Culture Change Now! is Action Pact's periodical for long term care professionals interested in Culture Change. It is filled with how-to information and articles of inspiration. All levels of staff and families will will enjoy the only publication solely dedicated to culture change!

Dear Leader:

We all want to create a better world for our frail elders! How can we change our nursing homes to become more home-like? How can we create a warm and friendly world where daily life can actually be pleasant and meaningful?

Let's look to the lessons of the larger society for our answers. Look at the towns, cities and neighborhoods in which we have lived. Look at the churches, synagogues, schools and work communities to which we have belonged.

We were most happy in those communities that created a healthy climate whereŠ

• we were respected;
• we had the opportunity to grow and learn;
• we had choices in our pursuit of happiness;
• we could achieve goals that we had set;
• we were able to achieve pleasure and satisfaction in daily life;
• we were genuinely involved - highly involved - in the creation and maintenance of our community.

Sometimes we think that we have achieved this climate because we follow regulations - but we all know better. It is still not a world that we want to live in. Nor do our parents! It continues to be a world where our residents sit and wait, where family is frustrated and guilty, where staff find it hard to stay for long.

What if we stepped out of these institutional problems and created a smaller environment - not an institution but a small community - a handful of residents, a handful of staff, a few family members and volunteers. Within this smaller group, we could all be highly involved and genuinely responsive to the needs of the community. Together we could plan for daily life that includes daily pleasures for our elders, genuine participation and satisfaction of staff, and more enjoyable involvement from family. These satisfying routines would weave together with memorable moments and meaningful social occasions - all indicators of a healthy community.

Nursing homes around the country are undertaking such culture change by creating many such communities within their walls. They are accomplishing this by shaping smaller groups of residents and staff; by redesigning organizational and reporting structures; by enhancing the people skills of staff, family and residents; and by focusing on learning and growth for all within a genuine community.

Join us as we follow along as some of the best nursing homes in the country make this historic journey.. on the road back to Home.

Sincerely,

LaVrene Norton, msw

President, Action Pact, Inc.
Publisher, Culture Change Now!