PHInational.org

Logo of 2011 Pioneer Network National Conference

The Pioneer Network‘s annual conference will take place August 1-4 in St. Charles, Missouri, and will feature several sessions led by PHI experts.

Susan Misiorski, the national director of the PHI Training and Organizational Development Services team, and Kate Waldo, PHI organizational culture change specialist, will help guide day-long presentations during the four-day event.

PHI’s Cean Eppelheimer and Kathy McCollett will also present a 90-minute session on how to be an approachable leader.

According to the Pioneer Network’s website, the conference is the “only national conference devoted solely to culture change.”

Initiating Culture Change

Along with Joanne Rader of Rader Consulting, Misiorski will co-lead “Getting Started,” a day-long intensive session designed to help leaders of care facilities take the first steps toward culture change.

Misiorski and Rader will dispense practical advice to formal and informal leaders across care settings who are interested in de-institutionalizing services and individualizing care.

“For the last decade, the Pioneer Network conference has presented a great annual opportunity to spread the word about culture change,” said Misiorski, the founding president of the Pioneer Network’s board of directors.

“I hope that attendees will come away inspired to start their own culture-change journey — or, if they are already on the road to culture change, I hope they will redouble their efforts to implement organizational change,” she added.

Focus on LGBT Elders

Meanwhile, Waldo will co-lead a day-long intensive session entitled “Creating an Environment of Safety and Inclusion for LGBT Older Adults.”

During the session, Waldo and Hilary Meyer, the director of the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, will present a curriculum designed to help staff, administrators, and volunteers at aging network organizations to provide better care for their LGBT residents.

The curriculum achieves those goals by:

• Teaching participants about LGBT older adults — their culture, their needs, their concerns.
• Identifying best practices to help LGBT elders feel safe and included in their aging networks.
• Identifying health disparities between LGBT and non-LGBT elders.
• Reviewing policy and practice areas to consider how to increase inclusiveness and safety for LGBT older adults.

Other Sessions

“Getting Started” and “Creating an Environment of Safety and Inclusion for LGBT Older Adults” are two of 13 all-day intensive sessions that conference-goers can choose to attend during the conference’s second day.

The topics of other intensive sessions include implementing culture change in a physically traditional facility; administering dining assistance for people with dementia; and sustaining culture change over the long term.

Shorter sessions and workshops will also be held throughout the event.

A full list of the intensive sessions can be found on the Pioneer Network’s website, along with a full conference schedule and registration information.

– by Matthew Ozga

The Pioneer Network, a coalition of organizations and individuals working to change the culture of aging and long-term care of elders in the U.S., is hiring an executive director.

This position requires a visionary leader who will serve as the organization’s representative and guide its efforts in:

• strategic development;
• fundraising;
• business planning; and
• financial management.

Interested applicants should contact James Zaniello at Vetted Solutions.

Pioneer Event Postponed

The Pioneer Network has postponed Creating Home in the Nursing Home III: MDS 3.0 as the Engine for Individualized Care and Quality Improvement, which was to be held in Washington, D.C. on April 10, 2011.

The Pioneer Network will, however, hold a series of webinars — to be scheduled this spring — and additional events on this initiative throughout the year.

- by Toccara Heath, PHI Communications Intern

The Pioneer Network has extended the deadline to submit proposals to be a guide and/or presenter at its 2011 National Conference, which will take place in St. Charles, Missouri, from August 1-4.

The new deadline is Friday, December 10; all proposals must be submitted electronically.

Ten tips for writing proposals to be a conference guide and/or presenter are available on the Pioneer Network’s website. Session guides/presenters represent a wide range of professions, such as nurses, architects, administrators, direct-care workers, researchers, artists, and advocates. Elders and family members are also encouraged to present.

The Pioneer Network is a leader in the culture change (pdf) movement and advocates for person-centered care. The organization boasts that it “hosts the only national conference devoted solely to culture change.”

The theme of this year’s conference is “Explore. Discover. Change.” Registration to attend the conference will be open this spring. More information about the Pioneer Network 2011 National Conference is available on the Pioneer Network’s website.

– by Deane Beebe

The Pioneer Network is requesting proposals to be a guide and/or presenter at its 2011 National Conference, which will take place in St. Charles, Missouri, from August 1-4.

The deadline to submit proposals is Tuesday, November 30; all proposals must be submitted electronically.

Ten tips for writing proposals to be a conference guide and/or presenter are available on the Pioneer Network’s website. Session guides/presenters represent a wide range of professions, such as nurses, architects, administrators, direct-care workers, researchers, artists, and advocates. Elders and family members are also encouraged to present.

The Pioneer Network is a leader in the culture change (pdf) movement and advocates for person-centered care. The organization boasts that it “hosts the only national conference devoted solely to culture change.”

The theme of this year’s conference is “Explore. Discover. Change.” Registration to attend the conference will be open this spring. More information about the Pioneer Network 2011 National Conference is available on the Pioneer Network’s website.

– by Deane Beebe

To take advantage of the Pioneer Network’s extended “early bird” registration rate for its 10th National Conference of Culture Change, people must register by June 15. Read the full story

The Pioneer Network has completed a research project exploring consumer knowledge of culture change in long-term care facilities. Read the full story