Graffitti by the street artist Banksy.“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”—Margaret Mead
Our mission at the John A. Hartford Foundation is to change the health of older Americans for the better. And despite the national investment in health care and the excitement of research, I don’t think we are alone in seeing this as a long, slow road.
Someday, we will have a health care system more sensitive to the general age-related needs of older adults and more focused on their unique functional and personal goals. Someday, we will have a system that is safer for older people and which maximizes health rather than maximizes billable transactions.
But, change—while inevitable—is very hard.
Click image for a PDF of the Practice Change Leaders application brochure.“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” —Andy Warhol
So we need people who want to make that change.
Co-funded with the Atlantic Philanthropies, one of the programs we support is the Practice Change Leaders (PCL), based on the successful Practice Change Fellows program. PCL is open to geriatric health care professionals who want to implement changes in care in their organization or institution to improve outcomes for older adults.
It offers an intensive year of training experiences, mentoring, and peer support to assist those with a sound, proposed practice change project and institutional support. (More information on the program, a schedule of webinars for interested potential applicants, and how to request an application form is available at the PCL website.)
Last year, the PCL was open only to those who had previously participated in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Advisors program. This year, because CMS has cancelled the Innovation Advisors, the PCL will be open to people who have had equivalent prior experience in leadership, health care management, or related fields. Therefore, the PCL may be particularly appropriate to those who have participated in the Hartford Foundation’s many leadership and practice-oriented change programs.
We hope that you will consider this opportunity.