The approach to dementia care is outdated.
It’s time to change that.
I help you create a customized approach to dementia care for your residents and loved ones.
Community Consulting — Live Dementia Webinars — Online Staff Certification
CURRENT CLIENTS
Organizations I've Worked With Include:
Dementia care is not black and white.
While working as a Dementia Care Director I realized that the approach to dementia communication we’ve been taught was not only ineffective and outdated, but at times downright cruel to people living with dementia.
I realized that we need to find a way to Embrace Their Reality™, and if we do this, we can thrive in that gray area.
After witnessing dozens of day-to-day situations in dementia care, it was clear:
Senior living providers didn’t really know what people living with dementia needed.
Not only did they not really know, but they didn’t have an on-site dementia care expert, or the time to investigate and experiment with new approaches.
So I decided to change that.
I offer a new approach to dementia care programs for senior care communities and caregivers to embrace the gifts that dementia gives us.
I trademarked phrases like Embracing Their Reality™ and Timeline Confusion™ because what I teach is so different from what you normally hear in dementia care education sessions. We always hear, “Validate, but don’t lie,” or, “Redirect and distract!”.
But I don’t think these approaches work – nor have I found them to be kind.
Dementia is a dance. An artform. One that we must be creative and flexible in our approach to.
We need to stop our black and white approach to ‘lying’ or ‘compassionate deception’ and start to live in the reality that is true for the person living with dementia.
We must be prepared to go into their world.
Let me show you how.
I work with care communities and senior living providers who want to develop or improve your dementia care program.
I work collaboratively with senior care organizations to create a holistic approach to your dementia care and staff training to strengthen your brand so you can make meaningful connections with people who have dementia.
I help your organization to create and brand your own dementia care program so you can stand out from the competition and provide top quality dementia care.
I help families of people living with dementia to give their loved one a better quality of life.
Through my framework ‘Embrace their Reality™’ I teach families and caregivers how to embrace the gifts that dementia gives us. Like forgetting pain and embracing what is true for them.
I’ll show you how to communicate with a loved one who is living with dementia and how to kindly and effectively transition your family member into a dementia care community.
I’ll give you tangible skills and techniques to solve dementia related behavioral challenges.
Hey there, I’m Rachael.
A Dementia Care Consultant with a new approach to dementia care.
I believe dementia gives us gifts. Gifts that we shouldn’t reject.
I advocate ditching the word ‘lying’ when working in Dementia caregiving.
I believe that the kinder way to communicate with people living with dementia is to Embrace Their Reality ™. This is often different to what you normally hear in dementia care.
But, when we Embrace Their Reality, we actually enter their world, no matter where it is.
We stop worrying about “lying” and start worrying about what’s true for the person living with the cognitive impairment—even if it feels totally foreign to us.
What makes me qualified to talk about this?
I have a Master’s in Gerontology.
I'm the author of 3 books with Johns Hopkins University Press.
I share my content with care partners of all types, all over the world:
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What people are saying...
“Thank you so much for 'holding me' through this journey.”
I first started reading and listening to Rachael and Dementia By Day in 2015 when I first noticed my husband’s odd behavior. I think I owe my sanity to you. You taught me that my reality was not his reality.
For 2 months, we “went home” every night. He would pack up the car, I would drive around for 5-10 minutes and then we would pull into the driveway and he was happy to be home! Your calm way of dealing with a new topic/challenge gave me hope that I would make it through this. I can’t thank you enough. I feel as though you became my friend.
—Mary Beth Davison, Caregiver
“Our dementia care program has become more than what I ever could've imagined."
With Rachael’s knowledge and guidance, our Dementia Care Program, now called Lavender Hills, has become more than what I could’ve ever imagined.
Our Residents are engaged on a whole new level and our Team Members are too! Rachael truly breathed life into our Dementia Care Communities at Lavender Hills and gave us the tools to provide a higher level of service to our Residents.
—TRISTA WILSON, COO AT ENGLISH MEADOWS
“Dementia By Day School™ is so applicable and the team is enjoying and learning from it!”
We actually held-off enrolling in a dementia training because we couldn’t find anything that the care staff could really utilize during an 8-hour shift with our residents. Dementia By Day School, however, is so applicable and the team is enjoying and learning from it! The other day the care staff asked about our new carpet installation—they’d just watched the interior design portion of the course and were wondering if the carpet provided enough contrast for the residents!
—Lucy Boxrud, President at Elysian Senior Homes
What's happening at Dementia By Day
Rachael's 3rd book is now available
Rachael’s 3rd book, “The Caregiver’s Guide to Memory Care and Dementia Communities” has been published by Johns Hopkins University Press! Her first two books were published in 2016 and 2020, respectively.
Client success featured in Senior Housing News
“Capital Senior Living’s Future Takes Shape With New Memory Care Program…The first community to pilot the new memory care approach saw occupancy increase from 69% to 100% with a wait list, and average monthly rent increased 5%.”
Client wins new brand launch award
Rachael’s client, English Meadows, won the Aspect Marketing & Advertising Award for New Brand Launch in the Senior Housing & Senior Living category for the new Lavender Hills dementia program she helped them launch.
Check Out Rachael's Upcoming Live Events
16 Things I Would Want If I Got Dementia
Get the FREE “16 Things” poster for your personal use—or better yet—your dementia care community’s staff break room!
I wrote this poem years ago, but to date, it’s the most popular piece I’ve ever created.
