Advertise on podcast: Elevate Eldercare

In this episode, host Susan Ryan welcomes internationally recognized dementia care pioneer John Zeisel for a conversation about seeing beyond a diagnosis and recognizing the person who remains.  Drawing on his work in dementia care, environmental design, and creative engagement, Zeisel explores how supportive environments, meaningful relationships, and opportunities for artistic expression can foster dignity, purpose, and connection.  In addition to making the case for a more inclusive vision of aging that is grounded in curiosity, personhood, and authentic quality of life, Zeisel challenges conventional ideas about longevity and cognitive decline. More about Zeisel and his podcast, Demystifying Dementia, here: https://demystifyingdementia.org

How can senior living environments support brain health, preserve identity, and help residents feel at home? In this episode of Brain Bytes, Kelly talks with Sandi Soraci, director of senior living strategies for Tarkett North America, about how thoughtful design can do more than meet safety and functional needs.    Kelly and Sandi explain how the built environment can reduce cognitive and sensory demands, support independence, and create opportunities for meaningful connection.  The conversation explores the power of "sticky spaces," comfortable places along residents' everyday paths where spontaneous interactions can happen naturally, and how glare, visual patterns, background noise, and competing conversations can increase cognitive load and fatigue. Looking ahead, Sandi makes the case for treating belonging as an intentional design outcome and extending cognitive-supportive design beyond memory care into independent and assisted living. The challenge for the industry is to connect design investments to measurable outcomes, including resident satisfaction, caregiver experience, family confidence, occupancy, and operational efficiency. For more information on Tarkett: https://commercial.tarkett.com/

Neurologist Doug Redosh, MD, and Up ENDing Parkinson's founder Molly Cupka join AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan to explore the powerful connection between exercise, climbing, confidence, and community. Doug shares his personal experience with Parkinson's and how climbing helped him reconnect with something he loved. Molly explains how one climber with Parkinson's inspired her to create Up ENDing Parkinson's, which now connects people with Parkinson's to climbing programs across the country. Their conversation explores how climbing can support strength, balance, focus, and connection, as well as help people move beyond what they think is possible. More about Up Ending Parkinson's here: https://www.upendingparkinsons.org/.  More information on AgingIN here: https://aginginnovation.org

Aging policy expert, author, and journalist Howard Gleckman joins AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan to explore the fragmented U.S. long-term care system, the challenges of financing care, the workforce crisis, and the limitations of the "aging in place" ideal.  Howard and Susan make make the case for aging in the right place, wherever a person can experience the care, autonomy, connection and community they need. Their conversation also highlights the Leonard Florence Center for Living, a Boston-based Green House home that demonstrates how even highly complex care can be delivered in a true home environment. Susan and Howard close with a message for families and policymakers alike: plan ahead, rethink assumptions about long-term care, and build a system that supports people wherever they call home. More about Howard, including his book Caring for Our Parents, here: https://howardgleckman.com.  Information on AgingIN Education Opportunities: https://aginginnovation.org/solutions/education/

Barbara Infante joins AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan to share how a family member's difficult rehabilitation experience led her from a 25-year career in process improvement and project management into aging services. Barb's secret sauce is about looking for what's working and sharing the ideas so others can build on them. Through her initiative, Eldercare Quest, she has taken to the road visiting aging services communities across the country to discover person-centered practices that are working well.  In today's episode, she shares some remarkable examples she's discovered along with way and lessons senior living providers can learn from each other.  Susan and Barb also discuss Agile Aging, a company Barb founded to help senior living organizations turn overwhelm into momentum by prioritizing initiatives, strengthening teams, and creating sustainable systems for change. More about Agile Aging here: https://www.agile-aging.com/. Information on AgingIN Education Opportunities: https://aginginnovation.org/solutions/education/

Lori Mars, director of the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), joins the show this week to explore elder abuse, ageism, and what can be done to prevent both. AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan sits down with Lori to discuss the different forms of elder mistreatment, including physical, psychological, sexual, and financial abuse, as well as neglect and self-neglect, and why recognizing the signs matters.  Lori also explains how ageism can devalue older adults and create conditions that increase the risk of abuse. The conversation highlights the power of intergenerational connection, multidisciplinary approaches to elder justice, and programs that support caregivers and promote restorative justice. Lori also shares her personal journey into elder justice and the NCEA's work providing education, research and resources to professionals, families and the public. The message is simple: respecting the dignity and humanity of older adults is essential to preventing abuse. More about NCEA here: https://ncea.usc.edu

James Balda, president and CEO of Argentum, joins Elevate Eldercare this week to explore how senior living can help address some of the biggest challenges facing aging and long-term care.  Balda sits down with AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan to discuss his journey to Argentum and the organization's policy priorities, including developing stronger care workforce pipelines, expanding senior housing, and finding new ways to serve the "forgotten middle," older adults who struggle to afford private-pay care but don't qualify for Medicaid. The conversation also explores what quality senior living should look like: home-like environments, resident choice, dignity, social connection, meaningful engagement, and strong memory care. He and Susan also delve into the potential of AI and other technologies to support caregivers while emphasizing that technology should enhance—not replace—the human side of care. The episode closes with a call to change the public narrative around senior living through storytelling and to give residents, families, and caregivers a stronger voice in shaping the future of aging. More about Argentum here: https://www.argentum.org/  Information on AgingIN Education Opportunities: https://aginginnovation.org/solutions/education/

What we eat plays a critical role in brain health, muscle strength, bone health, and healthy aging. In this episode of Brain Bytes, Kelly Tremblay talks with Jenny Overly, senior director of nutrition and wellness for CCL Hospitality Group, explore the mind-gut connection, the importance of whole foods, and what to know about protein as we age. They separate evidence-based nutrition guidance from social media hype, discuss quality protein sources, including plant-based options, and share practical tips for spreading protein throughout the day. This episode breaks down how nutrition is not just about how much protein we eat, but the quality, variety, and overall pattern of what's on our plate. More about CCL here: https://www.ccl-hg.com.

In this week's episode, Kimberly Green, PhD, CEO of Sage Integrated Health, shares her fascinating story of 34 years of experience in eldercare. AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan sits down with Kimberly to discuss how a life-changing accident reshaped her perspective and how her work with Sage has fueled a vision for more holistic, home-like communities. She explores integrated health, food as medicine, staff education, and the power of creating environments where residents and staff can thrive. Kimberly also discusses the regulatory and cultural barriers that can make change difficult, and why transforming eldercare will require collaboration, new ideas, and policy change. More about Sage Integrated Health here: https://sageih.com/  To learn more about AgingIN education: https://aginginnovation.org/solutions/education/

What happens when Parkinson's changes nearly everything you love to do? For Paul and Deanna Stroud, music became an unexpected path back to purpose, connection and joy. In this episode, the Strouds talk candidly about Parkinson's, grief, caregiving and the losses that come with changing abilities. They also share how the Second Verse Choir, a program for people living with dementia, transformed Paul's outlook and gave him something to look forward to again. For Paul, music gave him something to look forward to. Rehearsals restored a sense of purpose and belonging, while singing familiar songs created opportunities for connection and engagement. At a time when Paul had been struggling deeply with his sense of meaning, the choir helped him reconnect with life.  More about Second Verse here: www.secondversechoir.org.    Giving Voice is another resource for starting a choir in your own community: www.givingvoicechorus.org.    For more information on AgingIN education opportunities: https://aginginnovation.org/solutions/education/

In this episode, AgingIN CEO Susan sits down with Lynne Katzman, founder of Juniper, a senior living company based in New Jersey. Inspired by her Holocaust-survivor parents and entrepreneurial grandmother, Lynne has spent decades challenging conventional approaches to aging.  As the first woman-led senior living company, Juniper has evolved from its beginnings in 1988 to a growing organization operating 20 communities across five states. Lynne discusses with Susan how culture, data, and innovation can transform senior living and improve outcomes.  In addition to sharing Juniper's experience using technology and evidence-based approaches to care, Lynne describes the company's Connect for Life care transitions program, which has dramatically reduced hospital readmissions.  At the heart of their conversation is Lynn's powerful redefinition of independence, which isn't about having no support, it's about having choice. She imagines a future where older adults have more options for how and where they live, with the community, resources, and support they need to live rich and meaningful lives. Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZl1Z6OTixU More about Juniper here: https://junipercommunities.com/. Learn more about AgingIN education here: https://aginginnovation.org/solutions/education/

What happens when we stop designing eldercare environments around institutions—and start designing them around people? In this episode, renowned researcher, architect, and eldercare innovator Maggie Calkins, PhD shares her journey from psychology to architecture and her pioneering work creating dementia-friendly environments. AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan sits down with Maggie to reflect on an early nursing home renovation project in 1984 that sparked her lifelong commitment to understanding how the physical environment affects people living with dementia. She discusses the evolution of her research, the development of environmental assessment tools, and the founding of IDEAs Institute and SAGE. The conversation explores why research is essential to innovation, the importance of collaboration among providers, designers, regulators, and academics, and the shift from person-centered care toward person-directed care and self-directed living. Maggie also shares her vision for the future: replacing institutional environments with truly home-like settings—and challenging everyone involved in eldercare to experience those environments for themselves. Connect with Maggie here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggie-calkins-848096b

How does standing on one leg connect to brain health and longevity? In this episode of Brain Bytes, Kelly Tremblay talks with physical therapist Karen Stellick about the important relationship between balance, neurological health, mobility, and fall prevention. They explore the single-leg stance test, how the brain uses vision, the inner ear, and proprioception to maintain balance, and simple ways to safely improve stability at any age. This episode also examines how to train and improve balance, the connection between neuropathy and balance, and why maintaining balance is an important part of healthy aging.

What happens when nursing home residents, direct care workers, administrators, clinicians, and researchers all have an equal seat at the table? In this episode of Elevate Eldercare, host Susan Ryan welcomes Liza Behrens, assistant professor at Penn State University, along with members of the Empowering U.S. Nursing Homes Community Advisory Board explore how person-centered research can transform the future of long-term care. Funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the project is working to increase the capacity of nursing homes to participate in meaningful clinical research shaped by the people who live and work in these communities every day. Joining the conversation are resident Lorraine Bingman, certified nursing assistant Troy Alexander, nursing home administrator Allison Myers, and geriatrician Nicole Osevala, MD. Together, they share how diverse perspectives are strengthening research, breaking down barriers created by technical language, and ensuring that innovation reflects the real experiences of residents and caregivers. More about the Empowering U.S. Nursing Homes project here: https://www.nursing.psu.edu/empoweringus/ More about AgingIN's upcoming purpose-driven conference here: https://aginginnovationconference.org/

In this episode of Elevate Eldercare, AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan welcomes David Skoczulek, vice president of business development and communications at iCare Health Network, for a conversation about providing compassionate care to some of the most underserved populations in long-term care.  Drawing on his background as a paramedic, David shares how empathy, communication, and human connection have shaped his approach to serving older adults with complex medical, behavioral health, and social needs. David discusses iCare's innovative care model, including its nationally recognized MissionCare Health, which provides long-term care for justice-involved and difficult-to-place individuals. The conversation explores the importance of person-centered care, leadership, workforce development, and reducing the stigma surrounding these populations.  This is a powerful conversation about dignity, second chances, and courage to lean in and think differently. More about iCare and MissionCare here: www.icarehn.com  More about AgingIN's upcoming purpose-driven conference here: https://aginginnovationconference.org/