Tips from Trestle: The Senior Living Food and Hospitality Podcast

Are you sitting on untapped talent inside your own community? In this episode, Aaron Fish talks with Samantha Schreiber, Senior HR Manager at Floor & Decor and former HR Director at Phoenix Senior Living, about the critical difference between high-performing and high-potential employees in senior living. They break down the nine-box talent planning tool, explore why low effort is often a symptom of feeling undervalued rather than a personality flaw, and calculate the real cost of quiet quitting and turnover in food and hospitality roles. Plus: practical, budget-conscious recognition strategies that work even when raises aren't an option, and why employee engagement directly drives resident satisfaction. A must-listen for executive directors, administrators, and HR leaders in senior living.
Tips from Trestle is sponsored by:
WiseOx: https://bit.ly/TFT_WiseOx
Dining With Dementia: https://bit.ly/TFT_DwD
100% Leader: https://bit.ly/TFT_100

A crisis playbook isn't a binder you pull off a shelf — it's a discipline. In this episode, Aaron Fish sits down with Damon Thomas, Senior Vice President of Operations at Providence Senior Living and a 30-year senior living veteran, to break down how real leaders respond when things go wrong.
Damon shares the difference between predictable emergencies and unpredictable human-driven crises, introduces his HEAT framework, and explains why regulators respond to composure, not panic.
Whether you're an executive director, a regional leader, or anyone who's ever been the first call when something goes sideways, this episode gives you a real, usable playbook for staying calm, controlling the narrative, and leading through it.
In this episode:
Why crisis playbooks are about sequence, not checklists

The four crises leaders most often underestimate

The HEAT framework for de-escalating any tense conversation

How to communicate with regulators as partners, not adversaries

Why silence creates rumors and oversharing creates liability

Follow Tips from Trestle for weekly conversations on senior living food, hospitality, and leadership. Learn more about Trestle Hospitality Concepts at www.trestlehospitalityconcepts.com.

Are the books and magazines in your lobby designed for the brains you actually serve—or for the people who picked them out years ago?
In this episode of Tips from Trestle, Aaron talks with Mindful Libraries co-creators Nikki Jardin and Laurette Klier to explore how dementia-friendly reading can transform resident engagement in senior living communities. They share the deeply personal stories behind Mirador Magazine and Nana’s Books, born from caring for loved ones with young onset Alzheimer’s and Lewy body dementia who suddenly lost access to the magazines, newspapers, and novels they once loved.
You’ll hear how accessible design, Atkinson Hyperlegible fonts, thick paper, and thoughtfully curated images make it possible for people living with dementia and mild cognitive impairment to enjoy reading again. Nikki and Laurette describe the Mindful Library concept: a beautiful, always-available reading nook that shifts activity programming from “doing” to “being,” creating organic, heart-centered connections over coffee, charcuterie, and conversation. They also share what it meant to see their publications used as teaching tools at Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Care training, validating the impact Mindful Libraries can have for operators, caregivers, and families.
If you’re a senior living operator, activity professional, dementia caregiver, or public librarian looking to enhance engagement, this episode offers practical ideas for building inclusive, resident-centered reading experiences that feel like home
Tips from Trestle is sponsored by:
WiseOx: https://bit.ly/TFT_WiseOx
Dining With Dementia: https://bit.ly/TFT_DwD
100% Leader: https://bit.ly/TFT_100

#TFT520 #SeniorLiving #DementiaCare #AlzheimersAwareness #CognitiveWellbeing #ResidentExperience #MemoryCare #PositiveApproachToCare #EdenAlternative #AgingWithDignity #CaregiverSupport #InclusiveDesign #ReminiscenceTherapy #EngagedAging #DementiaFriendly #SeniorLivingFoodAndHospitality #TipsFromTrestle #ElevateTheExperience

Host Aaron Fish welcomes Jeff Webb, Senior Manager of Business Development at HealthTrust Performance Group, to explore how senior living operators can maximize GPO (Group Purchasing Organization) and food distributor partnerships to lower food costs and elevate dining programs. Jeff shares a real-world case where a multi-property operator cut food spend by nearly 6% through smarter, quality-first purchasing decisions, while transforming their menu into a restaurant-style experience. The two dispel the "middleman" myth, explain why salary-based GPO reps are incentivized purely to find savings, and dive into how tiered rebate structures work in practice. Listeners also get insight into texture-modified diets, Mediterranean diet menu trends, and dining-with-dementia strategies drawn from Jeff's personal caregiving experience. Perfect for dining directors, executive directors, and administrators evaluating whether a GPO partnership is right for their community — with no long-term contract required.

In this throwback episode, host Aaron Fish reunites with Shawn McGregor — Senior Executive Chef at Healthcare Services Group — to continue the conversation from their standout panel at the Florida Senior Living Association conference. Sean oversees culinary and systems training across more than 2,000 kitchens in 48 states, making him one of the most experienced culinary voices in senior care.
In this conversation, Aaron and Shawn cover: training dining staff with storytelling rather than just technique, the engagement power of showtime/live cooking demonstrations, how to navigate dietary restrictions using clinically-driven menus, why getting your chef out of the kitchen is a tour strategy, and the golden rule of underpromising and overdelivering on prospects. Whether you're an operator, a chef, a marketer, or a sales director — this episode is your dining room roadmap.
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