Senior Director of Risk Management Grant Edelstone honored as Advocate of the Year

At the RISE Conference this February, Grant Edelstone, Senior Director of Risk Management for Front Porch, received an Advocate of the Year award from LeadingAge California. Grant was honored for demonstrating exceptional commitment to advancing the well-being of older adults and being at the forefront of driving meaningful change in aging services and policies.

“Grant Edelstone has been a tireless advocate for older adults in California, particularly in the areas of assisted living and skilled nursing,” LeadingAge California announced. “Over the past year, Grant’s careful review and expert feedback on dementia care regulations, skilled nursing quality, and workforce standards have had a significant impact on shaping policies that better serve older adults across the state.”

As an undergraduate, Grant initially thought he would make an impact advocating for the environment, but he says his volunteer work in hospitals and then playing piano during happy hours in local skilled nursing facilities indicated “the early warning signs were there” for his eventual career path. He returned to school for a masters in health services management, thinking he would work in hospital administration. One of his teachers suggested he explore the world of long term care. Grant’s parents served on the board of directors for a local senior community and his grandmother lived at both a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) and eventually a SNF. Exploring further, he did an administrative residency at a senior community, passed the nursing home administrator’s exam, and began working at his first skilled nursing facility, or SNF.

After working for half his career managing for-profit SNFs, he joined the team of a non-profit continuing care retirement community and obtained his Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) Administrator certification, eventually working as an administrator at St. Paul’s Towers and San Francisco Towers before becoming the Senior Director of Risk Management for Front Porch.

Grant brought his years of on-the-ground experience into overseeing risk management at an organizational level. The role involves bringing best practices to communities, programs and team members in order to mitigate risk or harm to residents or team members if and when something happens. Among other activities, Grant was a key player in the COVID 19 Task Force, providing almost daily guidance about ongoing changes to regulations and health recommendations throughout the pandemic.

Currently, Grant serves on two committees at the state level with LeadingAge California: the Enhanced Assisted Living workgroup and Health Services Cabinet, where he collaborates with colleagues across the state to shape policies and procedures that will allow people to age in the place they want to call home, as well as work to ensure that skilled nursing throughout California meets the needs of those in long term care. “His ability to bring stakeholders together and foster collaboration has helped create a more person-centered, forward-thinking approach to aging services in California,” LeadingAge California stated in its award presentation.

Grant also serves on the Nursing Home Advisory Group of LeadingAge at a national level.

Grant says that the Advocate of the Year award was completely unexpected. “I attend meetings and reply to emails if I know something, and collaborate for change, which is one way of advocating for seniors and our long term care system.”

Drawing from his experience, Grant encourages others to get involved, volunteer their knowledge or time, and advocate in ways that may seem different from what people picture when they hear the word. “It doesn’t have to be a big-time commitment,” he says. “If you can make a little time to share what you know, to help a colleague, to help another organization, it could help someone who can’t do those things or might be just starting out in their career. That’s one way to change things.”