News In Brief - September 25, 2014

Age-Friendly Portland Initiative launches community engagement project
This week Portland State’s Institute on Aging, along with AARP and Elders in Action, kicked off a yearlong community engagement project designed to stimulate an intergenerational dialogue to help build a Portland community for all ages. The event “What Are Older People For?” featured several informative and entertaining presentations on the progress of the Age-Friendly Portland Initiative and Action Plan. The Action Plan approved by the Portland City Council in October 2013, includes ten domains of action that have been prioritized to focus on: 1) Housing Options and Policy, 2) Economic Development and Employment, and 3) Civic Engagement and Volunteering. Pam Huff of Terwilliger Plaza is serving on the initiative’s advisory council.

Believe it or not, it's time to start thinking about Annual Conference 2015!
Planning begins early for our association's flagship event, the LeadingAge Oregon Annual Conference! Next year's event will be held May 17-20 at Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond. Here are a few things you can do to help make this our best conference ever!

RN Delegation class PowerPoint posted
If you missed the RN Delegation class and webinar that was offered last week by the Office of Licensing and Regulatory Oversight and the Oregon State Board of Nursing, you might want to check out the PowerPoint presentation that OLRO forwarded to us this week. Topics covered include teaching vs. delegation; documentation; RN duties; medication management; what can and can't be delegated; transfer of delegation; shared delegation; and more.

First end-of-life conversation when you get your driver's license?
The Institute of Medicine says it's time that conversations about death become a part of life. In a 500-page report, "Dying in America," the IOM suggests that the first end-of-life conversation coincide with the cherished American milestone of getting a driver's license. Follow-up conversation could come at other points in life, such as turning 18 or getting married. The object is to normalize the advanced care planning process by starting it early. Read more.

Report documents economic and community benefit of Chaucer Court preservation
LeadingAge Oregon member Chaucer Court Union Manor is featured in the Annual Report on the Economic Impact of the Federal Historic Tax Credit for FY 2013. A former lodge for the Portland Odd Fellows, the downtown Portland building was converted to affordable housing for the elderly in 1980. When its 30-year HUD Section 8 contract was set to expire, LeadingAge Oregon member Union Labor Retirement Association stepped up to purchase the building and extend the HUD contract for 20 years. ULRA then undertook an extensive $16.7 million project, funded by several federal and local sources, to upgrade the building. Read more about this project and its community benefit.

What do you call your staff?
A LeadingAge Oregon member is looking for new, more "homelike" titles for the staff in their assisted living community, so we sent a question out to LeadingAge members in Oregon and around the country for their ideas. A few that were offered: Caregivers, Care Coordinators, Health Care Coordinators, Homemakers. Lynda Crandall, Executive Director of the Pioneer Network, said the most commonly used term by culture change followers for care staff in nursing and assisted living/residential care is "care partner."

Ageless Art Exhibit now open at State Capitol Galleria
If you happen to be in the vicinity of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, be sure to drop by and visit the artwork created by residents of LeadingAge Oregon member communities that is on display during the LeadingAge Oregon Ageless Art Exhibit! The beautiful and widely varied works of art will be available for viewing in the Capitol Galleria through Thursday, October 2.