LeadingAge https://leadingage.org/ Thu, 03 Nov 2022 20:36:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2 https://leadingage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/LA_Favicon_0.png LeadingAge https://leadingage.org/ 32 32 Sample Job Descriptions https://leadingage.org/sample-job-descriptions/ Thu, 03 Nov 2022 20:36:17 +0000 https://leadingage.org/?p=158686 Now that you’ve seen How to Talk to Potential Employees with the top job attributes and message frames by job category, you’re ready to prepare […]

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Now that you’ve seen How to Talk to Potential Employees with the top job attributes and message frames by job category, you’re ready to prepare your recruitment communications. Take a look at these sample job descriptions for ideas on how to pull all the Opening Doors to the Aging Services Workforce guidance together!

Sample Professional Caregiver posting

Few jobs offer the opportunity to make a difference in another person’s life every day. That’s exactly what the professional caregivers at ABC Woods do. Our dedicated caregivers build strong, loving bonds with the older adults they care for, and in return they receive genuine appreciation from residents and their families. We offer these indispensable team members a stable job, with a range of benefits, including affordable health care and paid time off. Apply today! 

Sample Culinary posting

Looking to apply your creativity and personality where it can make a meaningful difference to people every day? Join the ABC Woods’ culinary team. Our talented culinary staff use their skills in a wide range of jobs that let them build strong, personal connections with our appreciative residents. The icing on the cake: we offer a stable job, with the flexibility you need, as well as a benefits package including affordable health care. We’d love to talk to you!

Sample Housekeeping posting

Looking to feel good about your work at the end of the day? Jobs in housekeeping at ABC Woods offer a chance to make a positive difference in our residents’ daily lives. Through this meaningful work, our team members form strong, caring connections with our residents. We demonstrate our respect for our essential team members with benefits including affordable health care, paid time off, and a stable job. We’d love to tell you more!

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Mike King Previews His Term https://leadingage.org/mike-king-previews-his-term/ Mon, 25 Apr 2022 14:02:53 +0000 https://leadingage.org/?p=81523 King brings more than 40 years of leadership experience in the charitable sector to the role. For the last 11 years he has been national […]

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King brings more than 40 years of leadership experience in the charitable sector to the role. For the last 11 years he has been national president and CEO of Volunteers of America, one of America’s oldest and largest human service nonprofits – and one of the country’s largest providers of affordable housing for older adults. He has been a major advocate on Capitol Hill and throughout Washington, DC, where his work has focused on the preservation of federal funding and other resources that support vulnerable populations. He has served on the LeadingAge Board of Directors since 2015. He also sits on the executive committee of Leadership 18, an alliance of the nation’s largest charities and nonprofits.

Learn more about the LeadingAge Board of Directors for 2022.

 

 

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Stay Alert to Cybersecurity this Holiday https://leadingage.org/stay-alert-to-cybersecurity-this-holiday/ Fri, 10 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://35.232.102.50/2021/12/10/stay-alert-to-cybersecurity-this-holiday/ Now is the time to remain vigilant on cybersecurity, with a holiday alert posted.  This month, we also share interesting research on barriers that LeadingAge […]

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Now is the time to remain vigilant on cybersecurity, with a holiday alert posted.  This month, we also share interesting research on barriers that LeadingAge affordable housing providers face in providing internet access, automated remote monitoring that reduced COVID deaths, and smartphone apps that are helping people who have dementia. Learn about an innovative hybrid model serving residents and staff, plus insight on how to bundle services.

Cybersecurity Remains Critical

Please keep cybersecurity as a top priority, in light of two ransomware attacks on Episcopal Retirement Services and a recent alert from BlueOrange Compliance, a LeadingAge Bronze Partner with CAST Focus. Be sure to read this special article with holiday alert info and CAST cybersecurity resources.

Internet in Affordable Housing

The most recent LeadingAge quarterly survey of affordable housing members clearly shows that these members do not have the resources to provide needed building-wide internet, citing the costs of installing, upgrading, and equipment as major barriers. 

At over 75% of affordable housing communities, residents privately pay for their own internet access. Only 23.02% of properties pay for internet in residents’ apartments, and only in another 13.49% of communities do providers offer services to residents at a reduced price. Resident well-being is the top reason that providers think internet access is important (85% of respondents), with 61% choosing telehealth access. Survey results also revealed that while vaccination rates are up, residents’ mental health is a key concern. 

LeadingAge CAST is working with the LeadingAge Policy Team on advocating for broadband in affordable housing. We are currently developing a guide to help members address the issue and will be releasing our Broadband in Affordable Housing Technology Guide in early 2022.

RPM Technology Reduces COVID Deaths 

Check out results of a recent study that found automated remote monitoring messages reduced COVID-19 deaths. Then access the CAST Telehealth and RPM Selection Tool to help you choose the best remote monitoring solutions for your organization.

New Hybrid Care Model Melds Connectedness and Staffing Help

Meet the JayPad tablets and apps connecting older adults and staff in an innovative hybrid partnership. HealthJay, a 2021 Associate Business Partner with CAST Focus, is a LeadingAge Member Solutions partner, one of many offering third-party discounts to LeadingAge members.

Smartphone Apps Can Aid Older Adults with Mild Dementia 

Check out intriguing new research that suggests smartphone technologies can serve as memory aids for older adults with mild dementia.

Benefits of Bundling Services

A recent interview with LeadingAge member Graceworks Lutheran Services provides insight on how to bundle internet and entertainment services—and gain acceptance from residents.

CAST Members in the News

Please join me in congratulating your colleagues who are in the news for acquisitions, alliances, awards, and funding. 

Contact Me

I would like to close by wishing you, your families, communities, staff, and residents, a Happy, and Healthy Holiday Season, and my Best Hopes for the New Year. As always, if you have news to share with CAST or if I can be of assistance in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

 

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The Bright Spots of 2021 https://leadingage.org/the-bright-spots-of-2021/ Tue, 07 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://35.232.102.50/2021/12/07/the-bright-spots-of-2021/ We probably consult more lists during the month of December than at any other time of the year. There are guest lists and grocery lists […]

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We probably consult more lists during the month of December than at any other time of the year. There are guest lists and grocery lists for holiday gatherings, lists of ideas for holiday gift-giving, and, of course, that all-important list of New Year’s resolutions that helps us close out the old year and ring in the new one.

I compile all of these lists every December, but I particularly enjoy consulting published lists of the most memorable events and achievements of the past year—particularly the highlights that pundits believe will come to define the previous 365 days. These lists often spur me to write my own list of the year’s bright spots—a fulfilling practice that combines equal portions of nostalgia and gratitude.

Sadly, though, this practice has been understandably difficult in 2021, as it was in 2020.

The sadness, anger, frustration, and plain exhaustion that have punctuated these past 24 months have made it far too easy to focus on the darkness we’ve experienced, and to ignore the bright spots that peeked through that darkness.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to define 2021’s bright spots. In fact, it means we must try even harder to quantify the joy and wonder we felt; the triumphs, however small, that we achieved in the face of sometimes-overwhelming odds; and the grit and determination that seemed to make things better and gave us hope for the future.

During this busy holiday season, I hope you can find some time to sit down in a quiet place and write your own list of the “Bright Spots of 2021.” I’m sure the COVID-19 vaccines will top your list, as they do mine. My list also contains five bright spots that I believe will come to define 2021 for LeadingAge.

What makes these initiatives so bright in my view? They were intentionally designed to address key needs in our field and to help members strengthen their organizations as we emerge—hopefully soon—from our current health crisis. They include the following:

  • We launched the Opening Doors to Aging Services campaign to promote the value of the services and supports LeadingAge members provide. It felt great to take proactive steps to define our sector, rather than letting others, including the media, do that for us.
  • We made a good start in our quest to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the field of aging services. We developed resources to help members plan and implement DEI activities, welcomed students of color into our Summer Enrichment Program, and began working with UNCF to attract graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities to leadership positions in our field.
  • We developed a vision for professionalizing our caregiving workforce. That vision calls for expanding the caregiver pipeline, enhancing training and education, facilitating career advancement, increasing compensation, preparing universal workers, and reforming the LTSS financing system.
  • With the help of members, we raised our voices in support of myriad policy reforms at the federal level, such as increasing the supply of affordable senior housing, providing COVID relief funds and support to our members, and strengthening the aging services workforce. Our 100 Days of Advocacy campaign culminated with our largest-ever Virtual Lobby Day, when 400 LeadingAge members held 302 virtual meetings with congressional offices.
  • We began work on a collection of governance resources to help member organizations strengthen their boards. Strong boards are the key to our success. We must give those boards the tools they need to help us navigate to our preferred future.

No list of 2021 Bright Spots would be complete without a nod to our members, who truly are our most important asset. After being separated for most of 2020, we felt blessed to gather with members in person at the Annual Meeting in Atlanta, and during numerous virtual gatherings, advisory group meetings, and workgroup sessions held on Zoom throughout the year.

This kind of engagement strengthens LeadingAge and every member organization. It makes it possible for us to work together to address important governance, diversity, leadership, and policy issues. And it would not be possible without you.

Thank you for your involvement in LeadingAge. I look forward to working with you to create many more bright spots in the coming year.

 

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Thanksgiving 2021: Reverence, Awe, and Change https://leadingage.org/thanksgiving-2021-reverence-awe-and-change/ Mon, 22 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://35.232.102.50/2021/11/22/thanksgiving-2021-reverence-awe-and-change/ Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter … those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world. English poet […]

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Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter … those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.

English poet and intellectual John Milton surely wasn’t thinking about our national holiday of Thanksgiving when he wrote these words in the mid-17th century. And I know for a fact that he wasn’t referring specifically to the field of aging services.

But Milton’s often-quoted musings on gratitude—a virtue we practice in a very special way this week—seems quite fitting both for our upcoming holiday and for our field.

As we enter this holiday season, I’m feeling a tremendous amount of gratitude. And that gratitude has bestowed on me strong feelings of reverence and awe—and an overwhelming certainty that the events of the last 20 months have changed forever how I experience life and the world.

On this Thanksgiving 2021, I’m feeling a renewed reverence for the mission of LeadingAge and its members—and a particular reverence for the passion with which our members pursue their missions, no matter what challenging circumstances they encounter.

Since LeadingAge was founded in 1961, our members have viewed dedication to mission as their defining characteristic. During this pandemic, the missions of LeadingAge members have truly been tested. But members’ passion for their missions survived. Indeed, that passion, and those missions, got members through the storm. I’m so grateful for that.

On this Thanksgiving 2021, I’m feeling an overwhelming sense of awe as I think back on the last 20 months. I am in awe of the research, many years in the making, that allowed scientists to develop highly effective vaccines in record time, saving so many lives in the process.

I’m in awe of the team members at every single LeadingAge member community, who literally put their lives on the line each day—simply by coming to work. We depended on them. Our residents and clients and their families depended on them. And they didn’t let us down.

That took courage, it took dedication, it took love for the people we serve. If that’s not awe-inspiring, I don’t know what is. I am so grateful to know that we have such amazing caregivers on our teams.

Just as Milton suggested, these feelings of gratitude, reverence, and awe have forever changed how I view our field—because our field has been changed forever.

Whenever I speak with a LeadingAge provider, I invariably walk away with a story about an innovation that their organization has implemented over the past 20 months. Responding to an unprecedented health emergency demanded innovative thinking—and our members rose to that challenge. They pivoted. They thought creatively. They took risks. They tried new things.

On this Thanksgiving 2021, I’m grateful for that innovative spirit. I have no doubt that those innovations, both large and small, will have a lasting impact on the quality of care and quality of life that older adults receive from aging services organizations for many years to come.

This gives me great hope for our future.

And for that, my friends, I am most grateful.

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Top 3 Tech Tools of Nation’s Largest Providers https://leadingage.org/top-3-tech-tools-of-nations-largest-providers/ Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://35.232.102.50/2021/11/11/top-3-tech-tools-of-nations-largest-providers/ It was great to see many friends in Atlanta last month, and to have an in-person CAST Commission Meeting!  Missed the LeadingAge Annual Meeting + […]

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It was great to see many friends in Atlanta last month, and to have an in-person CAST Commission Meeting!  Missed the LeadingAge Annual Meeting + EXPO? You can still access some of the content. This month we released the LeadingAge Ziegler 200, revealing the top tech tools in the nation’s largest 200 not-for-profit senior living organizations. We also review research on telehealth in nursing homes and tech challenges in affordable housing. Virtual reality, robots, and telewellness class resources round out the news. Read on!

LZ 200 Finds Telehealth and Data Analytics on the Rise

The just-released results of the LeadingAge Ziegler 200, which shares data from the nation’s largest 200 not-for-profit senior living providers, clearly show the impact of COVID-19. The pandemic has significantly driven adoption of telehealth, social connectedness and engagement technologies, and pandemic specific applications, like staff/ resident screening and infection control technology. In addition, COVID-19 may have also propelled different modalities of participation in health information exchange with other care partners. See these as well as other key tech adoption trends in the LZ 200 highlights.

New Research: Pros and Cons of Telehealth in Nursing Homes

Telehealth, which has recently enjoyed broader adoption and use, definitely has pros, but may also have cons. Review this recent research on telehealth in nursing homes, specifically, to help you decide when telehealth is the right choice for your residents and staff.

Study Recommends Free Wi-Fi in Affordable Housing

A recent study pinpointed the challenges of video calls. See why study authors named putting free resident Wi-Fi in government-run affordable housing properties as their top priority.

Virtual Reality Could Be Therapeutic

Consider using virtual reality as a therapeutic tool to give older adults a temporary and safe break from their senior living facility.  

LeadingAge Member Hires Robot

Meet LeadingAge member Longhorn Village, who has recently puts robots on the job to help address worker shortages.

How to Build a Telewellness Class

A new step-by-step telewellness guide can help you create a telewellness class. The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technologies to Support Aging-in-Place for People with Long-Term Disabilities (RERC TechSAge) developed this guide. I serve on the center’s advisory board and am proud to share this resource that I hope many of you would find helpful.

CAST Members Make News

Please join me in congratulating CAST members in the news for new tech solutions, partnerships, thought leadership, and honors.

Contact Me

If you have news to share with CAST or if I can be of assistance in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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What I Learned about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Atlanta https://leadingage.org/what-i-learned-about-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-atlanta/ Tue, 09 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://35.232.102.50/2021/11/09/what-i-learned-about-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-atlanta/ The pressing need for greater attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the aging services sector was on full display at the LeadingAge Annual […]

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The pressing need for greater attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the aging services sector was on full display at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting + EXPO in Atlanta. Our agenda addressed that need with a slate of fruitful DEI presentations, discussions, and networking events. But a disturbing racist confrontation by one member toward another reinforced just how far we have to go.

Let me address the incident first. As you may have heard, one of our members left the conference early after an inappropriate racist comment directed at him made him feel unsafe.

I unequivocally condemn this toxic incident.

Personally, I found it heartbreaking. Like others, including many LeadingAge members and staff, I was dismayed, disappointed, and angry that something like this took place at a LeadingAge event. This is not who we are.

What happened was unacceptable, and I want to learn from it. As a white leader in the field of aging services, I know I must find ways to address this incident—while also moving forward, credibly and authentically, in meeting LeadingAge’s strategic goal to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion across the continuum of aging services.

What happened in Atlanta does not invalidate our DEI work. Rather, I believe it underscores how important that work is. We must ensure that everyone in the LeadingAge community feels safe and respected, and that incidents like this never happen again. As we strive for diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community and across the field, we need decisive action.

Our action must be focused on fostering dialogue, building understanding, changing cultures, amplifying others’ humanity, finding ways to recognize and eliminate racism, and holding a mirror up to ourselves to recognize the biases and attitudes we may hold.

Our action must be based on a belief that diversity—plus inclusion—is a moral imperative, and that it also creates a strategic advantage for our sector. Research shows that diversity and inclusion in the workplace can lead to increased revenue, reduced costs, greater innovation, and improved employee engagement, productivity, and commitment.

Acting to advance DEI goals is in our collective best interest. But before we act, we must listen. I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of listening in the past two weeks, and I plan to do more in the weeks ahead.

I listened to a young woman of color from a prominent state university. The student was scheduled to describe her experience in the LeadingAge Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) during a conference meeting of LeadingAge members who lead large, multisite aging services organizations. But after looking around the room, the SEP intern abandoned her script and addressed the fact that, as a woman of color, she looked completely different from the assembled leaders, who were predominately white. Her message? If you’re going to attract people like her to the LTSS field, you need to do a better job of diversifying your leadership.

I listened to Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, the esteemed president of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, who told CEOs that we must all work with intentionality to help more people of color move into our field and up our career ladders. Dr. Hrabowski urged us, for the good of our sector, to provide more internships to college students of color, introduce those students to mentors and champions, offer employees of color a clear pathway to success in our organizations, support them along that path, and document their successes so others will follow in their footsteps.

I listened to leaders of color within our membership, who were brutally honest about the difficulties they faced as they climbed their own career ladders. During interviews with researchers from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, these LeadingAge members described the pain of being unable to be their authentic selves at work, feeling pressured to constantly prove themselves, and being subjected to microaggressions from co-workers. Yet, the leaders also expressed a strong commitment to our field and described the enjoyment they derive from working for mission-driven organizations.

I listened to educators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) who participated with LeadingAge providers and representatives of UNCF in launching our new HBCUs-LTSS Careers Initiative. That initiative is designed to improve racial and ethnic diversity in the LTSS career pipeline, with a focus on mid-level and senior-level positions.

What did I learn from these and many other conversations? Promoting DEI in aging services is a complicated, multi-layered endeavor that must take many forms and involve a variety of stakeholders. Promoting DEI involves listening to one another, diversifying our leadership, professionalizing our direct care workforce, expanding the diversity of our boards, changing our recruitment processes, recognizing and eliminating our biases, improving our training programs, and so much more.

LeadingAge has taken some steps in many of these areas— and bigger, bolder steps must follow. We are committed to making that happen.

We also know we cannot do it alone. It will take all of us, walking hand-in-hand, to bring about meaningful and permanent change as we promote equality and justice in our field. I hope you will join us in this critical mission.

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We’re Still in the Legislative Chess Game https://leadingage.org/were-still-in-the-legislative-chess-game/ Fri, 22 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://35.232.102.50/2021/10/22/were-still-in-the-legislative-chess-game/ If you’ve been watching the television news lately, you’re probably a bit confused about what’s happening on Capitol Hill. It’s called legislating. But it reminds […]

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If you’ve been watching the television news lately, you’re probably a bit confused about what’s happening on Capitol Hill.

It’s called legislating. But it reminds me of a fast-moving chess game.

In this game, the stakes are extremely high—and could impact the well-being of America’s aging population for many years to come.

The chess board is what started out as a $3.5 trillion legislative package that lawmakers crafted to enact President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.

The chess pieces are an impressive collection of investments in a variety of initiatives, including initiatives that promise to provide older adults with the housing and supports they so desperately need. These investments would increase access to home and community-based services and affordable housing, build the capacity of Medicaid to increase wages and quality in nursing homes, launch workforce creation and opportunity programs, and expand allied health professions training grants.

Other chess pieces include investments to address climate change, provide universal pre-K, give working families access to childcare, increase access to higher education, and meet other pressing needs.

The size of the legislative package has been controversial, to say the least. So, lawmakers are negotiating the reduction of the $3.5 trillion price tag so the package can receive the support needed to pass both chambers of Congress.

Like any high-stakes chess game, strategy will rule the day. And, also like a good chess game, that strategy won’t be fully revealed until the very end.

Will lawmakers decide to lower the package’s price tag by cutting out all but a few programs? Will they trim every program so each worthwhile initiative gets a smaller allocation? Or will they fiddle with the duration of funding—making a generous investment in every initiative but authorizing funding for only a few years?

Right this minute, lawmakers are grappling with these questions, discussing all options, and, hopefully, finding a middle ground. In the end, they’ll make difficult decisions about important issues that impact all of us.

As we wait for the outcome, there are three things to keep in mind:

First, this is a historic package. The package now being discussed on Capitol Hill has already received strong support from a large number of lawmakers who decided to invest generously in addressing the needs of older adults because they believe older adults need—and deserve—that investment.

This is an unprecedented action, and it would represent a tremendous victory for older adults and LeadingAge members.

Second, we probably won’t get everything we want from the final package. But even a reduced investment in affordable housing, home and community-based services, nursing homes, and workforce will still be a great accomplishment and will do much good.

Just as important, the legislative process has already given us an opportunity to begin important conversations on Capitol Hill about our nation’s growing older population, and its growing need for high-quality and affordable housing, services, and supports. Legislators are finally listening. Whatever happens in the next few weeks can never erase that accomplishment. You can be assured that LeadingAge will be relentless in our advocacy and will continue working to ensure our key legislative priorities become reality.

Third, the chess game isn’t over and we’re still in it. We’re working hard to get this legislative package across the finish line with as much funding for older Americans as Congress can muster. But we can’t do it without you. We have one more opportunity to make our voices heard—but we must raise those voices in the next few days.

LeadingAge members are a crucial part of our advocacy efforts in Washington. Hearing from constituents like you at this critical moment in history will make a big difference.

Our easy-to-use action center can help you contact your congressional offices in minutes. I urge you to take the time, right now, to help us make the case for a meaningful federal investment in the important work you do. And please ask your residents and clients and their families to do the same.

 

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Don’t Miss Key Tech Tips for Recovery, Oct. 24-27 https://leadingage.org/dont-miss-key-tech-tips-for-recovery-oct-24-27/ Mon, 11 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://35.232.102.50/2021/10/11/dont-miss-key-tech-tips-for-recovery-oct-24-27/ Don’t miss the LeadingAge CAST Annual Meeting + EXPO and its invaluable Aging Services Technologies track and technology huddles, starting Oct. 24 in Atlanta.   […]

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Don’t miss the LeadingAge CAST Annual Meeting + EXPO and its invaluable Aging Services Technologies track and technology huddles, starting Oct. 24 in Atlanta.

 

This month in Tech Time, CAST reveals its updated Telehealth and RPM Selection Tool. We also review the power of tech as a staff recruiting tool, the tech types seeing the most investment from senior living, pandemic recovery challenges, new Amazon technologies, and CAST member news.

Last Chance: Register for LeadingAge Annual Meeting + EXPO

Don’t miss your chance to attend the LeadingAge Annual Meeting + EXPO, Oct. 24-27, 2021, in Atlanta. This year, we are networking during daily technology huddles where you can brainstorm with colleagues on resident technology and infrastructure. 

The technology huddles complement our invaluable Aging Services Technologies Track sessions and unmatched networking opportunities. Attend to learn from others how to bolster your technology and help your organization recover from the pandemic. Register today!

Reduce Hospitalizations with Updated CAST Telehealth Tool

Be sure to use our newly updated CAST Telehealth and RPM Selection Tool if you are choosing telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) technologies for your organization. In addition to updated product information, it includes a new case study on integrated virtual care. See a summary of the tool’s updates.

Tech Can Be a Market Differentiator to Attract Staff

Are you using technology to attract staff? Millennials in particular may be more open to working for organizations that use current tech solutions, as I discussed at a recent Information Technology in Aged Care (ITAC) International Forum.

Resident Engagement Leads Tech Investment

Check out the results from a new tech and pandemic recovery survey, which shows where senior living organizations are focusing their tech dollars and which challenges they face.

Report Predicts Longevity of Telehealth and Sales Tech

Learn which issues a state of the industry report named as headwinds for senior living during pandemic recovery and how technology can help.

Amazon Offers New Innovations for Senior Care

See how Amazon’s new technologies can serve older adults: its home assistant robot, Astro, and subscription service for family care teams, Alexa Together.

CAST Member News

Join me in congratulating LeadingAge CAST members in the news honored for their telehealth awareness, thought leadership, and innovative new products.

Contact Me

If you have news to share with CAST or if I can be of assistance in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

 

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Increasing Diversity One Intern at a Time https://leadingage.org/increasing-diversity-one-intern-at-a-time/ Mon, 04 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 http://35.232.102.50/2021/10/04/increasing-diversity-one-intern-at-a-time/ About a year ago, while social unrest continued to rock our nation, I reflected on how easy it is to feel paralyzed as we face […]

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About a year ago, while social unrest continued to rock our nation, I reflected on how easy it is to feel paralyzed as we face the hard truths about systemic racism in America. After all, I wondered aloud, what can one person or one organization do to reverse the social injustice that has permeated American culture for hundreds of years?

Turns out there is something we can all do.

To address the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement, LeadingAge last year decided to take several steps aimed at increasing diversity in the field of aging services by helping members increase diversity within their organizations, especially within their senior leadership teams.

One of those steps involved launching the LeadingAge Summer Enrichment Program. The 10-week program invites undergraduate and graduate students of color to become interns at participating LeadingAge member organizations. The interns complete a substantive project, work with mentors to hone their leadership skills, and take part in a variety of leadership development activities.

Twenty-eight interns completed our 2021 Summer Enrichment Program. A recent evaluation of the program by the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston suggests that it was a resounding success.

The LTSS Center evaluation contains impressive testimonials indicating that the Summer Enrichment Program was a very positive experience for interns. That was good to know, of course, but the answers I received to three specific questions were even more important to me:

What did interns learn? In addition to networking and communication skills, interns said they gained a better understanding of aging services and the issues facing older adults. That’s what I wanted to hear. Clearly, providing an on-the-ground introduction to our field is a great first step in recruiting more diverse talent to our organizations.

How did interns change? LTSS Center researchers found that the Summer Enrichment Program changed interns’ perceptions of working in our field. Most interns reported that, as a result of their summer experience, they were now interested in pursuing a career in our sector. Interns expressed an interest in becoming senior leaders in nursing homes, senior living communities, or corporate offices. This finding is a win for all of us.

What made students of color choose our internship program? Interestingly, students of color did not start out looking for an internship specifically geared toward older adults. They applied to our program because they saw it as an opportunity to diversify their experience, help vulnerable populations, and promote the inclusion of students of color.

Most interesting to me? The students’ choice of an internship in aging services was influenced by “trusted others,” including professors, school speakers, and family members. This tells me that we must reach out to these influencers as we try to recruit new and diverse talent to our field.

The Summer Enrichment Program is off to a great start. But will interns actually pursue careers in our field? Early evidence seems to point in that direction. I know of two 2021 Summer Enrichment Program participants who have already accepted full-time positions with LeadingAge member organizations. I’m confident more interns will follow in their footsteps.

It’s good to know that the LeadingAge Summer Enrichment Program is having an impact. Now, it’s up to all of us to ensure that the program’s impact will grow with each passing year. I hope you’ll consider joining us in this worthwhile endeavor by participating in the 2022 Summer Enrichment Program, which is currently recruiting LeadingAge members to host next year’s class of interns.

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