Tips from Trestle: The Senior Living Food and Hospitality Podcast

What happens when a two-time James Beard semifinalist brings restaurant systems into senior living dining? Host Aaron Fish sits down with Steven Cameron, VP of Culinary Experience at Trestle Hospitality Concepts, to break down the four complaints every dining room hears — and which ones are solvable with equipment and SOPs versus culture and training.
Steven shares the real story of clocking a 28-minute table greet, then using host stands, back waiters, server sections, and reservations to cut dinner service from two and a half hours to 52 minutes, with residents helping shape the change. They also cover point-of-sale systems senior living operators overlook, how to adapt fine dining structures for assisted living and memory care, and how a standardized catering program can become an unexpected revenue stream.
Connect with Steven at trestlehospitalityconcepts.com or scameron@trestlehc.com.
Tips from Trestle is sponsored by: WiseOx AI, Dining with Dementia Workshop, and the 100% Leader.
Keywords: senior living dining, restaurant efficiency, hospitality leadership, point-of-sale systems, resident experience, dining room service, senior living operations, culinary leadership.

Falls are one of the biggest fears in memory care — but new research suggests the fix might be simpler than we think. Host Aaron Fish sits down with Deborah Rothschild, founder of ToughAgers LLC and creator of Debra Does Fitness, live from the Eden Alternative International Conference. Deborah unpacks a 9-week study comparing resistance training, aerobic exercise, and social visits in people with dementia — and reveals which approach actually improved cognition. She also explains the four types of memory that shape how you should coach a fitness session, why she borrows principles from her former career as a Montessori preschool teacher, and how music tied to someone's "sticky years" can unlock movement other cues can't reach. A practical, research-backed conversation for anyone building fall-prevention and wellness programming 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

#TFT523 #SeniorLiving #DementiaCare #FallPrevention #MemoryCare #AgingWell #SeniorFitness #ToughAgers #EdenAlternative #HealthyAging #CaregiverTips #LongTermCare #BrainHealth #MontessoriMethod #IndependentLiving #ActivitiesDirector

When disaster strikes a senior living community, the immediate emergency is only the beginning.
Aaron Fish welcomes Claudine Ripert of Critical Control to discuss senior living disaster preparedness, property protection, resident relocation, insurance coverage, FEMA documentation, and the long tail of recovery. Claudine explains her Predict, Prepare, Recover framework and shares why leadership teams need clearer decision authority, stronger vendor relationships, regular insurance reviews, and better documentation before an event occurs.
This episode is essential listening for senior living executives, regional operators, executive directors, risk-management teams, and anyone responsible for protecting residents, teams, and community assets.
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

#TFT523 #SeniorLiving #SeniorLivingLeadership #EmergencyPreparedness #DisasterRecovery #BusinessContinuity #RiskManagement #ResidentSafety #HealthcareLeadership #AssistedLiving #LongTermCare #SeniorCare #CrisisManagement #FEMA #DisasterResilience #OperationalExcellence

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.