Courtesy of Jane Glenn Haas

by Jane Glenn Haas

At first take, the precept seems simplistic: "Loren Shook and Steve Winner believed people with memory-impairing illnesses were capable of greater engagement with the world and their loved ones than traditional care facilities were producing."

A good philosophy.

But even Shook and Winner are astonished today that their book detailing this premise - "The Silverado Story: A Memory Care Culture Where Love Is Greater Than Fear" - has received a silver medal in the 2011 Independent Book Publishers Awards, topping some 4,000 entrants.

Shook and Winner founded Irvine - based Silverado Senior Living, which operates in 35 locations across California, Texas, Utah, Arizona and Illinois. The company soon will expand into Colorado.

Q. What does "love is greater than fear" really mean?

A. Shook: Love encourages you to tell the truth. It helps staff make the right decisions when nobody is around to assist them. It's another way of telling our staff to always do the right thing.

If we make our decisions from the love side, there is little relevance to how much money you have. It means turning a troublesome situation into a positive one. Often it means doing the opposite of what you feel like doing - covering something up, restraining a troublesome patient, doing the safe thing.

We have had staff stories about how the philosophy has improved their relationships at home with loved ones. It's an operating philosophy that extends to all walks of life.

In our communities, it means avoiding physical and pharmaceutical restraints, drug reduction, exercise, and an active role for children and pets.

Winner: With the amount of regulation and oversight required for taking care of people with memory loss, it's easy to go to the fear side of the equation. Like, "I could get in trouble for this." Or, "Should you really risk the liabilities of letting your staff bring their children to work?"

Those issues push you to the "fear" side.

If you move to the "love" side, life is about having a little bit of risk and freedom. Yes, we are concerned about general safety, so the fear side says we should give everyone plastic cups because someone might drop one and cut themselves. Well, plastic cups aren't what we want for ourselves or our parents. Instead, we take a little bit of risk, and in 15 years, we've never had a problem.

Q. How is the book impacting the care industry?

A. Shook: It's becoming a powerful tool.

I recently spoke to 70 major fund investors. Each had been given a copy of our book and they told me it was inspirational. Major Wall Street analysts are getting the message.

Family members around the country are reading it and demanding more from the homes where their loved ones receive care.

Everybody wants a purpose. Everyone wants to contribute. In our own company, staff members feel more connected. That's how we chip away at changing the world.

Q. Tell me how your firm - and the care industry - is facing the projected increase in dementia patients.

A. Winner: The diagnosis is being made much earlier in the disease. We are trying to work with families to provide home-based care so people can stay in their homes, still have the transportation they need and other support systems. With the aging boomer population, the potential number of patients is staggering.

And it's not just the family members in the future who will want to have home-based care. We expect people who have the disease will want this level of care in the future.

"The Silverado Story" is available through amazon.com or The Silverado Story.