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A Collective Effort to Elevate Elderhood

CCCC's
Mission

To Elevate Elderhood While Thriving in Home and Community.

CCCC's
Vision

To eliminate dehumanizing practices.

Our Values

Compassion

Respect

Community

Safety

Empathy

Choice

What Is Elderhood and Why Does It Matter?

By Ruth Minnema and Kate Poppenhagen, CCCC Board Members

During my 30+ year career in Long Term Care, there were occasional conversations about what will happen when baby boomers retire, what happens to us later in adulthood? These were interesting conversations, quickly consumed by the busyness of adulthood and career. During my time spent in adulthood, there were three life stages:

1. Childhood 2. Adolescence 3. Adulthood

Recently, I listened to What the Hell Happened to Elderhood? a TEDx talk in which Margo Knox uses poetry to explore her own experience of the later stages of adulthood and elderhood. Central to Knox’s exploration of her own elderhood is a deep recognition and acceptance of her responsibility to future generations. She notes, “I have the view that those who take up the mental eldership responsibility will always infuse public life with higher values that stress understanding, social caring, and peace.”

“Elder” is a term of honor. It was and continues to be used in many cultures. In 1977, Barry Barkan and the Live Oak Regenerative Community defined it this way:

An Elder is a person who is still growing, still a learner, still with potential and whose life continues to have within it promise for, and connection to the future. An Elder is still in pursuit of happiness, joy, and pleasure, and her or his birthright to these remains intact. Moreover, an Elder is a person who deserves respect and honor and whose work is to synthesize wisdom from long life experience and formulate this into a legacy for future generations.

Elders promote a culture that values understanding, social caring, wisdom and peace. It constitutes what we call “Elderhood”, a fourth stage of life:

1. Childhood 2. Adolescent 3. Adulthood 4. Elderhood

The Colorado Culture Change Coalition’s 2023 mission statement explores the effects of elevating elderhood. How do all life stages benefit when opportunities to come together are created? Historically, CCCC focused on culture change in long-term care communities, which will remain part of our mission. The Coalition is exploring a broader application of elderhood: If life continues, elderhood follows adulthood as we all become elders. We can elevate elderhood both within and outside the walls of long-term care. Join in as we bring people in all life stages together to learn from each other and have fun along the way.

What is

Culture Change?

Culture change is a national movement to transform the way we think about and provide care to people, whether they are living independently, in an assisted living community or in a nursing home.

When we speak of organizational culture, there is one definition that is widely used: the predominating attitudes, beliefs, values and underlying assumptions that characterize an organization.

With culture change in long-term care, there are core person-centered values of choice, dignity, respect, self-determination, and purposeful living. These values hold across the continuum of care. It does not matter whether someone is receiving care in the same home they’ve lived in for 40 years, attending an adult day program, moving into a nursing home or are living with some type of cognitive impairment; they should be able to direct and participate in the care they are receiving as much as they are able.

Who We Serve

The Colorado Culture Change Coalition’s mission of spreading culture change touches on all parts of the long-term care community.

For Families

A monumental question one will ask themselves when considering a long-term care community is, “will they take care of my loved one with dignity and respect?” CCCC provides education about the characteristics of a person-centered model so that a loved one can determine if a long-term care community operates under this philosophy.This information can help ensure that your spouse, mother, father, relative, or loved one is getting the best quality of life and quality of care.

For Providers

For those in the long-term care industry, CCCC provides education and resources to improve the quality of care and quality of life for residents in long-term care. Through consulting, training, and development, CCCC helps providers implement person-centered care practices to improve resident experiences, clinical measures, and financial outcomes.

For Consumers

Consumers can benefit from CCCC’s abundant resources by learning about the significant impact that culture change can have in their daily lives. CCCC’s information can provide consumers with the knowledge of how to identify care providers that uphold person-centered values. By understanding what culture change is, a consumer can make an informed decision that will transform their experience, whether at their current home or their new residence.