April 19, 2019: Sparking a new Culture of Self-Directed Learning at Work
Guest: LaVrene Norton, Founder Action Pact

Really – who in their work wants to be told what to do? To be handed an ‘assignment sheet’ with your tasks lifelessly written out for you? No time for thought. No time for talk about your own creative insights. There’s a better way, and it’s all about new opportunities for learning. Everyone likes to learn, and the internet has made learning more accessible now than ever before. Discovery excites us and we reach for more – through inquiry we initiate learning. We make friends with online dictionaries, Wikipedia, and Google. And who among us hasn’t used YouTube to learn how to change the oil in our car, measure for kitchen cabinets, bake yeast bread, or coach our child how to calculate the area of a trapezoid?

We relax by playing online games and puzzles that teach us to look in all the corners, watch for opportunities, and calculate dangers. As we become increasingly knowledgeable and competent, we relish working in a warm, open environment that offers online learning, nurtures self-direction and critical thinking, and rewards new skills.

April 30, 2019: A Blueprint to Achieve Continuous Quality Improvement in Long-Term Care
Location: St. Charles Community Center, Cottleville

May 1, 2019: A Blueprint to Achieve Continuous Quality Improvement in Long-Term Care
Location: St. Joseph Medical Center, Kansas City

David Farrell’s practical advice will give you the tools to implement leadership “bundles” – coordinated and interconnected systems of key practices that meet federal guidelines for individualized care, and provide the right care for every resident, every day.

Please see the brochure for more details.

August 4-7, 2019: Making it Happen
Location: The Galt House, Louisville, Kentucky

What better place to come together to advocate for and facilitate deep system change in the culture of aging than at the 2019 Pioneering a New Culture of Aging Conference in Louisville, Kentucky on August 4-7, 2019.

The theme this year is “Making it Happen” – and that’s just what we plan to do. We have lots of great guides lined up to explore with you what is happening today – and share ideas for making even better things happen in the future. YOU are Pioneer Network; we can’t do it without you!

Networking makes the Pioneer Network conference a go-to event for so many. We promise there will be lots of opportunities for networking – reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.

**PIONEER CONNECTION**
Do you live within 6 hours of Louisville? Would you be interested in traveling to the Pioneer Network conference in a luxury Motor Coach? Please help us by completing a short survey.

Starting June 1, 2019, there will be a $7.50 per CEU hour fee for those wanting CEUs for an MC5 regional meeting – which means a CEU certificate for most meetings, will be available for $15. Admission to regional meetings will continue to be FREE to everyone, but those wanting CEUs will need to pay this processing fee. These fees will ensure that MC5, an all-volunteer organization, can continue to bring great programs across Missouri… and will go directly back into providing CEUs to you, in your own region, at a very low cost.

In order to receive CEUs at an MC5 event, you must register for the meeting through Eventbrite and pay directly online.

If you need help, feel free to contact MC5 at missourimc5@gmail.com.

MC5 appreciates your participation and interest and looks forward to continuing to bring great speakers to your area!

March 21, 2019: Rules of Participation: Helping to Drive Person Centered Engagement
Guides: Alisa Tagg, BA ACC/EDU CADDCT CDP CDCS, President of the National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP), and Dawn Worsley, ADC/EDU/MC, MDEC. President of the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP)

The Rules of Participation is the first major overhaul in the Federal regulation and Survey process in over thirty years and the good news is that Person-Centered Care and Engagement is at the epicenter, putting a focus on Quality of Life that has been long over-due. This is great news for Activity Professionals and for all who are serving Elders in long-term care settings.

Did you know that CMS under FTag 658 authorized the National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP), to establish professional standards of practice to help activity professionals and their organizations to meet the new requirements?

Pioneer Network is pleased to be partnering with NAAP/NCCAP for this webinar in which guides Alissa Tagg and Dawn Worsley will present content from NCCAPs Modular Education Program for Activity Professionals (MEPAP).

February 21, 2019: How Do We Make Sense of the Images We See of Aging and Our Everyday Experiences?
Guide: Penny Cook, Pioneer Network

We’re hearing and reading more about growing older than ever before. Maybe because we’re all doing it. We see images of 90-year old people running marathons, skydiving and bodybuilding. There is an indirect message that this is what we should aspire to be. And yet we provide care and support to other 90-year old people who live in assisted living communities and nursing homes. Do we see them differently because of where they live and their abilities? Is there a different kind of ageism happening in care communities? Come with us on this journey of exploration as we present the first of a year-long series of webinars looking at the perceptions of aging, ageism and person-centered living.

January 23, 2019: Trauma-Informed Care: Resilience and Vulnerability
Guide: Dr. Susan Wehry, a geriatric psychiatrist, Chief of Geriatrics at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM)

Adverse life events–including adverse childhood events (ACEs)–can affect us throughout our lifespan.  As the number of these events increases, so does the risk for negative health and diminished well-being. This is true for both caregivers and residents of long-term care. However, even in the face of trauma, people still possess an ability to return to being healthier and more hopeful, with less caregiver burnout.

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss the relationship between person-centered and trauma-informed care
2. Define trauma, trauma-informed care, resilience and vulnerability
3. Nurture resilience
4. List resources for providing a trauma-informed approach to care

January 18, 2019: Weaving the Eden Alternative Domains of Well-Being^SM into LIFE
Guest: Schlegel Villages of Canada Team

Schlegel Villages takes their culture change journey, initiated in 2010, very seriously. With three years of transformation work behind them, they began incorporating Eden Alternative’s seven “Domains of Well-Being” into their organization in 2014. In this show, the Schlegel Villages team will share-

• How they introduced the domains to the larger team
• How they use the domains
• Their ME form, and
• How they use the Wellbeing tool developed by Dr. Al Power, Eden Educator and Board Member.

What this team has learned is worth sharing! And… did you know the seven Domains of Well-Being made it into the new CMS regulations? Don’t miss this show! Join us to learn more.

February 15, 2019: Fake Life and Real Life – Let’s Talk!
Guest: Sonya Barsness, Gerontologist

How much of what is offered to people living in long term care communities is fake?

Much is at stake with fake. Let’s call it out and consider why we think it’s okay. We’ll talk about examples, like using fake pets and babies, mock tails and near beer, the folding of fake towels and whether we are asking the right questions in thinking about if and when to use them. Let’s compare it to real and what each says about how we care for and treat older adults. We’ll be honest, our bias is to encourage all to move more in the direction of real life rather than fake. Let’s compare what our goals are when we are fake and contrast it with what we want for people – real living.

Conversations with Carmen

November 9, 2018: Know Better, Do Better – Part 4
Guest: Sarah Brown, Executive Director, Empira

Empira has been working to better understand the wants and needs of older adults, given the following truths:

1. The primary reason for many behavioral expressions centers around the lack of support for “work of aging.”
2. The ultimate success of inevitable aging is the ability to maintain integrity with a sense of closure and completeness and accept death without fear.

Based on these understandings, an approach called ResoLute (Resident Empowered Solutions on Living until the End) is currently in development to support conversations about life and mortality – to identify and uphold what matters most.

Conversations with Carmen

October 12, 2018: Know Better, Do Better, Part 3
Guest: Sarah Brown, E.D. Empira

The status quo had to change. Consider these facts:

• Restorative sleep is vital to the overall well being of humans
• Sleep fragmentation is a primary contributor to some of the most challenging issues facing long term care(e.g. falls, behavioral expression, pain, incontinence, skin breakdown, unnecessary use of anti-psychotics, function decline and the list goes on)

Empira recognized the challenge and is now making a “night and day” difference for the residents they serve through a culture of restorative sleep. For this, the 3rd show in our series, Sarah Brown will share what Empira has learned, how they transformed their culture and the impact of this on residents

Conversations with Carmen

September 21, 2018: Know Better, Do Better: Part Two
Guest: Sarah Brown, Executive Director, Empira

Empira is a consortium of Aging Service providers who are committed to improving the aging experience by knowing and doing better. Collectively, the organizations that make up Empira challenge the status quo by understanding the root cause of problems and outcomes. By understanding the root cause, they are able to create meaningful and sustainable culture change. They have created a signature series on

1. Falls
2. Restorative sleep
3. Behavioral expression and
4. Work of aging

Hear about their approach to quality improvement that focuses on human needs and behavior.

*The second show in the series will share Empira’s findings regarding what really causes falls, i.e. noise — and meaningful ways to reduce falls other than alarms.

Pioneer Network’s Hot Topics: Culture Change in Action Webinar

October 18, 2018: Dining Practices: Balancing Food Choice and Food Safety
Guide: Diane Hall, RD, President & CEO, Balanced Senior Nutrition

Learn how to integrate the new food safety requirements with person-centered dining. As we provide more variety of foods and more choices of when and where food is served, challenges for proper food handling and sanitation seem to begin to multiply. Balancing resident’s rights, infection control and food safety requirements can be tricky business.

Pioneer Network’s Hot Topics: Culture Change in Action Webinar

November 15, 2018: Building on the Successes of Phase 2 and Your Facility Assessment
Guides: Vickie Burlew, Health Care Consultant and Educator, Linchpin Quality Solutions, LLC and Joan Devine, Director of Education, Pioneer Network

As we approach the one-year mark of the implementation of phase 2 of the CMS Revised Rules of Participation, the principles of QAPI would tell us that is time step back and evaluate where we are. Are communities successfully implementing the new requirements? Has the Facility Assessment been completed and has it been used to support daily operations and successful survey outcomes? Are you prepared to meet the new Infection Prevention standards? What has been the impact of the new requirements related to Person-Centered Care and Quality of Life?

MC5 Fall Roadshows: Living On Purpose!

October 9, 2018: Living On Purpose: Building Community through Meaningful Engagement
Location: Integrity Home Care, Springfield

October 10, 2018: Living On Purpose: Building Community through Meaningful Engagement
Location: St. Joseph Medical Center, Kansas City

October 11, 2018: Living On Purpose: Building Community through Meaningful Engagement
Location: St. Charles Community College, Cottleville

Tired of calling Bingo? Are you hitting copy and paste on your programs month after month? Think there must be more out there? Join us as we discuss innovative concepts that will transform your community into a vibrant place for people to live and work. Through intentional programming methods, you can build a culture that promotes life and facilitates purpose daily.

Conversations with Carmen

August 10, 2018: Know Better, Do Better, Part 1
Guest: Sarah Brown, Executive Director, Empira

Empira is a consortium of Aging Service providers who are committed to improving the aging experience by knowing and doing better. Collectively, the organizations that make up Empira challenge the status quo by understanding the root cause of problems and outcomes. By understanding the root cause, they are able to create meaningful and sustainable culture change. They have created a signature series on

1. Falls
2. Restorative sleep
3. Behavioral expression and
4. Work of aging

Hear about their approach to quality improvement that focuses on human needs and behavior during this webinar.

Pioneer Network’s Hot Topics: Culture Change in Action Webinar

September 20, 2018: Change: Managing It to Drive Success
Guides: Margie McLaughlin, MA and David Farrell, Vice-President of Sub-Acute Operations, Telecare

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” This statement delivered by President Obama describes perfectly the work of the Pioneer Network. For the past twenty years, WE are the ones creating the change we seek. In settings all across the country, committed staff have discovered ways to move from institutional care to individualized care. WE have reinvented systems to support the independent lifestyles and choices of residents. In the midst of it all WE have recognized the fine balance involved in leading and managing change- sometimes pulling in the reigns while other times letting out the clutch! During this session, you will discover foundational building blocks that support successful change and an array of examples and ideas describing ways that leaders have encouraged, managed and driven change to provide better lives for residents and staff alike.

Pioneer Network’s Hot Topics: Culture Change in Action Webinar

July 19, 2018: Story Sharing: Connecting with Residents and their Families – Toward Person-Centered Meaningful Care
Guide: Diane Heliker, RN, PhD

The focus of this presentation is to illustrate how story, the narrative of one’s lived experiences, reveals what is most meaningful to each unique resident in long-term care communities. A sampling of research findings addressing story is offered along with the relationship-based caring practice of Story Sharing. To assist all staff and caregivers, strategies that ensure the successful gathering of stories are introduced followed by exercises demonstrating the interpretation of stories and the discovery of what is most meaningful to a resident. Once these meanings are revealed, they are incorporated into each resident’s care/life plan. Examples are offered throughout.

Pioneer Network’s Hot Topics: Culture Change in Action Webinar

August 23, 2018: Addressing the Staffing Crisis
Guide: Denise Boudreau-Scott, President DRIVE

Solving the complex staffing problem requires the involvement of stakeholders and providers like you! Leaders, including direct supervisors, have a significant impact on retention and recruitment of the best talent. Providers can no longer afford to think of an engaged workforce as an appealing goal, but essential for improving the resident experience, customer service, quality, and financial outcomes. Attracting the right people, keeping them, and inspiring them to perform at their highest level is not only a nicety in today’s world, it’s a necessity!

Action Pact: Conversations with Carmen

May 11, 2018: Black Balloons or a Rainbow of Colors: How Our Perceptions of Aging Affect the Care We Provide
Guest Presenter:  Penny Cook, MSW; President/CEO of the Pioneer Network

We’ve all done it – sent an “over the hill” card to someone, purchased “anti-aging” products, refused to say our age and maybe even given the dreadful black balloons on a milestone birth celebration. It’s part of our culture, right? It’s meant to be funny. It helps us cope with the fact we’re getting older. But how does it really affect us? More importantly, how does it affect the care and support we provide to Elders? In this conversation, we’ll explore how our own perceptions of getting older as well as those of the general society affect our long-term care system as well as our specific care practices. Let’s be the change we want to see!

Action Pact: Conversations with Carmen

April 13, 2018: Cognitive Health and Resident Engagement
Guest Presenter: Megan Hannan, Action Pact Consultant, Developer of PersonFirst® program

We have been exploring resident health and well-being holistically, and in March we were inspired by The Transformative Power of Purpose, when we learned about and heard from residents of Rockport Healthcare Services’ 70 communities in California who serve the homeless in their respective communities every month. In keeping with our theme, the show in April will look at the connection between engagement and cognitive health. Megan will share the most current research in cognitive science, brain health and engagement. We’ll discuss types of engagement and suggestions for ensuring meaningful engagement, as well as outcomes of engagement on well-being, quality of life and staff satisfaction.