Steve Shields

President and Chief Executive Officer

Steve Shields: A Man of Vision
Steve Shields has a personal stake in Meadowlark. There’s no doubt he’s been deeply committed to his role as president since taking over in 1994, but he started at Meadowlark as more than just president and CEO. His first role at Meadowlark was as a family member.

In the mid-80s, Shields’ mother was in another care facility with advanced Alzheimer’s. Marge Shields was a former dancer who had always been active and creative, but her son couldn’t believe her swift decline after entering the facility. One look at the setting she was in, and he understood why. He was angry and disheartened by the clinical noises and strict schedules, and most of all, by what was lacking in these types of facilities: the feeling of home.

Creating Home
Shields resolved to make a change. He quit his job in the oil industry and began his leadership at Meadowlark, bringing his mother in as a resident, and eventually his father. In 2000, Shields and other Meadowlark personnel began conducting extensive research and gathering detailed input from residents, staff, architects and industry professionals. Meadowlark began transforming its 24-hour care center from an institution to true homes where people live and thrive.

The large facility was re-formed into small households with fewer residents and a consistent staff. The use of clinical call lights, massive nursing stations, and metal meal carts was discontinued. Staff supported the residents in their right to direct their own schedules and lives. The redesign transformed the nursing home into a true home. Since then, Meadowlark, with Shields at its helm, has become an international model of transformation in retirement communities.

Teaching Transformation
Shields is not content to see these changes realized only at Meadowlark. While managing ongoing culture-change efforts on our 40-acre campus, he also shares what he has learned. He has made it his mission to teach other organizations about the resident-directed household model and how to apply it in their own communities.

“We knew this was the right thing to do,” Shields said, “but in order for this vision to expand beyond our local community, we had to help others achieve the model themselves.”

Now a sought-after international consultant and keynote speaker on transformation in long-term care, Shields has presented his ideas to people from over 40 states and 10 foreign countries, including Ireland, Australia and Taiwan. His book, “In Pursuit of the Sunbeam,” co-written with household-model pioneer LaVrene Norton, guides others on transitioning from nursing home to household. He is also on the faculty and advisory board of K-State’s Center on Aging, where he teaches Leadership in Long-Term Care.

Gayle Appel Doll, Ph.D., has worked with Shields extensively in her role as director of the K-State Center on Aging.

“Steve may be one of the world’s greatest motivators,” Doll said. “I have watched him enchant individuals and enthrall huge crowds with his stories and his visions for a better world. He’s been a good friend of the Center on Aging and has been very supportive in providing education for students and helping them to find employment.”

In addition to educating everyone from college students to long-term care administrators, Shields is working to change things on a policy level. He has partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to advance national regulation toward culture change in long-term care, and he is now collaborating with foreign governments to help shape their long-term care policies.

No Time to Rest
Both Shields and Meadowlark have been the topic of local, regional and national news stories, including an appearance on “CBS Evening News.” While many might see these accomplishments as a sign that their work is complete, Shields continues forward with new goals: a recovery center for residents transitioning from the hospital to their Meadowlark homes, private rooms for all household residents, and someday, a home like Meadowlark for people everywhere.

Jim Morrison, Esq., attorney with Morrison, Frost, Olsen & Irvine, LLP, of Manhattan, is one of Meadowlark’s founders. He has seen firsthand the transformation Shields spearheaded at Meadowlark.

“He is a very personable, very caring person,” Morrison said. “He is exceptionally attuned to residents and their individual needs, and he has shepherded an enormous amount of change and growth at Meadowlark Hills.”

Shields is now looking to the future by moving from the household model into a health care model that will implement a universal approach for a better way of living. Meadowlark Wellness Partners was created to provide a relationship between residents and a team of on-campus health care professionals, including a physician, nutritionist, social worker, and more. According to Shields, this addition will build upon Meadowlark’s past progress, further enriching the quality of life for residents.

“Now the community has an image of what it means to age well,” Shields said. “For current and future residents, Meadowlark Wellness Partners will have an effect every bit as profound as the health care household has.”