Angela Champlin, Director of Reminiscence Care Assist Companies at HumanGood, has been named a 2025 Reminiscence Care Innovation Award winner by Senior Housing Information.
The Reminiscence Care Innovation Awards program is designed to acknowledge passionate and modern trade members who’re shaping the way forward for cognitive care throughout behavioral well being, dwelling well being and residential care, hospice and palliative care, senior housing and senior residing, and expert nursing. To turn into a Reminiscence Care Innovation Award winner, a person have to be nominated by their friends. The candidate must be a high-performing worker who is aware of the best way to put imaginative and prescient into motion, serving as an advocate for these residing with memory-related issues and the dedicated professionals who guarantee their well-being.
Champlin sat down with Senior Housing Information to share her journey caring for sufferers and residents with cognitive care wants, her ideas on the way forward for cognitive care in senior housing & senior residing, and way more. To be taught extra concerning the Reminiscence Care Innovation Awards program and think about this yr’s winners, go to https://innovation.memorycarebusiness.com/.
SHN: How lengthy have you ever been part of the reminiscence care, senior housing & senior residing trade?
Champlin: I’ve devoted over 30 years to the senior residing trade, starting my profession as an actions aide, and advancing by means of management roles in recreation, dementia care, and reminiscence assist companies.
SHN: What drew you to caring for sufferers/residents with cognitive care wants?
Champlin: My ardour for enriching the lives of older adults started early in my profession, once I found a deep curiosity in dementia care by means of growing person-centered packages and coordinating volunteer companies. This ardour grew stronger as I met and labored alongside people residing with cognitive impairment and their members of the family, studying from their resilience and distinctive experiences.
It additionally turned deeply private when my grandfather, whom I used to be particularly near, started displaying signs of dementia. My dedication is rooted in empathy, advocacy, and a need to raise the standard of life for people residing with cognitive impairment.
SHN: For those who may change one factor about cognitive care within the reminiscence care, senior housing & senior residing trade, what would it not be?
Champlin: I might shift the trade mindset from “serving to people who find themselves affected by cognitive challenges” to “constructing a spot the place individuals can thrive, regardless of residing with cognitive impairment.”
I advocate for environments that honor autonomy, dignity, and pleasure, and for care fashions that empower each residents and caregivers.
SHN: For those who had a crystal ball, what do you suppose will most influence your potential to supply cognitive care within the reminiscence care, senior housing & senior residing trade within the subsequent 5 years?
Champlin: Advances in coaching, expertise, and household engagement will most influence cognitive care.
Equipping groups with evidence-based instruments, fostering collaboration, and leveraging modern packages, like Immerse™ (HumanGood’s reminiscence assist program), might be important to adapt to evolving wants.
SHN: For those who may describe cognitive care within the reminiscence care, senior housing & senior residing trade in a single phrase, what would it not be and why?
Champlin: Empowerment.
Cognitive care ought to empower people to dwell their fullest lives, assist autonomy, and foster significant connections. My work facilities on creating environments the place residents, households, and staff members are geared up and impressed to thrive.
SHN: What’s been the most important lesson you could have realized all through your profession?
Champlin: The largest lesson I’ve realized is that compassionate, individualized assist transforms lives. Management rooted in empathy, curiosity, and accountability drives innovation and elevates requirements throughout communities.
SHN: For those who may give your self recommendation on the primary day within the reminiscence care, senior housing & senior residing trade, what would it not be and why?
Champlin: I might advise myself to embrace curiosity, search mentorship, and all the time advocate for the dignity and rights of these residing with cognitive impairment. A dedication to lifelong studying and collaboration is important.
SHN: In your opinion, what qualities ought to all Reminiscence Care Innovation Award winners possess?
Champlin: Award winners ought to reveal visionary management, compassion, advocacy, and a relentless drive for excellence. They need to be innovators who champion dignity, empower groups, and rework the way forward for cognitive care.
