A dementia-friendly organization is one whose staff has been trained in how best to serve its customers who have dementia and one that has looked at its environment and made the changes needed to help improve the the experience for individuals who struggle with memory challenges.

To become a dementia-friendly organization; the organization must commit to the following:

• Complete Dementia Friendly Community training for management and 50% of their front-line employees.
• Designate a team leader to be a liaison between their organization and the Dementia Friendly Community Task Force.
• Be open to discussions regarding environment changes ( e.g. lighting, signage, layout, etc).
• Be willing to add Dementia Friendly Community training materials to all new hires and all employee orientations that did not attend training.
• Undergo an on-site visit, follow-up training, and/or self evaluation on an annual basis to re-certify its dementia-friendly status.

Once an organization has been designated dementia-friendly, they will receive a dementia-friendly window cling to display.

For more information on becoming a dementia-friendly organization, contact Lisa Hurley, Caregiver Coordinator at the Aging and Disability Resource Center, at 920-467-4079