Page 87 - Vibrant Living Scrapbook

Community Meetings
We highly recommend that all long-term care communities, especially those of households, consider incorporating the Community Meeting model. Community Meetings are designed to bring all staff and all residents from all households together to interact. They are ideal for preventing the small, self-contained homes that define the Household Model from becoming isolated from one another.
Barry and Debbie Barkan of El Sobrante, CA, created the Regenerative Community and the Community Meeting in the 1970s. They hypothesized that by bringing people together in community, good things would happen. Well, after 30 years it is safe to say their hypothesis was correct! Along with their residents, they developed this lovely definition which has shaped the visions and goals for many culture changing homes ever since:
The Live Oak De nition of an Elder
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 it is to synthesize wisdom from long life experience and formulate this into a legacy for future generations.
Commitment of Staff
The leadership of each household must commit to supporting the Community Meeting. They must make staff members at all levels available to regularly attend Community Meetings and receive input
in an open, honest exchange. If staff are not encouraged or given permission to participate, they won’t. It then becomes just another resident activity. Managers must understand the value of making time for staff and residents to establish the vital connections made possible by Community Meetings.
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