G. Allen Power, MD is a board-certified internist and geriatrician, and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester, New York. His current position is Eden Mentor at St. John’s Home in Rochester. Dr. Power is also a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

After nearly 24 years of full-time clinical practice - first in the community, then in long-term elder care - Dr. Power has made a career transition to devote his time to changing the culture of aging in nursing homes and throughout society. He first became acquainted with Dr. William Thomas, founder of the Eden Alternative, in 1997. Dr. Thomas began this movement in 1991 to transform nursing homes from sterile institutions to vibrant homes where even the frailest elders can experience continued growth and engagement with life.

Dr. Power became a Certified Eden Associate in 1998 and in 2003 he was named an Eden Mentor by the national organization, in recognition of his distinguished work in promoting this transformational process. Dr. Power became a Certified Eden Alternative Educator in 2006 and teaches the principles and practices of the Eden Alternative around the nation. He was elected to the Eden Alternative board of directors in 2009.

At St. John’s, Dr. Power is spearheading his organization’s transformation and assisting with the development of community Green HouseTM homes in Rochester. Also conceived by Dr. Thomas, the Green HouseTM is a further step in de-institutionalization of nursing homes, moving elders into small homes of 8-10 people with universal care partners, in a non-medical care setting. St. John's will be the first organization in the world to build Green Houses in multiple sites, spread throughout the Greater Rochester community. Dr. Power presented this project at IAHSA 2009 in London.

Dr. Power is an expert in using transformational principles to re-define our approach to people with dementia. His new book, Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care was released by Health Professions Press in February 2010. He has lectured on this topic across the US and at the 2007 IAHSA conference in Malta, and presented at the Alzheimer's Disease 2009 International Conference in Singapore in March 2009. Dr. Power is a regular contributor to weblogs by Dr. Bill Thomas and Western NY Alliance for Person-Centered-Care.

Dr. Power has been interviewed by BBC Television, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, WHYY-FM (Philadelphia), WXXI-AM (Rochester) and several Rochester television news broadcasts.  He was interviewed for Beth Baker’s book, Old Age in a New Age: The Promise of Transformative Nursing Homes (Vanderbilt University Press, 2007). His interviews and articles have also appeared in a number of trade journals, including Caring for the Ages, Long-Term Care Interface, Provider, AAHSA Future Age, NYAHSA newsletter, and many local media publications.

Dr. Power’s audiences have included international conferences, medical teaching rounds and community talks. In such varied conference venues as AMDA, Eden Alternative, IAHSA, ADI, Pioneer Network, NPACE, ASCP, as well as regional elder care, dementia, QIO and medical meetings, Dr. Power’s innovative and engaging presentations have consistently ranked among the attendees’ highest evaluation scores.

Dr. Power is also a trained musician and songwriter with three recordings, including Life Worth Living: A Celebration of Elders and Those Who Care for Them.  His songs have been recorded by several artists and performed on three continents. Peter, Paul and Mary have performed his song of elder autonomy, “If You Don’t Mind”, and Walter Cronkite used his song, “I’ll Love You Forever” in a 1995 Discovery Channel profile of American families.

 

G. Allen Power. MD, FACP
Eden Mentor
St. John's Home
150 Highland Avenue
Rochester, NY, USA 14620
585-760-2639

 


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