Grantmakers in Aging Conference Sessions Highlight JHF’s Long-Term Care Work

At the 2023 Grantmakers in Aging Conference, held in Austin, Texas October 17–20, Jewish Healthcare Foundation COO and Chief Program Officer Nancy Zionts, MBA had the opportunity to share with other funders in the aging space about the exciting work being done to prepare the next generation of nurses for rewarding careers in long-term care and to better meet the needs of nursing home residents.

On October 18, Zionts and Jane Carmody, DNP, MBA, RN, FAAN, senior program officer at The John A. Hartford Foundation, presented "Leveraging Partnerships in Your Community to Enhance the Careforce in Long-Term Care." Their session focused on the collaborative effort between the two foundations to launch the Teaching Nursing Home initiative, aimed at improving the care of nursing home residents, assessing and addressing workforce preparedness, and fostering better outcomes for nursing homes across Pennsylvania. They highlighted the work of the Phase I partners to enhance linkages between schools of nursing and nursing homes and the expanded work occurring in Phase II, which is spreading the initiative across Pennsylvania thanks to the partnerships that grew out of the pilot project. Attendees were inspired by stories from project participants and partners about how the model is energizing their work and learned how they can play a vital role in bringing this model to their own communities.

On October 17, Zionts also moderated a discussion as part of the Aging and Technology Funders Community preconference session "Tech and Aging: Amplifying Investment in AgeTech to Improve Quality of Life for Older Adults." The session featured panelists Amy Eisenstein, PhD, senior program officer and director of research & evaluation, RRF Foundation for Aging; Aurelie Cornett, MBA, director, business development, at AARP Innovation Labs; and Rose Li, PhD, MBA, director of the NIA AI and Technology Collaboratories for Aging Research (AITC) Coordinating Center, Rose Li & Associates. The panelists discussed various ways that grantmakers can use their funding as well as their convening and policy strategies to advance innovative technologies to improve the lives of older adults.

JHF was one of the inaugural members of the Aging and Technology Funders Community at Grantmakers in Aging. This group started with about 10 members and has grown to fill a 4-hour preconference session attended by over 150 grantmakers and other conference participants, reflecting the growing role that technology is playing in improving care and quality of life for older adults. Attendees included regional and national funders from both private and public funding communities.