PitchLine Programs   

What are some of the promises of assisted living residences? They offer a supportive lifestyle in a non-medical setting that provides personal care services, medication administration, meals, activities and social opportunities in a home-like environment. In addition, residents have the opportunity of staying connected to people and events in the wider community. However, there are challenges to delivering on these promises in Michigan and throughout the US. These residences may not be well defined and regulated in state law nor subject to adequate quality assessment. Limited employee medication training may create risks for residents. Working conditions and low compensation may impact recruitment and retention of needed caregivers. This lecture series will address some of these challenges and discuss innovative programs aimed at increasing staff competencies and job satisfaction. It will also focus on suggesting approaches individuals can take to examine safety and lifestyle choices as well as ways to work with staff for the best outcomes. 

This series was suggested by OLLI member Justine Bykowski and developed in collaboration with The PitchLine.

Medication management can be a complex task. Dr. Erickson will discuss characteristics of older persons and persons with disabilities who take medications and their risk factors for medication related problems. Living in a non-medical residence can also have an impact on their medication risks.

Steven Erickson is a professor and clinical pharmacist at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy. For the past 14 years his mission is to ensure the safe and effective use of medications taken by people who have disabilities, working with support and advocacy agencies along with research colleagues to better understand the medication-related issues. He directs a course, “Health and Disability,” that increases health professional students’ understanding of the lived experiences of persons with disabilities.

Supplemental resources: Family Caregiver Alliance: Practical Tools to Manage Medications (https://bit.ly/4l1rv9P)

Too often, the barriers to access and quality of long-term supports and services are reduced simply to the ‘shortage’ of workers in this setting. In this presentation, explore these unfilled positions through the perspective of Michigan’s direct care workforce. Examine the barriers to recruitment and retention of direct care workers and how IMPART Alliance is advocating for a more robust workforce. Highlights will include initiatives focusing on the assisted living setting supported by recent work at IMPART Alliance.

Bethany Duyser is a registered nurse and nurse practitioner with a clinical background caring for older adults across care settings. While in clinical practice, she became very interested in improving access and quality to long-term supports and services. She joined the IMPART Alliance in 2022 to advance the direct care workforce by promoting workplace-ready competency standards, training, and career pathways.

When assisted living residences emerged in the 1980s, they were intended for older adults who wanted a congregate setting with some support, like housekeeping or meal preparation. Today’s assisted living cares for those who often have the same needs and vulnerabilities as nursing home residents. Mr. Mollot will explain how nursing homes and assisted living residences differ. He will discuss the tension of competing demands of a group living setting’s staffing levels and schedules with the need of residents to maximize independence and have choice over lifestyle matters. Mr. Mollot will also address approaches to advocacy for the different stakeholders.

Richard Mollot is the executive director of the Long-Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving care for seniors and the disabled through legal and policy research, advocacy, and education. Richard has served on several state and national consumer and government advisory groups relating to such issues as: dementia care; nursing home and assisted living standards; and nursing home financing and quality improvement. He has written and presented trainings on a variety of long-term care issues, including: Nursing Home Laws & Regulatory Standards; Assisted Living Law & Policy; Dementia Care & the Use of Antipsychotic Drugs; Caring & Planning for an Aging Person with Disabilities; and The Affordable Care Act: What Seniors Need to Know About Long Term Care & Elder Justice. Richard is a graduate of Howard University School of Law and a member of the Maryland Bar.

Supplemental resources:

Long Term Care Community Coalition: Assisted Living Articles (https://bit.ly/3ZOLpfB)

Materials on dementia care in assisted living and other HCBS locations: (https://bit.ly/4kSv7uA) (note that this will be live over the summer).

This series was suggested by OLLI member Justine Bykowski and developed in collaboration with The PitchLine.