The Memory Care Innovation program is designed to recognize passionate and innovative industry members who are shaping the future of cognitive care across behavioral health, home health and home care, hospice and palliative care, senior housing, and skilled nursing. To see this year’s inaugural Memory Care Innovation Award winners, visit https://innovation.memorycarebusiness.com/.

Maureen Charlton, director of memory support programming and services at Rockville, Maryland-based Ingleside at King Farm has been named a 2024 Memory Care Innovation Award Winner.

To become a Memory Care Innovation Award winner, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who knows how to put vision into action, and serve as an advocate for those living with memory-related disorders, and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.

Charlton spoke with Memory Care Business to discuss her accidental origin to memory care, the biggest lessons she’s learned in her career and the obstacles the industry currently faces.

What drew you to working in memory care? 

Honestly, I came into this field by accident. I was searching for my first post college job and was hired as a social worker to oversee a new dementia specific unit in a nursing home (we called them special care units back in the late 1980s and early 1990s). I immediately fell in love with the residents. Over 30 years later, it remains my passion and calling.

What’s your biggest lesson learned since starting to work in memory care?

Too many to list! People living with dementia have much to teach us. I love how they live so beautifully in the moment. Most of us are stressed about yesterday and worried about tomorrow. Folks living with dementia are rooted in the present. I have learned much from this fresh perspective.

If you could change one thing with an eye toward the future of memory care, what would it be?

Again, too many to list! My first thought is to change the pay scale for the direct care team.  Caring for someone living with dementia is hard and tremendously valuable work. They deserve more.

What is the biggest obstacle to being innovative in memory care, and how do you try to overcome that obstacle?

The biggest obstacle I face is remaining nimble in a changing industry. We have come a long way in meeting the needs of people living with dementia and I believe we still have a long way to go. The incoming Boomers are helping to drive new ideas and creative solutions to industry issues (staffing, cost, lifestyle, etc.). Surrounding myself with leaders and creators to help us all think differently is one way we can remain innovative.

In a word, how would you describe the future of memory care?

Hopeful.

What quality must all Memory Care Innovation Award winners possess?

A passion for the people and an understanding of the disease.

To learn more about the Memory Care Innovation Awards program, visit https://innovation.memorycarebusiness.com/.