AJAS Goes To The White House

On October 3rd our Association had a great morning in the White House. Our Senior Health Care Summit was attended by over 100 members, lay leaders and business partners. This great morning included three key members of the administration;

• Estelle Richman, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• Kathy Greenlee, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Jonathon Blum, Director for the Center for Medicare at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Each member of the Administration provided an introduction and opening remarks discussing their roles, their current initiatives as well as their challenges in the current environment. Evidenced by their presentations all three were filled with passion and enthusiasm. The operative part of the morning included three panel discussions. Topics included; the Affordable Care Act, Medicare/Medicaid, Community Housing and Community Based Services and Elder Abuse Shelters and programming within our communities. David Fuks, Amy Schectman, and Dan Reingold facilitated these respective sessions. Together with their panels they each described the relevance of the respective topics to not only their communities, but to the senior living community at large. It was clear that AJAS member lead the way when it comes to innovation and program design, regardless of fiscal climate or operational barriers. Members of the Administration also participated in the panel discussions and presentations. Their insight and remarks added great value to those of our own and gave evidence to the synergy that exists between our thoughts and actions and those of this Administration. As the members of the Administration spoke there was one overriding theme that was present regardless of topic. I believe it was best expressed by Jonathon Blum, when, while re-iterating a conversational point said, “It is the Right Thing to Do.” How refreshing and invigorating that made us all feel. In their own way they were living the same mission we do every day; To Honor our Fathers and Mothers.”

Best regards and thanks to all who participated and attended.

Don Shulman, President and CEO
AJAS