Pioneer Network

Pioneer Network was formed in 1997 by a small group of prominent professionals in long-term care to advocate for person-directed care. This group called for a radical change in the culture of aging so that when our grandparents, parents — and ultimately ourselves — go to a nursing home or other community-based setting it is to thrive, not to decline. This movement, away from institutional provider-driven models to more humane consumer-driven models that embrace flexibility and self-determination, has come to be known as the long-term care culture change movement. Our partners and audience are primarily engaged in some aspect of long-term care including long-term care CEOs and administrators, consumers and family caregivers, doctors and nurses, direct care providers, and others who care about, and care for, the aging. Pioneer Network is a center for all stakeholders in the field of aging and long term care whose focus is on providing home and community for elders. We believe that the quality of life and living for America's elders is rooted in a supportive community and cemented by relationships that respect each of us as individuals regardless of age, medical condition or limitations. Pioneer Network advocates for elders across the spectrum of living options (which are often dictated by differing levels of the medical care required); and is working towards a culture of aging that supports the care of elders in settings where individual voices are heard and individual choices are respected — whether it is in nursing homes, transitional care settings or wherever home and community may be. Cultivating and maintaining a community of relationships is important at every phase of life, but especially critical for elders and the aging, many of whom may need a network of partners to live life to its fullest.