Meet Michelle Seitzer, a new blogger for SeniorsForLiving.com.

I’ve had a thing for senior citizens since I was a young girl. Having close relationships with my grandparents certainly contributed to my keen affection for the greatest generation. But I always felt comfortable around elders. I wasn’t frightened when our Brownies troop visited the nursing home to sing Christmas songs or give out cookies. And every time a commercial featuring a senior flashed across the TV, I took notice and made sure to comment on how cute or spunky the star of the advertisement was.

During my first year of college, new students were required to fulfill 20 hours of community service. There was no question where I wanted to serve. I spent those 20 hours assisting the activity director of a nursing home in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and was completely fascinated by the people I met there. Now, I must also mention that since a young age, I loved stories. Loved reading them, loved writing them, loved hearing them. I was a bit too shy to tell them, but I loved creating them just the same. The people in that nursing home were full of interesting stories; many of them were great characters for future stories I hoped to write. I seemed to have found my niche.

So, after the professor signed off on my volunteer hours, I continued visiting these great characters. I woke up early on Saturday mornings to play trivia games with them. I helped the activity director set up for holiday parties. After classes, I visited some of the residents with whom I had developed a special bond. When graduation came into view, the administrator of the facility called me into her office. The activity director had resigned, and as everyone in the facility knew, I was graduating. To the chagrin of many of my classmates who were sending out resumes and going on interviews, I was offered the job before I even got the cap and gown. Things just fell into place.

Once I joined the staff, I gained a much more detailed perspective of how senior living facilities operate. While there were many positives –- a handful of hard-working staff, several kind family members who visited often, and a number of committed volunteers -– I soon began to see the darker side of things. Staff shortages, family members who never came around, volunteers who didn’t show up, poor care, lack of ethics in the way the business was run, and to me — most striking of all — the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease. These observations pushed me to seek the next step. What could I do to make a difference and transform these negatives into positives? How could senior care and services be tailored more specifically to meet the complex needs of those with Alzheimer’s? I wanted to fix what was broken, and it seemed that systemic change was needed.

Flash forward a few years and a few more experiences in other senior living facilities, and I’m doing just that. I’m working with the Alzheimer’s Association as the Public Policy Coordinator for the state of Pennsylvania. In this role, I have been able to work with state-level policymakers and agency officials on some of the very issues I confronted during my years in the senior living world. Most recently, I was able to provide input on assisted living legislation and subsequent regulations, specifically addressing Alzheimer’s services in that care setting.

I also understand these issues from a very personal angle. My grandfather is currently struggling with Alzheimer’s and is being cared for at home by my grandmother and my immediate family. I have learned so much during the past few months about the challenges families face in providing at-home care for a loved one.

I look forward to sharing more of my experiences and insights –- whether positive, negative, or indifferent –- from all angles of the senior living world in this blog, while exploring new questions and hearing from you on topics of interest pertaining to older adults and their caregivers.

-Michelle Seitzer