susan has a background in nursing, with over 30 years of experience serving elders in a variety of settings across the continuum of care. She has been featured as a speaker many times at LeadingAge, The Pioneer Network and other high-profile conferences.
Key Takeaways
- Green House Project’s core values are Real Home—private rooms with ensuite shower, social spaces, and access to outdoors; Meaningful Life—fostering deep relationships that define the culture and finding purpose; and Empowered Workforce—a function of wise leaders able to share decision-making power.
- Green House utilizes the universal worker model, aself-managed work team where consistent staff perform resident care duties but also do the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Fewer people coming and going limits exposure.
- Ageism is discriminating against our future selves.
- Long-Term Care Systems are devalued and thus underfunded. Elders are seen as “less-than.” Without funding and a shift in policy, we are “putting a bandaid on a gaping wound.”
Ryan shares WELL’s pioneering new affinity-based models based on 11 dimensions of wellness and lifelong learning and the needs of a new generation of older adults. He also describes how the pandemic exposed senior living’s vulnerability.
About Ryan
Ryan Haller has more than 15 years of experience in real estate finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate development, and integration. Ryan has spent the majority of his career working within the senior living industry pursuing betterment of stale methodologies.
In September 2019, Ryan began his latest start-up WELL: Wellness Enhanced Lifestyle Living with a specific focus on future-forward senior living product for the Baby Boomer population. WELL focuses on 11 wellness dimensions in its developments across its brands, with a keen focus on university-based senior living via their VARCITY brand. Ryan serves as the Founding Principal and Chief Executive Officer.
Ryan currently serves on the Board of Directors for Idaho Partners for Good, Executive Board for the American Senior Housing Association (ASHA), and is an active member in Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Idaho Chapter, including the YPO Healthcare Business Network's Senior Housing Forum.
Key Takeaways
· Despite the massive increase of capital infusion over the past 10 to 15 years, the senior living industry has not innovated significantly.
· Build for affinity groups. Don't be all things to all people.
· There will be an increased focus on sustainability and green building standards such as LEED certification and The WELL Building Standard®.
· Many older adults will not retire. Fifty percent of active adult community residents are still working.
Pioneer Networks creates resources and advocates for policy change at the state and federal level to improve the quality of nursing homes, assisted living, and life plan communities. Learn how the non-profit provides resources for senior living communities to create cultures of care by changing the paradigm of aging.
About Penny
Penny is the President and CEO of Pioneer Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the culture of aging and empowering a network of senior living and care communities by fostering person-directed practices and environments. For 30 years, Penny has provided education, training, and advocacy related to the care and support of older people. She worked with the Long-term Care Ombudsman Program in the Denver region, Telligen, the Quality Improvement Organization for Medicare beneficiaries in Colorado, and Colorado Access, a Colorado-based non-profit health plan.
With Pioneer Network, she is working to fulfill her life-long goal of changing the culture of care and support for people as we all grow older. She is passionate about helping us value and respect our own aging as well as those that we serve.
Key Takeaways
- To implement person-centered care, transformation needs to happen at an individual level along with organizational transformation—breaking down siloed departments and flattening the hierarchy so front-line staff are empowered.
- Ageism stems from fear of aging and plays out in senior living in a variety of ways. Pioneer network is working on a project with Virginia Commonwealth University, along with Leading Age and The Eden Alternative, to develop an ageism toolkit for senior living communities.
- Senior living communities should look at marketing materials to determine whether they might be ageist. Are you only showing people that are vibrant and able to walk without assistive devices? Are you not showing anybody in a wheelchair?
A philosopher at heart and financier by trade, Skylar shares the four pillars of soil, soul, community, and locale, as well as MEA’s “why” to change the narrative on aging from a time of decline to a time of personal transformation.
About Skylar
Skylar is a Partner and Chief Development Officer at the Modern Elder Academy (MEA), the world’s first “midlife wisdom school.” A philosopher at heart and financier by trade, Skylar started his career in real estate investment and development, specializing in hospitality and senior care. Along the way, he became fascinated with how to create places that help people flourish, particularly in aging. This led Skylar on a path of entrepreneurial pursuits and side projects – all dedicated to this vision. When Skylar experienced MEA firsthand, he knew that he had met his match, and joined to help champion its expansion by developing a collection of MEA Regenerative Communities – each comprising an MEA midlife wisdom school, housing rooted in the practical application of wisdom and intergenerational connection, and a surrounding regenerative farm.
Outside of MEA, you’ll likely find Skylar sauntering about the countryside with his wife, son, and Old English Sheepdog. Skylar holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Santa Clara University.
Key Takeaways
- There is a massive societal void of meaning, an existential crisis—people are longing for belonging and connection.
- The Regenerative Community has three core components: the “wisdom school,” housing and sabbatical units, and regenerative agriculture.
- MEA re-envisions traditional senior living: instead of a clubhouse there is the wisdom school; instead of a golf course, there is the regenerative farm.
- Good soil is about interconnectedness and interdependence--it is a metaphor for providing a foundation for a flourishing and resilient ecosystem so you can be full of life.
The Cannery Club is an elevated approach to a traditional senior living community center, featuring extensive lifestyle amenities that include health and wellness, lifelong learning, social connections, and involvement with the local community. Learn how resident sharing is a core philosophy, which contributes to a sense of purpose.
About Mariah
Mariah Giunta is the Lifestyle Specialist at Twin Oaks Hollister, located in California. As a wellness industry expert with over twenty years of experience guiding clients toward optimal health, happiness, and lifestyle through memorable events and presentations, Mariah represents the Blue Star Resort and Golf Management firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona. As a Lifestyle Specialist, she works with Resident Members who live within a new emerging community and paradigm for 55+ active adults, creating unforgettable and impactful events, programming, and education.
Mariah primarily focuses on the intersection of aging and well-being at Twin Oaks Hollister, a 55+ active adult community whose brand pillars include Heath & Wellness, Lifelong Learning, and Social Connections. There, she curates various experiences, education, and outings designed to improve the quality of life and community around these pillars.
She is a coach, educator, and speaker focusing on living your best life while thriving, practicing a holistic lifestyle, and finding true happiness and purpose.
Key Takeaways
- Giunta stresses the importance of language—residents are called members and automatically join the Cannery Club upon move in.
- Twin Oaks is partnered with medical providers who present on health and wellness topics, and with the local community college for life-long learning.
- The culinary studio is a teaching kitchen that offers nutritional classes offered by professionals, and members can also teach classes to share favorite family recipes or a special cultural dish.
- A movement studio doubles as an art space, featuring a large rolling door that opens into an outdoor fitness space and yoga garden.
UpsideHōM combines the best of senior living communities with aging in place, by recreating the experiential piece of senior living in a less stigmatized, more flexible, affordable way. Learn how this deconstructed, intergenerational model supports older adults with a wide range of services including internet, housekeeping, transportation, food delivery, wellness, and lifelong learning—customized for every stage of aging.
About Jake
Jake Rothstein is the CEO and Founder of UpsideHōM, whose mission is to enhance the quality of life for older adults everywhere. UpsideHōM is the first and only fully managed, shared living option for older adults, providing a turnkey, affordable and appealing alternative to traditional senior living.
Jake previously co-founded Papa - a company which pairs older adults and families with “Papa Pals” for companionship and assistance with everyday tasks - based on experience with his own grandfather (who he called Papa). Witnessing the wide-spread nature of loneliness, isolation and unaffordable housing options for older adults, Jake developed the idea for UpsideHōM, which would provide a solution to more completely tackle these challenges at scale.
With a background in technology sales, operations and management, Jake has experience building and running successful, international teams, selling enterprise software into the Global 2000.
Jake holds a BA in Economics from the University of Florida. He is a FAA certificated Private Pilot who enjoys flying, outdoor running and spending time with his incredible wife Sharona and their Goldendoodle Louie.
Key Takeaways
- Technology is a key component of the UpsideHōM business model, enabling efficiencies and cost savings for residents by leveraging the gig economy.
- Food and transportation are older adults’ primary requests for services. UpsideHōM partners with Papa and local pre-prepared meal delivery services.
- UpsideHōM provides baseline services like wi-fi and housekeeping; the rest of the services are provided “a la carte” so residents are not paying for what they don’t need.
- Going forward, the company will leverage aggregate data and AI to support resident wellbeing and encourage positive health outcomes.
Verna shares trends and tactics from her decades of experience in senior living. She stresses the need to empower residents and staff through multicultural as well as multigenerational experiences, educating on selfcare, and using AI technologies to enhance operations and resident services.
About Verna
Verna Chisman, President of Allure & Wellness Management Services and Vice President of Client Engagement for Muir Salon Group. Allure is a consulting firm and resource for active adults, developed from her years of experience at multiple premier Life Plan and 55+ communities across the country. During her tenure with Life Care Services, Verna was a member of the Corporate Resource Team, Corporate Health & Wellness Committee, Task Force Committee, and development of Odyssey(technology platform)and Director of Community Life Services for Sagewood & Acacia Health Center. In 2015, Verna was recruited by John Knox Village of Pompano Beach & The Woodlands. She held the position as Director of Wellness, which required considerable involvement on the development of a comprehensive Master Plan inclusive of reframing the culture and integrating the Green House Project within the community.
Verna has a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A). Certifications include ICAA Leadership in Wellness Management Course. She is also honored to be appointed as Co-Chair on ICAA’s Education Committee. Additional certifications include Green House Project Core Training, Best Life Train the Trainer Green House Project, Train the Brain, “Better with Age” Training Program, Heartfelt Connections Certification, Banner Health’s Alzheimer Institute Compass Certification and Certified Meeting Professional.
Key Takeaways
- Self-care inevitably equals wellness, which diminishes the need for healthcare.
- Senior living communities need to step aside and let residents live their lives. Older adults need to take ownership of their own self-care.
- Ageism is a major challenge inside senior living communities, showing up in interactions with staff, executives, and resident to resident. Ageism depletes older adults’ confidence and destroys their dignity.
- A multicultural environment expands horizons. Programming should embrace different cultures—staff should share their cultural experience with residents, and vice versa. Have a “culture night” with slideshow and regional cuisine.
Graber provides senior living valuation and advisory services for 2,000 senior housing projects each year for CBRE, the largest real estate firm in the world. Hear his take on the current investment environment, how programming and operations are driving value, and why he is excited about opportunities in the middle market.
About James
James Graber, MAI, as a Managing Director within Valuation & Advisory Services, is the National Practice Leader of Seniors Housing & Healthcare at CBRE, the largest real estate firm in the world. As the national head of the Seniors Housing & Healthcare practice, James heads a geographically-diverse team that focuses solely on valuation and advisory services for senior’s housing assets, including active adult, independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, and life plan communities (LPC/CCRC). The National Seniors Housing & Healthcare practice group is an industry thought leader. James regularly publishes market-leading research, contributes on industry panels, and is interviewed and quoted in various industry media outlets.
For over 15 years, James has been active in the real estate valuation industry, completing assignments throughout the United States and abroad, with primary specialization in Seniors Housing & Healthcare assets. He provided valuation and advisory services, including third-party appraisals, Fair Market Value and Fair Market Rent analyses, purchase price allocations, IPA-NAV valuations, market studies, development support as an expert witness, arbiter in value disputes, market/need studies, and feasibility analyses. His clients included lenders, operators, health systems, local and national investment firms, development and operating companies, commercial and investment banks, insurance companies, private equity firms, pension funds, and REITs.
Key Takeaways
- Graber expects “recovery” in the senior living industry in late 2021 to early 2022. There is less distress in the market than originally expected.
- There is “frothiness” in the senior living investment environment. From the equity side, there are multiple players looking to buy distressed properties; expecting a good amount of “blood in the water.”
- Adapted reuse looks good conceptually, but the conversion costs are prohibitive in most scenarios. Most hotels and motels lack seniors housing purpose-built functionality—in terms of common spaces, in-room kitchenettes, and nursing stations. From a cost standpoint, it does not pencil out.
- The word “luxury” is opaque—everyone considers what they have is luxury. Wellness is the new luxury—staffing and programming that impact residents’ lives directly. It's hard to fake a wellness program. (Graber is excited about the use of targeted nutrition and exercise programs to improve memory.)
- Staffing and operations drive seniors housing. The physical plant can be middle market, while the staff and programming are considered the top of the market.
Seniors4Seniors is a non-profit that makes meaningful connections across generations by matching high school seniors to older people in the context of service. High school senior volunteer community service hours, while “olders” provide much-needed mentorship at a critical time. A true win-win!
About Eric
Eric Peterson is the CEO and Founder of Seniors4Seniors, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Seniors4Seniors engages in the reduction of isolation, loneliness, and depression in our youth and older adults. As a caregiver in a senior community, Eric was aware of these challenges which the senior residents he cared for were facing daily. He also became aware that our youth, especially those in their high school years, were also having these same challenges and he decided to act. Eric developed Seniors4Seniors, a program which brings together the older adults and youth in our communities, enabling enriching, real human connections. This program establishes connections between individuals with shared interests, with a focus on career aspirations of the youth that correspond to career backgrounds of the older adults. This is a unique approach that enables relationships that truly touch the human heart and mind.
About Jason
Professor Jason Powell PhD, FCMI is Senior Vice President of Seniors4Seniors. He is proud to facilitate the vision of its Founder/CEO Eric Peterson, whose transformational leadership is to make meaningful connections across intergenerational groups by providing service to one another. The program provides the unique conditions to address loneliness and reconstruct such adverse experiences through reciprocity, wellbeing, and community leadership. Currently, Jason is Provost at the Manchester Institute of Learning and Excellence and Visiting Professor at The University of Chester and an elected Academician of The Academy of Urbanism. Recently, Jason became Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health because of his lifetime contribution to research on aging. According to Google Scholar, Jason is the most cited researcher of all time for his research on ‘care’ and ‘age’.
Key Takeaways
- Seniors4Seniors makes meaningful connections that enhance quality of life for older people while proving transformational education to younger people.
- There is a lack of intergenerational trust—Seniors4Seniors breaks down barriers and provides an alternative vision about what is possible.
- Bringing these two groups together with the common bond and learning from each other attacks the foundations of ageism. Ageism goes both ways.
- Mentorship and lessons from history help high school seniors develop self-confidence and self-esteem capacity and relationship-building skills as they are going out into the world. It’s an especially poignant time to connect with mentors.
The world's leading advocate of the slow movement turns his attention to aging well. Carl shares why we need to tear down the cult of youth and how there has never been a better time in history to grow older.
About Carl
Carl Honoré is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and speaker. His bestselling books have been published in 35 languages. His second TED Talk is called Why We Should Embrace Ageing As An Adventure. Whether online or in-person, Carl's keynotes and workshops are dynamic, inspiring, informative, and full of humor. His audiences range from business leaders, entrepreneurs and marketers to engineers, lawyers, and medical practitioners.
Carl’s latest book, Bolder, explores how we can age better and feel better about ageing. It’s a spirited takedown of ageism. Bolder was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and a Reader’s Digest Book of the Month
Key Takeaways
- Expressions like “over the hill” and “wrong side of 50” are woven into our vernacular, as if every birthday we become less creative, less attractive, and less relevant.
- As we age, we get better at seeing the big picture, weighing multiple viewpoints, and spotting patterns—skills that unlock solutions to difficult problems.
- Ageism is the ultimate act of self-harm. You are doing damage to your future self. Downbeat views of aging and worshipping youth contribute to cognitive and physical decline.
- Senior living needs a profound rethink. Ending age silos and encouraging interaction between generations deepens understanding and erodes stereotypes.
Carl Honoré Links
TED TALK: In praise of ageing
TED TALK : In praise of slowness
The founder of AGEIST and host of the SuperAge podcast discusses the shift from anti-aging to positive aging, how targeting by age is an epic fail, and the endless possibilities in life’s third act.
About David
David is the founder and face of AGEIST, a new media company and agency that champions the vitality, capabilities, and influence of the modern 50+. He is a passionate champion and leading authority on the mindset and aspirations that drive this influential demographic. David is frequently called upon to share his expertise and insight at important venues and forums around the world. Recent speaking engagements include HIMSS in Las Vegas, the leading conference for health information and technology; TEDx, on Redefining Age; MONOCLE Quality of Life Conference in Zurich and the Mercedes Benz ME Convention in Stockholm.
Prior to launching AGEIST, David enjoyed an award-winning career as a photographer specializing in people-oriented advertising. His work for iconic brands including Nike, Adidas, Google, Coors, AT&T, Coke, Philip Morris, Toyota, Lexus, BMW, Corona, Gillette, Philips, Johnson & Johnson, Red Bull and many more has appeared in GQ, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Wired, Interview, Time and The New York Times Magazine.
Key Takeaways
- Don't target by age, it's a huge fail. Age is one of the criteria, but not the defining character criteria. What are people’s values and ambitions? How do they see themselves in the future?
- The word “aging” is problematic because it is lumped together with disease.
- Apple doesn't target age; they target people. The largest consumer segment for Apple products is men over 65.
- Wellness is what we have control over, and a set of behaviors that have consequences. There is growing awareness that we have responsibility for our health outcomes; we have agency.
- Become passionate about your purpose. Purpose orients your life around “How can I be most useful? How can I be most impactful in the world?”
Real Talk with Steve Moran, Founder of Senior Living Foresight and Evolve 2021
Steve has his “finger on the pulse” of senior living and is not afraid to tell it like it is. Find out why life enrichment is the unsung hero, what makes a senior living community great, and whether a big shakeup is coming.
About Steve
Steve Moran is the founder of Senior Living Foresight, which is dedicated to helping the senior living sector grow and flourish. While he is passionately curious about all things related to aging, he's particularly passionate about leadership and helping individual team members live out their dreams. Because when that happens, they are able to help older people live purposeful meaningful lives.
Key Takeaways
- The most important thing senior living has to offer is the ability to live in community with like-minded people.
- Typically, Life Enrichment Director is low pay without “C-level” status. Greater investment in this position would lead to higher occupancies and improve resident engagement and quality of life.
- We will see a shift from entertainment-based programming to purposeful programming. Purpose can change the world.
- There will be significant changes in leadership and ownershipof senior living communities in the coming months; some big companies have significant cash flow issues.
Global research shows brain health is 90% lifestyle and 10% genetics. Small lifestyle changes such as nutrition, hydration, physical activity, cognitive engagement, lifelong learning, social connections—even circadian rhythms, have been proven to delay dementia while improving quality of life.
About Dr. Culler
Dr. Krystal L. Culler, DBH, M.A. is the Founder of the Virtual Brain Health Center. She is a Doctor of Behavioral Health, a social gerontologist, and a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health with Global Brain Health Institute at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, where she completed her residency training on dementia prevention and social determinants of brain health. Krystal has spent nearly 5 years in executive-level positions with health non-profit organizations and has 15 years of experience working with individuals with brain health concerns, their families, and advocacy organizations.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkrystalculler/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/your-brain-health-matters
Twitter: @DrKrystalCuller @VirtualBrainCtr
Instagram: @drkrystalculler @virtualbrainhealthcenter
Facebook: @virtualbrainhealthcenter
Key Takeaways
- Global reports indicate a brain-healthy lifestyle could decrease Alzheimer's disease cases worldwide by up to 40%.
- Centers for Brain Health are relatively new initiatives for senior living communities.
- The Virtual Health Center’s online brain health assessment is an excellent tool to get a baseline of brain health and wellness, as well as tools and tips to make small daily changes.
Chip Conley, Bestselling Author and Founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality and Modern Elder Academy, talks about the first "midlife wisdom school" and the development of intergenerational communities to support people, place, and planet. Find out why MEA’s Communities will be to the 21st Century what Del Webb® Sun City was to the 20th Century.
About Chip
New York Times bestselling author Chip Conley is the hospitality maverick who helped Airbnb's founders turn their fast-growing tech start-up into a global hospitality brand. In Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder he shares his unexpected journey at midlife — from CEO to intern — learning about technology as Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, while also mentoring CEO Brian Chesky. Chip is the founder of the Modern Elder Academy, where a new roadmap for midlife is offered at a beautiful oceanfront campus in Baja California Sur, Mexico. He serves on the board of Encore.org and the advisory board for the Stanford Center for Longevity. www.ChipConley.com
Key Takeaways
- People underestimate how much life they have ahead of them when they retire. Purpose, wellness, and community are lost.
- Midlife is a period of “middle-essence” — an adult version of adolescence with hormonal and emotional changes as you transition from adulthood into “elderhood.”
- Ageism is rampant in America because of our cult of youth, beauty, and athleticism—equating a declining body with overall decline as a human. It is the only socially acceptable bias that still exists in mainstream society.
- Anti-aging creams are essentially “anti-women” creams because they send a message that women are not supposed to have wrinkles. Learning how to look your age and feel good about it is owning your originality.
- The quickest to mortality is to have everything done for you. Too much hospitality can be harmful.
TSOLife is the first senior living business intelligence platform to provide meaningful resident and prospect insights while creating more engagement and connections. Learn about TSOLife’s Minerva platform—a one-stop-shop for resident data leveraging artificial intelligence and simplified data collection to personalize interactions and experiences.
About David
David is the Founder & CEO of TSOLife, a Florida-based company that focuses on providing in-depth information on residents using the first-of-its-kind resident insight platform. Bringing a unique perspective and extensive tech experience to the senior living industry, David educates on powerful, innovative topics such as business intelligence and artificial intelligence.
Key Takeaways
- The best technology frees humans to do what they do best.
- Person-centered care is difficult when there is a massive misalignment of resident data. The continuum of resident data is all over the map. Programs don’t talk to each other, and there are still paper-based processes.
- Collecting accurate data on residents is crucial. When information is turned into business intelligence, operators can create personalized experiences for residents and more efficiently operate their businesses.
- Resident turn-over is high the first 90-days after move-in as people decide whether the community is a good fit. TSOLife’s AI algorithms identify common interests and activities that would likely be appealing.
Angela founded Feet to the Fire Writers’ Workshops® in her living room and grew it into a turnkey licensing program for senior living organizations to integrate curriculum-based writers’ groups that improve resident engagement, cognition, and joy. She shares the lessons she has learned along the way.
About Angela
Angela Burton is the Founder & Chief Writing Motivator of Feet to the Fire Writers' Workshops®, a creative program that inspires older adults to challenge themselves through expressive writing. Started in Louisville, KY in 2014, Feet to the Fire has expanded to develop a licensed train-the-facilitator program for senior living communities and wellness organizations. The program currently operates in seven U.S. states; in 2020, amidst the COVID pandemic, Feet to the Fire pivoted to launch a consumer version – writer’s kits and virtual groups for those who are socially isolated by the pandemic, a needed way for people to fill up their days, writing the stories of their lives, finding purpose along the way. She landed a spot in 2018 Louisville's WILD Accelerator for Female Founders program and has gained national attention since.
Feet to the Fire was recognized as Next Avenue’s Editor’s Picks for 2018 and has been featured in McKnight’s Senior Living (2019), MarketWatch, Forbes and other publications. When COVID19 restricted senior living communities from having even small-group activities, Burton decided to keep their voices alive by starting a podcast, Feet to the Fire Writers’ Workshops® OUTLOUD, featuring interviews with and stories read by the writers themselves. Currently the podcast is being listened to in the U.S. and abroad – from Canada to the UK to Ireland and India! Burton was recently named a Next Avenue Influencer in Aging, sharing the spotlight with such greats as Dr. Vivek Murthy and Michael J. Fox, among others.
Burton holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a B.A. in English from the University of Louisville.
Key Takeaways
- The relationship between caregiver and client is meaningful and intimate. Storytelling can improve care based on better understand. Stories that people work on together bond them and bind them.
- Writing our stories helps us understand ourselves. We are able to look back over the trajectory that has been our world. It's naturally personalized, because no two stories are alike.
- Writing is good for your brain—it is a thoughtful cognitive process. Writing is like crossword puzzles on steroids.
- The pandemic has shined a light on how much we deeply need each other. We miss the opportunity for basic human interaction. Connection is essential for health and wellbeing.
Healthy aging is serious business to Jon Warner. As CEO of Silver Moonshots, he helps startups turn ideas into scalable solutions. Jon shares his picks for communication, mobility and wellness technologies that make older adult lives better.
About Jon
Five-time company CEO, Jon Warner is a widely respected entrepreneur having founded and led 3 startups (with 2 successful exits).
His career started in the corporate world with Air Products and Chemicals, working in the US and across Europe before joining Exxon-Mobil. Following his 15 years in the corporate world, Warner founded and grew The Worldwide Center for Organizational Development, a management consulting business with global clients including Ford Motor Company, L’Oreal, British Airways, HSBC, Microsoft, Glaxo, Foster-Wheeler, Toyota, Johnson and Johnson, Coca-Cola, PWC, The UK NHS, Roche and MasterCard.
In addition to his position as CEO of Silver Moonshots, Jon is a deal flow adviser at Adaptive Health Capital and longtime Ambassador at Aging 2.0. A noted speaker at corporations and colleges across the world, he is author of 40 books.
Key Takeaways
- We are overly pejorative about the older adult population. We don’t treat people between 0 and 50 as if they're all the same, but we do with people between 50 and 100.
- Advice for start-ups for the 55+ market: Do a deep customer discovery around your target population, then solve a tangible customer problem. The pain point should drive a solution, which drives the technology you deploy.
- Do not generalize about a population of people or the unmet need. You will be building “on a bed of sand as opposed to a bed of rock.”
- Senior Living needs interoperability of data and has only recently realized the importance of resident data, not just for sales purposes or to manage churn. “Walled gardens of data” don't talk to one another.
- Health data is the solid foundation for building better systems. Good data envelopes psychosocial and social determinants and offers a holistic view of health.
Ashton Applewhite is on a crusade to end the discrimination that sidelines and silences older people. Find out why her TED talk, Let’s End Ageism, has over 1.6 million views.
About Ashton
An internationally recognized expert on ageism, Ashton Applewhiteis the author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism. A co-founder of the Old School Anti-Ageism Clearinghouse, she speaks widely at venues that have included the TED mainstage and the United Nations, and is a leading spokesperson for the emerging movement to raise awareness of ageism and to dismantle it.
Key Takeaways
- We are barraged by negative messages about aging throughout our lifetime. Ageism benefits a sexist, ageist, capitalist society. When we are afraid, we buy things we don’t need.
- Becoming “an old person in training” is to acknowledge that someday you’re going to get old instead of getting on the “hamster wheel of denial.”
- The pandemic has brought to light the way different prejudices compound and reinforce each other. To be anti-ageist is to be anti-racist is to be anti-ableist.
- OldSchool.infois an anti-ageism clearinghouse—a central repository of tools and resources for the emerging movement against ageism.
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We all deserve the chance to glow older…
The message of the Masterpiece Movement is that we can continue to grow and flourish as we age. Research proves that keeping your body moving, committing to lifelong learning, staying socially connected and having a purpose contribute to resilience, longevity, and happiness.
About Dr. Roger Landry
Dr. Roger Landry is a preventive medicine physician, author of award-winning Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging and President of Masterpiece Living, a group of multi-discipline specialists in aging who partner with communities to assist them in becoming destinations for continued growth. Trained at Tufts University School of Medicine and Harvard University School of Public Health, Dr. Landry specializes in building environments that empower older adults to maximize their unique potential.
His book, Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging has been endorsed by AARP, is a 2014 Living Now Book Award Gold Medal Winner and was a 2014 Top Pick in MORE magazine. He was also a contributor to the recently published 80 Things to Do When You Turn 80 andthe author ofWhere You Live Matters, a special briefon the role of cultural environment in aging. He hosts a podcast “Roger and Friends: The Bright Side of Longevity.”
Key Takeaways
- We marginalize older adults because of erroneous information and stereotypes.
- The key to healthy aging is how you handle life’s “curveballs.”
- We are not born resilient, it is something we develop, and is dependent upon our life view. As Darwin proved, it is not the strongest and not the most intelligent who survive, it’s the most adaptable.
- Masterpiece Living’s work in senior living facilities starts with a lifestyle profile—a tool developed by scholars in 1999 featuring research-generated questions that give a snapshot of your holistic health.
- We reflect the values of those around us. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and your potential and who are getting the most out of life.
One of senior living’s most influential leaders discusses why he is bullish about investment opportunities in the aging space, and bearish on the ability of many of today’s biggest operators to satisfy new demand.
About Bob
Bob Kramer is Founder and Fellow of Nexus Insights, a thought leadership platform dedicated to the dissemination of ideas and models that challenge the status quo and contribute to the transformation of housing and aging services for older adults. He is also Co-founder, former CEO, and now Strategic Advisor at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). Described as an “ice-cutter,” he is masterful at identifying industries and trends that will disrupt the status quo and shape the future of senior housing, aging services, and aging more broadly.
In 1991, he founded NIC to advance access and choice in seniors housing and care by attracting capital to grow the sector. Under his leadership, NIC became the go-to resource for data and analytics for the rapidly expanding seniors housing and care industry and an acknowledged thought leader for new ideas and trends impacting the provision of housing, services, and care for older adults.
Educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities, he holds a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary.
Key Takeaways
- The pandemic has exposed a broken system in long-term care that has, in the words of Joseph Coughlin at the MIT age lab, “propelled us into our future faster.”
- Fundamental change in how we think about aging and retirement will drive innovation in seniors housing and services. Senior living of the future will not be called senior living.
- The biggest trend in senior living is a move from surviving to thriving—from a dependency-driven model of aging emphasizing care and amenities, to a community model allowing people to contribute and flourish.
- It’s not just about lifelong learning, it’s learning for a longer life. Locating senior living facilities around universities is a natural because attending college was a formative experience for Boomers.
- Senior living is experiencing disruptive innovation—if you don’t change, you’re going to get “disrupted” right out of business.
Diane shares insights from her 25 years creating and nurturing solutions for healthy living and aging well. Listen to her favorite innovations in brain entrainment, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality.
About Diane
Diane Doster, MS is a creator, connector and collaborator for living, aging and ending well. She is the Chief Relevance Officer and Founder of Project Relevance, a business to business advisory and collaborations company that engaged with a number of wellness innovation companies including LifeGuidesÔ, an early stage Public Benefit Corp., Taproot Interventions & Solutions, an AI-driven behavioral health caregiver platform for cognitive impairment. She also leads research and innovative for XR Medical Solutions, a digital health company integrating brainwave entrainment, open eye meditation and evidence-based mind/body techniques inside virtual reality.
Diane founded Wellbeyond, Inc.; a company dedicated to designing and licensing outcome-based, integrated exercise and wellness programs, later joining Sodexo as National Director of Quality of Life Services for Senior Living. She is an advisory board member for WHEN, she is an active member of ICAA, sheco-chairs the Global Wellness Institute’s Grief & Dying Well Initiative. She earned a Masters of Science in Physiology/Human Performance from the University of Oregon, she is certified as a level practitioner in NLP, Hypnotherapy, and Timeline therapy.
Project Relevance is a boutique advisory group focused on bringing innovative products and services that advance the health and well-being of caregivers, older adults and those navigating end-of-life. Virtual “Sand Circles” match early adopters with emerging aging services and product companies for insightful dialog to drive industry innovation.
Key takeaways
- The most exciting emerging technologies enable people to have agency over their well-being.
- Resisting aging creates a subconscious force that goes against being fully alive.
- End-of-life and grief are important wellness topics for both residents, staff, and leaders in senior living communities.
- Brainwave entrainment technology integrates audio and virtual reality to bring brain waves into coherence to relieve anxiety and stress and pain, improve sleep, and sharpen mental performance and creativity.
Covid-19 has been an accelerator for a wave of cool new technologies to hit senior living. Listen to Ravi discuss solutions for the aging population using robotics, passive monitoring. conversational AI—even a local biomarker technology that detects health issues from changes in your voice!
About Ravi
Ravi Bala is an AgeTech Evangelist and a startup mentor in AgeTech and Remote Monitoring. He is a Co-Founder and former Board Member at HealthSignals, LLC, a leader in technology solutions for better senior living. An innovator and an expert in mobile health, conversational AI and digital strategy, he has a successful track record of creating and managing teams of independent thinkers. He has a tenacious dedication to compassion and dignity in the workplace as a teacher, a mentor, coach, and advisor who works with many startup ventures.
Ravi is currently Chair of the Capital for Good and board member for Girls First Fund—a global effort to end child marriage—and is on the Advisory Board of CyberSeniors. He is also a mentor with the Silver Moonshots accelerator, a member of the Drexel University AgeWell Collaboratory, and has taught courses in Digital Strategy in multiple MBA programs in Philadelphia. His latest passion is changing the model of eldercare with the aid of Conversational AI, Robotics and Passive Monitoring.
Key Takeaways
- Senior living communities need to invest in a robust basic technology infrastructure, what Ravi calls the “digital plumbing.”
- Most people live and age at home. In the U.S., senior living communities attract 10 to 12 percent of the elder population. Negative perceptions and exorbitant costs contribute to low demand.
- Voice technologies are a natural way to interact with elders. Conversational AI dispenses medication and sends verification via digital photography.
- Amazon’s Care Hub is a free feature in the Alexa app that allows remote check-in with an Echo device in the elders’ home and Alexa app on the adult child’s phone.
- Radar detects activity such as whether a person is vertical or horizontal. Artificial intelligence determines activity out of the norm and sends a warning.
Widely known as the “Queen of Culture” in senior living, Denise Boudreau-Scott knows how to create places where people want to live, and staff want to come to work every day and give their best. Learn how concentrating on culture develops a deeper alignment of purpose across your organization, and an improved bottom line.
About Denise
Denise Boudreau-Scott is President of Drive, which helps aging services organizations improve the resident and staff experience and the bottom-line, through more engaged leaders and employees.
A former nursing home and assisted living administrator, Denise is a serial volunteer. She co-founded and serves as a Board Member for the non-profit New Jersey Alliance for Culture Change. She is the current Chair of NAB’s Member Relations and Outreach Committee and a former member of the LNHA and RCAL Exam Writing Committees. Denise is also a former board member of the Pioneer Network.
Denise received her Bachelor of Science in Gerontology from the University of Scranton. She obtained her Master in Health Administration from Cornell University where she is currently a lecturer, student mentor and serves as an Executive in Residence for the inaugural Executive Master of Health Administration program, the youngest person to be invited in the history of Cornell’s Health Administration program.
Key Takeaways
- A poor culture is costly, causing difficulty with recruitment, high turnover, increased sick calls, decreased productivity, and lower resident satisfaction and census.
- Drive onboards new senior living communities with a culture assessment developed by the Barrett Values Centre that reveals the gap between what employees want and what they are currently experiencing.
- Each organization receives a culture score that can be compared to different organizations around the world, offering an actionable roadmap to a higher performance based on actual data.
- The pandemic has compelled organizations to focus on culture and employee health and well-being. Research shows that healthy organizational cultures are more resilient.
A “Global Leading Woman in Wellness” offers her take on how purpose-built, resident-driven communities with a focus on health and wellbeing will impact senior living, and her new passion project: love a beacon for post pandemic business.
About Mia
Mia Kyricos is a globally respected thought-leader in the business of wellness, wellbeing and hospitality with a specialty in brand strategy and communications. She has developed, operated, and marketed wellness-driven brands and facilities across 100+ countries, most recently as Senior Vice President & Global Head of Wellbeing for the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, as well as Spafinder Wellness, Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, EXOS, and Kyricos & Associates LLC, her own strategic advisory firm.
In 2019, Mia was named both “Global Leading Woman in Wellness” and “Cornell Alumna of the Year” by the Global Wellness Summit and Cornell University respectfully. Her work and expertise have been featured in popular business and trade publications including The New York Times, LA Times, CN Traveller, Smart Money, Skift, Travel & Leisure, Real Simple, Travel Weekly, Spa Business, Market Watch and more. She sits on the advisory boards of Wellness for Cancer and the Global Wellness Institute™, a 501c3 non-profit educational foundation which she helped to found. Mia aspires to help people live well, and given her latest research, to love more.
Key Takeaways
- Wellness communities differ from wellness lifestyle real estateas they are more multi-dimensional. They are living breathing ecosystems.
- The best example of a US-based wellness community is Serenbe, a pioneering, cross generational model outside Atlanta.
- Simple tips to integrate love into your business: start meetings with a moment of gratitude; highlight on what's going well versus what's going wrong; manage people's strengths and accept their weaknesses versus trying to “develop” them.
Known as senior living’s Ambassador of Play, Jessica Daily talks about the value of finding more opportunities for joy, laughter, and fun. She also discusses career opportunities and the progression of her profession from activities and recreation to programs and experiences.
About Jessica
Jessica Daily is the National Director of Resident Programs for Senior Lifestyle Corporation, a senior living management company based in Chicago IL. Jessica pursued circus arts and clowning for much of her youth. When she enrolled in the recreation program at SUNY Cortland, she disovered she could combine her love of the outdoors and passion for bringing joy to others. She earned a BSE degree in Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies in 2001. She began her career as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist in a skilled care setting.
She then spent 14 years at Walden Place, an assisted living community: 10 years as Director of Resident Programs, 4 years as Sales and Marketing Director. In 2017 Jessica transitioned from Walden Place to the management company of Senior Lifestyle in a position of Divisional Director of Memory Care and Programming and was promoted to her current position in February of 2019.
Jessica is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS), Certified Laughter Yoga Instructor, and graduate of the ICAA Leader in Wellness Management Program (2019). She has been leading programs for older adults for 18years. Jessica enjoys bringing purpose, passion and a sense of playfulness to programming for people of all ages.
Key Takeaways
- Play has lifelong value. Incorporating aspects of play into physical fitness programs for seniors has been shown to improve energy levels.
- Senior living communities can build connection through humor and shared laughter.
- Laughter has multiple benefits including improving immunity, elevating mood, and relieving pain.
- Play can seem dignified or not age appropriate to older people. Avoid childish toys and supplies, choosing adult materials for art projects and exercise programs.
- Bring in elements of play through fun music or wearing bright colors. It could be as simple as wearing a pair of crazy socks.
- A lot of planning goes into creating meaningful experiences. The position of Activities Director has been elevated to Program Directors and Life Enrichment Directors.
Traci shares how Sunland’s home care services help older adults safely stay in their homes and combat loneliness during Covid-19, and how a cancer diagnosis allows her to go deeper with her clients.
About Traci
Traci Ahlstrom Beagley has been the Managing Partner of Sunland Home Care since its inception. In 1958, her great-grandfather and grandfather, Joe and Ross Farnsworth, built the first 55+ active adult community in the East Valley in Arizona. Since then, her father, Craig Ahlstrom, Sr. has developing several active adult communities in Mesa. Many of her memories growing up, involve serving and working with seniors. Sixty years later, she is following her family legacy.
Traci graduated with a Bachelor’s of Interdisciplinary Studies Degree from Arizona State University with an emphasis on Business and Communication. In 2009, Traci opened Accent! Window Treatments. Her entrepreneurial spirit built a successful company that sold after five years. Then, in 2016, she was ready to start another company, Sunland Home Care. She has been actively involved in all aspects of the business.
In 2018, Traci was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Although it has been difficult to fight the disease, she feels the experience has given her insight with seniors in a deeper and more meaningful way.
Key Takeaways
- A 2016 AARP study shows that loneliness is costing the Medicare System 7 billion dollars a year.
- There is a trend toward “hospital at home”—it is less emotionally and psychologically disruptive and studies show it is less expensive.
- Despite the explosion in telehealth, Sunland offers private duty nursing and medical doctor appointments because there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction.
Boomer expert Matt Thornhill shares why he believes close-knit, intentional communities are the future, and how Cozy Home Community™ is partnering with nonprofit, faith-based senior living providers to fulfill their missions.
About Matt
For almost 40 years Matt has been studying consumer behavior—as a Madison Avenue advertising executive, an interactive marketer, and more recently as a futurist and founder of the Boomer Project and the Institute for Tomorrow.
As an expert on Boomers, Matt saw the significant unmet need for housing. He took his message on the road delivering the presentation, “The Future of Senior Living: How to be Netflix in a Blockbuster World.” The next step in the evolution is bringing the Cozy Home Community concept to life.
Recent and past speaking clients include Walmart, Google, Verizon, P&G, Lowes, Samsung, Wells Fargo and Lincoln Financial. Frequently in the media, Matt has been featured in stories on NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, CNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and on NPR.
Key Takeaways
- A colony of eight Cozy Homes are clustered in a “pocket neighborhood” encircling a common area for shared activities. Residents share common interests and “stories” (like retired teachers or musicians)
- Giving back is a founding principal. Every resident agrees to 12 hours of community service a month (like landscaping or helping neighbors with chores). Everyone has a role to play.
- Nonprofit, faith-based senior living providers are embracing the Cozy Home concept because their mission is to service the community at large.
- Technologies such as telemedicine and home grocery delivery apps are changing the senior living playing field by eliminating the need to offer a full range of health care and culinary options.
From humble roots as a maintenance assistance in senior living to operator of a national healthcare firm serving 2,000 residents, Avi shares his insights “from the ground up.” He candidly talks Covid-19 casualties and the bright spots that have spurred industry innovation.
About Avi
Avi Satt is President & Co-founder of Sage Healthcare Partners & Allegria Senior Living. He is a growing and experienced healthcare operator on the East Coast, overseeing 2,000 residents and 1,000 employees. Sage operates within the full spectrum of Senior Living including Home Care, Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Skilled Nursing facilities. Sage and Allegria currently operate in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with expansions in other states in the pipeline.
In 2009, while still in college, Avi took a job in an Assisted Living facility as a maintenance assistant. He quickly found a love for the industry and has never looked back. He went on to the recreation department, then marketing and sales, and eventually, healthcare administration—experiencing all aspects of the senior loving field. Avi has also implemented programs for children with cancer and adults with special needs, behavioral, and cognitive issues.
In 2014, Avi co-founded Sage Healthcare Partners and Allegria Senior Living with the simple goal of doing healthcare the right way. He combines his love for the industry and the residents with his encompassing knowledge to provide best in class care. Avi serves as the lead operator in all of Sage and Allegria's facilities, and has dramatically increased census in each facility, as well as raising regulatory compliance records across the board.
Key Takeaways
- Senior living communities are investing in luxury amenities—pools, spas and putting greens are now considered the norm.
- The implementation of telemedicine is a gamechanger—residents can see a doctor at any hour for any issue without having to leave the facility.
- Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has moved into the 21st century. LiveCare’s Link+ device multipurpose smart tablet for RPM, mail, events, medication reminders, telehealth and communication with family.
- We will likely see more resident deaths from mental health issues and decline from lack of socialization than from the Covid-19 virus itself.
Thank you to our Season 3 Sponsor Project Relevance!
Project Relevancea boutique advisory group focused on bringing innovative products and services that advance the health and well-being of caregivers, older adults and those navigating end-of-life. Collaborating with a diverse and dynamic group of providers, professionals, consumers and funding sources, we help our innovators connect, solve and evolve in unique and relevant ways.
Learn how engagement increases conversion from lead to lease. The principals of LE3 Solutions share techniques for creating an efficient and timely engagement process, and wellness programs that originate from research and collaboration with residents, staff, families, and prospects.
About Sara and Kelly
Sara Kyle, Ph.D, Founder & Principal, LE3 Solutions
Sara Kyle has spent the last 12 years researching, designing, writing, and implementing resident well-being programs across the continuum of care. thrives in challenging settings, from leading and overseeing programming across 108 skilled nursing, assisted living and memory care communities to overseeing the charge for Holiday Retirement to transform their resident program in 260 communities. She is relentless when it comes to urging individual point solutions to integrate and share resident data.
LE3 Solutions proprietary Organizational Culture of Wellness Readiness Assessment benchmarks organization readiness for current and future consumer needs and desires and recommends steps to move forward.
Kelly Stranburg, M.Ed., Principal
Kelly Stranburg has worked with aging adults for over 20 years, with 12 of those specific to the senior living industry. Over the years Kelly has supported over 30 CCRCs and many AL/MCs. Her most successful roles have been positions she has created from the ground up which has enabled her to analyze, identify needs and gaps, and create and implement solutions for the greater good of the residents which in turns supports the operators. Kelly is the creator of the award-winning Argentum Best of the Best Wellness Program for 2010, 2011, and 2012. She has been a featured columnist in the Journal on Active Aging and a selected speaker at national senior living and active aging conferences.
Key Takeaways
- The foundation of engagement begins with understanding the individual. The personal details matter.
- Autonomy, resilience, connectedness, and purpose are better metrics than measuring satisfaction.
- Word of mouth referrals create ROI on engagement—happy residents talk to peers about their positive experience.
- ROI on engagement must be measured constantly—analyze data month over month
- Movement is crucial to wellbeing—it is devastating to physically lose the ability to pursue your passions and interests.
Thank you to our Season 3 Sponsor Project Relevance!
Project Relevance is a boutique advisory group focused on bringing innovative products and services that advance the health and well-being of caregivers, older adults and those navigating end-of-life. Collaborating with a diverse and dynamic group of providers, professionals, consumers and funding sources, we help our innovators connect, solve and evolve in unique and relevant ways.
Kirsten Jacobs discusses how ageism and segregation negatively impact the senior living industry—based on her work co-leading LeadingAge’s ageism work on an America freed from ageism. She also shares key takeaways from the 2020 conference, and how Covid-19 could threaten industry progress.
About Kirsten
With nearly 20 years of experience in older adult housing and services, memory care, and long-term care management, Kirsten credits her four grandparents for her passion for the field. Her undergraduate thesis project, which focused on sharing art with older adults, set the stage for an ongoing interest in dementia and holistic wellbeing. Kirsten has held various positions—including administrator and executive director. Currently, she serves on the knowledge team at LeadingAge, a national association of elder serving organizations.
As the director of dementia and wellness education, Kirsten leads LeadingAge’s dementia and wellness collaborative learning strategy and provides thought leadership to various audiences, including speaking/presenting and delivering technical assistance to LeadingAge members. Kirsten co-leads LeadingAge’s ageism work which supports the organization’s vision, an America freed from ageism.
Kirsten earned a Master of Social Work (MSW) and gerontology certificate from Portland State University (Portland, OR) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in arts administration and a minor in studio art from Scripps College (Claremont, CA).
Key Takeaways
- Ageism negatively effects senior living because if we don't value older adults as a community, country, and culture, we are not going to value the people, or the places, focused on them.
- There is a lack of evidence on the efficacy of separate memory care facilities.
- Covid-19 could shift the industry from a person-directed approach toward a more institutional model as infection control moves to the forefront.
- Senior living communities are finding more creative ways to create connection, such as hallway gatherings where residents meet in their doorways, and better use of outdoor spaces and nature.
Thank you to our Season 3 Sponsor Project Relevance!
Project Relevance is a boutique advisory group focused on bringing innovative products and services that advance the health and well-being of caregivers, older adults and those navigating end-of-life. Collaborating with a diverse and dynamic group of providers, professionals, consumers and funding sources, we help our innovators connect, solve and evolve in unique and relevant ways.
Senior living veteran Jill Vitale-Aussem shares insights from her revolutionary book; why ageism and ableism undermine the industry, how current practices offering hospitality-like comfort and amenities for older adults are misdirected, and how Covid-19 has spurred innovation and opportunity.
About Jill
Jill Vitale-Aussem NHA, MMH serves as President & CEO of Christian Living Communities, a Colorado-based, not-for-profit, faith-based organization serving more than 3,000 older adults and their families through its 23 owned and managed communities located in six states as well as offering adult day, home care and consulting.
She has over twenty years of experience leading nursing homes, assisted living and life plan communities. Prior to joining Christian Living Communities, she served as President and CEO of The Eden Alternative, an international non-profit organization focused on creating quality of life for older people and their care partners. She is a licensed nursing home administrator and a Reframing Aging facilitator.
Jill is the author of Disrupting the Status Quo of Senior Living: A Mindshift and speaks internationally on topics including ageism, leadership and culture change.
Key Takeaways
- Tackling ageism and ableism is the first step to make lasting change in any senior living community. Perceptions of aging as inevitable decline undermines opportunities senior living operators, staff, and residents.
- The Hospitality framework has a role to play, but a carefree, 5-star resort-like experience is actually detrimental to what we need to live a long and healthy life.
- The greatest longevity is with people who stay engaged with the activities of daily living. We need purpose. We need to have a role to play in our communities.
- To create community online, engagement needs to go beyond providing content. Older people can give back through technology rather than just being the recipient of services.
- Design alone does not change anything. Magic happens when the hardware (a new building) is designed to support the new software (a new culture and way of doing things).
- Access to nature has traditionally been limited in senior living communities to manage risk, especially as the level of care increases. The average nursing home resident gets outside for nine minutes a day. It is important to get people outside. It's not just building design, but how things are done on a daily basis.
- The tendency of senior living communities is to “bubble wrap people up to the point of suffocation.” A balanced approach to risk will support quality of lifeand give residents a life worth living.
- With Aging Services in the spotlight due to Covid-19, there is an opportunity to evaluate and make changes. New models of care and services and support will be born out of the pandemic.
Meredith Oppenheim, a 20-year expert in senior housing and Founder of Vitality Society ™, talks about howCovid-19 as a disruptive force driving industry change. Learn how technology and virtual programming can entice “younger olders” and serve as a valuable sales tool at the top of the funnel.
About Meredith
Meredith Oppenheim is a senior housing specialist with national and international expertise encompassing all property types and spanning the full lifecycle of a deal from pre-development to disposition. Oppenheim serves as an advisor to technology companies, residential developers, investment firms, and government entities. She has also served as an expert witness on behalf of a senior housing owner and operator.
Oppenheim is a member of the Cornell Institute of Healthy Futures, an organization which seeks to promote innovation by applying hospitality principles to healthcare. Spring 2019 she completed a study of people 60 – 80 years of age in collaboration with Cornell students, which has shaped her new venture Vitality Society™ for people 60 and better to be at their best.
During her nearly 20 years in the senior housing industry, Oppenheim worked for leading owners and operators such as Sunrise Senior Living and Marriott International. At Ventas, one of the largest healthcare REITs, she managed the Northeast operating portfolio of over 50 Atria Senior Living and Sunrise Senior Living communities, consistently exceeding budgeted expectations.
She was nominated to serve on the National Investment Center (NIC) Future Leaders’ Council and led the organization during its inaugural year. In 2009, she was appointed to Mayor Bloomberg’s Age-Friendly NYC Commission and served a 5-year term as a board member of the not-for-profit arm of the NYC Department for the Aging.
She is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and Cornell University.
Key Takeaways
- Vitality Society’s online platform decouples the service and experience from the real estate to support people aging in place. Camaraderie is built in a virtual environment.
- Technology is a catalyst for much needed change and industry evolution. Covid-19 caused an urgent need in doing things differently and better.
- Retire and Engage are opposite in many ways. Retirement means disconnecting; engagement means connecting.
- A life with purpose brings pleasure and longevity. A life without purpose causes depression and disease.
The Covid-19 Era has hurt many senior living communities. However, Harbor’s Edge in Norfolk, VA is thriving. Find out why this waterfront high-rise community has the winning formula for success. Learn about the property’s technology deployment, culinary and wellness options, and purpose-driven community engagement.
About Anna
As the VP of Sales and Marketing at Harbor’s Edge, Anna Little oversees a team of Sales Counselors and Marketing Specialists to drive occupancy for Independent Living. As a Life Plan CCRC, Harbor’s Edge offers luxury apartments with exceptional amenities surrounded by Norfolk, Virginia’s working harbor on the Elizabeth River. The upscale community offers True LifeCare, an exclusive combination of refundable entrance fees and predictable healthcare costs. The River Tower expansion, scheduled to open in May of 2021, will double the size of the community’s living and common spaces.
Prior to her move to Harbor’s Edge, Anna spent more than seven years at another high end CCRC as the Managing Director of Sales and Marketing where the goal-driven team was wildly successful in gaining occupancy through a tough market. Several years as a real estate broker led her to senior living, where she has found her real passion and the opportunity to make changes in the lives of our most cherished senior population.
Key Takeaways
Harbor’s Edge’s well-rounded marketing strategy includes digital campaigns along with traditional newspaper and print ads. Social media has become increasingly important. Posts featuring residents have been extremely successful.
Whereas older people traditionally make the decision to move into a senior community later in life, Little is seeing a trend towards younger residents who want to take advantage of the community’s many benefits in a protected environment.
Harbor’s Edge’s engagement technologies include Touchtownfor menus and activities, and OneDay to empower the community to create their own videos. Residents learn how to use iPads and Zoom.
A professional salon has become a must-have amenity for senior living communities from active living through skilled nursing and memory care. However, many properties miss the boat with poorly designed facilities and unlicensed contractors. Learn how PS Salon & Spa has become the market leader in salon and spa services with more than 1,000 locations in 37 states.
About John
John Polatz is the CEO and Co-Founder of PS Salon & Spa, the leading national senior community salon and spa provider. As a values-based organization with over 1,000 professional locations in 37 states, PS takes great pride in cultivating a strong culture in support of its 1,500+ team members.
Prior to PS, as the Chief Financial Officer of two multi-national and publicly traded companies, John was a leader in the development of financial, administrative and technology support solutions for global businesses with multiple locations, currencies, and lines of operation. John has lived and worked in many cities throughout the U.S. and abroad in Italy, Switzerland, and New Zealand.
Key Takeaways
- There is no standardization within salon operators in senior living communities, and many facilities are not licensed with the State Board of Cosmetology. Communities need a structure appropriate for their populations.
- Adoption of virtual communication is at an all-time high. Pre Covid, only 20% families in PS Salon partner communities communicated through technology, now it is more like 90-100%. When adult children are more invested in the relationships with residents, everybody wins.
- The Senior Living can do a better job bringing a consumer-friendly message to the masses that living in these communities is a fun, engaging, and enriching experience. A 1-2% increase in resident population would lead to an estimated 100% occupancy of existing inventory of senior living communities.
Jon and Kasondra are masters at matchmaking the best caregivers and estate concierge managers with the needs, goals, and personalities of their clients. The Perfect Companion offers an extensive array services—from meals, grooming, and laundry to memory care, palliative care, and family dynamics management—to individuals and senior living facilities. Their approach to 5-star service means not only addressing clients’ clinical needs but anticipating their needs.
About Jon & Kasondra
Jon Siegel, Founder & President, The Perfect Companion
Jon Siegel has been a board-certified Geriatric Clinical Psychotherapist for more than 30 years. As Founder and President of The Perfect Companion, Inc. (2008), Jon’s compassion and unique insights enable him to determine the individual skill sets and personalities of his caregivers with the corresponding needs and personality of his clients. His offering of “Ritz-Carlton level” concierge care has been the major contributing factor behind the ongoing success of The Perfect Companion, Inc.
Prior to his work as a highly respected psychotherapist, he served as a Captain, Biomedical Science Officer in the U.S. Air Force. He has been a proud member of the Military Officers Association of America, working in V.A. inpatient/outpatient hospital settings. Jon pioneered what is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatment.
He is also the Founder and Managing Partner of Resiliency Ventures, LLC a venture capital fund focused on Fin Tech, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain as an Angel, Seed, and Series A investor. He mentors and supports entrepreneurs developing life-enhancing technology and lifestyle innovations.
Kasondra McCormack, EVP Concierge Care Operations, The Perfect Companion
Kasondra is a Social Entrepreneur and Ambassador for the causes and treatments associated with neurodegenerative (brain-related) conditions. She is a respected global thought leader of neurodegenerative restoration and social impact; using functional medicine, nutrition, movement, genetic/ epigenic understanding, and executive thinking to slow down, stop, or reverse disease states. Her degrees and certificates include Environmental Science, Conservation, Phlebotomy, Wholistic Epigenetics, Pathology, Accounting, Economics, and International Culture.
She contributes her expertise to Resiliency Ventures as a Senior Strategic Planning Analyst.
Key Takeaways
The word retire means to withdraw—Baby Boomershave always been proactive and engaged and will not accept traditional models of retirement.
When you are treating somebody as a senior in their own home, it becomes a family affair requiring trust, support, and transparency.
Transitioning into the unknown can create negative health outcomes. Leaving home can also take away purpose which is proven to create decline.
A foundation of care and safety is a must-have, after that it comes down to personal choice. Is it a high-rise tower with 5-star dining and theatre access, or country living with gardens, goats, and a chicken coop? Senior Living facilities are rising to new levels of personalization and luxury hospitality.
About Lori
Lori Farris is the founder of Senior Living Specialists Houston helping seniors and their families navigate the maze of Senior Living Communities. She is also the host of The Boomer Connection, a TV talk show that celebrates Boomers who are making a difference and helping others. Lori founded Senior Living Specialists Houston after going on the journey with her parents and their aging health problems.
Born in 1960 in Highland Park, Illinois, Lori graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Agricultural Economics. After owning and operating her own Chicago Style Restaurant in Dallas, Texas and working as a tour operator in New York, Lori met and married Efisio Farris, native of Sardinia. For the next 26 years she worked with her husband, opening five Italian restaurants in Dallas and Houston.
She sits on the board of Jewish Federation of Business Professionals Women’s Networking Group, the leadership team of the JCC book and arts festival, and is the Programming Director of the Senior Estate Concierge.
Key Takeaways
- Community living means retireess can go back to the things they love without daily concerns.
- Popular fitness and wellness activitiesinclude aqua aerobics, pilates, yoga, Tai Chi, aromatherapy, meditation, and virtual technologies such as simulated world-class golf courses (think Pebble Beach or St. Andrews Links® in Scotland.)
- Intellectual and cultural activities such as stock market club, book clubs, and culinary tours engage residents with like minds and interests.
- Best in class senior communities prevent isolation by offering a range of social activities for every level, from nature walks, doorway chair aerobics for each hallway and a roving ice cream cart (maintaining proper social distancing in the Covid-19).
- There is a trend toward “dying well” encouraging conversation around becoming “comfortable with the uncomfortable.”
Carol Stratford is a partner at Hutchinson Consulting, a leading executive search and consulting firm. She shares her experience strategizing for world class wellness resorts, and tips for senior living marketers to refresh their digital assets and personalize the sales process.
About Carol
Carol Stratford’s dynamic career in strategic marketing and public relations has allowed her to develop a widely recognized expertise in hospitality and wellness. She is a leader in her field, known for analyzing trends and forecasting sales to develop long-term strategies, key objectives and operational execution plans based on business best practices. She has achieved record breaking increases in profits and brand awareness for her clients through her experience beyond marketing and public relations --in customer service training, project management, e-commerce, relationship building, administration, and business development.
Because Carol began in public relations and then moved into marketing, she has a rare ability to understand the perception of a brand in the marketplace, and she has used her unique vision to help develop and deploy innovative marketing plans for some of the most successful brands in the industry, including Marriott, KSL Brands such as Miraval and The Homestead, Four Seasons, Casa de Campo, Six Flags and many more.
Carol’s current role as a Partner at Hutchinson Consulting has enabled the company to enter a new and exciting stage of growth. She is an integral part of the team that is now expanding into the Senior Living industry, bringing relevant marketing and public relations expertise from hospitality and wellness into the field as it adapts to the increasingly youthful and active mindset of its target audience.
Key Takeaways
- Wellness programming treats the whole person with an emphasis on recovery and prevention.
- Programming that is holistic and highly customized is key to set your senior living facility apart.
- Marketing must appeal to both the resident and the children of the resident. Most senior living messaging does not speak to the needs of the families.
- The sales process should incorporate the “discovery process”—personalizing the experience for each prospect. Uncover the “sticky points.”
- The place to start with a marketing refresh is focus on your digital assets. Your website is your gatekeeper.
- Claim your Google Business Listing for search engine optimization (It’s free!)
Keesey Hayward’s message is that senior living is suffering from an identity crisis. Listen to his argument that confusing labels and negative stereotypes limit industry potential. His new website RetirementResorts.com celebrates a new category of senior living community—a culture of wellness with healthy lifestyle options for the body, mind, and spirit.
About Keesey
Keesey Hayward has 30 years of sales and marketing experience in life planned communities. As CEO and President of and Senior Hospitality and RetirementResorts.com, his focus has been misperceptions about retirement community living, and about the industry itself. Earlier this year his company Senior Hospitality International introduced a solution to the misperception problem among Seniors: by recognizing and certifying a new "category" of great communities labeled Retirement Resorts for their ability to provide Retirement Living at its Healthiest®.
Keesey spent his formative years in South Africa as one of five boys born to missionary parents. After college in Wheaton, IL he discovered and immersed himself in the rapidly growing Senior Hospitality industry and has devoted the last three decades serving Seniors and Senior-oriented communities from coast to coast. He has served in a variety of roles within the Senior Hospitality profession: as Sales Counselor, Marketing & Sales Director, Sales Specialist, Trainer & Coach, Marketing & Sales Consultant, Business Owner, Author, Conference Speaker, and also as a 10-year Board Member of Shell Point (Fort Myers, FL), one of the country's largest Retirement Resorts. For more information, see www.RetirementResorts.com and www.SeniorHospitality.com.
Key Takeaways
- CCRC, Life Care Community, and Life Plan Community are industry terms that do not accurately reflect the most enticing attributes.
- The industry’s biggest challenge is finding employees to serve senior living communities. The industry must rid itself of the “nursing home” image to attract innovators and a new generation of leaders.
- There is a clear parallel between the hospitality industry and senior living. Senior living is a branch of the hospitality industry with a healthcare component. (The root word of hospitality is hospital).
The former GM and VP of Wellbeing at Miraval Resort Tucson and Managing Director for Canyon Ranch Lenox shares his philosophy on why senior living facilities have the ideal opportunity to make a positive impact on residents’ lives. Carl has ventured into Senior Living with All Seasons Oro Valley, bringing both operational and programming expertise to create a next level senior living experience.
About Carl
Carl Pratt is recognized in the hospitality industry as a seasoned and highly effective change agent. He is a talented veteran of hotel and resort operations and a dynamic presenter on a variety of health and wellness topics. With a hospitality leadership career spanning more than 25 years, as well as significant contributions in the field of wellness programming, Carl is at the top of his game when it comes to organizational development and transforming organizations into top-performing profit centers.
Previously as General Manager and Vice President of Wellbeing of Miraval Resort, Tucson, Carl reimagined wellness programing to build signature brand elements along with recreating program offerings for the Miraval Brand. This included partnering with Williams Sonoma and Miraval’s Conscious Cooking concept, the addition of ‘The Retreat’ Luxury Villas, and broad oversight of experiential program design. As Managing Director for Canyon Ranch Lenox with preceding management roles, Carl saw the property through its evolution from opening day to its status as an internationally acclaimed destination health resort.
Concurrent with his role at The Hanover Inn, as General Manager, Carl consulted with Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business on the creation of an executive wellness education component for the prestigious Tuck Executive Program, and worked with Dartmouth College to develop a wellness program for faculty and employees, which has since evolved into a vibrant hub with a myriad of health and wellness resources.
Carl is a gifted and enthusiastic speaker, known for leading provocative discussions on health and wellness topics for more than 25 years,. Recognized for his refreshing authentic style, he has given engaging presentations to corporate, higher education, hospital, nonprofit, and local community groups on topics including fitness, nutrition, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques.
His first love is spending time with family; his wife Sue of 29 years and his two children Forrest and Alex. His passion for healthy living includes his practice of daily meditation for more than 45 years, exercising outdoors, green smoothies, and an occasional Oreo.
Keys Takeaways
- All Seasons Oro Valley’s connects people through the natural physical plant. All of the activities are on one level, which automatically engages residents with each other.
- The creative culinary program is based on Chef creations. Everything from scratch, a lot of variety, weekly and seasonal specials and signature items, and the ability to customize.
- Volunteering in offered in the community. For example painting charms to raise funds for kindness programs provided throughout the Arizona public school system.
- Provide residents with something to look forward to each month. All Seasons Oro Valley offer monthly themed events. The November theme is Russia, to include a dinner, lectures in Russian history, and residents sharing their travel experiences.
- Senior living operators have a huge opportunity to impact residents’ wellness because they are a “captive audience.”
Glowing Older kicks off Season 2 with Colin Milner, CEO and founder of the International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA) and Active Aging Week. He shares the findings from the ICAA Covid-19 Senior Living Task Force white paper Creating a path towards the "next normal" in senior living. ICAA brought together 154 providers of housing and services for older adults to create strategies and tactics to help all segments of the senior living industry emerge from being locked down. Learn about the 6 strategies and 35 tactics developed to optimize the health and well-being of residents and staff.
About Colin
Colin Milner is a leading authority on the health and wellbeing of the older adult and has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of “the most innovative and influential minds” in the world on aging-related topics. An award-winning writer, Milner has authored more than 300 articles and contributed a chapter to the World Economic Forum book Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise?
His expertise has been sought by organizations around the world, including the World Health Organization, the White House Conference on Aging, the National Institute on Aging, New Balance, and the European Commission. He is the publisher of the Journal on Active Aging and has authored more than 300 articles on fitness, wellness, and the business of healthy aging.
Key Takeaways
- Properties are replacing the “it's always been done this way” outlook with a new paradigm.
- Lockdown is having a negative impact on residents’ physical, mental and spiritual capabilities. Operators are waking up to the fact that they need to address actual health and well-being beyond simply keeping residents safe.
- Senior living’s current value proposition is taking a significant beating, not only in the media but within the communities. The new value proposition should be: How do we helpindividuals live the best life possible?
- The first strategy is to design and renovate interiors and exteriors of your buildings to create a “well” building.
- From faucets to soaps to towel dispensers, touchless everything is going to come into play.
- Attracting qualified staff starts with creating the right culture: fair pay, the right tools, the ability to make crucial decisions on the spot, and opportunities for your staff to grow personally and professionally.
- Advocate for a model that focuses on staff and residents not just the bottom line because if you take care of those two, the bottom line will come.
- If you promote that you are committed to wellness, then commit to wellness. Don't just use it as a catchphrase.
As founder of the International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA) and Active Aging Week, and the Journal of Active Aging, Colin is the known in senior living circles as the “guru of wellness.” has been advocating for a new paradigm in aging for more than 30 years. Get an insider’s point of view into top trends in senior living, including a “wellness” versus “care” model, on-demand services, personalization, Covid-19 new normal, and much more!
About Colin
Colin Milner is CEO of the International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA) and founder of the active-aging industry in North America. Milner is also a leading authority on the health and wellbeing of the older adult and has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of “the most innovative and influential minds” in the world on aging-related topics. An award-winning writer, Milner has authored more than 300 articles and contributed a chapter to the World Economic Forum book Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise?
His expertise has been sought by organizations around the world, including the World Health Organization, the White House Conference on Aging, the National Institute on Aging, New Balance and the European Commission. He is the publisher of the Journal on Active Aging and has authored more than 300 articles on fitness, wellness, and the business of healthy aging.
Key Takeaways
- The ICAA 7-dimensional wellness model focuses on the ability to understand, accept and act upon the capacity to lead a purpose-filled and engaged life. In doing so, we can embrace our potential within all the areas of Wellness to optimize life's possibilities.
- Nearly 60% of ICAA members expect to move to a “wellness” versus “care” model in the next five years. But wellness in many cases has become a marketing mantra. Properties have to be committed to the wellness movement. (An example is a hotel that promotes a full-service spa, only to find a hot tub with a massage room.)
- On-demand, more flexible services in senior living is a huge trend. Residents want what they want when they want it. Services have become more personalized across the board, enabled by technology.
- There is a huge need to educate the public on the differences between various levels of senior housing options, and to rid the industry of the “nursing home” stigma.
- Senior communities come together to celebrate their residents during Active Aging Week October 5-11, 2020. Activities range from nature walks, to hot air balloon rides, to the world's biggest seated exercise class. Register here to become a host site.
- The ICAA Virtual Conference, Leadership Summit and Expo October 27-28 and November 5-6, 2020, is a live learning experience. A must-attend for any person or organization embracing opportunities associated with aging well.
Join an intimate dialogue with wellness and real estate expert Wendy Bosalavage, President and Chief Revenue Officer of LIVunLtd, as she discusses the integral relationship between design and program delivery. “Seniors with seniority” are well-traveled and have high expectations. They want amenities and features that separate just the ordinary from something extraordinary. LIVunLtd pivot to virtual programming after the COVID-19 outbreak was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal: Luxury Developers Ramp Up Virtual Offerings for Stir-Crazy Renters.
About Wendy
Wendy Bosalavage is the President and Chief Revenue Officer of LIVuLtd, which provides custom concierge, fitness and wellness experiences for residential and commercial buildings, spas and hotels, and senior living. LIVultd is part of The Amenity Collective, consisting of LIVuLtd, American Pool, Heartline Fitness and LIV North. As thought leaders in every facet of lifestyle service, this collaborative partnership is setting trends and redefining the amenity space.
Wendy’s inexhaustible drive is fueled by her passionate belief that there is a direct correlation between maintaining the value of a property and offering facilities and services that provide residents with the opportunity for a healthy, balanced lifestyle. She has consulted on the design and implementation of innumerable fitness and spa facilities in luxury residential and commercial properties around the world. She earned her certificate as a Wellness Coach from the Institute of Integrative Medicine.
Key Takeaways
- Senior living residents want interaction—they want to learn; they want to laugh; and they want to contribute.
- Trends in the design of fitness facilities among Covid-19 include multiple small gym rooms designed for individual use (no longer large gyms); flexible and convertible spaces, touch-less entry, and lounges with glass dividers.
- Look for separate entrances for deliveries, as well as multiple public spaces and elevators to allow for social distancing.
- Older adults need home offices because people are not stopping work at 65 anymore. Interior spaces need to be for home offices with windows that open for fresh air. Wellness must be built into the environment.
- Dining spaces are allowing for interaction with the chef and diner participation. Residents want stress-free smaller culinary events and people want to dine with their families in private spaces. Today's older adults are adventurous and want variety and culturally diverse foods.
Aras Erekul, MD, MMH is the National Director of Integrative Well-being at Watermark Retirement Communities. His unique blend of health and hospitality led to his current position in senior living—overseeing resident, staff and community wellbeing at 65 Watermark properties nationwide. As the senior living industry evolves to embrace a deeper understanding of holistic health approaches, he serves as the lead well-being architect for Watermark, weaving innovative technology with ancient wisdom practices for both existing and future Watermark communities.
About Aras
Aras is a wellness innovator who merges medicine, integrative therapies, and hospitality business insights to create life-transforming communal experiences. His educational foundation is in clinical medicine from Hacettepe University in his native Turkey, followed by a Master of Management in Hospitality at Cornell University, focusing on wellness resort development, as well as a Fellowship in Integrative Medicine from University of Arizona.
Before joining Watermark, he was the Corporate Director of Experience Development for Canyon Ranch, one of the leading healthy lifestyle and luxury hospitality brands in the world, curating and improving all wellness experiences provided on land and at sea. Aras is also a founding member of the Vitality Lab at Google, an invitation-only collective of experts from diverse backgrounds, exploring innovations to encourage more people to live purposeful, healthy lives.
Key Takeaways:
- Post-Covid-19 there is a need to communicate to both existing residents and prospective residents that it is safer to be here than in your own house. And two, your well-being will fare better in a community environment then you would achieve on your own.
- Having a purpose and giving back contribute to happiness, according to Professor Laurie Santos from Yale University in her course The Science of Well-being. How can senior living facilities build purpose, volunteerism, and mentoring into the programming?
- Watermark in Tucson offers Equine Therapy where residents interact with the horses or are in their presence or do a guided meditation or a Reiki session.
- Software developers are taking from The Playbook of hospitality customer relationship management Technologies, helping Watermark create engagement benchmarks across all the communities and drawing insights from meta-analysis.
Peter Anderson, CEO of Anderson & Associates, shares his views on the proliferation of new senior living environments. Providing examples of best in class facilities, he offers insights on creating community, experiential engaged experiences and opportunities for residents to lead active and fulfilled lives.
About Peter
Peter Anderson is a 30-year veteran in the leisure industries. He is the founder and CEO of Anderson and Associates, a consultancy firm specializing in developing and programming issues related to senior lifestyle communities, wellness real estate as well as resorts and spas. His day-to-day activities include developing strategic operating plans for his clients with respect to new construction, expansion, renovations, branding or enhanced operation. Operational issues include developing and training to operational standards and developing comprehensive standard operating procedures. He evaluates senior communities and wellness lodging trends and their related revenue sources vis-à-vis market acceptance and economic viability.
Selected lifestyle and wellness clients include Dubai Health Care City Wellness Master Plan, (Dubai, UAE), The Los Angeles Athletic Club,(Los Angeles, CA) Hotel Bel Air Spa, (Bel Air, CA), Chopra Life Style Centers (Westminster, CO), The Phoenician Center for Well Being, (Scottsdale, AZ), the Springs at Clifton, Holistic Mineral Springs Spa at the Hospital (Clifton Springs, NY), and Glen Ivy Hot Springs, (Corona CA).
Peter is a board member of the Kitalys Institute for the delay and prevention of age-related diseases and the breaking down of silos among age-related professions.He is also a faculty member at both the Collins School of Hospitality Management at the California State University’s campus in Pomona, CA. and the California State University Hotel Management Program in Long Beach, CA.
Prior to founding Anderson and Associates, Peter was a Vice President with PKF consulting in Los Angeles. He also managed the Hospitality consulting practice of Deloitte and Touche LLP out of their Los Angeles location. senior consultant in management advisory services of Laventhol and Horwath in San Diego, CA.
In addition to consulting for development and operations of senior centers and wellness real estate, Anderson is a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants, an invitation-only organization composed of approximately 200 members from 37 countries, dedicated to technical and ethical excellence. Mr. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Physiological Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Professional Studies in Hotel Administration from Cornell University.
Key Takeaways:
- There is a trend towards seniors “doing” as opposed to “having things done” for them. The fallacy is that once you reach a certain age, you need help to clean your home's and fix your food.
- When we treat residents as helpless, it takes away the human need to contribute to something bigger than ourselves.
- Create buildings and public space to make access to nature easier. Common areas with garden pathways provide year-round access to greenery; a gazebo will offer shade in hot weather.
- Community gardens create environments where people will tend their crops and then share and swap them. Beyond going out to take a nature walk, tending to plants and watching them grow creates purpose and self-sufficiency.
- In urban environments, design balconies and decking off the units for individual access to fresh air and a view. If feasible, consider creating a green roof.
- Technology is being adapted for less tech-savvy users. Look more user-friendly interfaces and functional changes such as larger buttons with more illumination.
Celebrity chef and nutritionist Abbie Gellman shares her experience in the science and art of providing a delicious and healthy culinary experience for senior living residents. The operative word is choice—discerning older adults demand individualized, restaurant quality food when the want it, where they want it. Also front of mind is food as the first line of defense in preventing disease.
About Abbie
Chef Abbie Gellman, MS RD CDN is a spokesperson, recipe and product developer, and educator. She creates, produces, and hosts cooking and nutrition videos and works with a wide variety of food companies/brands/commodity boards, foodservice operators, health professionals, and private clients. She also contributes to many publications; her first cookbook, The Mediterranean DASH Diet, was published November 2019.
She is the consulting “Better for You” R&D Chef/RD for the private company Happi Foodi and has created two lines of healthy frozen meals for them under the WalMart Better For You Great Value brand and the Happi Foodi brand; both can currently be found at WalMart. Abbie lives in NYC with her daughter, Olivia, and many shelves of cookbooks. Learn more about her at ChefAbbieGellman.com and connect with her via @ChefAbbieGellman on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Key Takeaways
- More than 50 percent of the elderly Americans have sarcopenia—age-driven loss of muscle mass, function, strength that's driven by aging so you might making older adults are vulnerable falls and fractures and hospitalizations more and more as they get older and that is reflective of something along the lines of sarcopenia. and a culinary perspective, adequate protein throughout your day is the best way to combat sarcopenia rrom a nutrition perspective.
- Nutrition must be as individualized as possible. There is no “one-size-fits-all.” The trick is to make food delicious and healthy while addressing the full range of needs of each individual.
- Senior living facilities can hire Abbie to host “cook along with the chef” Zoom classes catered to certain disease states like diabetes. Abbie explains why certain things are good or might not be as good for them specifically. She then answers questions via chat.
- The culinary program is the hugest opportunities out there because again Everybody Eats, right? We all want to enjoy eating. Older adults want to keep the pleasure of eating alive and not make it just something they do to stay alive.
Sharon stands out as one of the youngest Executive Directors in senior living, and one of few women in a lead role. Learn how Mirabella leverages technology and addresses residents’ mind, body and soul through lasting connections and a customized approach.
About Sharon
Sharon McCartney is skilled in management, elder care, healthcare management and marketing strategy. She is currently Executive Director of Mirabella Portland, operated by Pacific Retirement Services. At the age of 25, she took over as Healthcare Administrator of Mirabella Portland, overseeing skilled nursing, memory care, and long-term assisted living. In 2016, Sharon was promoted to Executive Director, overseeing the overall operations of the continuing care retirement community (CCRC).
Sharon has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Southern Oregon University. . Her career trajectory in senior living began 13 years ago, through a college human resources internship in a senior living community, then completing an administrator and training program to become a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. She credits her success to amazing mentors who coached her on developing the necessary leadership and management qualities.
Key Takeaways:
- New technologies more efficiently connect residents and staff, which improves customer service. Now nurses have iPhones that can take pictures of wounds and measure the wounds for them and input into the system.
- Mirabella Portland has a focus on bringing the outside in. In addition to a “rain or shine” community garden. Professional gardeners help with flower arranging or gardening activities. Memory care has in in-house gardening box with UV light that allows residents who can't get outside.
- Kitchen rooftop gardens with seasonal vegetables and herbs are incorporated into the dining program. Residents tending the gardens feel a sense of accomplishment and sense of being part of something bigger.
- A dining committee of Mirabella Portland residents was formed to oversee the sourcing of sustainable and local produce, meat and fish. All food is cooked-to-order in-house.
Senior living visionary Joe McCarron discusses the culmination of his life’s work, Wellpoint Community. Wellpoint is a revolutionary concept that combines innovative wellness, learning, meaningful engagement with the wider community and new technology. Joe shares the evolution of senior housing from cottage nursing home industry, to a major asset sector representing a wide range of product classes providers and related service offerings.
About Joe
Joseph McCarron has over 35 years of extensive executive experience in capital formation, property development and operations management dedicated exclusively in the realm of Senior Living and Aging Services. He is Principal & Founder of Capital Care Associates, LLC providing business and financial advisory services in this industry sector. Joe’s business career has extended to representing over $2B of invested capital in Seniors Housing & Care. He is a recognized industry expert representing extensive transactional history and has served in multiple leadership positions for varied business and industry associations.
Most recently, Joe was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Wellpoint Community, LLC – representing sponsorship and development of progressively planned and mixed-use lifestyle communities. The Wellpoint Community prototype represents the integrative delivery of lifestyle offerings surrounding wellness programming, healthcare services and active engagement programming. Wellpoint is conceived as responsive to exhibiting trends in aging services and beyond – enabling best practices through innovation while promoting living well and supporting longevity for all ages.
The VIA Center for Well-Being, operated by the Cerner Corporation, will serve as the hub of each Wellpoint Community. Via is a center like no other, where residents from Wellpoint and also from the wider community can connect through learning, wellness, coworking, socializing and more. Using the most advanced technology, Via offers a state-of-the-art wellness/medical facility, innovative educational and fitness programming, and coworking spaces that invite people of all ages and interests to collaborate and innovate. It truly is a place that builds community via connection.
Key Takeaways:
- There is a growing convergence of Senior Living providers products and service offerings.
- Collaboration, integration of program delivery, and advancing technologies are enabling best practices.
- The Wellpoint Community prototype is defined by preventive and regenerative lifestyle rather than ageism and supportive care alone. The project is intentionally endeavoring to couple hospitality and healthcare services in the delivery of our broad range wellness offerings with a fundamental focus on functional or integrated medical services.
- Wellpoint integrates a holistic approach to care that encompasses mind-body-spirit. It is programming first supported by customized real estate design and development solutions. It is a living lab for research education and innovation.
- Emerging and enabling technologies such as telemedicine and smart home technology will prove instrumental to fostering best practices at Wellpoint, enabling efficiencies and economies on all fronts.
A renowned expert on the intersection of health and hospitality, Michael Tompkins shares his opinions on senior living from his perspective as partner in Hutchinson Consulting, a leading recruitment and consulting firm in hospitality and wellness. Michael discusses opportunities for hospitality professionals to move into the senior living space to create new programming and deliver a high level of service.
About Michael
A visionary leader in the luxury hospitality, wellness, and spa industries, Michael G. Tompkins has led celebrated brands to success for more than two decades. He is a partner with St. Louis based Hutchinson Consulting, where he helps build leading teams for luxury hospitality and spa brands. In 2018 Tompkins led the recruitment company into Senior Living, bringing experts from hospitality and wellness as a product differentiator into this industry, where bringing hospitality to care is a desirable new trend.
He transitioned from healthcare as a registered nurse manager in long term care to hospitality with Canyon Ranch Health Resorts as part of their executive management team. Then as Vice President of Hotels and Spas for Turning Stone Resort and Casino, Tompkins led their team to be the first property in US history east of the Mississippi to have two Four Diamond AAA Hotels, garnering Best New US Spa for Skana Spa, and earning New York State Hospitality Association’s Hotel Executive of the Year.
From there Tompkins helped reposition Miraval Resorts in Tucson, AZ starting as General Manager then promoted to President/ CEO of Miraval Resorts. During his seven-year tenure at Miraval, Tompkins led the brand to an unprecedented 46 industry awards in one year, building one of the most successful hotel real estate projects in the country, the Villas at Miraval, and creating strategic partnerships with National Geographic, Dr. Andrew Weil Integrative Wellness Center, and the Miraval Life in Balance Spa with Clarins.
After assisting in the successful majority sale of the Miraval brand, Tompkins repositioned Hilton Head Health in 2014 and 2015 building Indigo Spa, 2015’s Best New US Spa and topped lists as Best Weight Loss Resort in the US.
In 2014 and 2015, Tompkins helped raise capital to build and launch a new hybrid of concierge medicine blended with spa, fitness, and nutrition in a community center at PALM Health in St. Louis, Mo.
Tompkins is a Past Chairman of the International Spa Association (ISPA) where he served on its board for seven years. He is an author or contributing author to four books on health and wellness, and is a sought-after global keynote. Considered a leading expert in his field, he has appeared on Fox Business News, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal Television, and the celebrity reality show Giuliana and Bill.
Key Takeaways:
- The consumerism surrounding aging services is going to be Paramount. This new consumer has substantially higher discretionary income and they are looking for a lifestyle that encourages wellness.
- Hospitality intersects with senior living because wealthy boomers are used to the good life and are looking for the luxury amenities found in a resort environment, along with 5-star customer service.
- The senior living industry needs a new market identity that strips the negativity surrounding a nursing home and educates prospective residents on new opportunities.
- Community-based, whole life models, where people are thriving and cohabitating intergenerationally, keep the mind and body young.
- Creating a program-driven model and marketing it properly is challenging. Facilities will have to deliver on their promises.
The newly released What Retirees Want: A Holistic View of Life’s Third Age is the culmination of decades of research by Robert Morison and world-famous “Age Wave” expert Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. Join Robert (Bob), a renowned authority on the intersection of business, technology, and people management, as he discusses highlights of the book as they relate to the senior living industry. The book is a valuable compendium of retirees opportunities and challenges--a must-read for organizations wanting to better understand retirees in order to better serve them.
About Bob
Robert Morison is the Senior Advisor with Age Wave and Lead Faculty with the International Institute for Analytics. He has worked with hundreds of major organizations across industries to help them capitalize on the business potential of information technology, business analytics, and progressive management practices. He has written or edited more than 250 research reports and management guides. And he has contributed to a variety of executive programs for Chief Information, Technology, Human Resource, and Marketing Officers, as well as senior executives generally.
He is co-author of Analytics At Work: Smarter Decisions, Better Results (Harvard Business Press, 2010), Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills And Talent (Harvard Business Press, 2006), and three Harvard Business Review articles, one of which received a McKinsey Award as best article of the year. Bob has spoken before hundreds of corporate, industry, and government groups, and has been a commentator on workforce issues on Nightly Business Report on PBS. He previously served as executive vice president and director of research with Concours Group and CSC Index, and he began his career with General Electric Information Services Company. He holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. from Boston University.
Key Takeaways:
- Baby Boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 per day and are changing the landscape of senior living. In the past decade, the focus has shifted from people adding years to their lives, towards adding life to those years.
- Working in retirement has become the new normal—7 and 10 working Boomers say they're planning to work in retirement.
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Questions for Senior Housing Operators:
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Do you know how many of your residents are in fact working?
- How many are self-employed?
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Can you provide resources for older entrepreneurs, shared affordable on-demand office space, business services like bookkeeping, a business club to share resources and milestones, or a mentor program to promote intergenerational engagement?
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Health is really the biggest wild card in retirement. It's not just a physical, it's financial.
- One of our big challenges as a society is to close the gap between healthspan and lifespan. That has to do with exercise nutrition and medical advances.
- Aging in place everyone’s stated preference as they get older and need long-term care. Senior Living facilities need to adjust their value proposition in relation to aging in place at home.
Listen to 30-year wellness and fitness veteran Glenn Colarossi discuss the merging of health and hospitality in senior living. Trends discussed include wearable health technology, functional fitness, outdoor exercise, wellness playgrounds, social cognitive programs, and much more.
About Glenn
Glenn Colarossi is a 30-year veteran of the health/wellness/spa space. As Executive Director for newly renovated Atria Stamford, CT, he offers a lifestyle of choice, with industry-leading quality standards and customized care options. Glenn uses his wellness background to promote a healthy and productive lifestyle, along with his business acumen owning and operating health and wellness properties. Atria has over 20,000 senior units throughout the United States.
Glenn has been an owner/operator and consultant to some of the best health clubs/spas in the world. Some of the more notable clubs that he has owned include The Downtown Athletic Club in Miami Florida, and the Landmark Athletic Club in Stamford Connecticut. He was engaged by Starwood Hotels to assist in the development of the WestinWORKOUT (Starwood’s branded fitness concept). Subsequently, he developed fitness brand standards for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Miraval, TDIC (Tourism Development Investment Corporation Abu Dhabi), and InterContinental Hotel Group. His client list is that of a “who’s who in quality” - Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, W, St. Regis, Fairmont, WCI, Luxury Collection, The Plaza Hotel, and Frette to name a few.
He earned a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Adelphi University and did post-graduate work at the University of Physical Culture in Moscow. He has served on the Connecticut Governor’s Council on Fitness and was an advisory board member for; ICAA (International Council on Active Aging), ACE (American Council on Exercise), ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine, Health Fitness Journal) and the Keiser Institute on Aging. He has been a presenter/panelist at prestigious events around the world, from the International Hotel Show (Rome and Venice), NYU Real Estate Investment Conference, IHRSA, Club Industry, US Real Estate Opportunity & Private Fund Investing Forum, and mini-conference for the White House Conference on Aging. He has been quoted extensively by trade publications, as well as, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is also the former President of Hospitality for Cybex (NASDAQ cybi).
Key Takeaways:
- Technology and AI will continue to drive innovation in senior living.
- Partnerships will enable implementation of mixed-use, multigenerational facilities to support the changing needs of older adults, (Atrium is partnered with progressive real estate developer The Related Companies, owner of Equinox fitness clubs and hotel.
- Wellness solutions such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy to increase cognitive function, salt therapy and IV infusions
- Senior living can take a page from hospitality—incorporating basics like an in-room TV Channel to post the daily activities and provide real-time staff and resident communication.
- Look for in-room wellness solutions like Hilton's Five Feet to Fitness to play a larger role with the new normal of Covid-19. Senior facilities must address additional challenges such as the hazard of falls.
Hello and welcome to the Glowing Older podcast, where we interview experts about innovation in senior living. I’m your host Nancy Griffin with Contento marketing—I am a 25-year veteran in the hospitality and wellness industry.
Why segue into Senior Living from the sexy world of 5-star resorts and spas, you ask? Well, it seems senior living is in my blood. My grandparents were Quakers who co-founded one of the first CCRC’s in the country—Broadmead outside of Baltimore, Maryland. My grandfather also advocated for resident’s rights by starting NaCCRA, the National Continuing Care Residents Association in the early ’90s. Today NaCCRA is a nationwide collaboration of residents and prospective residents of Continuing Care Retirement and Life Plan Communities.
Although Broadmead was truly one of the top CCRC’s in the country, spending time there told me that the place left a lot to be desired. Stuck in an institutional model, the food from the community garden never made it into the dining room – inclusive wellness programming was absent. My grandmother swam every day until the day she died, and she and my grandfather took daily walk nature, but these were isolated activities. My thoughts were, there has to be a better way.
Fast track to the year 2020—hospitality and wellness trends have infiltrated senior living in a big way. I’m seeing friends from hotels, resorts and spas bring their skill sets to new senior living facilities—with a focus on active aging and multigenerational engagement. Today there are Michelin-starred chefs serving fresh, nutrient-dense local fare, wellness suites with hydrotherapy, halotherapy, facials, and massage, as well as programming to keep the mind, body, and spirit healthy and happy. At the luxury level, wellness and hospitality are the biggest trends in senior living – what a perfect time for me to transition!
I hope you enjoy this podcast, whether you are a senior living professional, or a resident or potential resident wanting to learn about the leading edge of what’s available now, and what is to come. We all deserve the chance to Glow Older.