TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2021 at 11:00 AM EST

Event Summary

The 2020 #ActivitiesStrong Virtual Summit was the largest and most successful virtual event for activity and life enrichment professionals in senior living. Following this success, the Summit returns on June 22nd as a way to continue to acknowledge, educate and empower activity and life enrichment professionals. Participants this year will be able to learn what the state of resident engagement will be post-COVID19 pandemic, explore best practices and understand the long-lasting changes that will impact how we build person-centered experiences for older adults.

Objectives

Understand the opportunities for resident engagement in 2021 and beyond
Learn about loneliness and social isolation and how to mitigate their negative effects on the health and well-being of senior living residents
Be able to create and implement innovative, sustainable, effective and person-centered resident engagement strategies

This event is hosted and managed by the #ActivitiesStrong initiative, led by Linked Senior in Partnership with Activity Connection, The National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP) and the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP).

Participants who attend the live event can earn up to 6 NAB, NCCAP, NCCDP and/or NCTRC CEU Credits

SESSION 1: 11:00AM-12:00PM EST

Voice of Activity and Life Enrichment Directors

COVID-19 has truly exposed the life-sustaining need for social engagement in our elderly population. The Activity Professional has stepped up and met the challenge during this unprecedented event. Through the use of technology, creative approaches and innovative adaptations the psychosocial and functional needs of our senior population have been met in this time of crisis. This session will explore the current state of social engagement within our care communities In relation to regulatory expectations and guidance. We will review the positive takeaways of this experience and how social engagement will forever be changed in a care community.

Objectives

The participant will understand the current state of guidance and regulatory compliance as issued by CMS as well as the CDC.
The participant will learn how to identify best practice is to ensure the continued successful engagement post this healthcare pandemic.
The participant will identify ongoing resources for the community as well as the activity professional.

Alisa Tagg

Director
NAAP

Dawn Worsley

Board of Directors President
NCCAP

Moderator: Mathew Guilfoyle

President
Activity Connection

SESSION 2: 12:00PM-1:00PM EST

Living with Dementia during COVID-19

Karen Love, Executive Director at Dementia Action Alliance, who will moderate a discussion with two individuals living with dementia who will describe their experiences and how COVID-19 especially impacts people living with dementia and how they are managing:

Experiencing early signs and symptoms
Getting a diagnosis and what’s next
Accepting the diagnosis to move on and live proactively
Finding purpose and meaning in life – “I don’t want to just live but to thrive”
COVID-19 and learning how to manage this strange new world

Objectives

Learn the challenges many people experience just getting diagnosed with dementia.
Understand the importance of accepting a diagnosis of dementia before being able to move on to living proactively with it.
Learn how some individuals living with dementia find purpose and meaning in their lives with dementia.

Karen Love

Executive Director
Dementia Action Alliance

BREAK: 1:00PM-1:30PM EST

SESSION 3: 1:30PM-2:30PM EST

C-Level Leadership Enables the Purpose of Resident Engagement

Resident engagement is more than activities – and the impact of the COVID19 pandemic has highlighted the need for senior living leaders to bring resident-driven experiences into the fabric of their organizations. Participants will learn how senior living operators view resident engagement as a business force and how they are adapting with shifting customer expectations. Drawing from decades of experience developing, managing and optimizing communities for resident experience excellence, the presenters will share perspectives from their own organizations and discuss what they see as the future of resident engagement in senior living. The discussion will review the impact of COVID-19 and explore the future of resident engagement so Elders can live with purpose.

Objectives

Explain past and present challenges and trends regarding resident engagement from a C-level perspective
Prepare and implement a meaningful resident experience from a programming and operational standpoint
Understand the C-Level viewpoint on resident engagement ROI including quality of life, market competitiveness and occupancy

Lynne Katzmann

President
Juniper Communities

Marvell Adams Jr.

Chief Operating Officer
The Kendal Corporation

Moderator: Joshua Crisp

Co-Founder / Co-Host of Bridge the Gap: The Senior Living Podcast

SESSION 4: 2:30PM-3:30PM EST

Elevating the Senior Living Experience: Culture Change for Resident Engagement

The pandemic has highlighted a pre-existing need for a clear and measurable standard for resident engagement. How do senior living providers provide quality, person-centered activity programs that truly equate to quality, clinical and financial outcomes? Many organizations utilize resources, staffing, and time provided to engage residents in the best way they know how, but lack a unified process and benchmarks to provide that person-centered, quality care experience. The session will review the state of resident engagement as it stands today, discuss current challenges and present an innovative best practice model to improve the experience team members want and residents deserve. The session will include industry benchmarks, evidence based approach and exclusive data sets. Let’s cause a bit of disruption, have our voices heard, and revolutionize for culture change in resident engagement that will take us to the next level, set standards that we can measure and manage to improve the life of our Elders. This will result in quality improvement for staff, caregivers, families and organizations.

Objectives

Outline the current state of resident engagement in senior living communities
Understand both the challenges and opportunities that senior living organizations have when it comes to resident engagement
Apply evidence-based practices and use proven benchmarks to improve the culture in their community when it comes to person-centered resident engagement

Dr. Jennifer Stelter

Product Program Director
Linked Senior

Dr. Katy Abbott

Associate Professor of Gerontology, Miami University, Scripps Gerontology Center

BREAK: 3:30-4:00PM EST

SESSION 5: 4:00PM-5:00PM EST

Voice First Technology and the Future of Resident Engagement

Nearly 90 million US adults have adult speakers and 70% of those are Amazon Echoes. As the rest of the country is adopting voice first speakers, resident engagement has also begun to incorporate this solution in various ways. These voice-first devices are optimizing workflows in check in and communicating daily activities and menus. It is also allowing staff to communicate directly inside the resident’s room to ensure residents are receiving the right kind of care at any time. Learn more from this session on how Alexa is transforming senior care and resident programs, empowering more independent and engaged residents.

Objectives

By the end of the session, the participant will learn what is an Amazon Echo and different use cases for resident engagement
The participants will discuss how voice first solutions are improving care and workflows with resident and care staff
The participants will learn the basic requirements on how to implement Amazon echoes in resident programming

Ginna Baik

Senior Business Development Manager
for Senior Living at Amazon Alexa

SESSION 6: 5:00PM-6:00PM EST

My Life Story is Mine to Write! Why Expressive Writing Allows People to Connect and Find Purpose

Angela Burton, Founder/CEO, of Feet to the Fire Writers’ Workshops® challenges us to make sense of who we are by looking back at our lives, understanding our particular lived experiences and how they define us. This practice gets to the core of person-centered care and impacts individuals and families, as well as caregivers in the senior living ecosystem. Through an interactive virtual presentation, Angela will offer her perspectives on how boredom and isolation experienced by senior living residents, made worse by the pandemic, calls for a new look at resident programs, especially when it comes to the practice of writing as a cathartic tool. Participants will learn how expressive writing and sharing stories can move us from passive engagement to autonomous participation.

Angela will be joined by a panel of residents who have experienced, firsthand, the power of expressive writing as a means of purpose-driven programming within their community. How can life narratives serve to paint the rich picture of our lives as well as link us together for social/emotional engagement and belonging? Why is writing a beneficial way to engage the mind, foster friendships among others and create lasting legacies for families? How can your life enrichment teams create a more vibrant, engaging environment that highlights the stories through older adult voices? This presentation will address why life enrichment programming plays a necessary role in shaping the care of others, especially through a strategic writing program, and clear strategies for how to begin.

Objectives

Understand the differences between storytelling and active writing/sharing as a means for creative engagement
Learn at least three strategies for creating an open environment for residents to engage in the writing process as a means of self-expression in 1:1 and group settings using a structured writing approach
Develop an intentional method of encouraging resident choice/autonomy when planning programs in general to offer choice and creativity