The 2016 LEADER Summit was a huge success! Jeri Shread, Education Chairperson, and the Education Committee did an outstanding job with providing a diverse group of speakers and topics on person- centered care. Despite the flooding in some areas, we still managed to have over 400 attendees. The visits to Riviere de Soleil and Oak Haven nursing homes gave examples of strategies for culture change teams and a neighborhood model example. Those visiting the homes were able to ask questions and receive good feedback to begin initiatives in their homes. Sharing success stories during the Summit is a learning opportunity for growth.  The feedback from the Summit indicates that topics and programs generate ideas that can be duplicated in other facilities. A special thanks goes to the facilities and leadership teams for sharing their expertise and time.

Several attendees at the Summit asked me the same question, "What is the difference between LEADER and other health care organizations?" The answer is that LEADER's focus is on person-centered care. I belong to several health care and professional organizations that focus on a variety of efforts. Some are beginning to include person-centered care as one of their values or agenda items. Everything that LEADER does is about enriching the lives of residents with person-centered care. This goes back to our mission: To continuously challenge ourselves and others to promote an environment that honors the dignity and value of each individual who lives and works in the continuum of long-term care. 

How and why did LEADER establish itself as Louisiana's culture change coalition? LEADER began informally in 2004 after the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals - Health Standards and the State Long Term Care Ombudsman co-sponsored a culture change conference at three locations across the state. Originally the group consisted of a small group of individuals representing Health Standards, State LTC Ombudsman, Quality Improvement Organization (QIO), and several representatives from for profit and not-for profit nursing home providers from across the state of Louisiana. Unfortunately, the coalition lost momentum with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. However, during 2008 the coalition regained momentum and formally established itself as Louisiana's culture change coalition, LEADER. The LEADER Board of Directors has become more diverse with professionals from hospitals, assisted living, home health as well as nursing facilities. A combination of LEADER directors from nursing home and assisted living administrators, marketing, social workers, nursing directors and educators, a pharmacist, physician, professional development, AARP, and consumer representation provide leadership with support of advisory members from Ombudsmen, eQHealth Solutions, and DHH.

LEADER is more than the annual Summit. The Summit facilitates a strong effort that provides educational opportunities on person-centered care topics that will help promote the values of care for the residents in all settings. It gives us an opportunity to learn and think about, "what could we do differently." The LEADER website provides a wealth of information about person-centered care, events, the Dementia Partnership, resources, as well as the past newsletters.  LEADER has purchased The Pioneer Network webinar bundles for use at the chapter meetings for group viewing and discussion of the programming. The Leader Chapter chairs are Kim Byers in Baton Rouge, Charles Campbell in Lake Charles, and Randall Myers in Shreveport. The LEADER Chapters allow for opportunities to learn and share success stories. Chapter chairs will provide members notices of topics, speakers, dates, and times. Additional links have been provided for Consumers on the LEADER website. Resources and events from The Pioneer Network are also available.

We have an opportunity to showcase our state with The Pioneer Network Conference in New Orleans this year.  Please save the date, July 31-August 3, 2016. The conference is at the Hyatt Regency, New Orleans. One of our own, KaraLe Causey, is President of The Pioneer Network. We want to support her with a good attendance from Louisiana. We will need room monitors and greeters. Room monitors serve one day and receive a discounted rate for the conference. Please contact LEADER at [email protected] and volunteer. Information about the scholarship grant to attend the conference is included in this newsletter. When a key supervisor (Administrator, DON, or Owner) registers, a free registration is available to another person in the facility. Registration is now open! We look forward to seeing many of you at the 2016 Pioneer Network conference.