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Now or Never: Long-Term Care Strategy is a podcast for all those seeking answers and solutions in the long-term care space. Too often we don’t fully understand the necessity of care until it’s too late. This podcast is designed to create solutions, start conversations and bring awareness to the industry that will inevitably impact all Americans.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: so often
look at family members or paid
team members as caregivers. And
what that really implies is that
I'm, I'm here to take care of
you. And I don't you don't have
anything to give back to me.
Right. And that's very
disempowering for people. It's
very paternalistic. And so that
concept of care partners, we are
all in this together family
members, paid team members,
volunteers, people that work in
the community. We're all in this
together and and the elder
Caroline Moore: Welcome to Now
or Never Long-Term Care Strategy
themselves.
with Kosta Yepifantsev a podcast
for all those seeking answers
and solutions in the long term
care space. This podcast is
designed to create resources,
start conversations and bring
awareness to the industry that
will inevitably impact all
Americans. Here's your host
Kosta Yepifantsev.
Kosta Yepifantsev: Hey, y'all,
this is Kosta. And today I'm
here with my guest, Jill
Vitale-Aussem, President and CEO
of Christian living communities,
a Colorado based not for profit
serving more than 1000 older
adults and families through its
nine owned and managed
communities, including homecare
spanning the entire state of
Colorado jealous a licensed
nursing home administrator,
leading age Leadership Academy
fellow reframing aging
facilitator and author of
disrupting the status quo of
senior living a mind shift.
Today we're talking about person
directed care and elder
empowerment. So Jill, before we
get into the episode, I want to
talk about your book disrupting
the status quo of senior living.
For anyone that isn't familiar,
this book is based around the
crisis we're facing in 2023. And
the looming reality that we must
evolve Senior Living, what can
readers expect from this work?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Well, the
book was actually published in
2019. You know, and it was, it's
interesting at the time, you
know, I was concerned like, Is
this too much to be saying that
senior living needs to change?
And what happened, as we all
know, is through the COVID
pandemic, it's really trying to
light that on the fact that yes,
yes, things do need to change.
So it really I think, is, is
perfect. For this time, a lot
more people are talking about
disrupting the status quo, the
status quo, so people can expect
is it you know, it's really a
book about the evolution I think
of, of senior living models. And
what I've heard from people that
they really like is it's a lot
of stories about, I will just
say the dumb things that I did
before I knew better when I was
in nursing home administrator,
and then Executive Director,
right. And so it's, it's really
about, you know, really changing
our own mindsets and, and what
we can accomplish when we start
thinking about aging
differently. And when we start
thinking about aging services in
a different way. So I think
people have found it very
readable, and a lot of good
examples. And then at the end of
every chapter, there are
discussion questions. So there
are communities and
organizations that are using it
for book clubs. So it's really,
it's really, really been fun to
see it sparked more change in
our field.
Kosta Yepifantsev: And when you
talk about the evolution of
care, alright, so you're
obviously a hands on person.
When I read that article that
you had an ARP, it said that you
actually became like a patient
for 24 hours to try and see what
it was like to be on the other
side of things. When you talk
about the evolution. Why is that
important to you?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Yeah, you
know that when I first became a
nursing home administrator, as
my nephew always says, back in
the 1900s, right, like it was
back in the time covered wagons.
But when I first became a
nursing home administrator, I
had no idea what it was like to
experience life as a resident in
a nursing home. And so I had the
team admit me as a resident, and
it was an awesome community. It
was like one of the best
communities but I really was
very distressed by what my
experience was. Not because
people weren't doing their jobs,
but because they were doing
their jobs according to the
practices and the policies and
the procedures that were in
place. So waking. I mean, waking
me up every two hours to check
my vitals being woken up in the
middle of the night to have my
skin checked, being woken up at
like 530 in the morning for
breakfast. That was at seven.
And just I was so depressed when
I left after 24 hours. And like,
you know, just really wonky
because I was sleep overwhelmed.
Yeah. And I just went I remember
going home and just crying like
this is what elders live with.
And so that really sparked
things for me. I'm kind of a
weirdo. I've done that, like
four other times throughout my
career. Got it stayed overnight.
And it's it every time. It's a
huge eye opener, I really
recommend it to anybody who
works in this field to
experience what life is like.
And it really just showed me
that the institutional practices
are what causes so much distress
for people. It's not team
members not doing their jobs or
going rogue, it's people doing
exactly what we tell them to do
and ask them to do. Yeah, it's,
it's powerful.
Kosta Yepifantsev: We're gonna
get into the, the issues as to
why the system's built this way.
But first, let's talk a little
bit about the solutions that
you've identified. One solution
to the care crisis we face is
something you've helped to
pioneer and turn into a viable
care option. Will you explain
what person directed care is?
And how does it differ from
traditional care models and
senior living communities?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Yeah, you
know, so person, the whole
concept of person centered care,
and now the evolution to person
directed care. It's been around
for, you know, at least 20 some
years, right? Dr. Bill Thomas of
the Eden alternative was the
pioneer, one of the pioneers in
this work. And what the
institutional framework does is
it sees people as a task, it
sees people as numbers, it sees
people as diagnosis. And it sees
the people that work in our
field as task doers, right. And
what happens is, people end up
as the Eden alternative says,
Being lonely and helpless and
bored. And that is, you know,
what, when you go into a
traditional nursing home, or
assisted living, and it also
happens in places with
residential living, and seeing
people slumped over, you know,
the most of the time, it's not
their physical issues that are
causing that, it's because it's
like, the death of the human
spirit is really what it's
about. And so what what person
directed care is really all
about is, is creating a human
habitat, as the Eden alternative
says, creating a place where I'm
a whole person, where I have I
have autonomy in my life, right?
I have, as a human alternative,
it's the domains of well being.
So I have my own identity, I
have, I have saved a feeling of
safety, I have meaningful growth
still in my life, I have purpose
in my life, connectedness with
other people, and you know, joy,
yes, you can have joy, living in
long term care. And, you know,
what, what Christian living
communities, my organization, we
take it a step further. And what
to what we call our citizenship
approach, which is really all
about if I live in a community
with other people, then I have
not just what I need for me, but
right, how do I make sure Costa
is having a great day, and it's
people working together to make
their community stronger and
better. And that is incredibly
powerful.
Kosta Yepifantsev: And purpose,
you know, if you don't have a
sense of purpose, or if you're
not learning something new, at
least, you know, every few
weeks, or, you know, a month or
so, like, you don't really have
like you said that will, right,
because life does get bored.
Pretty quickly. If you don't
have those elements around.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: It's very
true. And if there's one thing
that the pandemic taught us,
it's what it's like to not have
freedom, autonomy, meaningful
purpose in our lives, not to
have connectedness, like we had
this shared experience of what
it's like to be
institutionalized. And we hated
it. Oh, yeah. Did we not?
Kosta Yepifantsev: I mean, we
like we almost went to civil
war.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: ever there
was a lesson to be learned it is
it is, it is through that. And I
think we need to talk about it
more and pick it apart more and
figure out what we learned.
Kosta Yepifantsev: I mean,
you've been doing this for a
while, how did we get to this
point? Because, like, if you go
back to like 70s and 80s, and
you had the Nursing Home Reform
Act, and you had this increased
level of compliance. Was this
always the way the system was
designed? Did we create the
system to operate this way? How
did we get to this point?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: You know, so
so much I think what I always to
hear and ever write about is
that you know, nursing home
nursing home design came from
like hospitals, right? And so
this model of efficiency and and
you know, the regulations like
the obrah 87 for nursing homes
that was really intended to to
create quality of life. What I
think I think there's a couple
of problems, I think that we all
have very ageist beliefs in our
own heads right about what it
means to be old about what it
means to be old and living with
frailty and living with
dementia. And we have very
limiting beliefs, right? And we
think are in paternalistic
beliefs. And our job is to keep
you safe. And, you know, if
you're safe, then job well done.
And that's not that's not true.
And so I think a lot of what
happens is our own inaccurate
beliefs about what this is
really all about. And then the
other thing is that, that
regulations are going to create
quality of life. If that was the
case, then we would, I mean, we
get more regulations all the
time, and it doesn't make
anything better. So it because I
think what happens is a lot of
times it ends up being check the
box, I check this box, and I did
this and that means I'm meeting.
Yeah. So I it's a it's a bear
this whole complex situation,
Kosta Yepifantsev: you know, and
we're going to, I'll ask, I'll
ask that same question in a
different way later in the
episode, but I think we can
leave it in terms of when you
talk about the evolution of the
industry in the care process. I
think that compliance leads to
the opposite of that, the
punitive measures, and also the
fact that all of our all of the
people that pay for long term
care in one capacity or another
are from the federal government,
or insurance companies, they're
very risk averse, and they're
vague, and they don't believe or
understand the conversation that
we're having right now. Or they
may just not really, it might
may not matter to them to the
capacity that it does to us. But
we're gonna get into that a
little bit later. Right now, I
want to talk more about person
directed care, how can we ensure
that the needs and details of
specific care for each
individual are respected and met
in a person directed care model?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: You know,
the first thing that really has
to happen, and the Eden
alternative teaches this is, is
to drive change, you have to
have three types of
transformation happen, right,
and the very first is personal
transformation. And so if we, as
people that work in this field,
don't change the way that we
think about aging, if we don't
challenge what all of the the
institutional things we've been
taught and the ageist things
we've been taught, since we were
toddlers, nothing's going to
change, right. And, and so it,
it's really about about getting
everybody in your organization,
and this is whether it's
residential, living, assisted
living, nursing homes, whatever
it is, to go through this
process of personal
transformation, leaders have to
start first. And then when
people go through that personal
transformation, if you don't
start changing your, your, your
organizational side of things,
right, if I'm, and I've seen
this happen way too many times
where people get training, and
they're like, oh, my gosh, this
is the way things should be. Yet
we still have human resources,
policies that are ridiculous.
And we still have very limiting
processes. Like, if you don't
get everybody up by six in the
morning, you're not doing your
job, and things like that, then
nothing will change. And so what
what I have found is that it is
that it's that personal
transformation, it's people
understanding that it can be
different. It's changing your
organization, and your
operational practices to support
that. And, you know, eventually
the ideal situation is you
change the physical environment
also, right and make it more not
home, like home. And what
happens is, in those, when you
do that work, you're going to be
held accountable by everybody.
Right? If I'm like, and I've had
this happen, I start doing
something that's institutional,
then I've got all these
empowered people, resident team
members, family members who are
like, ah, what what's going on
here, you're this is
institutional. And so it creates
this environment where
everybody's holding each other
accountable. And it's tough, but
it's good, but institutional
practices creep back in. They're
very sneaky. And so you have to
have that shared accountability
to keep moving things forward.
Kosta Yepifantsev: Well, and
also we're talking about
families and caregivers, what
role do they play? And how do
they change the way that they
provide care in a person
directed model? And also, you
know, as you're going through
this transition, what do you
think they should prepare for?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Well, you
know, what I think this is
really all about is creating
community, right in the
community like that's why we
call it a citizenship approach.
You have meaningful purpose. You
have autonomy, but you have
interdependence with other
people. And community is messy
and the This work is messy like
it isn't you? I'll tell you
what, I think changing a nursing
home or assisted living is like
one of the hardest things you
can do. Right? So for people
that think we're going on this
journey, and all of a sudden,
it's going to be fixed tomorrow.
That's not the case it is it is
step by step and moving things
forward. So I think people have
to be prepared for messiness.
Right, and and oops, that that's
not quite where we wanted to go,
and how do we continue to
evolve. The other thing is the
concept of Care Partnership. And
that's really important, right?
Because we so often look at
family members or paid team
members as caregivers. And what
that really implies is that I,
I'm here to take care of you.
And I don't, you don't have
anything to give back to me.
Right. And that's very
disempowering for people. It's
very paternalistic. And so that
concept of care partners, we are
all in this together, family
members, paid team members,
volunteers, people that, you
know, work in the community,
we're all in this together, and
and the elder themselves is part
of that that person receiving
care. Yeah. Right. So, you know,
in and for failing reason, you
know, this is tough, too,
because, you know, I know this,
as you know, as with having a
parent, one who passed away a
year ago, with kids, adult
children can be paternalistic,
too. Right. And so, if, if a
resident an elder is making
decisions that you don't agree
with, and they're like, I know
that I have diabetes, but I'm
going to have my, you know,
coconut cake. Every night that
I'm with dinner. That's my
choice. And, like, you know, we,
it's that whole dignity of risk.
So there's, there's change,
everybody on the care partner
team has to have personal growth
and start thinking about things
differently.
Kosta Yepifantsev: And it's,
it's so sad. And honestly, it's
quite alarming when you
encounter family members who
want to take away the things
that bring people happiness,
like, for example, okay, I
really like chocolate chip
cookies. And even though I
exercise every single day, I
like to run, but I also like to
eat chocolate chip cookies every
single day. All right. Tate's
specifically, so shout out to
dates. If somebody said you
can't eat chocolate chip
cookies, or if they like you
were talking about in the
pandemic, if they force some
level of institutionalization,
like that leads to depression.
Yep. Yeah. And it is. You know,
what I, when I see this
happening a lot of times is when
people receive a demo a dementia
diagnosis. Yeah. And as it
progresses, oh, my gosh, we go
down this rabbit hole in it is
impossible for people to give
any ground to say, Come on,
like, there's still this is
still a person, you know, we can
still provide care, as if you
know, as an indie to an
individual, right? Yeah.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Yeah. Yeah,
I think you're absolutely right.
And I think 99% of the time, it
comes from love, I want to
protect this person. But it's
again, I think it's education.
And understanding that by taking
away autonomy, you are impacting
the person's physical health. It
taking away purpose. So yeah,
it's tough, but it again, it's,
it's talking it through and
having people think about things
differently, but it's tough
because we all love, love our
loved ones, right? And
Kosta Yepifantsev: could you
share some success stories or
examples of how the person
directed care model has improved
the quality of life for those
receiving elder care?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Sure, I'm
gonna give you I'm gonna give
you three different examples.
Okay. Okay, levels of, of
living. So, you know, a really
basic example, is in like
skilled nursing, and I hope this
isn't still happening. But you
know, the whole idea of waking
people up in the staff having a
GET UP list, right? That's
Kosta Yepifantsev: crazy. List.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Think about
how that sets a person up for
their day. Right? Yeah, I'm not
going to my days is going to be
shot. If somebody comes in and
wakes me up when I don't want to
be up. It also destroys our team
members. Because then I had a
nurse tell me this, like, it
crushed my soul to be like, I
have to go wake people up to do
my job and get them out of bed
and not at least let them start
their day. They work the way
they want. So just even that
basic change, of promoting sleep
and waking up when you want to
wake up. And and that has a huge
impact. That's really basic. I
unfortunately, I think it's it
probably is still happening some
places where people
Kosta Yepifantsev: like it is
unfortunate, I'm sorry to inform
you that it is still happening
often.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Yeah, that's
that.
Kosta Yepifantsev: That's
because, and what's what's
unfortunate about it, and I hate
to interrupt, but what's
unfortunate is the checks that
you're talking about, and the
medication administration that
you're talking about are
prescribed by physicians. Yeah,
on a schedule. And I'm thinking
and I always think to myself,
why would a physician think it's
a good idea to wake somebody up
at two o'clock in the morning to
give a specific medication or to
check a specific, vital? And I
mean, that's how but that's how
pervasive this is. It spans
across the entire healthcare
system.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: So we have
to educate physicians to
prescribe medications upon
wakening right rather than a
certain time. So it is it's an
they're part of the care partner
team, to me that a patient an
assisted living example. We have
one of our communities that we
manage, is has a beautiful pond,
right. And it's it's in the
mountains at the mountains. And
there is a resident there who
loves fishing. And he and he's
in a wheelchair, and the pond
isn't like there's like a dock
you can go out on it's like
really and marshy around the
side of it. And this fishing
rod, this man, so much joy, and
in an institutional community,
the team would have been like
he's not safe, that can't work.
And instead, the team and the
maintenance director, it's not
really his job, right quality of
life for residents, officially,
but it is his job because he's
in a community that has done
this work. They they figured out
how to get him one of those
wheelchairs with the tracks on
it. Oh, nice. Yeah. Right. And
so he drives down there and sits
in the weeds and marsh and
fishes. And that would not
happen. And that's one example
of for one individual. But if he
didn't have that, like he would
give up like that brings him
such joy. And so that's a
example for one person. But it's
that change of seeing somebody
has a whole human being and not
being so afraid of risk figuring
out how do we minimize risk, to
have somebody have a life worth
living. The other example I'll
give is in residential living,
and we have several life plan
communities, which have all the
different levels of living. And
this is really so our community,
Clermont Park here in the Denver
area, I started here as the
executive director there. And
this is really about that
citizenship model, where the
residents in that community own
that community. Yeah, they have
created an inclusive culture. So
too many times in, in
communities where there's
different levels of care, if you
live in the nursing home, you
have demands out, right, you're
cut off, and you're ostracized,
and they have created community
norms there. And that's where
the power comes in, right?
policies about bullying. I'm not
so big on that. It's those
residents, they are true
citizens, and they create
healthy norms of inclusion for
everybody there. And healthy
norms of like, what this is what
we want to do, and we're gonna
make it happen. And the team
there is just really there to
support the life that the
community wants, and people
looking out for each other. And
you just walk in that place. And
you're like, something's
different here. Right. And it's
we had leading H in Denver, last
year, the leading ag annual
meeting, and they chose it as
one of their tour sites. And
people that came to that tour
that visit to that community
leaders from around the country
left, like so I saw so many
people with plant with like,
crying, because they're like,
this is the way it should be
because the resident taught them
about things, you know what I
mean? So it's,
Kosta Yepifantsev: and if if I
could put a bow on it. So if you
think about our entire lives,
when we're in school, we're a
part of a team, when we're at
when we're in at work. We're a
part of a team. When we're in a
family raising kids, we're a
part of a team, the only time
that we get isolated to this
individual, you know, angst is
when we're elderly and and
suffer some type of disability
and may have to be in an
institution or a facility. And
what you've been able to create
is that team environment that is
the Yeah, exactly. It's common.
I mean, it's literally how we
grew up. It's, you know, and
it's rather shocking, but I do
We'll also want to touch on the
individual that you had that
goes fishing and you guys
identified that wheelchair that
has a track on it. I'm a big
proponent of technology. And
I've just we've just recently
been working towards a pilot
with UnitedHealthcare to provide
technology few hours a day in
some of our homes and remove
some of the human element in the
care process. Now, we don't have
a weight care in a lot of the
homes. So it's a it's a good
application in our model. What
I've have found to be astounding
is when we accept technology as
a solution, we actually find
more solutions because we're
open to the idea of technology.
But we get so much pushback from
the people, the the people that
pay for long term care, not
necessarily out of pocket, but
insurance companies managed care
organizations, Medicaid, the
primary payers, because they're
risk averse. So in your opinion,
how can technology be leveraged
to support person directed care?
And elder empowerment?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Ah, well,
you know, when you think about
risk, there's a lot more risk
relying on human beings than
technology.
Kosta Yepifantsev: Yes, agreed.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: My gosh, you
know, my, my, my hope. And the
way we look at technology here
is where technology is never
going to completely take the
place of human beings in this
field, I don't believe but
technology that can free people
up to be able to do what humans
do best, which is be with each
other and have those
interactions. I think that's got
to be the goal. And then the
other thing I've been thinking a
lot about is, and tell me what
to think about this. You know,
how do we how do we use
technology to support autonomy,
and freedom for people living
with dementia while keeping
people safe? Right. So, you
know, like, I love to walk and
be outside. And if I have
dementia someday, and I'm in in
someplace where I can't do that,
or if I want to be in an
inclusive place of care, right,
where I'd have to be locked up
someplace. And there's Tech, I
mean, you think about your ring,
if you have a ring doorbell,
right? Like, that's pretty cheap
technology. And that can tell
you that, you know, Jill is at
the front door, and she just
picked up a package. So how can
we use that technology? And I
think that's what you're getting
at? Maybe I am
Kosta Yepifantsev: I am. And so
I'm going to, I'm going to
package it all together. So when
you talk about specifically
people with a dementia
disability, there are you're
never gonna be able to remove
the human element from the care
from the care process. And
that's okay, because there are
specific activities like going
on walks that may require in a
human being to accompany or
support somebody that has
dementia. It's but if you can
prevent the burnout, that that
caregiver experiences and even
if it's a family member, the
burnout that they experienced as
a caregiver, if you can provide
some way of incorporating a few
hours a day of respite, I mean,
states are literally tripping
over themselves with respite
pilot programs, Florida,
Tennessee, Colorado, like
everybody's trying to figure out
how are we going to provide
respite to caregivers that are
that are providing trillions of
dollars a year and care for
free, by the way, and whatever.
But the only solution that they
look at is how are we going to
create a workforce to provide
these respite services, but it's
we're past that, I mean, we're
not living in the age of iRobot,
obviously, but we have the
technological applications, to
be able to give a few hours of
respite to caregivers so that
they can be there when it
matters for those. Yes, yeah.
Right. That makes sense. And,
and you know, and I'll take it,
I'll take it in a different
direction. As you can tell, I'm
pretty passionate about
technology. I'll take it in a
different direction, like
somebody that, for example, is
at risk of falling or has like
an unsteady gait. You know, if
you've just even put like some,
like the, you know, those string
lights that people use in the
kitchen to have the lighting
under their cabinets, if you put
those on the floor, and a sensor
that's on their bed so that as
soon as they get out of bed,
those lights come on and light
their way to the bathroom in the
middle of the night. Like that's
a that's a simple DIY
application that may cost under,
you know, $200 that people can
afford and In what you're doing
with regards to person directed
care and the evolution of care
and creating citizenship, like,
technology is the direct
complement to that. It is. So,
you know, well, long, long story
short, you don't
Jill Vitale-Aussem: have to if
if a sensor on your bed can say
that somebody is in deep sleep,
yeah, you don't need to go in
and check on him right and turn
on the light, make sure they're
okay. And yeah, yeah, it really
can. I think you're absolutely
right. And
Kosta Yepifantsev: early, if you
consider like early onset
Alzheimer's, before the disease
has progressed to, to a
significant point, like if
you're, if your mom or your dad
has early onset Alzheimer's, and
there are things that happen,
but they don't happen often. But
you're still like, worried to
death every single day that
something bad is gonna happen.
If you had a sensor, say, for
example, on a bed, and then you,
you know, they went to the
restroom, and then that sensor
didn't show up that they're back
in bed. But if you had a sensor
on the living room chair,
because it's four o'clock in the
morning, and they're watching
TV, yep. Like that is how we
have to start thinking about
giving people back their dignity
and their autonomy.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: So I like
that. That makes a lot of sense.
Kosta Yepifantsev: All right, so
we're about to wrap up. And your
opinion, what's the most
necessary and impactful mindset
shift we can make as Americans
to ensure that our elder
population is properly cared
for, and we build a future of
care that is empowering for all
people?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Well, I, so
it's thinking about aging
differently. And we have got,
because when we think about
aging, as it's about decline,
and you become helpless, and it
really impacts the services that
we provide. It it impacts, you
know, I mean, we don't value
older people in this country, we
do not value those that care for
them. It was evident during the
pandemic, when aiming services
was at the end of the line, and
then just got nothing but blame
as compared to the hospital
system. So if we don't start
shifting the way we think about
this field, who's going to want
to work in the field, right now,
people, as much technology as we
have, we still need people. And
then the other thing that that
is a big concern for me, is this
myth, that is everywhere, that
everybody can successfully age
in place in their own home. We
know that is not true. We know
that the majority of people live
in homes that aren't designed
for changing mobility needs, we
know people get isolated, which
leads to incredible health
challenges and problems. And
we've got to start getting
people thinking about it. So I
have a book to recommend to your
audience. And that is Ryan,
Frederick's book, it's called
Right place, right time. And
it's really all about every all
of us, like at every age,
looking at does the place, the
place I live matters. Does the
place that I live, give me
social connection? Does it give
me opportunities for meaningful
purpose for physical well being?
And really looking at that,
because we're I'm very concerned
that we are setting up a huge
percentage of older people. And
those of us, you know, as we as
we get older, for failure, and
worse health outcomes, because
they're going to be not living
in the right place.
Kosta Yepifantsev: There is
something that I was thinking
about leading up to this episode
that I was like, If she starts
talking about this, I have to
ask her this question. And so
you did.
Jill Vitale-Aussem: So yeah, I'm
just concerning. It really is.
Kosta Yepifantsev: So think
about it like this. You've got,
you know, the baby boomer
generation between 1946 and
1964. We talk about this often
on the show. So you have an 80%
chance of needing long term care
at some point after the age of
75. The first baby boomer that
was in 2021, turns 75. As the
need continues to progress,
right, not everybody can age in
place. But I read a statistic
last week, we are short 6.5
million homes in the United
States. How are we going to
solve not only the aging
problem, but also the housing
problem? And do you think that
this problem is this like
building the transcontinental
railroad? Is that how
insurmountable this problem is
and how much effort and
attention it needs?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Um, you
know, I think we need to start
looking at a growing number of
older people not as a problem
Kosta Yepifantsev: But as a
resource, absolutely right?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: And when we
start to shift that it doesn't,
there. There's so many
opportunities as we get older
that we can be part of the
solution. And the more we're
engaged, the more we live
amongst other people, the less
likely is that we're going to
need more higher levels of care,
right? Because those things are
definitely predictors of your
health. So I think that that
needs to be a shift, for sure,
Kosta Yepifantsev: like a multi
like a multi generational
adoption. So like, more multi
generational families,
essentially,
Jill Vitale-Aussem: I don't, I
don't know about that. I mean,
potentially, but I don't know if
we're ever gonna go back to
that. But I mean, I mean, just
because we're older doesn't mean
like, like it are. So think
about, we've got a staffing
crisis. We've got older people
living and I'm thinking
residential, living and assisted
living, people who need
meaningful purpose people who
can't afford senior living. And
so we're gonna we're doing a
pilot at one of our communities,
with dining, like, if you live
in this community, you want to
make some extra bucks. We have
these positions open, and why
don't we do more of that. And if
we stop disabling older people,
maybe we don't need as many
staff
Kosta Yepifantsev: absolutely
keep costs lower. So we always
like to end the show with a call
to action. What advice do you
have for families, caregivers,
and senior living communities
who wants to adopt person
directed care?
Jill Vitale-Aussem: Take the
first step. Okay, go to a
certified eating associate
training, go to eat not.org Sign
up for a class there's online
training, find books to read, go
to the pazza pioneer network and
greenhouse there another culture
change transformation
organization. There's a
conference in July in
Pittsburgh, take the first step.
I think it's really important to
you don't have to have
everything all figured out but
start with that personal
transformation education on your
own and then keep it going. But
take first step
Caroline Moore: Thank you for
joining us on this episode of
Now or Never Long-Term Care
Strategy with Kosta Yepifantsev.
If you enjoyed listening and you
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Long-Term Care Strategy is a
Kosta Yepifantsev production.
Today’s episode was written and
produced by Morgan Franklin.
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Kosta? Visit us at
kostayepifantsev.com