Exploring Life & Business with Christi Crawford of Dementia360 Consulting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christi Crawford.

Hi Christi, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My story began 30 years ago when I first started in healthcare. I volunteered in nursing homes as part of my service work in high school and quickly learned that I wanted to get my certification to become a nurse’s aide (CNA) and to hopefully go on to nursing school.

While having a family and also becoming a single mother on this life journey, I was forced to put nursing school on hold but I held positions as a CNA while also working within healthcare doing various other positions such as; customer service for a local durable medical equipment (DME) company, medical records, medical/dental/life insurance sales.

I guess you could say, I loved healthcare and wanted to know all facets of the healthcare system and along with the twists and turns I got to really understand the entire healthcare industry and I do believe that my experience has allowed me the opportunity to better understand, serve, and help the individuals and families I work with today.

I did finally make it to nursing school while working full-time at a local hospital doing three 12-hour shifts then doing school and studying the other four days plus having a family that included 3 young kids at home. Needless to say, I did survive and my life’s purpose truly began the day I officially became a nurse. I went to nursing school to make a difference and I planned to do just that.

As a nurse, I have specialized in geriatrics and specifically, individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia throughout the years in healthcare and the various paths, I have worked in; hospital, doctor’s office, urgent & walk-in clinic, nursing home, assisted living, memory care, home health, private duty, and hospice care settings.

While working in these various settings and specifically geriatrics, I found that care was not centered around individual needs because organizations were not truly investing in their staff and equipping their staff with the knowledge, tools, and understanding that was needed to really truly be “person-centered” and offer that type of care, especially to those individuals living with dementia.

I was walking away at the end of the day always feeling like I should have done more but the time and expectations of the organization did not allow me nor did they or were they willing to invest the time or finances to provide staff with the education and tools we needed to understand. So, if I was really wanting to make a difference and help my residents, then I going to have to invest my personal time outside of work to educate myself and equip myself with the tools and understanding to be able to offer a quality of care and life that was deserved by these residents living with some form of memory loss that met my high expectations.

I began learning everything I could about helping individuals and families and while doing so, I even became a Board Certified Patient Advocate. I started studying learning more about how caregivers in other countries (UK, Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand) were providing better care for their dementia patients and how to better help my residents, my families, and my staff as well as the community.

Professionally, I have worked in senior care as a Director of Marketing & Admissions, Director of Nursing, and as a Licensed Assisted Living Operator as well as worked privately for families as a Patient Advocate, Coach, and Consultant. I have partnered with the National Institute for Dementia Education (NIDE) is a Certified Dementia Educator to offer dementia education and certification. I am blessed to partner with such an extraordinary organization that is continuously doing research and providing evidence-based programming and information to provide better care and enhance the quality of life for those living with dementia.

Community and volunteering are very important to me, therefore, I continue to volunteer with the local Alzheimer’s Association as a Community Educator and Support Group Facilitator as well as be involved annually as part of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and as a committee member of The Longest Day fundraiser, Annual Night of Hope Gala that directly benefits the Alzheimer’s Association, raising awareness to support the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease.

I have helped many families understand their loved one’s dementia journey that they are on with them as well as my own with my aging grandparents but then it struck my family in a way that I had not experienced with any residents or families before it hit our family. I saw firsthand with my own family just how crippling an early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosis can have on a family.

I walked that dementia journey with my family and particularly my youngest son (as well as his father, his very young uncle, and young grandmother) as he saw this horrific disease take his grandfather from what he used to know to not knowing at all and having to personally become aware of this disease and the horror it takes on the individual living with the disease and the entire family.

Shortly after we lost my son’s grandfather to this disease, I personally experienced over and over again families facing a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease (as early as the late 40s) and found that I had the experience and knowledge personally and professionally to better help them on their dementia journey. I have been a personal caregiver to my own family and continue to be a caregiver and have faced what family experiences when a diagnosis of dementia is given.

I know the physical aspects that we face with a diagnosis as well as the emotions that come throughout as the disease progresses. I understand what It feels like to not have any understanding, not be able to find joy or hope in the midst of such a diagnosis. On the other hand, I know how to find joy and hope with understanding and even a mustard seed of faith.

Over many years, I have helped many families that feel lost, not only in the healthcare system but also on a dementia journey. These families feel lost when it comes to understanding dementia, hopeless, overwhelmed, and have no idea how to manage the ups and downs of their dementia journey, the behaviors that may come along, the emotions that come along with losing their loved one before they are physically gone and much more.

I have also seen them on the other side, wherewith someone just guiding them and coaching them on their dementia journey find understanding, find peace, find a way to laugh and create lasting memories with their loved one, find that joy and hope in the midst of a horrific disease and be able to cherish the time and memories that they have remaining on their dementia journey.

I am passionate about creating a change around dementia that ultimately creates dementia-friendly communities that have a full understanding of dementia. An understanding that allows for caregivers and families to learn tools to better understand what their loved one living with dementia is experiencing.

Create opportunities that will equip and empower healthcare workers with the tools and training that are needed in order to improve the quality of care and to enhance the quality of life for those living with dementia as well as provide a sense of joy and hope for individuals and families on a dementia journey.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would describe the road as anything but smooth! There have been many struggles along the way, but I believe that struggles are used to help us do better and be better. The truth is, God doesn’t call the equipped – he equips the called. God tells us just that in Hebrews 13:20-21. He also tells us in John 16:33 that in this world we will have trouble.

We are not promised an easy life, but I do believe that every single trouble and struggle that I have endured has prepared me to be able to do the work (I don’t call it to work at all) I have been so blessed and gifted to do. Every single struggle and trouble has taught me something, including my struggles of being a single mom and working hard as well as the physical losses of loved ones, and families that I have helped.

These struggles have given me strength, empathy, compassion, endurance, faith, hope, and all those things I needed to have a successful business, to help families, to create a change around dementia and the quality of care in order to enhance the quality of life for those living with dementia.

I even think about COVID and how horrible it has been (I too have experienced loss due to this illness) but, I also think of if it wasn’t for the loss and if it wasn’t for COVID I wouldn’t have been given opportunities to train and study and attend online conferences in the UK, Australia, Netherlands, and New Zealand without having to physically fly over there to get information that became so easily accessible and connect and meet people all over the world caring for individuals living with dementia.

Also, because of so much loss due to the isolation of those living with dementia, I found the courage to start a social gathering and memory cafe’ that meets monthly for those living with dementia and their caregivers. A time where they can come and meet others and not stress over being a caregiver or having a disease but rather create memories, enjoy music, arts, pets, games, and so much more.

Those struggles also have given me faith and courage to do my business full-time so I can help more people and make an impact on our community to become dementia-friendly. I am even grateful for the struggles!

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dementia360 Consulting?
Dementia360 Consulting was started because I found that there was a need to educate and bring about awareness not just caregivers and healthcare workers but also business owners (both healthcare and non-healthcare) and the entire community about dementia in order to improve dementia care and enhance the quality of life for those living with dementia.

We specialize in person-centered dementia education and consulting to improve the quality of care and enhance the quality of life for those living with dementia. Well, firsthand, I would say that there is nothing like what I offer anywhere here in the Midwest Region of the US.

Secondly, I would say my vast experience in healthcare, specifically in leadership and working with frontline works and corporate, I know personally from being in these roles management and staff in the facilities don’t have the answers or the tools to help the families and sometimes to help themselves to care for the loved ones of these families.

Having been in these roles, I know and understand that their intentions are good but when push comes to shove, the time is not available (even before you add COVID to the picture), the tools are not readily available, and the finances are not offered to make the tools available to the management team and their staff. What happens? We go back to just the bare minimums of the state requirements for dementia training.

This creates staff that is overwhelmed, residents not having their needs met, staff not able to understand what residents are communicating to them, stressed staff, staff burnout, stressed families, overmedication, over hospitalization, staff turnover, and the vicious cycle goes on and on which ultimately leads to residents not having any quality of care (or minimal) and little quality of life.

Lastly, I have walked this walk personally and professionally with my own family and other families. I am the proudest brand-wise of our cutting-edge training philosophy; a 360-degree approach. 360-degree approach through education will make the biggest impact for us to create change and to support our community.

The 360-degree approach encompasses the slogan: Aware, Engage, Connect, Wholistic. A dementia diagnosis affects everyone, including the community, therefore we must educate everyone to be AWARE and understand what dementia is, including what causes it, what symptoms look like and the many different types of dementia.

We must educate about the importance of being ENGAGED with your community and others when you have a diagnosis of dementia. We must CONNECT with the person – know how to build a meaningful connection. Treat symptoms with evidence-based WHOLISTIC therapies to prevent and/or reduce pharmaceuticals and hospitalizations.

Dementia360 Consulting educates and brings awareness that starts with brain health and prevention but includes all parts of the dementia journey, including, discovery and early diagnosis, getting an accurate diagnosis, equipping family caregivers with the right resources/tools/support system to educate them about their loved ones disease/care/support system to help emotionally, physically, financially, and spiritually.

Dementia360 Consulting works with the entire community to bring awareness about dementia through our cutting-edge training philosophy.

Organizations – We provide dementia education, training, staff development for healthcare and nonhealthcare organizations that are customized and tailored to fit the organization and staff’s needs as well as certifications in dementia through the National Institute for Dementia Education (NIDE). We also offer the Virtual Dementia Tour (VDT), a program of Second Wind Dreams to organizations and the community as well as training for organizations to become facilitators to offer VDT training to their staff and the community.

Caregivers/Families – We also work one-one with families and individuals on a dementia journey. Working with families is what we love most and why we fight so hard to educate healthcare workers and the community to bring about change and “Be The Change” around dementia.

We can meet with families to do an initial 45-minute consultation that will result in a 1-page “Design for Caregiver Action Plan” to help them know what to do next! In addition, we also offer families personalized coaching sessions to help caregivers on their dementia journey and the struggles that come up.

Other services we offer families/caregivers: personalized and tailored dementia training through our “Complete Family Experience” and “Foundational Design for Care Planning” that helps families facing a new dementia diagnosis, that are early in their dementia journey or just want to know more.

With this, families will get a view into what comes along with a dementia journey (emotionally, physically, and spiritually) and how to build a solid foundation and support system.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson that I have learned along this journey is that the individuals and families that I work with become my family too. I know that with a terminal disease like Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias that there will be a lot of loss that I will experience as the disease progresses.

I have learned that I don’t take one single day for granted when given the opportunity to work with individuals living with dementia and their families. I have so many memories and I don’t want to forget any of them so I’ve acquired a notebook that I journal in and keep these memories close. I have also learned that self-care is important because there is grieving when you do the work I get to do.

If I don’t take care of myself as I teach the caregivers I work with then it becomes hard to help others when my cup is not overflowing.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.Dementia-360.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dementia360_cons/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dementia360Cons/

Image Credits
Second Wind Dreams, Strauss Peyton, and Kenny Price