How Operators Train Staff For A New Era Of Memory Care

Senior living operators are equipping staff with new tactics and tools to serve tomorrow’s memory care residents in a more personalized and skilled way in 2026.

An estimated 7.2 million people 65 and older were living with Alzheimer’s disease in 2025, and that figure is expected to increase to nearly 14 million by 2060, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that 42% of people living in the U.S. over the age of 55 could eventually develop dementia.

Senior living operators like Senior Resource Group (SRG) are preparing for the evolving nature of memory care and the anticipated demand for it with new training, according to Corporate Director of Memory Care Melissa Dillon. After joining the organization in 2022, Dillon helped lead an overhaul of Enlieven, the company’s memory care model, that included changes in how SRG staff are trained in memory care settings. SRG now requires its memory care directors to earn their certified dementia practitioner license.

“Beyond the knowledge itself, I believe this certification helps directors feel seen, valued, and elevated in their roles,” Dillon told Senior Housing News.

SRG isn’t the only memory care operator doing so. Other providers, including LCS, Senior Lifestyle, EverTrue and WesleyLife, also have taken steps to evolve memory care models and bring new training opportunities to staff to keep up with the high demand and sophistication of modern memory care operations. 

Training to ‘reduce anxiety and promote comfort’

The LCS memory care program “Heartfelt Connections” continues to adapt to change in memory care, with training today placing greater emphasis on communication, emotional awareness and understanding resident behavior.

These changes are playing out at the LCS-managed life plan community Broadview at Purchase College, the first higher education partnership for LCS, in Purchase, New York. Last year, the community opened its memory care segment, the High Point Center for Care.

“Training today helps staff better recognize how dementia affects perception and equips them with techniques to respond in ways that reduce anxiety and promote comfort,” said Health Services Director Brittaney Jones-Allen.

This training also extends beyond clinical staff for all team members, Jones-Allen said. The program includes advanced training and dementia practitioner certifications for staff who want to establish leadership careers in memory care.

The LCS training program focuses on education, dementia progression and communication techniques, which has led to better resident engagement, improved emotional well-being.

“Staff are better equipped to recognize individual preferences and create supportive daily routines that promote comfort and familiarity,” Jones-Allen said.

Chicago-based Senior Lifestyle adapts its memory care training model, known as Embrace, on a rolling basis as changes or techniques are introduced, according to Brittany Coleman, divisional corporate director of memory care. Earlier this year, Coleman was named Certified Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Trainer of the Year by the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners.

Coleman noted that Senior Lifestyle care teams learned from the challenging times during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping to evolve their memory care training practices to emphasize the importance of connection and socialization.

“These experiences deepened our understanding of the critical role socialization plays in cognitive health and emotional well-being, even during times of physical separation,” Coleman said. “As a result, training has placed greater emphasis on person-centered care, meaningful connection and flexible programming strategies that support residents as whole individuals.”

Senior Lifestyle’s training model includes required courses to earn a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) certification, with approximately 200 staff now holding this credential since the company established this certification “as a standard,” according to Senior Vice President of Clinical Services Angel Morrison.

The biggest impacts from the company’s renewed training program have been in the company’s ability to “consistently deliver” high-quality, personalized dementia care within its memory care communities while “strengthening confidence” of Senior Lifestyle staff, Morrison said.

“Overall, the training has elevated daily operations by embedding evidence-based dementia care principles into every aspect of how memory care services are delivered,” Morrison added.

Nonprofit senior living provider WesleyLife overhauled its memory care training model that has led to a reduction in stress of staff and improved quality of life for residents with dementia, according to Director of Clinical Excellence Karie Kesterson-Gibson. The new training module includes online sessions and in-person training classes, with many of the changes coming in response to rising resident acuity, along with rising family expectations in dementia care. 

“There’s a greater need for our team members to feel confident and have the skill set of how to be able to work with people living with dementia,” Kesterson-Gibson said.

In-person training can help improve team communication and bring greater empathy to memory care residents for staff. For example, in an empathy exercise, staff tried on glasses covered in petroleum jelly that mimicked the sometimes severe vision impairments memory care residents experience.

In 2025, WesleyLife also launched a certified dementia practitioner certification program that is an eight-hour course open to all direct care team staff and memory care leaders, Kesterson-Gibson said.

Review of training ‘critical’ to memory care success

In order for providers to operate thriving memory care segments, it’s incumbent upon reviewing and adapting training, with these changes being “critical” because of the level of care complexity. 

St. Louis-based nonprofit provider EverTrue launched its “StillYou Memory Support” care model in 2025 to move beyond basic supervision to more personalized dementia support in memory care, according to Vice President, Life Plan Communities Midwest Valerie Cooper.

EverTrue uses the Connect, Assess, Respond, Evaluate, Share (CARES) evidence-based online training modules for annual and ongoing memory care training for staff, while also incorporating empathy training by using “immersive, high-impact” simulations that help care teams experience the sensory and cognitive challenges of those living with dementia. 

The organization is also piloting AI-related training through a partnership with another simulation platform that allows caregivers to practice daily life interactions with a virtual dementia patient with AI-powered conversations. All EverTrue team members, clinical and broader operations, are required to earn dementia certification annually through the CARES platform.

“The combination of certification (knowledge) and empathy training (perspective) strengthens care quality in a way that is visible to residents, families and external partners, aligning with EverTrue’s emphasis on innovation and high standards,” Cooper wrote in an email to SHN.

Reviewing changes in dementia training is an important aspect of memory care as the segment is evolving rapidly to be more personalized.

“Regular review of dementia training programs is critical because when supporting people living with dementia, everything can be right and everything can be wrong—at the same time,” Dillon said.

Dillon’s overhaul led to the launch of SRG’s “Training In Person” program, which tested live lessons, recorded sessions and virtual events in varying durations to find the most effective ways of teaching memory care principles.

That meant experimenting with lectures, interactive discussions, and empathy based exercises, while also assessing retention through quizzes and gathering feedback, Dillon said. Based on those results, SRG crafted a training program that includes live, one-hour training for staff with a follow-up, one page continuing education classes led by community memory care directors with short quizzes, discussion prompts, reflection items and empathy exercises. 

While the program is never “complete,” this gets to the nature of memory care with constant change; present staff must adapt to new situations daily.

“We continuously add content as needs arise. The primary goal is to focus on the individual experiences of current residents and explore how we can better connect with and support them,” Dillon said.

Staff need access to a “wide range of tools, strategies and perspectives,” to meet the diverse needs of residents in memory care, she added. In-person training helps staff see the benefits of a “structured, interactive” discussion that’s aimed on current resident experiences and needs.

Direct impact of new training includes improved relationships between memory care residents and staff, especially in dining, an area that can sometimes be stressful on residents, Dillon said.

“When these approaches are used effectively, we often see residents eat more, gain weight, and become less resistant to care,” Dillon said.

Kesterson-Gibson said by training staff on trauma-informed care principles that consider a residents’ past and how it impacts their dementia journey, memory care staff are able to improve resident-staff interactions.

“You need to know who the person is in their own story,” Kesterson-Gibson said.

Finding partnership opportunities has also helped evolve memory care training for the Iowa-based nonprofit provider, with WesleyLife establishing an agreement with a state-based organization Dementia Friends of Iowa at one of its communities to train staff and improve memory care through education on social perceptions of dementia.

“We’re investing in our communities. We’re investing in our team members. We want team members to learn and grow,” Kesterson-Gibson said.

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