Staffing Issues for Senior Services

Conscious Caregiving with L & L is “Tackling the Tough Conversations.”

The topic of this episode is on “Staffing Issues for Senior Services” and features an All-Star Panel.

Joel Prevost, CMO, Prevost Partners:

Joel Prevost is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and Licensed Health Services Executive with more than 20 years of experience in long-term care and aging services. He has a deep understanding and passion for our senior population. He has successfully led regions, campuses and communities including skilled nursing, assisted living, home care, hospice care, palliative care, transitional care, and adult day.

Prevost is an early adopter who zealously embraces technological advancements to make life easier. This enthusiasm transcends to his role in consulting for healthcare and other industries. He also speaks locally, regionally, and nationally about the successes & lessons learned from leading teams, adopting innovations & the challenges of change management.

Deb Nygaard, LALD, Dir. Of Development at Arthur’s Senior Care:

Deb Nygaard has worked with Arthur’s Senior Care and the sister company ACR Homes for 35 years. She is currently responsible for admissions and outreach and is the Licensed Assisted Living Director. Deb does the dementia training for all new employees, as well as doing dementia training in the community, and most recently for employees of the Minneapolis / St. Paul airport with a team of volunteers from the Dementia Friendly Airports Working Group.

Ron Bowen, Executive Director at The Pines at Hilton Head a WindRiver:

Ron Bowen started his career in Healthcare in the late 1980’s after graduating from college with a BA in Mass Communication/Business. He found his passion working with the Older Adult population specifically those afflicted with Alzheimer’s/Dementia. Ron has a Master’s in Human Development and Gerontology specializing in dementia.

Ron’s philosophy and success have been incorporating Aging Theories into our knowledge of Alzheimer’s and other related dementias. Even though some diseases can change personality, the older adults he has dealt with have had a life time of being themselves. Knowing a persons’ past personality, passions, triggers, and fears will better equip our caregivers to deal with behaviors and to gain trust with the individual we are serving.

Taking the concept of emotional Intelligence, Ron believes we should be teaching our caregivers to “Read the Room” before approaching someone with dementia. Once caregivers learn to “Read the Room,” we can teach the next approach which is gaining trust.

Ron is currently the Executive Director at Pines at Hilton Head.