dialog across different settings and is really focused on the care I can give you for the resident,” he said. There are also online training programs
that are part of the basis of the association’s dementia practice recommendations. “This is because one of the things that we know is crucial is that communities have staff that are appropriately trained on dementia care,” Pace said.
SARA HOIT Founder and CEO Social Impact Partners, and Career Social Entrepreneur, the battle against Alzheimer's disease
“What all of us who are in this battle realize is Alzheimer’s is the only major killer with no known cure. Someone is diagnosed every 3 seconds. We currently have 157 million people in the world diagnosed. That’s a way under- reported number that will double in the next 20 years.”
MAKING AN IMPACT For Sarah Hoit, founder and chief executive officer, Social Impact Partners, and career social entrepreneur, the battle against Al- zheimer’s disease is intensely personal. Her grandmother had the disease, and more re- cently her husband was lost to early-onset Alzheimer’s and passed away this last August. “I am committed to solving Alzheimer’s
and dementia, which I believe is the greatest pandemic our world faces. When you look at the numbers it is also the most under-report- ed, and if you look at our industry and who is really in our buildings, it might be reported that 40% or 50% have it,” she said. Her new group, Social Impact Partners,
is about triggering a more robust effort to start thinking about healthy aging and brain health, and the fight against Alzheim- er’s disease and dementia. “What all of us who are in this battle
realize is Alzheimer’s is the only major killer with no known cure. Someone is di- agnosed every 3 seconds. We currently have 157 million people in the world diagnosed. That’s a way under-reported number that will double in the next 20 years. It affects every single family and the caregivers very profoundly, who are also the customers of senior living,” Hoit said. Right now there is not enough funding or
innovation, she explained, so Social Impact Partners is working to pull together all the major trade groups with ties to Alzheimer’s and dementia, to make a difference, and quickly. “This is an opportunity for all of the people to work together, a chance for
the for-profits, the non-profits, the business people, the vendors….”
STAFFING AT CORE OF PROBLEM Beyond the specific issues tied to solving the Alzheimer’s disease and dementia puzzle is a more general barrier impacting senior living and all levels of healthcare, which is staffing. Hoit said “one of the real crises in this industry is not only the funding and in- novation around this, it is the fact that we have no people and we are massively under- staffed as an industry. And, so we have to also entice young people into this industry to get into the battle.” Words only do so much, she noted, so to
take action Hoit’s group is starting something called the Innovation Olympics. “This is a chance for our members to get into the battle and gather together around the question of how could we orient our businesses toward healthy aging and brain health.” The Innovation Olympics will see stu-
dent teams from leading universities and from all over the globe participants, which she hopes will lead to competition amid the schools and even more innovation to help those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. “And of course, it's going to be match-
making. The hope is that these innovators enter our industry with fresh ideas, and I believe we need to talk to the younger gen- eration differently. One of my past startups was AmeriCorps, which was our domes- tic Peace Corps, And, people were really proud to be a part of that,” Hoit said. “When I put out a job description for
employees for my Connected Living tech- nology company, I get hundreds of
re-
sumes. When the senior living groups put it out, they get very few,” she said. “Part of this discrepancy is about how we're talking to people. So, the goal is create this whole corps of young people who are engaged around our members, wanting their opin- ions, eliciting their participation and inno- vation, and then hire them into the business is just a match made in heaven.”
Learn more about Social Impact Partners and the Innovation Olympics at
https://socialimpact.partners/. For the Alzheimer’s Association, go to
www.alz.org, and for AARP, go to
www.aarp.org.
24 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE MAY/JUNE 2023
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