The Workshop
As individuals age, physical, mental, and societal challenges become more prevalent. This intensive one-day virtual workshop explores those challenges and discusses programming and design interventions that can assist people (and caregivers). Expert faculty will present case studies and examples that integrate architecture, design and technology into living environments that are not only safe, but foster wellness and longevity.
Faculty and attendees will explore gaps in the current system (certainly exposed and exacerbated by the current pandemic), and consider the latest in design thinking for healthy aging in various settings across the continuum of care. Identify state-of-the-art best practices and possible new solutions that enhance access to nature, engagement with technology, resilience, meaning, and purpose. Through thought leader presentations, case studies and panel discussions, attendees will gain new insights, have opportunities to pose questions to workshop faculty, and interact with fellow attendees in fun and innovative ways.
Agenda
Welcome Opening Remarks & Introductions
Addie M. Abushousheh, PhD, EDAC, Associate AIA, Organizational & Environmental Gerontologist, Research Associate, The Center for Health Design
Opening—State of the Practice & Trends in Environments for Aging
Dr. Roger Landry, Preventative Medicine Physician, President, Masterpiece Living, Author, Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging
Panel #1: Owner’s Panel
Join this panel for a discussion about best practices and challenges in various services and settings across the aging continuum of care including aging in place, acute care, rehabilitation and community services. The panel will highlight key issues to be addressed including isolation, distribution of services, accessibility, financial challenges, and technology.
Steve Lindsey, CEO, Garden Spot Communities
Angela Perry, LNHA, Administrator, Vernon Manor Health Care Center
Al Castro, MS, CSW-Program Director, United Community Center
Audience Q&A with Panel #1
Pose questions of the panelists and hear their responses and insights.
Setting the Context
Arun S. Rao, MD, AGSF, FACP, Medical Director, Care Coordination, Penn Medicine Princeton Health
West Coast Coffee Break/ East Coast Lunch Break
Panel #2: Aging in Community
Explore best practices and challenges in various services and settings, including intergenerational, rural/urban, low-income, and university-affiliated considerations. Consider key issues to be addressed including accessibility, integration, isolation, services, financial issues, and technology.
Dodd Kattman, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, MKM architecture + design
Vickie W. Harris, Founder and CEO, CommunityConneXor
Michelle A. Pinkowski, Esq., Pinkowski Law & Policy Group
Madeline Franklin, JD, Executive Director, STL Village
Audience Q&A with Panel #2
Pose questions of the panelists and hear their responses and insights.
West Coast Lunch Break/ East Coast Afternoon Snack
Case Studies and Lessons Learned: #1, 2, & 3:
Hear about three case studies that illuminate major themes discussed during the workshop. Explore designs that worked, challenges faced, and potential next steps and directions.
Jill Schroeder, CID, Senior Certified Interior Designer & Senior Planner, Pope Architects
Stephen J. Shields, CEO, Action Pact Holdings, LLC
Debbie Wiegand, Director of Operations, The Green House Project
Audience Q&A
Pose questions of the panelists and hear their responses and insights.
It’s a Wrap
Wrap up the day with this panel that will identify overall themes, observations and next steps.
Experts
Dr. Abushousheh is an Organizational and Environmental Gerontologist and Researcher Associate for The Center for Health Design. With combined expertise in architecture, organizational development, gerontology and applied research, Addie advances comprehensive and translational agendas related to quality assessment and performance improvement for aging and dementia in the continuum of care. In addition to publishing and presenting, Addie is a tri-chair of the Facility Guidelines Institute’s residential document group, maintains an adjunct faculty appointment at Kent State University, is a member of the Moving Forward Coalition, is a Board Member for IDEAS Institute, and serves as an Advisor to Abacus Institute and The AIA’s Design for Aging Knowledge Community.
Dr. Roger Landry is a preventive medicine physician, trained at Tufts University School of Medicine and Harvard University School of Public Health. He is the author of the award-winning Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging and President of Masterpiece, a multi-discipline group who help inspire and cultivate individual growth, resilience and purposeful longevity in partner communities.
Steve Lindsey is the Chief Executive Officer of Garden Spot Communities, including Garden Spot Village, a CCRC of 1000+ residents located in New Holland, PA and Maple Farm, a skilled nursing community in Akron, PA. Garden Spot Village was an early adopter of the household approach to skilled nursing and has introduced a “person centered” approach throughout the organization. Steve has more than twenty five years of administrative experience in both the retirement community and rehabilitation hospital fields. Steve is a licensed nursing home administrator, has an MSW from Temple University and a BS degree from Messiah College. He is involved in the Health Guidelines Revisions Committee of the Facility Guidelines Institute, is a SAGE board member, is on the Editorial Advisory Committee for Environments for Aging, as well as numerous other nonprofit boards and has been a frequent speaker at regional, state and national conferences.
In June 2019, Angela Perry, LNHA, COO was appointed Administrator of Vernon Manor, a 120-bed, family-owned post-hospital rehabilitation and long-term care facility in Vernon, Connecticut. Under the guidance of Angela and the diligence of a very dedicated staff, Vernon Manor remained COVID-19 free for ten months into the pandemic She and the team developed a robust strategic analysis and plan to maximize protection of residents and staff. Angela has over 12 years of experience in many aspects of skilled nursing care, including social services director and executive director/administrator with diverse populations and geographical settings between Connecticut and Georgia. In addition to her deep connection of caring for residents in nursing homes, Angela also understands the importance of advancement and diversity of women in leadership. She has established a professional networking company for women in healthcare administration, CODE W, to promote professional development.
Al Castro, MS, CSW, is the Program Director of the Health Research Department at the United Community Center, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been with the UCC for over 20 years. The UCC is a large, multi-services Latino non-profit community organization serving the range of pre-school age to older adults through various programs in the areas of child care, education, youth prevention, substance abuse treatment, elderly services, low income housing, fitness, health, and neighborhood development. With an annual average budget of $26 million, the UCC is able to serve 16,000 to 18,000 individuals yearly, through over 4000 staff among its various programs. The majority are from low income status, over 95% Latino, and range from natural citizens to immigrants from various Latin American countries or backgrounds.
Mr. Castro serves as the primary liaison with the research universities, developing and maintaining collaborations and partnerships for effective community engaged research in the Latino population of greater Milwaukee. UCC collaborates with various academic research universities (such as Medical College of Wisconsin, UW-Madison, Marquette University, UW-Milwaukee, Carroll University) in conducting community-engaged research in areas of health issues and inequities among the Latino community, to lead towards development of programs and services that addresses these issues and needs. Mr. Castro has been a co-author in various published health research articles related to these community health research projects.
Prior to his position, Mr. Castro had been the program director of the UCC Latino Geriatric Center, which is composed of a memory diagnostic clinic for Latinos and an adult day center designed for Latinos with dementia care needs and to provide support to Latino family caregivers.
Mr. Castro has over 25 years of prior experience as a social worker in county human services programs, including child protective services, juvenile services, and adult services. Mr. Castro has a master’s degree in business management from Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, a bachelor’s degree in social work from Carroll University, Waukesha, and is a licensed social worker in Wisconsin.
As a founding principal of MKM in 1989, Dodd offers over 30 years of senior living and long-term care project experience. He has assisted in building the firm into a nationally recognized leader in the fields of healthcare and community wellness. Through his efforts MKM was named one of the "Top 100 Healthcare Architects" by Modern Healthcare Magazine for the fifteenth consecutive year in 2021. In his role as senior living managing partner, he dedicates time to designing, researching, publishing, and presenting topics that elevate the expectations of supportive environments that promote the process of aging with dignity within communities.
Vickie has over 30 years of leadership experience in the post-acute and long term services and support sectors of the healthcare industry with a focus on older adults and other vulnerable populations. Roles included the Director of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Subacute Care, Tennessee Market Vice President for INSPIRIS, Executive Director of LeadingAge Tennessee and Director of Behavioral Health Practice at Meharry Medical College.
She also serves as lead long term service and support matter expert consultant to Urban Housing Solutions Nashville, Tennessee’s premier affordable housing developer, on its Tennessee Supportive Integrated Living for Vulnerable Elderly Renters (TN-SILVER) program, an innovative senior housing, health and health care model in an intergenerational community located in the most socio-economically challenged area of the city. A TN-SILVER health and wellness program was launched last fall in collaboration with the Vanderbilt School of Nursing and other community partners, Aging & Frailty: Resilience & Energy in the Second Half of Life (AFRESH).
Michelle Pinkowski is an attorney who focuses on helping owners, operators, and investors in residential assisted living homes. She is a nationally recognized fair housing expert and frequent speaker on legal issues related to senior housing at the neighborhood level.
Michelle is on the Board of Directors of the Residential Assisted Living National Association, and is a member of the Facilities Guidelines Institute Residential Document Group 2022 drafting committee.
Michelle works internationally to help governments institute reforms in construction permitting and land use policy. She is called upon by the United States government as a special consultant for construction issues.
Michelle is a RALS™ (Residential Assisted Living Specialist), a trained assisted living administrator, and has been recognized as an Industry Innovator by the Residential Assisted Living Academy.
Madeline Franklin is the founding Executive Director of STL Village which is affiliated with the national Village to Village Network. Madeline is a native of St. Louis and a graduate of Macalester College, St. Paul, MN and Washington University School of Law, St. Louis. Madeline developed an interest in aging and older adults while serving as the primary caregiver for my aging parents.
Jill Schroeder is a Senior Certified Interior Designer and Senior Planner at Pope Architects and is a leader in the firm’s senior living practice. With over 26 years in the field, Jill is passionate about continuing to push the boundaries for senior living design environments by challenging providers to emulate spaces to feel safe and comfortable. She has presented at Environments for Aging and LeadingAge conferences and she currently serves on the Healthcare Guidelines Revision Committee (HGRC) of the Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI), is Vice Chair of the Residential Health Subcommittee for the FGI Emergency Conditions Whitepaper and is Vice-president of SAGE, a national member-based organization for the Society for the Advancement of Gerontological Environments. Jill received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa.
Steve Shields is Co-Founder and CEO of Action Pact with offices in Kansas City, MO, Atlanta, GA, Milwaukee, WI and Kolkata, India. Our company is known globally for our innovation and high quality standards in senior living. We are a mixed use development and architectural firm with our own in-house interiors company. Our services include construction management, culture/operations consulting, financial modeling and fund sourcing. We also own and operate our own campuses.
Action Pact is leading the way in multigenerational integration within existing urban neighborhoods, and designed and developed the first ever Multigenerational Healthy Living Center in Liberty, MO which opened in 2018.
Steve is an international thought and action leader in the creation of innovative models in senior living. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and workshop presenter on leadership and transformation in senior living and hospital care. He was the President and CEO of Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community in Manhattan, KS - an internationally known senior living provider that pioneered and shaped the “Household Model” in the 1990’s under Steve’s leadership.
Steve and LaVrene Norton co-authored the book, “In Pursuit of the Sunbeam, a Practical Guide to Transformation from Institution to Household,” which is currently in its sixth printing and has sold in all 50 states and numerous foreign countries. He is also the co-author of “The Household Model Business Case,” a definitive work establishing viability of this model in long-term care.
Steve is a Senior Living 100 board member, an emeritus board member of the Fort Hays State University Foundation, a founder of the Pioneer Network of Rochester, NY, and has served on many local, state and national boards. Steve also taught leadership in long-term care for 17 years at Kansas State University
Debbie has spent more than 30 years in senior living as a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. Her culture change journey began in 1994 where she piloted the Eden Alternative in Texas. That success strengthened her resolve to never settle, embrace challenges as learning opportunities, and be a disrupter where change is rarely championed. Industry leaders and influencers have shaped the many creative and inspirational encounters that drive her passion to push the envelope for a better model of care.
As life has unfolded, her passion has become personal by becoming one of the millions of family caregivers impacted by those living with dementia. Seeing the whole person within a disease has taken on new meaning and urgency. Debbie believes, “Life must improve for those who have cared for us, when or if they need support beyond their own homes.”
When professional and personal missions blur, the urgency of The Green House Project core values known as: Real Home, Empowered Staff and Meaningful Life begin to take on new meaning. It is now personal!