Vision 2025 – where are we now?

In 2019, we set forth a gusty set of goals that marked the “Vision 2025” slogan with which many in the aging services sector are now familiar.

From a bird’ s-eye view, our goal was — and remains — to create a sustainable, successful path for more young professionals to enter the field of senior living and long-term care, ultimately addressing the undeniable void of the next generation of leaders in the field.

The “2025” moniker signifies Vision Centre’s goal to identify and build 25 university and college programs with this charge. Our additional goals include paving the way for 1,000 paid internships with aging services providers and growing strategic partnerships to create urgency around the sector’s workforce development challenges.

Although it feels like the blink of an eye, it’s been a year and half since we officially rolled out this initiative, begging the question, “Where are we now?”

Pushing toward progress

When we first started this initiative as a formalized 501C3, we knew that we would need the support of leaders in senior living, higher education and associations. Over the last two years, nearly 40 individuals have joined the cause on the advisory council, sharing their insights, expertise and resources. The commitment of these qualified and energetic leaders is one of our biggest successes.

Another early victory for the Vision Centre, in line with our goals, was publishing a comprehensive directory of senior living leadership programs — including over 70 universities nationwide — with a developing or growing program in senior living and long-term care leadership.

Looking at this vast directory, it’s easy to see we have many opportunities to surpass our objective of 25 programs. Of course, Vision Centre can’t take credit for creating or evolving all these programs. 

Beyond serving as a clearing house and organizer of these like-minded institutions, Doug Olson, CEO of Vision Centre, and others on the board of trustees and advisory council have partnered with faculty in other meaningful, sustainable ways.

This past year, Doug has visited and consulted with faculty and leadership at The University of Southern California, California State University-Dominguez Hills, San Diego State University, Indiana University Indianapolis, Marian University, Metropolitan State University of Denver and Rutgers University, just to name a few. Today, Vision Centre is partnering with over two dozen or more universities in a meaningful way to meet them where they are, whether that’s providing the roadmap to instituting new programs, guiding faculty or finding matches with senior living providers for field experiences.

For internships, we’re closer to 1,000 paid internships than some may realize. The difficulty will be quantifying these positions, which the Centre is working on estimating, yet the activity spans the broad spectrum of providers nationwide. However, we know from our advisory council and industry partners that organizations are working harder than ever to formalize their paid internship programs and ensure that these positions are no longer ad hoc volunteer experiences but predictable and systematized.

When we started this effort in 2019, it was an aspirational goal; truth be told, we never doubted the Vision Centre, as its mission is vital to the sustainability of this sector. Notably, when we began conversing with providers and universities, they were quick to share that they couldn’t afford to provide paid field experiences. We’re not hearing those thoughts about that investment in the future today. 

A shift in senior living and care

The tone has shifted to “How do we facilitate getting these internships, Administrator-in-Training (AIT) experiences and residencies paid?” There’s been a genuine change of heart.

One other significant shift occurring is the increasing importance of creating diverse and inclusive workspaces.

If you want to attract a more diverse working population, you have to have paid field experiences. Offering a six-month unpaid AIT internship makes it very limiting to students from various backgrounds. The senior living and long-term care industry is starting to accept that and make the changes necessary to make these positions paid.

That is where Vision Centre’s true role is regarding paid field experiences — it’s the generation of awareness. Doug, as CEO, has — and will continue to — play a huge role in supporting academic institutions so that students are both more aware and prepared for the working environment. Furthermore, Doug and the rest of the Vision Centre are working with providers and partners to have the right resources and tools to build relationships with these programs.

A final shift being paid attention to by the Centre is asking what this next generation of leaders wants in their careers. We have to really listen and respond to their perspectives so we can grow programs and fill field experiences with the right purpose-driven talent.       

Looking to the future

Like every nonprofit, Vision Centre’s two primary barriers are resources and time.

Our role on the board of trustees is to direct the resources we have where they will make the greatest impact. While we welcome and cherish the interest and excitement from long-term care and senior living organizations and academic institutions, funding decisions need to remain laser-focused on our goals to succeed.

These barriers are indicative of the fact that this is a new organization that’s responding to a huge need. We’ve been incredibly well supported by various constituents and stakeholders around the country. We must ensure these efforts can scale up and sustainably impact the field’s future. We are excited about the continued and new interest of both individuals and organizations to get on board with this initiative. 

The future of long-term care depends on our ability, as higher education and senior care leaders, to meet the needs of this country’s rapidly aging population. This country’s need is why Vision Centre’s work is — and remains — critically important.

Those looking to make a difference can learn more at our upcoming Annual Symposium in Indianapolis this June. This annual event brings people from academia and the broader aging services field to tackle enhancing and expanding senior living leadership programs nationwide. 

Steve Chies is the Chair of Vision Centre’s Board of Trustees. Steve has been engaged and active in the long-term care sector for four decades in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Most recently, he is the program director for long-term care at St. Joseph’s College of Maine.

Sean Kelly is the Vice Chair of Vision Centre’s Board of Trustees and CEO at Front Porch Communities and Services. Front Porch is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit senior living and care providers.

The opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News guest submissions are the author’s and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News or its editors.

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