THE MAYER-ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION
THE CEDARS
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE CENTER ON AGING
We are working toward the definition of excellence—together.
NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON EXPERT PANEL (Year Two – 2022)
This panel, consisting of representatives from the long-term care industry, scholars, advocates, and leaders, will ensure that findings have translational value to the broader field when formulated.
“Person-centered care means delivering long-term services and supports in a way that centers on the unique needs, experiences, and aspirations of every individual.”
Robert oversees its PHI’s national policy advocacy, research, and public education division in support of the direct care workforce. Robert is a nationally recognized expert and frequent speaker on aging, long-term care, and workforce issues—and serves on the board of directors for the American Society on Aging and the National Academy of Social Insurance. In 2020, he was selected for the first-ever CARE 100 list of the most innovative people working to re-imagine how we care in America today and as one of Next Avenue’s 2020 Influencers in Aging.
“Person-centered/directed support and services for me equates to a very simple concept. A person never loses their autonomy to make decisions that directly impact their daily lives regardless of age, where they live, how much money they have or changes in the way their body and mind functions. Our charge is to ensure all older adults we serve are guaranteed that autonomy so that aging is never a limiting factor for any person.”
In 9th grade I did a biology report on Alzheimer’s disease and was tragically fascinated by what I learned. A disease that could steal your memories. I thought I’d become a geriatrician; do research; find a cure. Fast forward to CHEM 212 at the College of Charleston & the best feedback I could have received from
my mentor: “Marvell, you are not going to be a doctor but you can still do good and seek out your passions in other professions.”
Leapfrog to graduate school at Chapel Hill; an MHA degree & minor in
aging services (called long term care back then). I was in the last cohort of students to take Dr. James Allen’s courses in LTC administration before he retired from UNC. I graduated, moved to Rochester, NY to be an administrator-in-training at Monroe Community Hospital, the 13th to do so at the decades old nursing home and hospital. While there, I was invited to lunch by Carter Williams and T. Franklin Williams. It would be nearly a decade before I understood the magnitude of that moment. The parents of geriatric medicine and person-directed care took the time to treat me to lunch; they took interest in ME
Over the years, I have worked to return the favor given to me by Carter and Frank by contributing to the next generation of aging services professionals. I’ve given dozens of lectures to hundreds of high school, undergraduate, graduate and doctorate level students and served as preceptor and mentor to 20+ students and early careerists.
Since my days at the “MoCH” I have met amazing individuals and worn several hats across a handful of organizations…nursing home administrator, surveyor, coach, chief executive officer, board member, project manager and now, founder.
As Founder & CEO of W Lawson, I am continuing two decades of committed service to older adults with a focus on inclusion, belonging and creating communities for older adults that authentically welcome them, their families and friends.
I have a very full and delightful family life in Baltimore, MD where I reside with my wife, Dr. Karoline Moon and our 3 children.
“One important aspect of person-centered care for me, is creating a supportive environment where persons are able to express self-determination, take risks, have agency, and live purposely free from the limitations of institution.”
Hugh began his career as a certified nursing assistant during college and has progressed through multiple positions within nursing homes including director of nursing and administrator. Hugh is passionate about developing environments that support person-centered care. He has spent the last 15 years as an executive in aging services and has helped to develop several new household model nursing homes during that time. Hugh is a registered nurse, holds a master’s degree in healthcare administration and recently finished his doctorate degree with specific interest in person-centered care and the household model at Duke University.
“Putting the person at the center of decisions about their own care seems obvious, but it rarely happens in our current system. Person-centered care is an essential way to make this happen.”
Dr. Feather is the CEO of Grantmakers in Aging, the national association of grantmaking foundations and other organizations that work to improve the lives of older people. Prior to beginning that position in 2011, he was Executive Director and CEO of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, the national membership organization of pharmacists who specialize in care of older persons. Until 2002, he was Director of the AARP Andrus Foundation, the research and education charity of AARP.
For the 17 years prior to that appointment in 1995, Dr. Feather held several positions at the State University of New York at Buffalo including Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Executive Director of the Primary Care Resource Center, and Director of the Western New York Geriatric Education Center.
Dr. Feather is currently on the Board of Archstone Foundation and EngAGE, an organization that brings professional level arts programs to low income older people in senior housing. He is the Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society on Aging and a former officer or Board member of 15 other national non-profit organizations. He received the ASA Award from the American Society on Aging for his work in policy, practice and education, and was elected a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. He was selected as one of the “50 Influencers in Aging” by Next Avenue, PBS’ national information source on aging, received the Ophelia Rinaldi Lifetime Achievement Award from National Hispanic Council on Aging, and was elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance. He recently joined the faculty of the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Feather is an organizational sociologist by training and received his undergraduate education at the University of Texas at Austin and his masters and doctoral degrees at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He has earned the designation of Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and Certified Association Executive (CAE). He is currently enrolled in the Master’s degree program in Egyptology at the University of Manchester (England).
"Person-centered care means providing the support, tools, and education for individuals to become empowered, active participants in their care."
Dr. Ford has been a nurse for over 15 years and a nurse educator for over 10 years. Her professional memberships include Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, American Nurses Association and American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She is a Fellow of the American Heart Association and Gerontological Society of America. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses within the College of Nursing. She has been the recipient of federal and intramural grant funding, conducted several research studies related to health disparities as well as educational research, and authored numerous publications and presentations. Dr. Ford has extensive experience related to community-based work, health disparities research, working with rural populations, and focus group methodology. Her primary research interest is cardiovascular disease in rural, southern African American women focusing on older adults as well as health disparities in rural populations.
“To me, person-centered care means knowing and continually seeking to understand each person, honoring who they are and supporting what they want or need in ways that help them achieve their goals or live life as they wish.”
Ms. Harmon brings both passion and a wealth of practical, real-world, clinical and operational experience to her role as Vice President, Quality, Regulatory & Clinical Services at American Health Care Association (AHCA). Her extensive service in a wide array of settings including post-acute care, long term care, residential care, assisted living, independent living, a psychiatric hospital and occupational health have provided her with insights, knowledge, skills and innovative ideas which she exuberantly shares with others.
In addition to her vast clinical experience, Ms. Harmon has put her dynamic energy into leading the statewide Maine Culture Change Coalition/LANE as President, the Maine Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes as Co-Chair, Vice-President of American College of Health Care Administrators, Maine Chapter and the Maine LANE Co-Convener for the national Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Campaign. She also served as the Director of Quality Improvement & Regulatory Affairs at the Maine Health Care Association.
She puts her boundless energy and warm and energetic personality into training, education and presenting both, nationally and locally. She has made simplifying the complex world of long term and post-acute care policy and practice an art.
“Person-centered care is the recognition that patients, residents, and clients are whole and complex people, whose lives are influenced by a myriad of factors including their environment, their relationships, and their life history. Doing person-centered care well means taking that nuance into account and authentically involving individuals in their own care decisions by giving them the information they need and by truly listening to their desires and concerns.”
Dr. Henning-Smith is the current chair of the editorial board of the Journal of Rural Health and is an Associate Editor at the Journal of Applied Gerontology. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts, commentaries, book chapters, and policy briefs, and her work has been widely cited in federal and state policy documents, as well as in national and international media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, NBC, CBS, and Politico. Dr. Henning-Smith holds a BA in international relations and gender studies from Claremont McKenna College; master’s degrees in public health and social work, along with a certificate in gerontology from the University of Michigan; and a PhD in health services research with a minor in demography from the University of Minnesota.
“For me, a person-centered environment is one that is grounded in knowing, caring and reciprocal relationships between residents and staff that allow for all aspects of support to be responsive to an individual’s priorities. It is one that recognizes and celebrates the value of each person and facilitates their ability to live as rich and full a life as possible at every stage of that life – one that is meaningful to them, driven by their own decisions about what matters most. It is also one that ensures that the voices of the individuals who live there are integrated in a meaningful way into decision-making about how their home operates. It is real home in every sense of that word.”
Ruta joined the foundation in 2016. In addition to leading the work of the program team and managing all aspects of MeHAF’s grantmaking, she also champions the organization’s Healthy Older People strategic priority area. Prior to coming to MeHAF, Ruta spent over 20 years of her career working to foster and advocate for quality improvement and person-centered approaches in long term care settings. She has held leadership roles with a diverse set of national organizations focusing on a mix of policy and advocacy, education, and organizational culture change, including The Green House Project, Pioneer Network, and the American Health Care Association among others.
Ruta has a B.A. in political science from The Catholic University of America, a Masters of Health Science in Health Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health and an M.A. in the Management of Aging Services from the Erickson School of Aging Studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. In her local community of Belfast, Maine, she serves as a volunteer with the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute and Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County. Acting on a decades-long aspiration, she and her husband re-located in 2016 from the Washington, DC area to midcoast Maine, where her spare time most often finds her outdoors, seeking out opportunities for walking and hiking, kayaking, sailing and photography whenever possible.
“Creating a person-centered environment means that each person has agency to live a self-directed life that provides opportunity to live with purpose, meaning and vitality regardless of your season of life, physical limitations or the amount of support needed. It involves creating home for each person; a place where they can know others and be known, where they can love others and be loved, where they can serve others and be served.”
Garden Spot Communities includes Garden Spot Village, a CCRC of 1000 residents located in New Holland, PA and Maple Farm, a skilled nursing community in Akron, PA. Garden Spot Village was an early adopter of the household approach to skilled nursing and has introduced a “person centered” approach throughout the organization. Steve has more than twenty-five years of administrative experience in both the retirement community and rehabilitation hospital fields. Steve is a licensed nursing home administrator, has an MSW from Temple University and a BS degree from Messiah College. He is involved in the Health Guidelines Revisions Committee of the Facility Guidelines Institute, is a SAGE board member, is on the Editorial Advisory Committee for Environments for Aging, as well as numerous other nonprofit boards and has been a frequent speaker at regional, state and national conferences.
“Person-centered care takes a human and holistic approach that encompasses a person’s emotional as well as physical needs and desires. In so doing, person-centered care focuses not on the quality of a person’s care but, more importantly, the quality of their life.”
As the CEO of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), she has been committed to ensuring that as a society we value and support people across the lifespan. That commitment has taken many forms including advocacy with multiple Administrations and on Capitol Hill for the passage of legislation aimed at supporting older adults including access to critical information, in-home services, and caregiver support. Sandy was the former Director of County Services at the National Association of Counties for 20 years. She also served as a Project lead at the National League of Cities and as an Assistant to the County Executive for human services in Albemarle County, VA.
“My mother-in-law, Marion, lived with us for 17 years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her life-long person-centered style of loving and caring for all of us set a standard that guides Action Pact's work and teachings - Know the Person!"
LaVrene Norton is the Founder and Executive Leader of Action Pact, an organization focused on culture change in elder services and care. LaVrene is the pioneer of the Household Model and has been working with organizations on the path toward resident-directed life in households in assisted living, skilled nursing and short stay. She is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost organizational change facilitators in long-term care and has taken her expertise to Ireland and Australia as well. In addition to building curriculum for the broad series of Action Pact workshops, intensives and consulting, LaVrene has led the Action Pact team in the development of a deep catalog of culture change and Household Model literature, workbooks and videos, most notably In Pursuit of the Sunbeam which she co-authored with Steve Shields and the Household Matters Toolkit – both projects funded by The Commonwealth Fund. She holds a Masters of Social Work.
“Whenever a trainee asks me what to do for an older patient I say, ‘IT DEPENDS.’ It depends on multiple factors that go into person centered care. When I talk with patients and their families or other loved ones I try to take into account their goals, current level of functioning, life expectancy, values, and preferences.”
Dr. Ouslander is an internationally recognized geriatrician. He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. He has experience as a Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he spent 15 years developing clinical, educational and research programs. From 1996 to 2008, he served as the Director of the Division Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology and the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Director at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
From 1999 to 2000, Dr. Ouslander served as the President of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and as its Board Chair from 2000 to 2001. He has served in the editorial leadership of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society for 25 years, currently as its Executive Editor.
Dr. Ouslander received the 2012 Nascher/Manning Award from the AGS at the Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle, Washington. He received this award for his distinguished career and life-long achievements in clinical geriatrics.
Among Dr. Ouslander’s many achievements and contributions in the field of geriatric medicine and care is the creation and dissemination of Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers (INTERACT), a quality improvement program that assists long-term care facilities and programs in improving care, and reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and their related complications and costs. Dr. Ouslander has been awarded nearly $5 million dollars in seven separate grants and contracts from various federal and private agencies including the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to further develop, disseminate and evaluate the impact of INTERACT.
He has published more than 200 original articles and book chapters and is a co-author of two popular text-books, Essentials of Clinical Geriatrics and Nursing Home Care, and an editor of the major textbook in geriatrics, Hazzard’s Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. He has been a visiting professor at numerous universities in the United States and throughout the world.
“To me, person-centered care means empowering older adults to make their own health care choices, which are the focus of the decision-making process and are valued and respected by a care team to achieve quality of life”
Maricruz Rivera-Hernandez, PhD is a gerontologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice at Brown University. Dr. Rivera-Hernandez received her PhD in Gerontology from the same University in 2013. She completed a two-year AHRQ-funded T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research at the Brown School of Public Health in 2015 followed by a Diversity Supplement from the National Institute of Aging. She is currently funded by an NIH/NIA K01 to study Medicare Advantage plan choice and selection among racial and ethnic minorities and low-income older adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia. Ultimately Dr. Rivera-Hernandez aims to apply her research to improve policies that promote healthcare access, quality, and outcomes for older adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. She has received an NIH/NIA R03 to explore nursing home disparities among Hispanic beneficiaries with dementia. She is also working with the IMPACT Collaboratory to examine COVID in nursing homes and vaccine effectiveness. In addition, she is exploring access to post-acute care and long-term care services and support among older adults from Puerto Rico. Dr. Rivera-Hernandez is a member of the Gerontological Society of America, and she mentors students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to help them recognize their own critical impact on the fields of gerontology and health services.
“To me person-centered care can represent any number of things. I, however, believe in two specific aspects of this concept. 1) The resident is an integral component of their care and lifestyle choices and not an object or a result of a plan that was derived either for them or as the results of a generic template. 2) Person centered care or if you prefer “person centered lifestyle” represents creating opportunities to build memories and experiences and not to simply re-live or recall them.”
Since 2012, Don Shulman has been the President and CEO of the Association of Jewish Aging Services, a non-profit that supports Jewish communities’ elder services. He has been working with seniors his entire career. He and his wife Debbie reside in Olney, Maryland, and have 3 sons, 1 granddaughter and 4 grandsons. Don is originally from upstate New York where he received his BS degree from SUNY Plattsburgh in Nutrition and Dietetics. Don is a Registered Dietitian and completed his internship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in 1979. He spent 23 years in senior dining with Marriott and then Sodexo. Prior to coming to AJAS, Don was a General Manager with Sunrise Senior Living in their full-service communities in Arlington, Virginia and Bethesda, Maryland.
“Person-centered care supports and promotes an individual's well-being and empowers them in a manner that honors their preferences and choice in daily life, as well as in the provision of care and services.”
Lori Smetanka is the Executive Director of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, the leading national nonprofit advocacy organization representing consumers receiving long-term care and services in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home and community-based settings. From 2004 – 2016 she served as the Director of the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center, providing technical assistance, training, and support to the 53 State and more than 570 local long-term care ombudsman programs across the country. Prior to that role, Lori served as Law and Policy Specialist at the Consumer Voice, where she provided policy analysis, consultation, education, technical assistance, and training on long-term care issues.
“Person-centered care is a focus foremost on addressing the preferences, needs and desires of an older adult. It is a relationship-based approach to care that is built on a philosophy of partnership between the individual and provider.”
LeadingAge is a national association of over 5,000 mission-driven providers primarily for older adults. Sloan advances the organization’s strategic priorities to support members and improve our current system of housing, services and supports, guided by the organization’s mission to be the trusted voice for aging.
Sloan also serves as the executive director of the Global Ageing Network, an organization with a presence in over 50 countries committed to improving the quality of life for people as they age through shared learning, exploration and innovation.
Sloan serves on the Board of Directors of the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation (CABHI) based in Toronto, HelpAge USA, the Long-Term Quality Alliance (LTQA), ValueFirst, and the Alliance for Home Care Quality and Innovation. She is national co-chair of Dementia Friendly America, a multi-sector national collaborative with a mission to foster dementia friendly communities.
"My understanding of person-centered care - delivery of quality care in line with care recipients’ needs, preferences, and contexts that involve caregivers, families, and supportive service networks, engaging them in decision-making, care planning and management."
Fengyan Tang earned her PhD and master degree in social work from Washington University in St. Louis.
Dr. Tang’s research focuses on productive and social engagement in later life, that is, engagement in social roles (e.g., volunteer, worker, and caregiver) that are meaningful to the individual and society. She also conducts research on how to provide adequate care to vulnerable older adults and the aging experiences in Chinese immigrants. Her work aims to address health disparities and advance social justice through investigation of the intersection of race, ethnicity, gender, social class, and immigration, which constitute the social contexts of inequality over the life course and have profound impacts on the well-being and engagement with life in old age.
"The person receiving support is always at the center of Person-Centered Care. This ensures care and support is provided based on each person's unique needs, concerns, and cultural experiences."
Sherrill Wayland is the Director of Special Initiatives at SAGE, directing the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging (NRC), supporting other initiatives such as the SAGE/HRC Foundation Long-term Care Equality Index, SAGECare training and credentialing program and the Diverse Elders Coalition. Sherrill began work with SAGE at the local level in 2008, founding the SAGE Affiliate in St. Louis, MO and became a certified trainer with SAGE in 2011.
Sherrill is a 2008 graduate from the Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis and has over 25 years of professional experience in the fields of education, disability, and LGBT older adult advocacy. In 2015 Sherrill was awarded the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Award for Excellence in Service to Older Adults and the Brown School Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016.
Erin Westphal serves as a Program Officer at The SCAN Foundation. Erin’s work focuses on building the business case for person-centered care models and integrating the care and financing for medical and social services. Before joining the Foundation, Erin was the Special Projects Coordinator for the Los Angeles Department of Aging. There, she developed community-based programs for older adults and caregivers. Prior, Erin served as Director of Research for the Beverly Foundation and Project Coordinator for the Orange County Elder Abuse Forensic Center.
Erin holds a Master of Science in Gerontology from the USC Davis School of Gerontology and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from San Diego State University. Erin enjoys creating her own stationery through letterpress, writing letters to pen pals around the world, reading, and spending time outdoors with her husband and son.
