Below are summaries of past SAGE Day symposiums. 

2005 - St. Marys Care Center, Madison

On October 13, 2005 SAGE Wisconsin sponsored a SAGE Day that featured St. Marys Care Center in Madison, Wisconsin.   A seven person multidisciplinary team assembled in September to conduct a Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) of the facility.   The daylong activities, hosted by Administrator Bill Bender, included a tour of the building as well as a brief review of the project history, project objectives, staffing, design features and project costs.   Following a tour of the facility in which the team became acquainted with the physical environment, they had the opportunity to sit down and speak with staff and residents.

Approximately sixty people attended the POE Day presentation and were afforded a tour of the building, as well as a multidisciplinary review by the team and St. Marys staff.  The POE team discussed their observations in relation to the SAGE Design Principles based on OBRA (1987).    One example of this was the issue of personal autonomy.   Residents have the freedom and are encouraged to personalize their rooms.   Some other talking points that came up were: 

 The presentation allowed registrants to hear candid discussions by the team, St. Marys staff, as well as comments of the attendees themselves. In addition, David Soens of the Department of Health and Family Services shared information relative to general code issues in nursing homes on topics such as wireless call systems and soiled utility rooms, and Brian Schoeneck gave an overview of the state nursing homes and some financial incentives for remodeling projects.

SAGE Day for 2003 was held at Upland Hills Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dodgeville, WI. 

Two major areas frequently reported by the elderly are boredom and loneliness. With this in mind, Upland Hills was designed to enhance opportunities for people to enjoy more sensory stimulation, and opened its doors in August 2002.

The project includes a new 44 bed long-term care and rehab center with four large homes or households.  Each household features a living area; a dining area; a parlor with porch; nine bathrooms; seven private bedroom suites; and two double bedroom suites. Two households share a sunroom adjacent to an outdoor neighborhood courtyard. These courtyards have bird and squirrel feeders, flowers, and fountains that can be easily accessed and enjoyed. The four households connect to a "neighborhood center" for group activities. A skywalk, which is known as "Main Street", bridges the new hospital addition and the neighborhood center.

SAGE Wisconsin continues to support its purpose of improving environments for older adults through a variety of educational forums and activities.  Our events promote a multidisciplinary and collaborative forum for resource sharing and innovative thinking about long term care environments. 

On March 19, 2002, SAGE WI partnered with the Wisconsin Alzheimer 's Institute and the Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging to present, “Creating a Vision of Long-term Care Environments Through Collaboration.  The day began with a compelling and futuristic view of what’s in store for us through the eyes of Leland R. Kaiser, Ph.D. 

Keynote Speaker - Leland R. Kaiser, PhD. - Leland R. Kaiser is founder and president of Kaiser Consulting, a healthcare consulting firm located in Brighton, Colorado.  He is co-founder of the Kaiser Institute, and advanced fellowship program for health professionals.  Dr. Kaiser is a writer, lecturer, and health policy analyst at the forefront of the "healthier communities movement" in the United States.  He holds appointments as Associate Professor in the Executive Program in Health Administration, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Colorado at Denver, and as a faculty member in the doctoral program at Greenwich University.

As a health futurist, Dr. Kaiser has been responsible for sparking the imagination of audiences worldwide to change obsolete mindsets and welcome new opportunities to design a healthier society.  He is also a pioneer in the development of electronic teaching technologies in universities without walls.  Dr. Kaiser holds post-graduate degrees from the University of Denver, University of Colorado, and University of Pittsburgh.  His areas of professional training include clinical psychology, social psychology, higher education, healthcare administration and public health.  He is the author of more than 200 monographs, journal articles and videotapes and the training manual, "Mapping Your Future; A Lifework Planning Guide for Health Care Professionals."

This thought-provoking presentation and discussion was followed by in-depth presentations and displays by 12 architects and senior care providers that featured the latest trends in long-term care and senior living environments throughout the state of Wisconsin. 

Architectural Firm:    Architecture 2000, Inc.
Project:                            St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care
Kind of Facility:        Day Care

Architectural Firm:    Engberg Anderson Design Partnership
Project:                            Odd Fellow-Rebekah Assisted Living
Kind of Facility:        Assisted Living

Architectural Firm:    Eppstein Uhen Architects
Project:                             Meriter Terraces
Kind of Facility:          CBRF including 12-bed dementia care

Architectural Firm:    Flad & Associates
Project:                            Brown County Mental Health Center
Kind of Facility:        Combined skilled nursing facility, psychiatric hospital, and residential care

Architectural Firm:    Hoffman Corporation
Project:                            Peabody Manor
Kind of Facility:        SNF/CBRF/Hospice

Architectural Firm:    Horty Elving & Associates, Inc.
Project:                            Brewster Village
Kind of Facility:        SNF

Architectural Firm:    Nelson-Tremain Partnership
Project:                            Upland Hills, Nursing and Rehab Center
Kind of Facility:        SNF

Architectural Firm:    WAI/Continuum
Project:                            Golden Age Manor
Kind of Facility:        SNF/Dementia

The day concluded with an in-depth review by the provider, architect and regulator for Village Shalom, Kansas.   Village Shalom is a continuing care retirement community serving 160 residents in Overland Park, Kansas.  The risk for sponsoring this program was well worth the reward, as over sixty attendees shared a daylong educational experience that all agreed will help change the future of long-term care environments. 

On September 10, 2002 SAGE WI  sponsored a SAGE Day that featured Brewster Village located in Appleton, WI.   An eight member multidisciplinary team assembled in August to conduct a post occupancy evaluation (POE) of the facility.  David Rothmann, Administrator, lead the daylong activities with a thorough and candid review of the recently completed complex.  Past history, project objectives, state regulator involvement, staffing, design features and project costs were presented to the POE team for evaluation.  A tour of the facility ensued where the team was introduced to the physical environment as well as interaction with residents and staff.  The POE team then convened to discuss their observations and plan their presentation.

Approximately sixty people attended the POE day presentation and were afforded a multidisciplinary review by the team as well as a tour of the complex.  Of special interest to many was the research initiative that began during the programming phase of this project.  Gerald Weisman, from the Institute on Aging and Environment, provided the attendees with a unique perspective that documented the former replacement facility's environmental and behavioral characteristics.  On-going research was presented that demonstrated the positive effects that the new environment has had for the various project stakeholders.  True to all SAGE educational functions, the presentations, tour, and dialogue were both candid and informative.

This year's activities represent SAGE WI’s 5^th featured facility POE and our 5^th educational symposium.  The SAGE WI Steering Committee will be planning future educational efforts with our next meeting scheduled in early October.  So look forward to more from the SAGE WI “Cheeseheads”.

 Terry McLaughlin, AIA
Chairman SAGE Wisconsin

    The SAGE Wisconsin  Steering Committee finalized its strategic planning efforts early in 2001. Our strategic direction was to provide a variety of forums to increase the depth and breadth of stakeholders.  Several events were planned that promoted a multidisciplinary and collaborative forum for resource sharing and innovative thinking about long term care environments. 

On September 20, 2001 SAGE WI sponsored a SAGE Day that featured Attic Angel Place located in Madison, WI.  An eight member multidisciplinary team assembled in August to conduct a post occupancy evaluation (POE) of the facility.  Mary Ann Drescher, President of Attic Angel Place, lead the daylong activities with a thorough and candid review of the recently completed complex.  Attic Angel Place history, project objectives, state regulator involvement, staffing, design features and project costs were presented to the POE team for evaluation.  A tour of the facility ensued where the team was introduced to the physical environment as well as interaction with residents and staff.  The POE team then convened to discuss their observations and plan their presentation. 

Approximately thirty people attended the POE day presentation and were afforded a multidisciplinary review by the team as well as a tour of the complex.   True to all SAGE educational functions; the presentations, tour, and dialogue were candid and informative. 

Terry McLaughlin, AIA
Chairman SAGE Wisconsin

"Designing Long Term Care Environments for the New Millennium" was co-sponsored by SAGE Wisconsin  and the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute (WAI).  The symposium, funded in part by a grant from the Helen C. Bader Foundation, was held March 9, 2000  at the Pyle Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

The program was designed to provide participants with the latest information about state-of-the-art living environments for older adults, especially those with Alzheimer's and other dementia.  The program was structured to allow and encourage extensive interactions and exchanges among the multi-discipline professionals presenting and attending.

The mission of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute is dedicated to improving the availability of services and the quality of care provided to persons affected by Alzheimer's disease  and related dementias.  In collaboration with community organizations, the WAI aims to improve the quality of life for persons affected by dementia through research, education, training, program development and public advocacy.

Keynote Speaker - Margaret P. Calkins, PhD - Dr. Calkins is President of IDEAS,  Inc.; (Innovative Designs in Environments for an Aging Society), an education, research and consultation firm dedicated to exploring the therapeutic potential of the environment - social, organizational, and physical - particularly as it relates to frail and impaired older adults.  She is also Senior Fellow Emeritus of the Institute on Aging and Environment at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.   As a member of several national organizations and panels which focus on issues of care for cognitively impaired older Americans, she speaks frequently at conferences both here in the United States and abroad.  She has published extensively, and her book Design for Dementia: Planning Environments for the Elderly and the Confused was the first comprehensive design guide for special care units.  Dr. Calkins is currently Principle Investigator on three grants from the National Institutes of Health.   One will develop an alternative to traditional consultation services, in which facility-specific  consultation on the creation of supportive environment for people with dementia will be provided without requiring a site visit, which will allow consultation to be more modestly priced.  She recently completed her doctorate, which explored ways to describe and classify those characteristics of SCUs that relate to the impaired ability of people with dementia to receive, manage, and interpret stimulation and information from their environment.

"Quality of Life:  Universal Design Concepts for he Frail Older Adult" featured internationally acclaimed architect, Victor Regnier as keynote speaker, and was held on May 21, 1998 at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Stevens Point.  This symposium was sponsored by SAGE Wisconsin .  

Keynote Speaker - Victor Regnier, FAIA - Victor Regnier holds a joint professorship between the USC School of Architecture and the Leonard Davis School  of Gerontology, the only joint appointment of this nature in the US.  From 1992 until January 1996, he served as the Dean of the School of Architecture.

As a scholar,  he has published several books and articles dealing with various aspects of housing for the elderly including a recent award winning monograph entitled Assisted  Living Housing for the Elderly:  Design Innovations from the United States and Europe (VanNostrand, 1994).

As a researcher, he has directed 21 projects dealing with the social and behavioral impact of the environment on older people, children, and the homeless.  His design research findings have been presented at over 100 professional and scientific conferences as well as more than 30 university symposia.  Professor Regnier has also received teaching awards including a recent selection as one of nine USC Mortar Board Professors of the Year in 1994/95.

As a designer, he has provided consultation advice on over 250 building projects in 28 states.   The only person who holds fellowship status in both the Gerontological Society of America and the American Institute of Architects, he has also received recognition for his scholarship in the form of awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Planning Association, the Swedish-American Foundation, Progressive Architecture, and the Fulbright Association.

Prior to joining the USC faculty, Professor Regnier held a joint appointment between the School of Architecture and the Program of Housing Research and Development at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

The Learning Objectives for the symposium were:

Quality of Life:  Universal Design Concepts for Frail Older People

1)    Serving and relating to the community.

2)    Exterior residential style and massing.

3)    Approachable and friendly interior designs.

4)    Unit clustering and organizational strategies.

5)    Social interaction and observation opportunities.

6)    Exercise and physical therapy.

7)    Outdoor spaces and landscape architecture.

8)    Aging in place.

9)    Integrating and engaging staff.

10)    Re-"modeling" the nursing home.

11)    Environments that increase affect.

12)    Designing for dementia.

"Developing Design Principles for Nursing Home Regulation" , a state wide workshop for Wisconsin nursing home providers, developers, architects, interior designers, regulators, and consumers, was held on June 20, 1996 at the Ramada Inn, Capital Conference Center in Madison.  The workshop objective was to validate and apply principles for designing nursing home environments.  The symposium was sponsored by SAGE Wisconsin ; The Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS); and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (UW-M), Institute on Aging and Environment.  Co-sponsors included the Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care; the Wisconsin Health Care Association; the Wisconsin County Homes Association; and the Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. 

Keynote Speakers - Brian Hofland, PhD, Senior Vice President, Retirement Research Foundation (Chicago, Illinois) - Brian is responsible for planning, developing, and managing an $8 million annual grant program supporting research, policy, demonstration models, and service projects in the field of aging with an emphasis on long term care.

Gerald Weisman, PhD, Professor of Architecture, Institute on Aging and Environment, School of Architecture and Urban Development, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee - Gerald has done extensive research into the impact of environments on the elderly and publishes and presents frequently on his findings.  He has much practical experience, counseling on development projects and with organizations interested in enhancing existing settings.   He has been a consultant for over 70 projects in the US and Canada, including a replacement campus for the Philadelphia Geriatric Center and the Helen Bader Center at the Milwaukee Jewish Home.  Dr. Weisman is Chair of the PhD program in architecture (Environment-Behavior Studies) and serves on numerous committees on campus, as well as the Steering Committee of the AIA/ACSA Aging Design Research Program.  He is a juror for the AIA Academy of Architecture and Health Design for Aging Facility Review and is a  member of the Environmental Design Research Association Board of Directors. 

"Developing a Partnership for Change in Nursing Home Design".   This symposium was held on November 15 at the Holidome Convention and Expo Center, Stevens Point, and was sponsored by SAGE Wisconsin.  

Keynote Speaker - Lorraine G. Hiatt, PhD-   Dr. Hiatt is a well known gerontologist, environmental psychologist, consultant, and researcher and one of the country's best known expert in dimension design.   She is noted for her work in physical plant design and collaborated on a large number of nursing home dementia units and adult daycare programs.

Dr. Hiatt teaches at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and is author of "Nursing Home Renovation:  Designed for Reform."    She earned her doctorate in environmental psychology from City University of New York.  A consultant for more than 100 retirement communities,  Dr. Hiatt has worked with residences, nursing homes, elder day centers, and hospitals.  She has implemented environmental features for increased independence, restraint reduction, and staff efficiency, drawing on her research in technology and sensory function.  Her current studies focus on innovative design and the regulatory process, building configuration and operational costs, and design for people with dementia living in home or institutional settings. 

The Learning Objectives for the symposium were:

Summaries:

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