Celebrate With Us!
Now in its fourth year, the #ActivitiesStrong Virtual Summit is the largest and most successful virtual event for activity and life enrichment professionals in senior living. The Summit returns this year as a way to continue to acknowledge, educate and empower activity and life enrichment professionals. Participants will be able to learn what the state of resident engagement is in 2023 and beyond, explore best practices and understand long-lasting trends that impact how we build person-centered experiences for older adults.
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.
Summit Objectives
- Outline how to continue improving quality of life for residents with meaningful engagement.
- Understand how art can be used to combat ageism and creativity can support person-centered dementia care.
- Describe how resident engagement is a business driving force when it comes to improving occupancy and employee retention.
Confirmed Speakers
- Ashton Applewhite (Speaker, Author and Activist)
- Eric Collett (Principal and CEO, A Mind for All Seasons®)
- Melissa Dillon (Corporate Director of Memory CareSenior Resource Group)
- Caroline Edasis, LCPC, ATR-BC (AVP of Resident Engagement,Mather)
- Carrie Fairchild (Community Marketing Specialist, Activity Connection)
- Stacey Flint (Strategic Marketing Specialist, Windsong Memory Care)
- Angie Frantz (Celebrations and Expressions Product Manager, Prestige Senior Living)
- Joanne Kaldy (Communications Innovator, Storyteller)
- Meg LaPorte (Co-Founder, Art Against Ageism)
- Casey Pax, LPC (Psychotherapist, Caregiver Coach, Kinto)
- Severine Petras (CEO & Co-Founder Priority Life Care)
- Linda Redhead (President, National Certification Council for Activity Professionals)
- Tiffany Richardson (Co-Director of Learning & Engagement, National Philharmonic)
- Bryan Rife (Director of Quality Assurance, NCCAP)
- Tina Sandri (CEO, Forest Hills of DC)
- Alisa Tagg (Association Director, National Association of Activity Professionals)
- Michele Tarsitano-Amato(Director of Creative Arts Therapy, Kendal at Oberlin)
- Charles de Vilmorin (CEO and Co-founder, Linked Senior)
- Jill Vitale-Aussem (President & CEO, Christian Living Communities)
SESSION 1: 11:00AM-12:00PM EST
Voice of Activity and Life Enrichment Professionals
Meaningful engagement is a life-sustaining need for residents in senior living communities. Activity and Life Enrichment professionals are our industry’s unsung heroes when it comes to ensuring that every resident in their care can live purposefully. With insights from the leading organizations in the activity and life enrichment field today, join us to explore the current state of resident engagement within our care communities and learn how we can continue improving quality of life for residents while also keeping in mind current regulatory expectations and guidance.
Learning Objectives
- Learn how to move from entertainment to engagement when it comes to connecting with residents.
- Outline current guidance and regulatory compliance when it comes to activity programming.
- Identify best practices for innovative program planning, improved resident engagement and professional growth.
Alisa Tagg
Association Director
NAAP
Linda Redhead
President
NCCAP
Moderator: Carrie Fairchild
Community Marketing Specialist
Activity Connection
SESSION 2: 12:00PM-1:00PM EST
C-Level Leadership Enables the Purpose of Resident Engagement
Resident engagement is more than activities – and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for senior living leaders to bring resident-driven experiences into the fabric of their organizations by enabling the model of social prescription. 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 how to operationalize the model of social prescription and explore the future of resident engagement so that elders can live with purpose.
Learning Objectives
- Explain past and present challenges and trends regarding resident engagement from a C-level perspective.
- Prepare and implement a meaningful resident experience that supports the model of social prescription from a programming and operational standpoint.
- Understand the C-Level viewpoint on resident engagement ROI including quality of life, market competitiveness and occupancy.
Severine Petras
Tina Sandri
CEO
Forest Hills of DC
Jill Vitale-Aussem
President & CEO
Christian Living Communities
BREAK: 1:00PM-1:30PM EST
SESSION 3: 1:30PM-2:30PM EST
Using Art and Creativity to Combat Ageism
Ageism is pervasive in our society, and it affects people of all ages in very unsettling ways. This presentation is a call to action for activity professionals! We will examine this problem as it applies to aging services and explore some solutions to combating it using the power of something known as artistic activism, which combines the emotional impact of art with the power and effect of strategy. Artistic activism has had a significant impact on social change, particularly with many well-known movements, such as those for civil rights, women’s rights, and workers’ rights. Meg LaPorte, co-founder of Art Against Ageism and Ashton Applewhite, co-founder of Old School Anti-Ageism Clearinghouse, will examine how combating ageism through artistic activism can help to change minds, bridge divides, and bring people together around common interests to eradicate prejudices around age. Participants will also learn how they can deploy artistic activism to advance positive age beliefs and combat ageism.
Learning Objectives
- Learn about research on ageism and its impact on the economy, healthcare, workforce, and elders.
- Compare some powerful examples of artistic activism by artists that have used their palettes, cameras, and other media to effect social change and make the voices of the disaffected heard.
- Identify concrete ideas for how activity professionals can create their own artistic projects, installations, and initiatives that confront and combat ageism.
Meg LaPorte
Co-Founder
Art Against Ageism
Ashton Applewhite
Speaker, Author and Activist
Moderator: Charles de Vilmorin
CEO and Co-founder
Linked Senior
SESSION 4: 2:30PM-3:30PM EST
Award Winning Memory Care Programs - From Creation to Operations
Learning Objectives
- Understand challenges in creating or refreshing signature memory care programs
Recognize key stakeholders’ interests and mindset regarding the memory experience
Learn how to strategize to create sustainable programs
Eric Collett
Principal and CEO
A Mind For All Seasons®
Melissa Dillon
Corporate Director of Memory Care, Senior Resource Group
BREAK: 3:30-4:00PM EST
SESSION 5: 4:00PM-5:00PM EST
Hear From Resident Engagement Champions
This session will focus on and celebrate real life stories from three leaders in the resident engagement field. The presenters will share their experience, including inspiring stories of success. They will also describe challenges they faced in creating meaningful and purposeful opportunities for residents, especially those living with cognitive change. Learn about tried and true strategies they have implemented and walk away with actionable advice on how to implement these strategies successfully. Moderated by Joanne Kaldy, Communications Innovator and Storyteller and Bryan Rife, Director of Quality Assurance, NCCAP.
Learning Objectives
- Understand core resident engagement challenges
Learn how to create a resident engagement action plan and celebrate success
Discover four to six tried and true resident engagement strategies
Stacey Flint
Angie Frantz
Michele Tarsitano-Amato
SESSION 6: 5:00PM-6:00PM EST
Bring Resident Engagement to Life with Creative Expression
We’ve heard about the many benefits of meaningfully engaging residents in senior living communities, especially those living with cognitive and/or physical changes, in creative expression and connection. Creative engagement can help us rethink how we organize and provide activities for older adults. Join a panel of artists, art therapists, and change makers to hear diverse examples of creativity as a powerful tool in strengths-based dementia care and systems change.
Learning Objectives
- Take a systems lens on resident well being.
- Outline how creativity can change how we live, work, think, and interact within our communities.
- Describe how we can embrace a creative disruptor identity to rethink senior living.
Casey Pax, LPC
Psychotherapist, Caregiver Coach, Kinto
Tiffany Richardson
Co-Director of Learning & Engagement, National Philharmonic
Caroline Edasis
AVP of Resident Engagement
Mather
HAPPY HOUR: 6:00PM-6:45PM EST
Bryan Rife
Director of Quality Assurance
NCCAP
Sponsored By
Wisdom Donations
Instead of a monetary donation, we would love for you to consider donating Wisdom about resident engagement, being an activity or life enrichment directory and the passion you have for serving the older adult.
We will use these as part of our #ActivitiesStrong initiative.