LTSS Center team members will explore issues related to workforce, leadership diversity, and service access during this year’s LeadingAge Annual Meeting.
Team members at the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston will present six educational sessions at the 2023 LeadingAge Annual Meeting, which takes place Nov. 5-8 in Chicago. The sessions will explore work conducted by the LTSS Center in three areas: workforce, leadership diversity, and service access.
Register for any of the following sessions by visiting the Annual Meeting website.
WORKFORCE
Support, Elevate, and Inspire Your Frontline Caregivers (42-B)
Sunday, November 5, 2:45 p.m.
Frontline professional caregivers are resilient, innovative, and hardworking. Yet, many have complex and challenging lives outside of work and need encouragement and support to envision and attain their goals. Join LTSS Center team members Robyn Stone, Natasha Bryant, and Jenna Kellerman, and executives of two Minnesota-based provider organizations, to discover how peer mentors, workforce development experts, and quality improvement models can help you support, elevate, and inspire every team member in your community.
Career Pathways for Frontline Caregivers in Aging Services (47-F)
Monday, November 6, 4:30 p.m.
Most frontline professional caregivers in the field of aging services want to advance in their careers, but only some of these caregivers are interested in becoming registered nurses. Fortunately, there are alternative career pathways they can pursue. During this session, LTSS Center team members Robyn Stone, Natasha Bryant, and Jenna Kellerman will join Bonnie Ewald from Rush University Medical Center to explore how providers of aging services can create non-traditional career pathways to help frontline professional caregivers pursue jobs in social work or other social services roles.
Looking to Improve Retention? Consider Onsite Staff Housing (149-H)
Tuesday, November 7, 2:45 p.m.
Offering affordable, onsite housing to your community’s team members can improve staff retention, stabilize staffing levels, and support the people who work for you. This session will highlight the experience of Lake Minnetonka Shores, a Minnesota-based senior living community that offers low-rent apartments to team members. Jenna Kellerman from the LTSS Center and Rob Lahammer from Presbyterian Homes and Services will describe the benefits and challenges of providing staff housing and offer tips to help you start a housing initiative.
Let AmeriCorps Help You Grow Your Workforce (152-K)
Wednesday, November 8, 10 a.m.
In 2022, AmeriCorps and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established Public Health AmeriCorps to support the recruitment, training, and development of the next generation of public health leaders. The AmeriCorps initiative advances more equitable health outcomes for underserved individuals and creates pathways to high-quality public health-related careers through onsite experience and training. During this session, Jenna Kellerman from the LTSS Center and Todd Schmiedeler from Thumbprint Consulting LLC will describe how Public Health AmeriCorps is helping to build a pipeline of professional caregivers in the field of aging services.
LEADERSHIP DIVERSITY
LeadingAge and UNCF: Creating the Next Generation of Leaders (43-C)
Sunday, November 5, 4:30 p.m.
In 2020, LeadingAge and UNCF (United Negro College Fund) formed a partnership aimed at increasing awareness of careers in the field of long-term services and supports (LTSS) among underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. During this session, LTSS Center team members Robyn Stone, Adrienne Ruffin, and Natasha Bryant will join UNCF’s Mary Williams to explore the new partnership and its efforts to improve the racial and ethnic diversity of mid- and senior-level management teams in the LTSS field.
EXPANDING ACCESS TO SERVICES
Expanding Access to Aging Services in Rural America (62-E)
Monday, November 6, 2:45 p.m.
A national collaborative led by Lutheran Services in America is working to make sustainable community-based services and supports more widely available to underserved older adults in rural communities. During this session, LTSS team members Robyn Stone and Molly Wylie will join Ashley Washington from Lutheran Services in America to provide an overview of the Rural Aging Action Network and how it builds partnerships with local organizations to connect low-income older adults with services and supports in their homes and communities of choice.
JOIN US IN CHICAGO
Register today for the 2023 LeadingAge Annual Meeting by visiting the Annual Meeting website.