Welcome to Pioneer Network. We are glad you found us. We would like to take a few minutes to tell you who we are and how we came to be pioneers in culture change and person-directed care.
Driving change, inspiring and supporting innovation, creating opportunities for learning
Our Vision: A culture of Aging that’s life-affirming, satisfying, humane and meaningful… that’s what Pioneer Network is all about. We’re working hard to create a culture where elders’ individual voices are solicited and welcomed, heard, and respected. Our primary goal is to move eldercare to a place where all care and support are person-directed, not system-directed… where flexibility and self-determination are embraced and practiced. This concept is known as culture change, and Pioneer Network has been recognized as the national leader of this movement.
Pioneer Network was founded in 1997 by a small group of prominent professionals in long-term care who were pioneers in changing the culture of aging. These forward thinkers developed the mission and vision, as well as the values and principles, that continue to guide our work to this day. Today, Pioneer Network at AgingIN is a large, diverse group of passionate individuals from the entire spectrum of aging services. People, like you, who believe in the same ideals as our founders did almost 20 years ago. Most are engaged in some aspect of senior living or long-term care which includes nursing homes, assisted living, and other providers of services and supports for elders.
Since 2022, Pioneer Network has been a part of AgingIN, which is dedicated to making long term care better for the people who live and work within it. Together, we achieve this by ensuring people are empowered with the necessary resources and education to be successful, while helping leaders craft supportive community cultures that bring out the best in care partners, team members, and residents.
Major Pioneer Network activities have included:
- National symposia focusing on policy issues important to advancing culture change.
- Public policy advocacy including meetings with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, input into nursing home and home and community-based services regulations, and development of policy proposals designed to accelerate culture change.
- Identifying and making key resources that support the adoption of person directed, relationship-based values and practices.
Current Pioneer Network activities include:
- Updating the website with a variety of more current resources and research articles.
- Participating in content development for the AgingIN Annual Conference to expand person directed living values and practices to even more care communities and service providers.
- Facilitating networking among State Coalitions.
- Encouraging the development of more State Coalitions that can more directly impact state-wide initiatives to foster person directed living.
