Elevate Eldercare

Susan Ryan sits down with Scott Townsley, who has more than 30 years of experience in the senior living field and has worked with hundreds of organizations across the country as they have grappled with how to successfully navigate and drive change. He serves as a professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's Erickson School of Aging Studies, where he teaches strategy, entrepreneurshi...

To kickoff 2021, Mary and Marla offer their takeaways from each episode of Elevate Eldercare. If you haven't had a chance to listen to all of the podcasts, this recap will give you insight into each podcast hosted by Susan Ryan in 2020. We hope you enjoy our reminiscing and look forward to our continued recaps in 2021 in "Let Me Say This About That".   Click here for to find the Elevate Eldercare...

Susan Ryan sits down with Jonathan Evans, MD, a physician, geriatrician, and epidemiologist, to address questions and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Evans' career has focused on the care of people in nursing homes and other residential care settings, as well as the care and support of people living with dementia and their caregivers. For most of 2020, his time has been spent protecting r...

In the final episode of 2020, Susan Ryan sits down with activist and writer, Ashton Applewhite. Her passion and focus are tackling ageism and its insidious penetration into the fabric of society. Ashton is the author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism and a TED mainstage speaker. Her manifesto was listed as one of the "100 Best Books to Read at Every Age" by the Washington Post, and n...

In the final episode of 2020, Susan Ryan sits down with activist and writer, Ashton Applewhite. Her passion and focus are tackling ageism and its insidious penetration into the fabric of society. Ashton is the author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism and a TED mainstage speaker. Her manifesto was listed as one of the "100 Best Books to Read at Every Age" by the Washington Post, and n...

Susan Ryan sits down with Daniella Greenwood, an international speaker, consultant, and author specializing in human rights policy and practices within aged care. Daniella, who is based in Victoria, Australia, is a staunch advocate for relational and social approaches that maximize freedom, self-determination, and choice for elders. In this recap Mary and Marla take a deeper dive into some of Dani...

Susan Ryan sits down with Daniella Greenwood, an international speaker, consultant, and author specializing in human rights policy and practices within aged care. Daniella, who is based in Victoria, Australia, is a staunch advocate for relational and social approaches that maximize freedom, self-determination, and choice for elders. Daniella shares incredibly provocative insights that should give...

In this week's episode, Susan talked with good friend, fellow nurse Anne Ellett. Anne is a certified nurse practitioner and founder of Memory Care Support, where she provides private consultation to individual families seeking the best in care for their loved ones living with dementia. In this recap Marla and Mary take a closer look at Anne's work through the lens of the four core principles of Be...

In this episode, Susan Ryan sits down with her good friend and fellow nurse, Anne Ellett, a certified nurse practitioner and founder of Memory Care Support, a company that provides private consultation to individual families seeking the best in care for their loved ones living with dementia. Prior to founding Memory Care Support, Anne held the position of senior vice president of health services f...

In this week's episode, Al Power sits down again with Susan Ryan. Al is an internationally recognized dementia expert whose books, Dementia Beyond Drugs and Dementia Beyond Disease, are must reads for anyone supporting people living with dementia. His astute insights and expertise provide a voice of clarity that provokes us to think differently and apply approaches that value the unique needs of e...

In this week's episode, Al Power sits down again with Susan Ryan. Al is an internationally recognized dementia expert whose books, Dementia Beyond Drugs and Dementia Beyond Disease, are must reads for anyone supporting people living with dementia. His astute insights and expertise provide a voice of clarity that provokes us to think differently and apply approaches that value the unique needs of e...

The essential theme of this recap episode is "Rethinking our Approaches and our Mindset." Marla and Mary review the 37 th episode of Elevate Eldercare with Susan Ryan and her good friend, Dr. Emi Kiyota. Emi is an environmental gerontologist and organizational culture change specialist. She is also the founder and director of Ibasho, an approach that seeks to make communities more inclusive and re...

In today's episode, Susan Ryan engages her good friend, Dr. Emi Kiyota, an internationally recognized thought leader on issues relating to healthy aging, in a conversation about the importance of multi-generational design, the value of reciprocity, and creating opportunities for elders to give back to their communities. Emi is the founder of Ibasho, an approach that seeks to make communities more...

In this recap, Marla and Mary discuss the 35 th episode of Elevate Eldercare where Susan Ryan sits down with her good friend and colleague, Mike Belleville. After a career in telecommunications and as a member of the Rhode Island National Guard for over a decade, Mike was diagnosed with early onset dementia. While devastating, Mike has not let the diagnosis define him. He currently serves on the b...

Susan Ryan sits down with her good friend and colleague, Mike Belleville. After a career in telecommunications and as a member of the Rhode Island National Guard for over a decade, Mike was diagnosed with early onset dementia. While devastating, Mike has not let the diagnosis define him. He currently serves on the board of directors for Dementia Action Alliance and the Council on Aging. He recentl...

Marla and Mary recap this week's episode where Susan Ryan sat down with two architects from Perkins Eastman (PE), David Hoglund and Martin Siefering. David is a principal and executive director of PE, providing leadership for the firm's global senior living practice. Martin, also a principal and co-leader of PE's senior living practice, joined the firm in 1990, and leads many of the firm's most ch...

Susan Ryan sits down with two architects, David Hoglund and Martin Siefering, from global architecture firm Perkins Eastman. David and Martin are co-leaders of the firm's senior living practice. Both are passionate about planning and designing compassionate and forward-thinking care for our elders. With this in mind, Susan, David, and Martin discuss the physical environment in creating spaces that...

Robert Kramer, president & founder of Nexus Insights, is the focus of this recap with Mary and Marla.   He spoke with Susan Ryan about something he knows very well: the seniors housing industry. Kramer, who founded the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC) and now serves as its strategic advisor, has lots to say about the pandemic's impact on the industry as well as the opp...

Robert Kramer, president & founder of Nexus Insights, speaks with Susan Ryan about something Kramer knows very well: the seniors housing industry. Kramer, who founded the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC) and now serves as its strategic advisor, has lots to say about the pandemic's impact on the industry as well as the opportunities it presents. Kramer, who draws from h...

In this recap, Marla and Mary discuss the 30 th episode of Elevate Eldercare with Diane Meier, MD, director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, a national organization devoted to increasing access to quality health care in the US for people living with serious illness. While every podcast is a learning experience, both Marla and Mary were quick to admit that they both learned quite a bit abo...

In today's episode, Susan Ryan talks with Diane Meier, MD, director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), a national organization devoted to increasing access to quality health care in the U.S. for people living with serious illnesses. Under her leadership the number of palliative care programs in U.S. hospitals has tripled in the last 20 years. The two discuss what Dr. Meier calls a "h...

In this recap, Marla and Mary discuss the 27 th episode of Elevate Eldercare with Louise Aronson, MD, a geriatrician, educator, and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where she directs UCSF Health Humanities.  Dr. Aronson is also an author, and has just recently released her book, Elderhood, which offers a broad perspective on the issues impacting aging and elder...

In today's episode, Susan Ryan talks with Louise Aronson, MD, a geriatrician, educator, and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where she directs UCSF Health Humanities. A graduate of Harvard Medical School and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, she has received many awards and accolades, including the Gold Professorship in Humanism, the Califor...

This week's recap with Marla and Mary takes you on a fast history lesson about congressional legislation for long-term care. You will also learn about the Ombudsman Program and Marla's work as an advocate for elders. This episode centers on Lori Smetanka, executive director of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, the leading national nonprofit advocacy organization representing...

This week, Susan Ryan sits down with Lori Smetanka, executive director of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, the leading national nonprofit advocacy organization representing consumers receiving long-term care in nursing homes, assisted living communities, and home and community-based settings. Lori's passion and expertise have served her and the mission of Consumer Voice well...