January 2019
LeadingAge Georgia is the statewide association of over 150 key not-for-profit and other mission-focused organizations dedicated to providing quality housing, health care, community-based and other related services for older Georgians. The mission of LeadingAge Georgia is to represent and promote the common interests of its members through leadership, advocacy, education and other services in order to enhance each member's ability to serve older Georgians.
"Every moment is a fresh beginning." —T.S. Eliot
Greetings,
Our thoughts are with our members who may be impacted by the government shutdown. Our leadership at national has indicated that HUD will continue funding for existing contracts but there may be concerns regarding funding for any communities that are up for renewal after the end of January. For these reasons, national is requesting that we contact our federal legislators with the message of "fund HUD." Please review the information on the national website at: https://www.leadingage.org/legislation/hud-shutdown-impacts-members.
We want to welcome Scott Bassett our new director of education and business development. Scott comes to us from Philips Tower, a Presbyterian Homes of Georgia community. Scott has a Master's degree with a focus of fitness and health promotion. He has served on the Georgia Institute on Aging's professional development committee, has helped plan our conferences, educational programs and our Profiles of Positive Aging events. We thank Presbyterian Homes of Georgia for the great experience and mentoring Scott was given during his six years at Philips Tower.
A huge thank you to Kevin Shaw and his team at KingsBridge Retirement Community who hosted a very nice luncheon for us to honor Jacque Thornton for her nineteen years of service with LeadingAge Georgia. The day was special as our LeadingAge Georgia community came together for the celebration!
With the new year comes a new board for both LeadingAge Georgia and the Georgia Institute on Aging. We welcome our new LeadingAge chair, Chris Keysor, president & CEO of Lenbrook, and new Leading Age Georgia board members James Wells, president & CEO of Canterbury Court and Tom Rockenbach, vp, chief administrative officer of Carlyle Place. We also welcome our new chair for the Georgia Institute on Aging, Karon Winston, director of business services for Lutheran Towers and new board members Mary Helton, corporate human resources director for A.G. Rhodes, Beth Cayce, CEO of CaraVita Home Care, James Larson, senior manager for Dixon Hughes Goodman (DHG). Click HERE for list of LeadingAge Georgia board members. Click HERE for list of Georgia Institute on Aging board members.
Please go ahead and register for our conference. It is coming up soon – March 25th-27th and it will be held at the Marriott on Hilton Head Island. We promise great educational opportunities and quality time for sharing ideas with provider and business members --- not to mention beach time!!!
We are adding a pre-conference intensive on well-being featuring Walter Coffey. Georgia State University will be offering $1000 scholarships to cover registration, hotel and transportation costs. Please take advantage of this opportunity! Contact us for more information.
Click here to register for the conference.
Be sure to sign up and take advantage of our upcoming educational programs. There are four programs planned for February including the Southeast Finance Conference that DHG Healthcare is sponsoring and holding on February 20-21 at the Georgian Terrace. There will be a Georgia Association of Activity Professionals summit as part of the conference as well as a Maintenance Professionals Summit. There are great speakers for all of these programs. We will also be hosting Colleen Bloom, the director of housing operations for national. She is an expert on HUD and she'll share the latest information on HUD policies and protocols at our Elderly Housing Symposium on February 28th. There will be an adult day symposium on February 7th too. Click here for registration and information.
Anyone who has attended our Leadership Academy will tell you that they are changed due to the experience. The work on emotional intelligence helps professionals engage at their best, be able to interact well with others in all circumstances including trying circumstances. I urge you to invest in yourself and your team and register now for the Leadership Academy. The first class is coming up on March 6th and space is available on a first come, first served basis. Click here to register.
As we speak, we're reaching out to our business and provider members to arrange sponsorship of the work of the Georgia Institute on Aging and our conference. If you have not yet signed up to be a sponsor, we need you so please contact me to discuss sponsorship opportunities:
January 14th kicked off the Georgia legislative session for 2019. We have some great initiatives planned. Thank you to our public policy chairs Terry Barcroft, President and CEO of Wesley Woods and Tom Rockenbach for their leadership and Tom Bauer, our lobbyist who will be working hard at the Capitol on our behalf. For a list of our legislative priorities click here.
Thank you for all you do in your mission-driven career and the wonderful impact you have on the lives of older adults! I look forward to hearing about your successes in 2019!
Best,Ginny
What if we embraced new Ideas without reservations?
What if we freely considered different perspectives?
What if we empowered our teams to take more strategic risks?
The real purpose of anyone's life is to be fully involved in living, to embrace the adventure and live well at every age. Our field is no longer about bricks and mortar or programs and services. It's about helping older adults on the journey of living a life with intention. A Life on Purpose. LeadingAge Georgia, LeadingAge South Carolina, and LeadingAge Alabama members are re-writing the rules of aging. We are leveraging new technologies, forming new partnerships and taking a fresh look at everything we do.
In this conference we will tap into the vast opportunities, envision the vast unknowns, and develop solutions for the great challenges on our path to helping older adults continue to live a life with purpose and extraordinary care teams. Our 2019 Annual Conference is all about you and the people we serve! You are leading the way through innovative care and services delivered to meet the changing needs of older adults. You are putting people before profits. You are committed to improving the aging experience. It's up to you to live your life with great purpose representing the heart and soul of this new generation of older Americans who are changing the face of aging.
Join us and your peers for this inspiring gathering of leaders to look at aging from a new perspective. This conference has been designed to provide valuable information about new ideas and trends. It also provides a valuable opportunity to interact and learn from colleagues throughout Georgia, South Carolina, and the United States.
Click here to print the Attendee Registration Brochure
Click here to register online
Click here for the Exhibitor|Sponsor Prospectus
Hotel Information
Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa
One Hotel Circle
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
1-888-236-2427 OR 843-686-8478
Group Name & Rates: LeadingAge SC/GA Conference
$169/$189/$209 per night
Rates available until February 22, 2019 or until the room block is full.
Important: Association staff will not be able to assist with hotel reservations after this date.
Click HERE to book your group rate for LeadingAge SC & GA
The LeadingAge Georgia Walter O. Coffey Leadership Academy offers members a challenging and engaging year-long learning experience, designed to help aging services professionals at any level in their organization accelerate their leadership development so they are better equipped to serve our field.
The vision of LeadingAge Georgia is to create a generation of authentic, open-minded and transformational leaders who will collaboratively and innovatively create the future of aging services in America.
The 2019 class begins in March. This class is limited to 24 participants.
Click HERE for application
There are changes coming to Value 1st. Stay tuned!
Value First, an affiliate of Vizient/Provista, is a group purchasing organization owned by LeadingAge national and twenty-five state associations, including LeadingAge Georgia. Value First is designed to leverage the buying power of thousands of senior service providers across the country to get the best pricing on a comprehensive array of products and services. This is your GPO
The Enveritas Group
Michael Holtzclaw
9 Legrand Blvd.
Greenville, SC 29607
(864) 602-5647
www.enveritasgroup.com
Marketing/PR
Pharmerica
Jill Allen
2505 Technology Drive
Louisville, KY 40299
(803) 487-8961
www.pharmerica.com
Pharmaceutical
LeadingAge Georgia Public Policy Report
by Ginny Helms
The Georgia legislature convened this week and our new governor was sworn in. A new committee chair was appointed in the Senate Health and Human Services committee and this is important because this committee hears most of the legislative requests for aging issues. The new chair is Senator Ben Watson, MD from Savannah. We will be working with him and his committee on several of our issues this year. Commissioner Robyn Crittenden who left the Department of Human Services to serve as the interim Secretary of State is back with the DHS as commissioner. She has several areas of interest including ending senior hunger and we hope to work with her on hunger in our HUD communities. Stay tuned and we'll update you as our advocacy efforts heat up in the next few weeks.
On the national level, our national office is working hard to bring awareness to the impact of the government shutdown on our HUD communities nationwide and asking us to contact our legislators with the message of "fund HUD." If you haven't made your phone call or sent your email please do so. It's easy to do and will only take a minute!!! If you are up for renewal and are at risk for HUD funding contact me and let's talk about bringing awareness of your threat to our legislators!
Adult Day Services Symposium
February 7, 2019
Registration
Activity/Life Enrichment/Wellness Professionals Symposium
February 8, 2019
Registration
Maintenance Professionals Symposium
February 20, 2019
Registration
Service Coordinators Forum/American Association of SC GA Meeting
February 20, 2019
Registration
2019 Southeast Finance Conference "The Evolving Consumer"
February 20-21, 2019
Click here for Information & Registration
Elderly Housing Symposium
February 28, 2019
Registration coming soon
Assisted Living Symposium
March 12, 2019
Registration coming soon
LeadingAge PEAK Leadership/Advocacy Conference
March 17-20, 2019
LeadingAge GA/SC Annual Conference on Aging
Hilton Head Island, SC
March 25-27, 2019
Click here to print the Attendee Registration Brochure
Click here to register online
Click here for the Exhibitor|Sponsor Prospectus
February 7, 2019
Click HERE for registration
President: Claire Russell, The Homeplace
Vice-Presidents Public Policy: Ned Morgens, Skylark Senior Care;Aysha Cooper, SarahCare of Snellville
Vice-Presidents of Members: Carla Jones, Rosswoods; Peggy Padgett, Georgia Infirmary Adult Day Health
GAAP Winter Symposium
Save the Date: February 20, 2019
AGENDA (5 CEU's)
9:00 a.m. Registration Opens
9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Morning Session
Topic: Meaningful Connections: "Positive Ways to be Together When a Loved One Has Dementia"
Guest Speaker: Nancy Kriseman, Consultant/Author
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. - Networking Luncheon
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Afternoon Session
Resident/Client led Activities to promote Person Centered/Person Directed events and Increase Participation Rates
Topic: Working at the Intersection of Aging and Art
Overview: This workshop will teach Activity professionals in the aging field how to integrate innovative art-fused activities through simple, hands on techniques easily learned and duplicated. We will participate in an actual painting activity so that participants can see, hands on and through their own experience, what an 'Ageless interAction' art class looks and feels like. During this participatory activity, Meagan Jain, Artist and Gerontologist, will lead activity professionals through step-by-step processes that utilize creativity to catalyze community, connection, creativity, and confidence amongst a diverse population of older adults. To close out the session, we will focus on how an art infused practice can redefine ideas of age to bring about a humanistic approach to aging care through activities provided at senior communities.
Guest Speaker: Meagan Jain, Ageless Interactions
Click HERE to Register
2018 GAAP Leadership Team
President: Scott Bassett (Philips Tower, Decatur) sbassett@philipstower.org
Vice-President: Amanda Bennett (Campbell-Stone Sandy Springs; Atlanta) abennett@campbellstone.org
Program/Education: Liana Sisco (Lutheran Towers; Atlanta) lsisco@lutherantowers.org
REGISTER NOW: Service Coordinator Forum February 20, 2019
Topics Include (Full agenda coming soon)
Federally Assisted Housing (HUD-Subsidized)
HUD Members Impacted by the Government Shutdown Nationwide by Colleen Bloom
Over 650 HUD contracts were not renewed in December due to the government shutdown and 500 scheduled to be renewed in January will expire if the shutdown is not ended. According to Linda Couch, vice president of housing policy for LeadingAge national, HUD is looking for funding resolutions such as allowing HUD members to use reserves and other funding sources. HUD's staff has been significantly reduced but the workers are working to figure out how to keep funds flowing for December and January but has no promises for resolving funding issues for February. On-going contracts are going to be funded because dollars have been obligated but there is concern about contracts that are up for renewal in the future. Collen Bloom, director of housing operations at national asks that if you find you are impacted by funding please notify her at cbloom@LeadingAge.org. HUD Contract administrators are still being funded so you can also check with them if you have questions about your funding. PRAC administrators are not working but you can check the status on the portal. If you have not yet contacted your legislators to fund HUD, please do so immediately on behalf of our HUD members. Some members have reported that HUD has indicated to them that they are only guaranteed funding through February so your calls and emails to Congress are truly needed. If you have a story that would help with our advocacy efforts please contact Colleen. See article regarding the shutdown with quotes from Linda Couch : "There's no money": Shutdown freezes HUD funds for low-income senior citizens
Nursing Care/Rehab
Families Prefer Non-Profit, Non-Chain Nursing Homes with Strong Staffing By Alex Spanko
Families of residents feel better about care in nursing homes if the property has a non-profit owner, features higher than average registered nurse (RN) staffing, and isn't part of a chain — at least according to the results of a new study that attempts to quantify some of the more qualitative reasons why people choose certain long-term care options.
"Higher Medicare payor mix and lower acuity levels were also associated with higher satisfaction," the researchers — led by Tetyana Shippee of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health — wrote in their findings, published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology. "Structural characteristics were also associated with higher satisfaction, and included smaller size, higher occupancy, not being owned by a for-profit, or being affiliated with a chain, and rural location."
CMS Quality Improvement offers Free CEUs
Provide best clinical practice training to staff and managers at no charge through the new password-protected website. The CMS Region IV Long-Term Care Quality Improvement Initiative website, www.cpgltc.org,is free, easy to navigate and a great resource and training tool. This initiative offers Clinical Practice Guidelines and 78 practical, step-by-step checklists for improved resident care from the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (AMDA). Stretch your training budget with www.cpgltc.org. It is free, accessible and now available at www.cpgltc.org.
LTC staff can earn up to 42 CE/Contact hours at www.cpgltc.org. The CMS Region IV Quality Improvement Initiative is an on-line, no fee option offering training materials through this 6-state CMS CMP Grant.
For facility username and password assistance contact help@cpgltc.org.
An Employee Pipeline That Starts With Schooling
by Gene Mitchell
Among long-term services and supports organizations that face daunting challenges in recruiting staff (that is to say, all of them), one oft-stated wish is that young people should be given more accurate, positive information about potential careers in our field.
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, a full-continuum provider serving 10 counties in western Pennsylvania, has accepted that challenge by creating a program that not only recruits young people as employees, but actively partners with schools to educate and train them for the purpose.
Thanks to a $725,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network began 2018 by creating a multifaceted program:
Full article
National Church Residences Accelerates Growth with the Opening of a New Regional Office in Atlanta
National Church Residences, the nation's largest not-for-profit provider of affordable senior housing opened a new regional office in Atlanta, Georgia. This new location will allow National Church Residences to better serve future partners and residents while maintaining the organization's mission to provide high quality care, services and residential communities for all seniors.
This new office will help support the organization's growth strategy. "As we enter our third year of a five-year strategic plan, our Board is more committed than ever to our vision of Advancing Better Living for All Seniors, Enabling them to Remain Home for Life," said Mark Ricketts, president and CEO of National Church Residences. "This means expanding services and senior housing in core markets, such as Atlanta, as well as serving more seniors "Staying Home" – whether that home is under one of our rooftops or in the community-at-large."
National Church Residences owns/manages eight communities in greater Atlanta and offers a home to 1,230 Atlanta residents. The not-for-profit organization also serves six other communities in the Atlanta area with service coordination, as well as the 10 service coordinators working on their campuses.
Director of Enrichment - Lenbrook
See full job description at: http://leadingagega.org/jobmart/public/job/243/
Executive Director - Presbyterian Village, Athens
See full job description at: http://leadingagega.org/jobmart/public/job/234/
Housekeeper - Saint Anne's Terrace, Atlanta
See full job description at: http://leadingagega.org/jobmart/public/job/235/
Resident Care Manager - Wesley Woods Towers
See full job description at: http://leadingagega.org/jobmart/public/job/245/
Vice President of Operations - Wesley Woods Senior Living
See full job description at: http://leadingagega.org/jobmart/public/job/240/
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