I had the privilege to lead a session on our Dementia Live™and Compassionate Touch® person-centered care programs at the recent American Health Care Association National Convention in Nashville last week. As part of the Dementia Education Track faculty, it was such an honor to speak to so many passionate leaders who are stepping out of the box and doing amazing things to transform their communities. I love to listen to the success stories and challenges as it helps us grow as an organization in helping those we serve.
Kenneth Gronbach's fantastic keynote address was a clear reminder to us all that the Age Curve is not going to happen - it's here. And the numbers speak for themselves. It is a clear reminder that as we face the aging tsunami we as leaders, MUST look forward in the way we will care for our aging population.
The medical model of care is shifting - albeit a bit too slow for those of us with a mission to see person-centered care become the standard. But let's focus on the good things happening. One is the new federal and state regulations that require higher standards of training across the spectrum. This is going to have a great affect on pushing person and patient centered care initiatives to the forefront.
The big question is how we will move the Mission Forward to produce real culture change in our organizations. This takes much more than goals of teaching core competencies. It's a matter of prioritizing the quality of training, how it will be integrated and the big challenge - how it will be sustainable within your organization. Culture change happens when everyone - those who live in, work and visit your communities - think, feel and act differently.
We are moving to fast on the Age Curve to rest on what we've been doing and look at what CAN be done. I look forward to sharing in future blogs the incredible work that is being down around the world to transform eldercare. It's an exciting time to be working together in moving the mission forward!
