OHCA Spring Summer 2017

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4 The Oregon Caregiver Spring/Summer 2017
11740 SW 68th Pkwy, Ste 250, Portland, OR 97223
Phone: (503) 726-5260 • Fax: (503) 726-5259
OHCA STAFF
James A. Carlson • President & CEO
Janienne Alexander, CPS • Member Resource Specialist
Philip Bentley, J.D. • Senior VP of Government Relations
Walter Dawson, D.Phil • Director of Research & Analytics
Gwen M. Dayton, J.D., CHC • Executive VP & General Counsel
Carol Grebin • Office Manager
Melodie King, CMP • Director of Education
Linda Kirschbaum • Senior VP Quality Services
Chris Madden • Government Relations Associate
Cynthia Maylath
Accounting Assistant & Events/Education Registrar
Lori Mueller • CFO
Nanette Pyatt • Staff Accountant
Rosie Sontheimer • Director of Marketing and Communications
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHAIR
Harold Delamarter, Prestige Care, Inc.
VICE-CHAIR
Mark Garber, Pinnacle Healthcare, Inc.
TREASURER
John Morgan , Avamere Health Services
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Steve Fogg, Marquis Companies, Inc.
NON-PROPRIETARY REPRESENTATIVE
JoAnn Vance , Providence Child Center
ALF REPRESENTATIVE
Mauro Hernandez , Concepts in Community Living
BUSINESS PARTNER MEMBER REPRESENTATIVE
Karri Bolman , Metro West Ambulance, Inc.
RCF REPRESENTATIVE
Mark Kinkade , Gateway Living Residential Care
AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE
Kathy Levee , Marquis Companies, Inc.
MULTI-FACILITY REPRESENTATIVE
Dale Patterson, EmpRes Healthcare Management LLC
NON-PROPRIETARY REPRESENTATIVE
Kathleen Parry, Maryville Nursing Home
BUSINESS PARTNER MEMBER REPRESENTATIVE
Scott Reese , Alliance Insurance Group
INDEPENDENT NURSING FACILITY REPRESENTATIVE
Mark Remley, Aidan Health Services, Inc.
IN-HOME/SENIOR HOUSING REPRESENTATIVE
Kevin Call, Adeo In Home Care
ALF/RCF REPRESENTATIVE
Fee Stubblefield, The Springs Living
ALF/RCF REPRESENTATIVE
Todd Woollard , Woollard-Ipsen Management LLC
OC EDITOR
Rosie Sontheimer •
OC PUBLISHER
LLM Publications •
Advertising Sales • David Gambill
(503) 445-2231 •
Design & Layout • Spencer Seastrom
James A. Carlson
President and CEO
Oregon Health Care Association
LETTER FROM THE CEO
Stay connected with OHCA!
Contact Rosie Sontheimer, ,
to be added to our email lists.

Improving lives by
advancing quality care
in Oregon since 1950
Q uality care has always been and will continue to be the defining component
of long term care. Without it, our sector probably wouldn’t exist, or at least
wouldn’t exist as it does today with exceptional caregivers and support
staff making lives better and more comfortable for our seniors and people with
disabilities.
The theme of this issue is “Advancing Quality Dementia Care” with a nod to that
defining component, not just throughout long term care, but specifically in memory
care. Continuing to strive for better care for our Oregonians diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s and dementia is more critical than ever, with approximately 63,000
Oregonians diagnosed. This number is expected to grow significantly. By 2025, over
84,000 Oregonians will have a diagnosis of dementia—a 33% increase.
This growing need for resources and care for those diagnosed with dementia is one
of the reasons why OHCA, along with the Alzheimer’s Association Oregon Chapter,
created the Purple Ribbon Commission, which is examined and explained in our
feature story.
You can read about one of the key recommendations that came out of the Purple
Ribbon Commission, the need for quality metrics and benchmarks, in an article by
OHCA’s Linda Kirschbaum.
Phil Bentley examines the unique workforce challenges facing long term care,
including how to raise wages while keeping care affordable, and Walt Dawson reports
on meaningful polling data we gathered earlier this year.
Antipsychotics have become a heated topic at the capitol this session, and Gwen
Dayton discusses the existing laws around these medications.
Representative Greg Walden, who was recently elected chair of the powerful U.S.
House Energy and Commerce Committee is featured in our policymaker profile.
Cordelia Agum explains why working in long term care is so important to her and
how she went from being a CNA to the director of regional clinical operations with
EmpRes. Lastly, view photos from our annual Quality Summit event that focused on
dementia care, and save the date for our upcoming events.
As always, you can read this magazine and other
pressing information about our profession on our
website, . Now, you can also view the
Oregon Caregiver anytime on your phone via the
magazine app “OHCA Caregiver” which is available
for Android and iPhone. 
Defining Our Profession
with Quality Care