InnovAge Has Diverse Workforce Including those with Disabiliities

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hi everyone and welcome to the show. I have to send a special shout out to my good friend Yoshiko Dart. You know, I always start that way because Yoshiko's late husband, Justin Dart, is known in our community as the General and our civil rights leader, and I have to make that known so you don't forget our history. So special welcome to you, Yoshiko. Then to my listeners around the world, oh my goodness, I am so appreciative of all of the countries with listeners, uh, especially China, when you've had so many people listening. I appreciate everybody But even if you have one person listening in a country, one, one single person, that person can spread the news and they can spread the news and they can spread the news. And that's how you spread advocacy when you're in the disability community. You know, I can't tell you how much I appreciate Highmark because Highmark has been a sponsor of this show for years. They are so incredibly dedicated to the employment of people with disabilities. And I just think David Hallberg, the CEO, is the best of the best. Thank you, Highmark, for helping me spread quality of life for all people living with disabilities. And you know, I am one of those people since I'm a woman living with epilepsy and I'm hard of hearing. And as I always say, anytime I speak, I say, I'm living with epilepsy, and I'm not ashamed I'm living with epilepsy, nor should you be. You know, I'm the CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Inc., and our whole life is finding competitive employment for people with disabilities. And iDisAbility, our training software that teaches at companies employees how to work with and communicate to people with disabilities. And now here it is. I am so proud that in 2018, we founded the Bender Leadership Academy, where we are teaching and preparing high school students with disabilities about the world of work, public speaking, leadership. But you know what else? Fighting bullying. Kids with disabilities are bullied more than any other group. So, go to benderleadership.org and see the work those young people are doing today. You know, when I talked about employment, competitive employment, for many, many years, people with disabilities were not included in fields like IT, finance, human resources. And they still aren't to the degree they should be since 70% of people with disabilities are not counted in the workforce. But they And then there comes along a champion company and a champion leader. And today, my guest Denise Treba is the Chief Talent Officer at Innovage. She is one of those wonderful champions. Denise, welcome to the show.

Well, thank you, Joyce Bender, for having me. I'm so honored to be invited today.

Well, I'm so honored to have you. So for all our listeners, let me just tell you, this woman is the real deal. You know, hiring, hiring is where the rubber meets the road. And not only has she hired people with disabilities, but they have been at a leadership role in the company. And they are the first company I worked with that had two in all these years that had 2 roles for people at the leadership area at the company, and that says so much about InnovAge and Denise. So, Denise, I always like to share with our listeners around the world about you, about your story, you know, where you grew up and how you ended up moving to this field today. So, would you mind sharing that with our listeners?

Not at all, Joyce. I actually grew up in a farming community in Nebraska. I was an only child, and my mother was ill early on when I was a child, so I spent a lot of time with my grandparents while my father worked during the day, and I took care of my mother— or, and my dad took care of my mother during the evenings. After high school I went to college at Creighton University, and I graduated with a degree in finance, and I was then recruited from an alumni of Creighton University Law School to join American Express First Data Resources. And that is where I started my career in human resources. I started as being responsible for recruiting affirmative action programs, and I helped integrate the HR function of newly acquired companies. I was recruited to join the University of Nebraska Medical Center after spending 5 years with First Data, and at UNMC, I was the assistant affirmative action officer. I spent my time working in employee relations and supporting our diversity initiatives within and outside of the university. First Data had a spin-off company called CSG Systems and called me back to see if I would start up their HR department. So, after 5 years with UNMC, I went back to CSG Systems and worked to build all functional areas of the company, including recruiting, employee relations, training, payroll, benefits, all of human resources. I did this as the company expanded both domestically and internationally. And then, after 13 years with CSG, and being relocated to Colorado, I left CSG to get back into healthcare. Since then, I have served in leadership roles in two hospital systems, and I'm now with InnovAge as a program for all-inclusive care for the elderly.

Wow, what a background.

That's my story.

Yeah, what a background. I'll bet you didn't think what you'd be doing when you were in Nebraska. I bet you had no clue. No clue. Uh, do you— was there some special thing that drew you to human resources?

I think being in, uh, human resources, you know, and in particular as an only child, I spent a lot of time observing people and watching people and learning from people. I know as an only child I was a good listener, and I think from that experience, that's what really started my passion for working with people and helping people. You know, that's what I've done all my life.

Well, I just want to share with our listeners, you know, I want to tell you, not all people are like Denise in human resources. And I want to tell you about Denise. She is the most caring, kind, person. She is in no way, shape, or form condescending, even though she's at an executive level. She cares about all the employees. And anytime I'm on a search, you know, it's always, we need someone that is people-oriented, that care about the people. That's the type of person we need. That's the type of person we want to hire. And she has been like this every time I've talked to her or on every assignment. I thank the world of her, although she will not get me my Pop-Tarts.

I try, Joyce.

In case you wonder what I'm talking about, I visited them in Colorado, their headquarters, and oh my goodness, they had this nice little breakfast for us when we walked in. And one of the things was these homemade Pop-Tarts. Oh, they were so good. I've never had Pop-Tarts like those. So I always joke with Denise about I want my Pop-Tarts. But other than that, I think she is awesome, other than not getting me my Pop-Tarts. So, um, hey Denise, how about InnovAge? I love this company. And may I also say, wow, fastest growing public, now on the stock exchange. I mean, it seems like every time I talk to you, you're expanding somewhere. So, what is InnovAge and how does someone align with the programs?

Oh, I'm excited to talk about InnovAge, actually. InnovAge offers an alternative care solution for seniors. We're commonly considered a new social model for healthcare. The mission of InnovAge is to allow seniors to live on life, their terms, by aging in place in their homes and communities for as long as safely possible. InnovAge does this through a program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or known as PACE, a federal and state-funded program that allows seniors to receive customized healthcare and social support at nearby PACE centers. The core objective of PACE is to deliver quality care that is both coordinated and personalized. Each PACE participant has a team of medical experts dedicated to providing personalized healthcare and support to help seniors age at home. PACE is different. It is a different way to think about aging, and InnovAge is a different way to think about PACE. One thing that's different about InnovAGE is its ability to scale. The InnovAGE model can operate PACE centers across geographies, scaling the program to a network of 18 PACE centers across 5 states today. Another difference is the availability of resources provided to patients are all under one RUF, for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. This team approach to care is important for higher quality care, but also because many seniors have travel challenges, and InnovAge centers function as both a clinical hub and a social hub. InnovAge is now the largest PACE provider in the United States based on the number of participants served and is growing. Innovate offers PACE in Colorado, California, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. We have approximately 2,000 employees who serve over 6,700 seniors. And in Colorado, we also offer home care services for seniors, and we own 2 affordable senior housing communities in the Denver metro area. Area. So, that's a little bit about what PACE is about, Joyce.

Well, I did not know that you were the largest PACE provider in the U.S., as you said, based on the number of participants, although I'm not surprised because, as I said, every time I talk to you, it seems as if we're going to a new place, going to a new place, going to a new place, which one thing I do want to mention is the CEO, the COO, the CTO, Denise, and I know there are several others at the executive level, are all female.

All.

Yeah. And so when I say that to someone, they'll say to me, "Wow, they're all women?" And I'll say to them, "Do you say that and have you said that for the last 100 years?" When it's men, like you say, wow, it's all men, all men there at the top. So I mean, it's too bad that, you know, that this is the way it is, but look at this company, so successful. And I'll tell you now, everyone, when I talk to someone about working at InnovAge, that is one of the first things I talk about. I talk about how Their, you know, CEOs female, people at the top are all female. And people always say to me, wow, that is great. You know, they're more innovative, they're more diverse. And I want all of you to know, I know you know how unusual that are— that is. So you need to think about this company in all facets, whether it's not just employment, but Also, you know, referring your family, like I wondered, how do you do that? What do you do, Denise? Say that you have an elderly parent that you have a job and you need, you know, this adult daycare. What would you do? Like who would you call?

We have a number of individuals that are available to assist community members in finding services for their loved ones. They can call the centers directly and we would put them in touch with a business development or a business specialist that would help them understand the program as well as to walk through the enrollment process with their families so they're fully aware of what to expect along the way. So by just contacting our company online or by phone, that the centers will work to get you in touch with the right people.

And you know, think how wonderful that is. I just want to tell you my story. I went to Denver, and this is when I met, you know, Denise and Maureen and the other executives at the company and had those delicious Pop-Tarts. And then I went to They said, "Well, don't you want to see our center?" Their adult care facility. And I said, "Yeah, that would be great." And so, I go there and I have to be honest, you know, whatever I envisioned in my mind was not the way it was. I mean, I was so impressed, like when you went in and there was this walkway that if you want to walk around, you know, to get your exercise if you're, they're, you know, an elderly person. And in addition, they had a dentist, a physician, a pharmacy, a little gym to work out in, a cafeteria. How about that? A cafeteria. A place for people with Alzheimer's, like a game room. I mean, I could go on and on. I was so impressed. How, you know, it's really nice. And because, you know, so don't think about, oh, is it like some of the facilities? It isn't. I mean, it is really nice, really impressive. And the people are so friendly. So, you know, I looked at it as sort of like a one-stop, you know, place, social, a place to eat, a place to network, and all those healthcare services that I mentioned to you. But I told Maureen Hewitt, the CEO, and Denise this story. I'm one of those, I have to know, okay, I'm going to find out what's really going on here. So, I see this gentleman, Latino, and he was there, you know, as someone that was there for the day. And I walked over to him, I said, I have to ask you a question. 'How do you like it here?' And he said, 'Well, in Colorado at the hospital, they didn't see me. At End of Age, they see me.' I thought, 'Wow, that could be a TV commercial.' I mean, that really got to me. I thought, 'Wow, doesn't that say it all?' And that's sort of what it's like. I mean, it's different. It's different. And I think you agree, Denise, that all the people that work there are so invested in all of this.

Absolutely.

You know, the employees.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And that really speaks to our culture. You know, our company is really based on the people that work there. And leadership has put employees first in the program planning. We have employee chats that really where we elicit the feedback for our employees. And those are done, hosted by our CEO, Maureen Hewitt. We do those very frequently, and part of that is to really hear the messages that our employees are telling us and to answer questions they have on their minds. Now, that's really part of developing that great culture that builds the, organization and each center, which you, you saw, Joyce Bender.

Yeah, yes, I did. Um, and it is a great, it is a great place to work. You know, that culture that, that you have, how do you think that happened? I mean, you have an incredible culture for your employees, tremendous. I've worked with you know, you put so much emphasis, I would say, on kindness. How do you think that was implemented? How do you think that happened?

Well, it goes back to what I mentioned earlier. It's really about our people. It begins with our people, and it begins with the leadership and communication. And there's a lot of programming that goes behind developing the support that our staff need as well. You know, we have benefits that we provide for employees. They have opportunities for time away from work that may be needed to support their family, their health, and the wellness of themselves. And during COVID you know, when we went through the last year, we provided pay and benefits when someone was out due to having contracted COVID and to support folks during a time that they needed support. We added spiritual services as well as mental health programs to help our staff during this time. You know, and our CEO provided our employees with care kits, and not just once, but multiple times throughout the— this past year as a way to take care of the caregivers. And we continuously listen and respond to our employees' needs in the workplace, and we work really diligently to hire and train staff as we are now starting to return full force back to our centers post-COVID. And we also support our culture through employee programs, including our Inclusion and Education Council and our Culture Club. And we offer training and education support for those who want to advance their skills. And/or continue their education. And we offer wellness incentives to promote healthy employees. Our facilities are based on a hoteling environment, which really encourages that communication, that fluidity, and if needed, people can focus in quiet rooms as well. So yes, I believe InnovAge is a great place to work, and our employees as well. We have the Great Place to Work survey, which is an anonymous employee survey that Innovage was happy to earn the certification of that award. Winning the Great Place to Work certification is an important way for any fast-growing company to demonstrate their culture. So those are— yeah, those are just a few things, Joyce Bender.

Hey, congratulations on winning that Great Place to Work certification, and that does not surprise me at all. And you are growing so rapidly. I have to tell you something about Denise. She must never sleep, okay? Because she'll call me for an early morning meeting here on the East Coast. She's in Denver and she'll say, "Oh, what about 8 o'clock?" Or, you know, whatever I'll think. Does this woman ever sleep? She's like the Energizer Bunny, just so you all know. But anyway, and why I say that, every time I talk to her, oh, we have another location, another location. So, um, where are your locations now? And you know, what, what do you see? Do you see future expansion?

You know, we, we have We have great facilities, multiple facilities in California and Colorado. We have a facility in our center in New Mexico. We have several centers in Pennsylvania and several centers in Virginia. And we are planning to expand into additional states in the next few years.

I thought you were going to say the next month.

No, not now. That's correct.

Yeah, you are faster than the speed of life. Well, you know, we had a— as you well know, and as everyone knows, all of my listeners all around the world, this is the one time that everyone was impacted, uh, everyone with COVID You know, which was a terrible scourge on our society. And, and as you know, we lost over 600,000 lives, uh, something never in my wildest dreams would I ever believe could happen, but it did. And my heart always goes out to the families that have lost people through this time. Just the other day The CEO of Allegheny General Hospital was at Forbes Hospital, one of the ones they own, AHN owns, and she saw these two women in the lobby and they were very upset. And she went over, and this is just how she is, she said, you know, is there anything I can do to help you? And she said, they said, both of our daughters are here in the hospital hanging on due to COVID. And then they said, we only wish everyone would understand why you should be vaccinated. And you know, it is terrible. It is terrible what has happened. So what did you do at InnovAge? How did you handle this at InnovAge?

We focused on people, you know, our participants, their family, and our staff. Our business model, it provides not only for care in the centers, but we also have home services that we provide as well. So, InnovAge was able to quickly and thoughtfully shift the way we deliver care to provide more in-home services and to to use telehealth as a way to meet the needs of our participants. And our staff is one of the most compassionate staff around, and they didn't miss a beat. They stepped up to the change, and they helped to ensure that our seniors received the care that they needed. So we were able to adjust fairly fluidly, and that was all based on focusing on people participants and our staff.

Wow. I mean, that was— yeah, that was amazing what you did. That was. And you know what? That goes back to that kindness, kindness and compassion. Uh, I mean, that what you did to go through that was unbelievable. So Maureen Hewitt, wow, she is a dynamo. The CEO, Maureen Hewitt, is an absolutely outstanding leader. She's taking InnovAge, as you can see, on this dynamic growth path. And I would just say dynamo, that's all I can think how to describe her. But what have you learned from her? With her leadership, Denise?

There's so much, Joyce. I don't know that Maureen realizes how impactful of a leader she really is. I've watched her thoughtfulness in how she makes decisions, and she does not lose sight of our purpose. She really focuses on participants and staff, those are her priority. And how we support them makes the difference in who we are as a company. So, I've learned so much and in so many ways, but primarily is the thoughtfulness of her leadership that's really impactful.

Yeah, and she is, she is like that, just how you described. So, Denise, what are you planning on accomplishing, or what do you hope to accomplish over the next year?

Oh, wow, there's a lot. With change comes growth, and I'm really focusing now to help build out and advance 3 areas: talent development, Talent Acquisition, which is our recruiting and our staffing group, and Employee Relations, which drives the culture. We're building an infrastructure for our staff to support their learning and career needs. We have job opportunities across our locations for caring individuals who have a passion to support seniors. I'm helping build our processes to facilitate our hiring of talent. We also want to continue to ensure our culture supports our growth and gives our staff the work environment that they want to belong to for many years. And this requires working with leaders to support their day-to-day people needs and to introduce new programs that advance how we work within our teams. So focus for me is going to be on talent development, hiring, hiring great resources to join our talented staff, and then really building strong teams.

Yeah, and I've noticed about this, as I said before, when you hire someone, they could have the, you know, best skills possible,. But if they are not people-oriented, or they don't have a heart or a passion, you would not hire them. That's the thing I know about Innovage. And that, you know, just like my company, you know, this is a do whatever it takes. But how I look at that is that's an opportunity to be part of the company and really to know the company versus being off, you know, in some position somewhere. So you think that's true?

I do think that's true. I think, you know, we bring, we bring great people into the organization and allow them to really deliver their talents. You know, we really want people to come to the table as part of a team. We function as an interdisciplinary team organization-wide, and so for anybody coming in, you will get an opportunity to, you know, work side by side with all leaders of the organization. Doesn't matter what position you're in or what level of a position you are in. You have an opportunity to contribute and be part of a growing organization.

Right, I agree with you. And that's really how a person really gets to know the company. That, that's— people don't realize it's different when you're at a large company and you need marketing material and you pick up the phone, say, hey, could so-and-so get me that information, versus being at a company where you do it all. But when you do it all, until the company, you know, keeps getting larger and larger, you get to meet all the people and you get to touch all the parts of the company. And that is the person that I believe would make a great leader. How long have you been there, Denise?

Well, I'm going on 5 years, and, you know, it's, it's an exciting place from a standpoint of you do get to learn so much about the business. You're not just channeled in one area. You do get an opportunity to really learn and grow with the company. As you mentioned, Joyce Bender, it gives you a chance to kind of expand your skill sets and to understand our business in so many different ways, which is— it's never a boring day at Innovage. It's so exciting to be there.

And you know, as I said to all my listeners, keep in mind now that these were senior leadership roles where InnovAge asked me to find people with disabilities. And by the way, how, how I met them was from my good friend Ted Kennedy Jr. So that gives you an idea of how awesome this company is. But you know what I noticed Denise, about you and the other people is that the reason you didn't, the reason you wanted to include people with disabilities, two reasons. Number one, because, well, you just believe in diversity and you believe in, you know, seeing all aspects. You know, I always remember when Tom Perez was the Secretary of Labor. During the Obama administration, he used to say, "If you go to the symphony and some of the seats aren't filled, you're not gonna hear a beautiful symphony." And that is so true. You have to include all people, you know, in a company. But you know the other reason? You don't see it. You just see a person. You know, you just see you, Denise, and the other people. You just see a great person and you hold them to the same expectations of everyone else. And of course, that's what it's all about. It's all about no pity, equal treatment. I always say people with disabilities don't want pity, they want paychecks. They wanna work, they wanna be treated equally. And I think that I think that's really the way it is with you and the other leaders, wanting to include a diverse workforce that includes disability and just looking at the talent. Would you— I assume you agree with what I'm saying.

Absolutely. Absolutely. It takes all of us to be able to do what we do, and we value all the talent that comes to our organization because everybody's participating. Everybody's there for a reason. We're there to support our seniors and provide the best care possible so seniors can be in their homes for as long as possible, as safe as possible. So, absolutely, it takes all of us to do that.

And let's also remember that people with disabilities can obviously relate very well to elderly people with disabilities because that's part of our disability community. I'll tell you something, when all of those people at nursing homes or skilled facilities, whatever you want to call it, skilled nursing, when they, uh, died, such a large number at congregate settings with COVID our disability rights community, we were horrified because, you know, not everyone that goes in there is elderly, and even if they are elderly, they have disabilities. That's the reason they're there. And that was, that was just horrifying. That's why I say this is such a great model. This is such a great model. And am I right, you, Avant Goes to pick up the individual and then goes to the facility. Is that the way it works?

Yeah, our transportation— yep, our transportation team's amazing. You are absolutely correct. They can go to the facility, to the participant's home, help people from their home to the buses we have, and then to the facility and back again. And take them to their specialist appointments if needed as well. Our transportation teams are amazing.

And to me and anyone listening to this show right now, what a great alternative. I mean, you know, keeping them in their home as long as possible, I mean, that is such a great alternative. And I really hope you'll check into this. Because, you know, for your family, I mean, this is just— I wish we had this, by the way, near Pittsburgh, which is where I'm headquartered. But more importantly, my family lives about an hour away in a rural area, and oh my goodness, this is just the most awesome thing. If my mother passed away from Alzheimer's about 8 years ago, my father, who who's 96, lives with dementia. But I mean, over the years, this would've been so great to be able to do this, plus have someone helping you with going to, as you said, special appointments. I mean, I just think this is the greatest thing. So, I know right now, We're gonna go to our news break, and I'm sorry if I'm a little bit late. So excited with our conversation. But as you all know, we have a news break on every show with our great Perri Jude Radesik. And I just wanna say, no other source anywhere can you go to if you're a person with a disability and hear every week what's really happening that impacts you. So with that, Perry, how are you?

Joyce, I'm fine, and I'm excited to talk about voting rights today.

All right, let's hear it.

Well, there's a lot of activity on voting rights this week that will impact people with disabilities, and that activity is taking place both nationally and here, right here in Pennsylvania. So let's Start nationally. Voting rights advocates are focused on passage of the For the People Act of 2021. The bill numbers, of course, in the House, you may have read in the news, is HR 1, and in the U.S. Senate, it's Senate Bill 2093. And all efforts are now focused on the Senate bill because the House has already passed HR 1, For the People Act, back in March. If you want a copy or want to look at this legislation, go to our website at disabilityrightspa.org and click on the Advocacy Matters segment for today, and you'll find links to this legislation. Now, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York scheduled debate on this bill today. It's happening today. You can tune in either via C-SPAN or Senate.gov to listen to the debate on Senate Bill 2093. However, I have to say, news reports are indicating that the legislation does not have enough votes to pass in the Senate. But the Democrats are going to try to bring up this bill and have a vote on the For the People Act. And if you've been following us, you know that the For the People Act expands voting access for people with disabilities in a lot of ways through promoting more voter registration, more automatic voter registration, by reinforcing civil rights for people with disabilities, providing more money for poll worker training. There's a lot of components to this legislation. The one problem with the bill is that it mandates paper ballots. Many disability organizations have advocated for changes to this legislation to remove the barrier of paper ballots for people with disabilities. If you want to see a copy of that letter on this very issue signed by national disability organizations, again, go to our segment for today at disabilityrightsPA.org And you can see how the national organizations have laid out that argument about paper ballots. So let's bring it closer to home here in Pennsylvania. Representative Seth Grove from York drafted legislation that would change voting laws in our Commonwealth. And while that may sound good, it actually isn't. Uh, the bill, H.R. 1300, was approved by the House On Monday, along party lines, we have a copy of that legislation also on our website. We express concerns about the bill as written, even though Representative Groven and others said that it would increase accessibility for people with disabilities. And I'll give you an example. The legislation includes a Disabled Voter Bill of Rights, which sounds great. However, when you look closely at it, It's only a list of rights that are already available to voters with disabilities. We're entitled to those rights separately and apart from the bill. So it— and it's not even an exhaustive list of all of our rights. So it really doesn't further disability rights. And many other provisions create barriers for people with disabilities, like signature requirements. So if your signature doesn't match on your ballot, You have to get a doctor's note stating a reason why your disability created this signature match problem. So there are problems with the legislation. Governor Wolf said he's going to veto the legislation as written. There's one more piece on this— on voting rights I want to talk about. Disability Rights Pennsylvania, we released a very detailed analysis of the accessibility issues Pennsylvanians with disabilities experienced in the 2020 election. Again, if you go to disabilityrightspa.org, click on Advocacy Matters for Today, you'll find a link to the report, and it highlights issues like the need to expand drop boxes, the need to amend the election code to allow for pre-canvasing that would allow for notice and cure procedures, and including an accessible option for people who need to use provisional ballots. I know that was a lot on voting. It's happening in Pennsylvania and nationally. Advocacy matters. Voting rights matters. Really, we urge your listeners to stay informed and connect to this kind of information about these developments. So, Joyce Bender, that's what we have on voting rights today.

Well, thank you, and I just want to mention this is so, so accurate what you're saying. I have an employee with a disability, and he called— he's in Georgia— and he called, you know, the voting registration, and there was, oh my goodness, a million reasons that he had to go through. And by the time the vote came through— oh, I'm sorry, wait a minute, he lives in Pennsylvania, that was in Pennsylvania— by the time it came through, it was too late to vote. So you're right, there are all these obstacles that are put up. And I want to say, if that If you ever run into this or you have in the past and you're afraid in the future, you need to get in touch if you're in Pennsylvania with Perry. And what is the website, Perry?

It's disabilityrightspa.org, and we're happy to help.

And listen, even if you're in another state, you could still email Perry and she could, you know, forward you to the right person. But advocacy does matter. So, please go to that website. And by the way, always feel free to make a donation. So, thank you so much, Perry. We'll look forward to hearing from you next week.

Take care, Joyce Bender.

Okay. See, Denise, there are so many things going on in our world if you have a disability. But anyway, Denise, back, back to InnovAge. Since you joined InnovAge, and I know this is a big question, but what do you believe since you came back, I mean, since you joined, has been your greatest accomplishment?

Well, there's one in particular I think is important to the organization, and it's not just my accomplishment, but the help of many. We have introduced an inclusion and education council And InnovAge, as we continue to grow, looks at opportunities to better understand the experiences of our employees. So we periodically conduct employee chats and focus groups that provide feedback on employee interest. And one of the areas that employees believe is important is that our culture recognizes and values diversity and inclusion. In 2019, we started the build-out of an organizational group for employees designed to serve their respective populations with networking and social opportunities, as well as to enhance our end-of-age culture. Our Inclusion and Education Council has a specific goal. We're building and sustaining a collaborative, supportive, and respect— —culture that increases employee participation and engagement in the workplace. Employees from across the organization advise and support training that reinforces InnovAge values, supports employee engagement, and fosters a sense of belonging. The InnovAge and Inclusion Education Council develops opportunities for employees to learn and to contribute to an inclusive Inclusive Workplace. The group meets every month, and they discuss topics and make recommendations for training activities that facilitate inclusion within the workplace. They have hosted live presentations, changed our service standards to include diversity and inclusion, updated policies, provided feedback to our employee engagement survey, and established we established the Library of Educational Materials. This is one accomplishment that is very important to me, Joyce.

Wow, that is wonderful. And that is a great accomplishment because education is always a wonderful thing. And, you know, getting that employee participation, and I do believe that that causes engagement in the workforce. So, that is awesome. That it really is. Well, Denise, before we end the show today, what message do you have for our listeners?

Well, first I want to thank you again for giving me the opportunity to share my story with your listeners. InnovAge is an incredible organization that operates with purpose and heart. We're helping seniors age in place in their homes and their communities. For as long as safely possible. And we have the most incredible compassionate staff, and we continue to focus on inclusion, and I invite those who want to be part of our journey to reach out, reach out to our company, reach out to our careers page at myinnovage.com, and talk with someone on our staff or one of our recruiters. So, again, Joyce, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share a bit about InnovAge today. It's been a pleasure.

Oh, thank you, Denise. What is the website again for InnovAge? myinnovage.com or innovage.com. myinnovage.com. Okay, myinnovage.com, that's the career page, and innovage.com is the overall website. I would encourage you to go Go look at that, uh, I-N-N-O-V-A-G-E, Innovage, because it is such an impressive company. And by the way, our Chief Talent Officer Denise Triba, T-R-I-B-A, is an awesome person. That was our— who is our guest today, and I just love her so much. And I Want to also say, let's say you heard this show and you said, oh, I wish, I wish, you know, my friends had heard this because of the adult daycare, you know, whatever, whatever it is that interests you, but specifically that, you know, you can share the show. Go to Apple or Spotify, Disability Matters with Joyce Bender. On voiceamerica.com, and you can hear this show, any of the other shows back for years. But this is how you can make sure a friend of yours that you want to hear the show does hear it, because it is on demand. I want to thank you, Denise, for being our guest today. Uh, so awesome you are. And I also want to thank all of our listeners around the world. I love you all, and I will talk to you next week. This is Joyce Bender. Disability Matters at voiceamerica.com. I want you to remember when you talk about the struggle that people go through Remember, there is no struggle, there is no progress. No struggle, no progress, said Frederick Douglass. Talk to you all next week.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters, right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.