Debbie Selsavage, was introduced to dementia when she became a care partner for her husband in 2004. She found it almost impossible to get information, support, and resources to deal with her difficult and exhausting task, and she felt there had to be a better way. After Albert passed away in 2010, she entered the field of memory care as an administrative assistant at an assisted living facility in 2012. Within 18 months, she became a certified assisted living administrator, earning a Deficiency-Free rating while managing a memory care facility. She became a Certified Trainer in Teepa Snow’s Positive Approach to Care and in 2015 launched her own company with her partner Ed Youngblood, Coping with Dementia LLC. Its mission is to make life better for individuals and families living with dementia.
She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner with additional certifications in the Positive Approach to Care, retains her certification as an assisted living administrator, a Director for the nonprofit Dementia Education Inc., and is a regular columnist for several regional publications. In 2017, Debbie was named a Citrus County Health Care Hero for public outreach by the Citrus County Chronicle, and in 2021 she has been named the Rick Quinn Distinguished Citizen of the Year by the Chamber and Citizen of the Year by The Key Training Center. Debbie can be reached at: deb@coping.today, and visit her website: https://coping.today/