Carrie Chiusano

Executive Director, Dementia Center
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
Oakmont, PA
  • 6-F. Harnessing Technology to Bring Joy to Dementia Care

    • Monday, October 28, 2024

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    6-F. Harnessing Technology to Bring Joy to Dementia Care

    Personalized engagement technology can help providers of aging services create moments of joy, connection, and stimulation for individuals living with dementia. This session will introduce you to a variety of dementia-friendly technologies, including resident engagement systems, robotic animals, virtual reality, and exergames. An aging services provider, neuroscientist, and technology vendor will share scientific research exploring the pivotal role these technologies can play in improving quality of life, mood, engagement, and frustration levels among people with dementia. Presenters will offer practical strategies to help you select and implement engagement technologies, measure success, and address problems as they arise.

Richard Cho

Senior Advisor
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Washington, DC

Megan Christopher

AVP, Sales & Service
UST
Oxnard, CA
  • 128-G. Winning Strategies to Lower Unemployment Expenses

    • Tuesday, October 29, 2024

    8:15 – 9:15 a.m.

    128-G. Winning Strategies to Lower Unemployment Expenses

    How can your nonprofit organization adopt cost-saving strategies that streamline Human Resources processes, ensure regulatory compliance, and create operational efficiencies, all while mitigating risk and lowering costs? This session can help answer that question. Join representatives from UST to explore different unemployment funding options, including a little-known federal exemption, that can help 501(c)3 organizations lower their unemployment expenses. Hear a success story from a LeadingAge member who used these options to save money and time while strengthening its organization.

Adam Cige

Project Success Manager
Intuition Robotics/ElliQ
Palo Alto, CA
  • 107-E. Combatting Social Isolation in Your Community

    • Monday, October 28, 2024

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    107-E. Combatting Social Isolation in Your Community

    Senior living communities work hard to create opportunities for residents to connect socially while receiving the supportive services they need. However, some residents experience social isolation as they struggle to transition into senior living. This session will share best practices to improve resident engagement. Presenters will discuss the need to assess residents regularly for social isolation and to marshal the tools needed to help those residents engage with the community. They will introduce technologies including social companion robots, that can help identify those in need of therapeutic counseling and supplement the delivery of in-person services. These interventions can improve the well-being of residents at risk for social isolation, alleviate loneliness, and even motivate residents to pursue behaviors that improve their well-being.

Alex Clark

Founder & Consultant
Turnlane
  • 51-L. Prepare for Your Organization’s Next Executive Transition

    • Wednesday, October 30, 2024

    11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

    51-L. Prepare for Your Organization’s Next Executive Transition

    Research shows that organizations with comprehensive executive transition plans are more likely to achieve organizational goals, while those neglecting such planning often find themselves navigating instability and other challenges. This session will explore intentional and proactive approaches to transition planning for boards of directors and executive leaders. Participants will learn how to foster transition readiness in their organizations and optimize the chances for a successful leadership changeover. Come prepared to shift your mindset from viewing transition planning as an obligation to embracing it as a transformative process that could propel your organization toward growth, development, and sustained impact.

Jaime Cobb Tinsley

V.P. Dementia & Caregiver Education
James L. West Center for Dementia Care
Fort Worth, TX
  • 115-K. Trauma-Informed Memory Care

    • Wednesday, October 30, 2024

    9:30 – 10:30 a.m.

    115-K. Trauma-Informed Memory Care

    Trauma can occur at any time in our lives, but we respond to it differently as we age. That response is often more complicated for a person living with dementia, who may struggle with trauma from their past while trying to navigate an unknown future. This session will show you how to recognize trauma in people living with dementia, help these individuals heal, and prevent re-traumatization. A Montessori dementia care professional and a licensed counselor will introduce you to trauma-informed care and explore how you can build a team to provide this care in your organization. You’ll also learn how to conduct effective support groups for people in the earliest stages of dementia and their family members.

Scott Code

Vice President, CAST
LeadingAge
Washington, DC
  • 8-G. Advancing Aging Services: Embracing Generative AI and Large Language Models

    • Tuesday, October 29, 2024

    8:15 – 9:15 a.m.

    8-G. Advancing Aging Services: Embracing Generative AI and Large Language Models

    Two out of five nonprofit executives responding to a recent Google survey admitted their organizations were not currently using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, even though they felt optimistic about the role these technologies could play in their organizations. What’s holding these executives back? They are simply unfamiliar with rapidly evolving technologies like Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLM). If a lack of familiarity keeps you from exploring AI, this session is for you. Presenters will share practical examples of how aging services organizations use AI and LLMs to increase administrative efficiency, streamline communications, enhance the resident experience, and support the workforce.

  • 123-E. Lessons from California’s Data Exchange Framework

    • Monday, October 28, 2024

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    123-E. Lessons from California’s Data Exchange Framework

    The California Data Exchange Framework (DxF) promotes the secure and real-time exchange of health and social service information. California skilled nursing facilities and Programs for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) must participate in the framework, while other providers are strongly encouraged to do so. This session will share the experiences of LeadingAge California members participating in the DxF. Presenters will use those experiences to illustrate the care coordination-related benefits of the DxF, review technology and policy lessons learned in California that apply to LeadingAge members in other states, and offer advocacy advice to members who anticipate their states may soon develop similar frameworks.

Chris Coelho

Interim Executive Director
Abe’s Garden
Nashville, TN
  • 110-G. Boosting Engagement and Reducing Medications in Memory Care

    • Tuesday, October 29, 2024

    8:15 – 9:15 a.m.

    110-G. Boosting Engagement and Reducing Medications in Memory Care

    I’m Still Hereu00ae uses research-based, non-pharmacologic approaches to treat the agitation, aggression, apathy, and anxiety that individuals living with dementia often experience. The new approach combines meaningful activities, specialized communication techniques, and an enriched environment to provide engagement, choice, and true purpose regardless of the level of a person’s cognitive challenge. This session will explore how Abe’s Garden Community in Nashville, TN, is implementing the I’m Still Hereu00ae approach. Presenters will use case studies to demonstrate how you can use engagement, in concert with clinical best practices, to decrease the need for medications and improve the quality of life for residents who live in a memory support community.

Judy Collett-Miller

Director of Business Development
Parker Health Group, Inc.
Highland Park, NJ
  • 101-A. Health & Wellness Programming in Affordable Housing

    • Sunday, October 27, 2024

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    101-A. Health & Wellness Programming in Affordable Housing

    Residents of subsidized senior housing communities are at high risk for poor health outcomes and functional challenges due to their low incomes, advanced ages, and racial and ethnic diversity. This session will present an alternative. Presenters will share research showing that health and wellness programming activities in affordable housing communities can improve quality of life and enhance the ability of residents to perform activities of daily living. Representatives from three LeadingAge provider organizations will offer an overview of affordable housing-based programs that connect residents with education, technology, programming, and community resources. Presenters will provide guidance on program startup, implementation, and performance tracking and explore how to ensure that program models meet specific community needs.

Donnalee Corrieri

Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
New Bridge Medical Center
Paramus, NJ
  • 36-J. Pursuing Health Equity for Community-Dwelling Older Adults

    • Wednesday, October 30, 2024

    8:00 – 9:00 a.m.

    36-J. Pursuing Health Equity for Community-Dwelling Older Adults

    Representatives of three New Jersey-based aging services organizations will be on hand during this session to describe their participation in a regional collaborative that addresses inequities that community-dwelling older adults encounter when accessing preventive and primary care. Presenters will describe the Leaders in Equity and Diversity collaborative and share its successes, lessons learned, pitfalls encountered, and plans to enhance and expand its efforts to identify and address social factors that affect health. Learn how to partner with community-based organizations to combat inequities, identify barriers presented by the social determinants of health, and address unmet needs for care and services among community-dwelling older adults.

Linda Couch

Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy
LeadingAge
Washington, DC

John Couture

Chief Optimization Officer
Sun Health
Surprise, AZ
  • 49-J. You Can Create an Inspiring and Impactful Strategic Plan

    • Wednesday, October 30, 2024

    8:00 – 9:00 a.m.

    49-J. You Can Create an Inspiring and Impactful Strategic Plan

    An organization’s strategic plan typically provides an inspiring picture of the future, but after completion, it is frequently set aside with little or no follow-through. This session will present an alternative. Representatives of Sun Health in Surprise, AZ, will describe how their board of directors created an inspiring and impactful strategic plan that challenges the Sun Health team to move the organization into the future. Presenters will share their design for a repeatable, effective strategic planning process that educates key stakeholders and follows a methodology for translating the plan into actionable, trackable goals. You’ll take home tips for developing a creative vision and strategy for your organization.