Background
The Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization established in 1985 to improve the quality of long term care services to the state’s older adults and people with disabilities through education, research and quality improvement programs.
Founded by leaders of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, the Foundation’s central focus during the past decade has been to improve the quality of resident care through a scholarship program designed to build the skills of our long term care work force and support professional growth in the field of long term care. The scholarship program is part of a comprehensive, state-wide strategy to build and sustain a high quality work force to care for the growing aging population of Massachusetts.
In 2008, the Foundation entered a new era. Building on the success of the scholarship program, the Foundation is expanding further into quality improvement, education and research.
Click here for a brochure on the Foundation.
Mission
The mission of the Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation is to promote innovative tools, services, programs and research related to clinical and workforce quality across the continuum of care for older adults and people with disabilities.
Through partnerships with professional, government and academic organizations the Foundation provides critical leadership to the health care community in the form of research grants, scholarships, education, quality improvement programs and consumer-focused resources .
Program Priorities
Priorities include:
- Quality Improvement Focusing on Care Transitions and Reducing Inappropriate Use of Antipsychotics
- Culture Change
- End of Life Care
- Leadership Development
- Workforce Development
Board of Directors
The Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors, with each director elected for a three year term.
Foundation Professional Staff
Carolyn Blanks
Executive Director
cblanks@maseniorcare.org
Laurie Herndon
Director of Clinical Quality
lherndon@maseniorcare.org
About the Executive Director
Carolyn Blanks was previously the Vice President of Labor and Workforce Development for the Massachusetts Senior Care Association. Carolyn is recognized as a national leader in strengthening the quality of care through innovative work force development initiatives. Her partnerships with state government, academia, and the business community have been instrumental in building a national model for long term care career ladders in Massachusetts, and significantly improving the quality of resident care through developing a skilled and committed workforce. A graduate of Bowdoin College, Carolyn is an appointed member of the Massachusetts State Workforce Investment Board, the Workforce Board Association Board of Directors, the state advisory committee for the Extended Care Career Ladder Initiative, the MA Department of Higher Education’s Nursing and Allied Health Advisory Committee, and the Workforce Sub-Committee of the American Health Care Association. She has also served on the National Commission on Nursing Workforce for Long-Term Care.