Joshua Smith joined LeadingAge California in September 2021 as their new director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives. We sat down to chat about the rewards and challenges of DEI work and hear his perspective on what it means to practice true self-care. What do you find rewarding about working in the DEI field? I Read More…
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Q&A with Susan DeMarois: CDA Director on the Road Ahead
Susan DeMarois is the new Director of the California Department of Aging. She took on the role in November of 2021 after eight years with the Alzheimer’s Association as Director of Public Policy & Advocacy, and prior to that, California Government Affairs Director. We chatted about goals for the coming year, where priorities will lie, Read More…
A Message from the CEO: Self-Care
By Jeannee Parker Martin, president and CEO, LeadingAge California We hear daily about the two-year ‘anniversary’ of COVID-19 – closing down offices, working from home, staff burnout, the ‘great resignation,’ zoom calls from morning ‘til night, and more. On this second anniversary of the pandemic, I thought back on my own feelings of isolation, inability Read More…
LeadingAge California and AllyAlign Health Partner to Offer Co-Branded Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans
Sacramento, CA & Richmond, VA. – LeadingAge California, a California non-profit trade association that advocates for quality, non-profit senior living and care and AllyAlign Health (AAH), a care management company focused on improving care access and quality of life for residents in senior living communities, announce the formation of two co-branded plans underwritten by Align Read More…
Diversity and Inclusion in Senior Products
By Michal Herz, PH.D., Ageing Product Manager at EyeClick The field of aging care is one that has traditionally attracted a certain type of workforce. Often, care teams are composed of people with high levels of emotional intelligence, who are hardworking and most importantly, caring individuals. These traits are evident in even the smallest of Read More…
Empowering Seniors with Mobility Issues
By Jacquay Davis, CEO, JIB and Associates, INC. WNRgo.com Get Up and Go I come from a very large and diverse Christian family. We were robust and loved life. However, as we aged, I saw senior family members who began to have a need for assistance, and I saw the need for medical equipment that could help Read More…
Inspiring Diversity
By Amanda Davidson, Grant Manager, LeadingAge California Diversity, equity, and inclusion in aging are at the forefront of LeadingAge California’s advocacy for older adults. The LeadingAge California iNSPIRE Project, a CMP grant-funded project that brings engagement technology from It’s Never Too Late (iN2L) to 60 skilled nursing facilities, also seeks opportunities to support these important initiatives in its work. The residents of California’s skilled nursing facilities represent the diverse makeup of the state. Diversity in race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, language, (dis)ability, and age offers skilled nursing Read More…
Equity through Telehealth
The Center for Connected Health Policy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in Sacramento working to maximize telehealth as a tool to improve health equity in California. It is a program under the Public Health Institute. We sat down with Executive Director Mei Kwong to talk about the importance of telehealth during and beyond COVID-19 and Read More…
Equity During a Time of COVID-19 – Policy Work Underway to Address Longstanding Issues
By Eric Dowdy, Chief Government Affairs Officer, LeadingAge California As the state grapples to contain the Delta variant of the virus that causes SARS-CoV-2, providers are bracing for a new round of tightening screening, vaccinations, and doubling down on encouraging vaccinations and infection control measures. As of this writing, the Governor has required healthcare professionals and state employees to get Read More…
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: The Global Conversation
by Zeta Smith, CEO of Sodexo Seniors North America Sodexo is proud to be a benchmark organization in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). And that commitment to DEI requires continuous education and conversation. We encourage our teams to ensure inclusion is central to our business. However, it is important to recognize that we don’t all come to the conversation with Read More…