Elevate Eldercare

On his LinkedIn profile, Michael Wasserman, MD, describes himself as a "Grampa, Father, Husband, Ironman, and Geriatrician." He is also someone with strong opinions about COVID and nursing homes.   In our recap of the Episode 81, in which Susan Ryan sits down with Dr. Wasserman, we take a deeper dive into the "Quadruple Aim" and the four areas it covers in light of the pandemic. Dr. Wasserman call...

Susan Ryan sits down with Michael Wasserman, MD, a geriatrician who has devoted his career to serving the needs of older adults. He is the editor in chief of an upcoming textbook, Geriatric Medicine: A Person-Centered Evidence-Based Approach, and he was previously CEO of Rockport Healthcare Services. In this role, he oversaw the largest nursing home chain in California. Dr. Wasserman is a sought-a...

Steve Nash, president and CEO of Stoddard Baptist Home Foundation, is the focus of this episode of "Let Me Say This About That" with Mary and Marla. They examine Susan Ryan's conversation with Steve to discuss his work with the foundation, his perspective on the challenges of COVID, and what he envisions for the future of long-term care. Nash is a firm believer in forming partnerships with the com...

Susan Ryan sits down with Steve Nash, president and CEO of the Stoddard Baptist Home, which has a legacy of caring for elders in the Washington, D.C., metro area since 1902. Nash has held leadership roles in a number of long-term care organizations, including as president of the District of Columbia Health Care Association, chair of D.C.'s Board of Long-Term Care Administration, a member of the Le...

In this recap of episode 77, Susan Ryan sat down with Larry Minnix, a consultant and author, and perhaps most known for his previous role as CEO of LeadingAge, a national association of nonprofit long-term and post-acute care providers. When he retired in 2015, LeadingAge named its Leadership Academy after him. In this episode of "Let Me Say This About That," Marla and Mary take a closer look at s...

In this week's episode, Susan Ryan sits down with Larry Minnix, a consultant and author, and perhaps most known for his previous role as CEO of LeadingAge, a national association of nonprofit long-term and post-acute care providers. When he retired in 2015, LeadingAge named its Leadership Academy after him. Minnix has been recognized as a "Top 50 Leader" by the Non-Profit Times and a "Top 50 Influ...

Today they explore episode 75, where Susan Ryan sits down with Lisa McCracken and Dan Hermann of Ziegler Investment Banking, a privately held investment bank, capital markets and proprietary investments firm that specializes in the healthcare, senior living, and education sectors.  McCracken is director of senior living research and development, and her primary focus is on conducting industry rese...

In today's episode, Susan Ryan sits down with Lisa McCracken and Dan Hermann of Ziegler Investment Banking, a privately held investment bank, capital markets and proprietary investments firm that specializes in the healthcare, senior living, and education sectors. McCracken is director of senior living research and development, and her primary focus is on conducting industry research and trend ana...

In this episode, Susan Ryan sat down with Jeannee Parker Martin, president and CEO of LeadingAge California. In this recap, Marla and Mary offer some background on LeadingAge California and its 60-year history. They take a deeper dive into the five key initiatives the group is working on for its members and examine what the "silver lining" is with COVID, according to Parker Martin. Marla explores...

In this episode, Susan Ryan sits down with Jeannee Parker Martin, president and CEO of LeadingAge California, an organization that "fights on behalf of California's older adults to ensure their access to innovative, quality, and affordable long-term services and supports." Its members are long-term and post-acute care providers in California. Parker Martin explains what it was like to lead her mem...

In today's episode, Marla and Mary reflect on Women's History Month, offer some historical background on its origins, share statistics on women in long-term care, and then take a closer look at the leadership journey of Susan Ryan, senior director of The Green House Project. Susan has been named a 2021 McKnight's Women of Distinction Hall of Honor inductee, a much-deserved designation for an amazi...

In today's episode, the last of March 2021, a month designated as Women's History Month, Susan Ryan and her fellow podcasters from "Let Me Say This About That," Mary Hopfner-Thomas and Marla DeVries, sit down to reflect upon the incredible women leaders that have been guests on Elevate Eldercare. Since we launched last July,19 women have been interviewed for this podcast. A year into the pandemic,...

Innovation is a big part of the conversation this week on "Let Me Say This About That." In Episode 69, Susan Ryan sat down with Alice Bonner, who has been a geriatric nurse practitioner caring for older adults and their families for over 30 years. She is currently adjunct faculty and director of strategic partnerships for the CAPABLE program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and se...

Susan Ryan sits down with Alice Bonner, a geriatric nurse practitioner who has been caring for older adults and their families for over 30 years. She is currently adjunct faculty and director of strategic partnerships for the CAPABLE program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and senior advisor for aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Bonner describes how she has used...

Today we take a deeper dive into Episode 67, where Susan sat down with Lori Porter, co-founder and CEO of the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA), a nonprofit organization that elevates the professional standing and performance of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) through recognition, advocacy, education, and empowerment. In today's episode of "Let Me Say This About That", we...

In today's episode I talk with Lori Porter, co-founder and CEO of the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA), a nonprofit organization that elevates the professional standing and performance of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) through recognition, advocacy, education, and empowerment. Porter is a nationally sought-after speaker on team building and transforming workforces into "...

Could we take what we learned with the HIV/AIDs global health issue and apply it to our crisis with COVID-19? William Haseltine, PhD, scientist, researcher, author, philanthropist, and currently president of ACCESS Health International says YES! Susan Ryan sat down with Dr. Haseltine, who is perhaps best known for his work on cancer, HIV/AIDS, genomics and currently, COVID-19. He is an internation...

Susan Ryan sits down with William Haseltine, PhD, scientist, researcher, author, philanthropist, and currently president of ACCESS Health International. Perhaps best known for his work on cancer, HIV/AIDS, genomics and currently, COVID-19, he is an internationally recognized expert on the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Haseltine is dedicated to ensuring that quantum advancements in medical technology tran...

In Episode 63 Susan Ryan sat down with Anne Montgomery, co-director at Altarum's Program to Improve Eldercare, where she oversees a portfolio of quality improvement research and policy analysis focused on older adults. Montgomery has more than two decades of policy experience working on Medicare, Medicaid, and related programs. Mary and Marla explore a number of topics Montgomery raised during her...

Susan Ryan sits down with Anne Montgomery, co-director at Altarum's Program to Improve Eldercare, where she oversees a portfolio of quality improvement research and policy analysis focused on older adults. Montgomery has more than two decades of policy experience working on Medicare, Medicaid, and related programs. Prior to Altarum, Anne served as a Senior Advisor for the U.S. Senate Special Commi...

This week's recap highlights the return trip to microphone for David Grabowski., PhD. In late summer, Susan Ryan first sat down with Dr. Grabowski to discuss his insights into the pandemic and his role and experience on the Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes. In Episode 61, he offers a retrospective look at the results and recommendations. Marla and Mary take a close lo...

David Grabowski, PhD, professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, sits down with Susan Ryan for his second episode of this podcast. This week, they examine recommendations made by the Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes, whether they went far enough in achieving the goals for improving quality and safety and what has happened since those recommendations wer...

This week's episode of "Let Me Say This About That" covers two major topics all thanks to Katie Smith Sloan, president, and CEO of LeadingAge.   Susan Ryan talked with her on Episode 59. Get your seat belt fastened for this episode – it's packed with information and insights!   Not only do we highlight the work and leadership of Sloan and LeadingAge, but we also take a deep dive into two areas she...

Susan Ryan sits down with Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, an organization that represents more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations. Sloan talks about LeadingAge, what it does, why it exists, and how the organization has used its voice to lead during the pandemic by interpreting changing guidance to produce tangible tools and reso...

What better way to kick off your Valentine's Day weekend than learning about a leader who truly believes in a culture of love to operate a home care agency in the Baltimore, Md., area. In Episode 57, Susan Ryan sat down with Danny O'Brien, founding CEO of Avila Home Care. At a time when the senior living field is re-evaluating the challenges of congregate care during a pandemic, home care is often...