Elevate Eldercare

Susan Ryan sits down with Dr. Bill Thomas, creator of the Green House model of nursing home care, and Steve McAlilly, president and CEO of Methodist Senior Services in Tupelo, Miss., the first organization to build a Green House home. You will hear Bill and Steve describe how Green House came to be, what precipitated the need for change, and how the two collaborated to create the first radically n...

Marla and Mary examine Tammy Marshall's unique look at impact of coronavirus pandemic on older adults and on the communities that her company, Thrive Senior Living, owns and operate. In the process, they explore salutogenic versus pathogenic approaches to care, wellbeing, and Atul Guwande's contribution to rethinking the safety narrative. Mary's takeaway is Tammy's exclamation to go back to the ba...

Susan sits down with Tammy Marshall, chief experience officer at Thrive Senior Living, a luxury provider of independent living, assisted living, and memory care in the eastern and southeastern United States.  Tammy's deep knowledge of nursing and aging services, unique approaches to care, and innovative perspectives frame her discussion with Susan as they unpack the impact of COVID-19 on Thrive re...

Mary and Marla deconstruct Dr. Wright's story of the devastating impact COVID-19 had at the Virginia nursing home where he serves as medical director. In examining his commitment to improving the lives of elders living with dementia, Mary and Marla discuss his commitment to changing the narrative about nursing homes by being transparent and steadfast in his messaging. They also explore Dr. Wright'...

Ryan sits down with Dr. James Wright, medical director of three nursing homes in Richmond, Va., to discuss his experience managing a tragic outbreak of COVID-19 early in the pandemic, how it has shaped his view of eldercare, and how he plans to improve it. Now in recovery phase of the outbreak, Dr. Wright reflects on how it affected his residents, the staff, and himself. He describes how he used t...

Susan Ryan is joined by Carol Silver Elliott, president and CEO of Jewish Home Family (JHF), a nonprofit aging services organization located in northern New Jersey. In this first episode of Elevate Eldercare, Carol's tenacity and acumen as a leader is evident as she describes how she took a chaotic crisis and applied strategic systems to create real solutions. She recounts poignant stories and the...

In the first Friday Recap of Elevate Eldercare, Mary and Marla break down Susan Ryan's interview with Carol Silver Elliott, president and CEO of The Jewish Home Family in Rockleigh, N.J. As they examine Carol's experience leading her team through the COVID crisis, Marla and Mary focus on several things: the crucible moment that COVID created, caring for staff and ensuring they had PPE, and the emp...

Nursing homes rarely garner positive attention, particularly from the media, and especially since the onset of COVID-19. It is within this context that The Green House Project has launched Elevate Eldercare, a podcast that seeks to speak up and out about the issues that have enabled a traditional system to continue and prevented society from going as far as we need to go. Our goal in this podcast...