History of the PCCC

Founded in 2000, the Pennsylvania Culture Change Coalition (PCCC) grew out of a long term care staffing symposium convened in 1999 by Auditor General Robert P. Casey, Jr.

2003 Pennsylvania Culture Change Coalition Conference

In August 2003, this statewide network comprised of providers, caregivers and advocates hosted: Lighting the Path to Quality Care: A Conference Dedicated to Changing the Culture of Care for Elders. The first of its kind in Pennsylvania, the Conference brought together innovative state and national leaders working to transform the culture of aging.

“For years we have worked to build a broad-based coalition of people who are serious about improving the quality of long term care in Pennsylvania,” said Bob Casey, Jr. “With this conference, we move one step closer to a culture of long term care that recognizes nursing home residents as individuals, not objects; frontline workers as skilled caregivers, not low-skill laborers; and aging as another stage of life, rather than an irreversible decline to death.”

More than 280 nursing home administrators, nurses, activity professionals, social workers, chaplains, nursing assistants, ombudsmen, trainers and community leaders attended over a dozen conference sessions and workshops to solutions for improving the lives of older Pennsylvanians in their homes and communities.

Nationally recognized speakers included:

• Rose Marie Fagan, Executive Director of the National Pioneer Network
• Karen Schoeneman, from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Joanne Rader, Associate Professor at Oregon Health Services University School of Nursing and author of Bathing without a Battle.
• David Troxel, CEO, Alzheimer's Association in Santa Barbara, California and co-author of the Alzheimer's Bill of Rights and the Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care.

Conference sponsors included the Institute for Caregiver Education, the Weinberg Foundation, Inc., Extendicare Health Services, and Republic First Bank.

2003 Recommendations to the Governor

Also in 2003 the Coalition presented Governor Edward G. Rendell with a strategy to address the Commonwealth's long term care crisis that included such specific recommendations as:

• Coordinate long term care reforms through the new Office of Health Care Reform and the Intra-Governmental Council on Long Term Care;
• Launch the “Better Jobs — Better Care” demonstration program with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to document best practices and organizational policies that result in high quality care, greater worker satisfaction, and minimal staff turnover;
• Use existing state funds for training in “Culture Change” practices;
• Design and implement improved training for direct care workers; and
• Develop a measurement tool that ensures accountability for public funds spent on long term care.

Today many of these recommendations of the PCCC have been put into practice in Pennsylvania.

2005 Pennsylvania ACCORD

In November 2005 the Coalition presented its second statewide conference, bringing together local, regional and national speakers to offer fresh insight on the state of Culture Change in the nation and in Pennsylvania. The day-long program, Pennsylvania ACCORD: Building a Strong Coalition, helped nursing home staff examine how a shift toward Culture Change in their homes is a practical application that is being supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and being successfully implemented in homes across the country.

The conference featured a presentation by Yael Harris, MHS, Ph.D., senior policy advisor at CMS, who is currently the government task leader overseeing national Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) work in the nursing home setting. Other sessions included “Nursing Home Success Stories;” “Perceived Regulatory Impediments to Person-Centered Care,” led by regional regulatory supervisors; “Building a Strong Culture Change Coalition” by Joe Angelelli of the National Pioneer Network; and breakout sessions for participants work in teams to consider the possibilities, eliminate perceived barriers, and foster opportunities.