Culture Change ECHO | Presentation details and speaker bios
How to improve physical design on a limited budget
September 13, 2023
1-2:30 p.m. EST
In this brief didactic presentation, Dr. Power will review ways in which physical design can help in your culture change journey, and ways in which it may fall short. He will highlight the important link between physical design and operations, and will use the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of the importance of each, especially when thoughtfully combined. The presentation will end with a brief description of an environmental tool available from the RIA and the results of its evaluation, including the many low-cost opportunities that were discovered to improve the environment.
Dr. Allen Power
Dr. Allen Power is an internist, geriatrician, and Schlegel Chair in Aging and Dementia Innovation at the Schlegel—University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging in Ontario, Canada. He is also clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Rochester, NY, and an internationally recognized educator on transformational models of care for older adults, particularly those living with changing cognitive abilities.
Dr. Power’s book, Dementia beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care was named a 2010 Book of the Year by the American Journal of Nursing. His second book, Dementia Beyond Disease: Enhancing Well-Being was released by Health Professions Press in 2014 and the second edition of Dementia Beyond Drugs was released in 2017.
Dr. Power is also a trained musician and songwriter with four recordings. Peter, Paul and Mary performed his song of elder autonomy, “If You Don’t Mind”, and Walter Cronkite used his song, “I’ll Love You Forever” in a 1995 Discovery Channel profile of American families. He also recently co-write the songs for singer/songwriter Anne Hills’ 2021 album, Accidental August, and their song, “Witness” was composed for the 2022 Pioneer/Green House conference.
Dr. Power is currently working with Dr. Jennifer Carson and Pat Sprigg on a new book about creating inclusive communities for people living with dementia.
The Six Cs of Culture Change: Reflecting on the Process for a Positive, Effective, and Sustainable Journey
October 25, 2023
1-2:30 p.m. EST
Culture change is not a discrete program that is expertly and uniformly implemented from the top-down, nor is it a quality improvement effort built on the shoulders of a single leader, or even a small and fixed group of enthusiastic champions who manage the whole process. Instead, culture change is a highly collaborative, deeply communicative, capacity-building, community-driven process that produces different outcomes at different times in different places, because every long-term care community is wonderfully unique. The process of culture change must include efforts to directly and supportively engage, educate, and organize residents, family and employee care partners in directing their own change efforts within their own communities. Such a process fosters active citizenship and produces not just buy-in, but co-ownership.
Jennifer Carson, PhD
Jennifer Carson, PhD, is a Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Dementia Engagement, Education, and Research (DEER) Program in School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno. Jennifer’s career and scholarship encompass gerontology, dementia, long-term care, and culture change. With 35 years of professional experience, Jennifer has a strong commitment to partnerships and participatory approaches to research and practice, and works to improve the inclusion and well-being of people living with dementia and care partners. Jennifer is also Director of Dementia Friendly Nevada, an Executive Board Member of the Dementia Action Alliance, and a volunteer trainer for the International Association for Indigenous Aging.
Citizenship Model
November 29, 2023
1-2:30 p.m. EST
Culture change in senior living requires us to move towards social models of living and person-centred practices, where the voices of older adults and their care partners are considered and respected. It means embracing a holistic approach that in addition to addressing medical needs, supports aspects of life that bring joy, meaning, and purpose.
In this Culture Change ECHO session, Dan Levitt will speak about the emerging Citizenship Model. This model goes beyond the social model of living in senior care settings and aims to support residents to exercise autonomy and authorship in any decisions impacting their health and wellbeing.
Dan Levitt
Dan Levitt is an acclaimed international speaker, elder care leader, writer, and gerontologist, specializing in helping others to create better lives for seniors. Dan’s purpose is to teach people how to transform the lives of older adults across the globe. As a popular professional speaker, he has delivered inspiring keynote speeches impacting thousands of people on four continents. Dan doesn’t tell people where to go but guides them in the direction of where they need to go. His talks leave the audience with a new mindset on aging needed to thrive in the 21st century.
As the Chief Executive Officer of Kin Village, Dan Levitt shepherds the enhancement of housing, social, and care needs for more than 300 older persons living onsite and thousands of community members with community based programs, inspiring a team of over 400 employees and volunteers with a commitment to continuously improving the quality of life.
Dan is an Adjunct Professor in Gerontology at Simon Fraser University an Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia and a Sessional Instructor, British Columbia Institute of Technology. He also is a Surveyor for Accreditation Canada and serves on the Board of Directors for CommonAge and the International Federation of Ageing.
Dan’s adventure exploits have taken him from Africa’s highest peak Mt. Kilimanjaro to the Caribbean Sea’s coral reefs, from canoeing across the Yukon to racing in the six World Marathon Majors.