Events
2026 Franciscan Quinquennial in Lexington, Kentucky
Dementia caregiving struck a strong chord at the 2026 Franciscan Quinquennial in Lexington, Kentucky, where more than 500 Secular Franciscans gathered from across the country.
Ruth Shea, OFS, LICSW, spoke with many participants who shared the loneliness, exhaustion, and emotional challenges of caregiving. The conversations quickly became opportunities to exchange stories, offer encouragement, and connect caregivers with helpful resources.
The response highlighted the importance of creating supportive communities where caregivers can feel understood, strengthened, and less alone in their journey.
International Site Visit: De Wingerd, Leuven, Belgium
During a recent visit to Belgium, Barbara Huelat, Ying-Chi Chou, and Lily Chen met with the administration of De Wingerd, an innovative dementia care community in Leuven, for an in-depth tour and discussion of its approach to care.
De Wingerd is organized around small-scale living, with an emphasis on normal daily life, choice, familiarity, and freedom within a supportive environment. Among the features that stood out were its small household model, flexible daily routines, personalized living spaces, accessible outdoor areas, and a strong commitment to balancing safety with autonomy.
The visit offered an opportunity to see firsthand how thoughtful care practices and the physical environment can work together to support dignity, belonging, and a greater sense of normalcy for people living with dementia.
De Wingerd will be featured as an international case study in Huelat’s upcoming book, The Silent Caregiver: Restoring Dignity, Belonging and Normalcy in Dementia Care, which explores innovative approaches to dementia care and the often-unrecognized role that environments play in supporting both people living with dementia and those who care for them.
The visit reinforced an important lesson: some of the most meaningful innovations in dementia care are not about doing more, but about creating conditions in which everyday life can continue to feel familiar, purposeful, and human.
Advancing Human-Centered Dementia Care at the SDP 31st Annual Conference
Barbara Huelat participated in the 31st Annual Conference of the Society for Design and Process Science (SDPS), held August 23–26 in Leuven, Belgium. The 2026 conference, themed “Transdisciplinary Science in Action,” brought together an international community of researchers, scientists, practitioners, and policymakers working across medicine, technology, design, engineering, and the social sciences. The program explored the increasingly complex intersection of human experience and emerging technology, including artificial intelligence, healthcare systems, communication, electronic health records, governance, and new models of interdisciplinary collaboration.
Huelat contributed to two workshops on the third day of the conference. In “Using AI Technologies in Reducing Caregiving Burden in Memory Care: Trends, Strategies, and Opportunities,” she joined Thomas T. H. Wan, Ying-Chi Chou, and Lily Chen in examining the growing role of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in dementia care. Rather than focusing on products or technology for its own sake, the workshop asked a more important question: when does technology truly reduce caregiver burden, and when might it unintentionally create new stress?
Drawing together perspectives from healthcare informatics, caregiving practice, healing environment design, and human-centered research, the workshop explored how technology can support both caregivers and people living with dementia while remaining responsive to real-world care settings, human behavior, and the physical environment.
Huelat also presented on neuroarchitecture in the workshop “Symbiotic Architecture of Care in Transition: Health Promotion, Neuroarchitecture, and Cultural Context,” facilitated by Dr. Elke Miedema, with Ying-Chi Chou addressing cultural perspectives. The session examined how health-promoting environments can integrate research, cultural understanding, neuroscience, and design to better support human well-being.
Participating in a conference largely centered on science, medicine, and technology provided an important opportunity to bring dementia care and the built environment into a broader transdisciplinary conversation. Across both workshops, Huelat emphasized a principle central to her work: innovation should not be measured by technology alone, but by whether it reduces burden, supports dignity, strengthens human connection, and improves the lived experience of care.
Personal Identity: Seeing the Person Beyond the Diagnosis
On July 23, Barbara Huelat and Ruth Shea of the Taming the Chaos of Dementia Institute had the pleasure of leading a staff education program for the dedicated caregivers at Winter Growth Memory Care in Columbia, Maryland.
The session, Personal Identity: Seeing the Person Beyond the Diagnosis, explored one of the most important questions in dementia care: Who is this person, beyond the disease? While dementia changes memory and cognition, it does not erase identity, dignity, or the fundamental human need to be known, understood, and valued.
Using The Caregiver Compass as the foundation for the program, Barbara and Ruth introduced 25 practical interventions designed to help caregivers recognize and preserve each person's unique identity while reducing distress and fostering meaningful connection. The discussion emphasized how seemingly small interactions, environmental cues, communication techniques, and personalized approaches can profoundly influence a person's daily experience.
The engagement from the Winter Growth team made the program especially rewarding. Staff members asked thoughtful questions, shared moving personal stories from their own caregiving experiences, and reflected on how the interventions could be incorporated into their daily practice. The conversation reinforced a shared commitment to providing care that honors not only physical needs, but also each individual's life story, relationships, preferences, and sense of self.
We are grateful to the leadership and staff of Winter Growth for their warm welcome, active participation, and unwavering dedication to person-centered dementia care. It is always inspiring to work with professionals who strive to create environments where individuals living with dementia are treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.
Together, we continue our mission of transforming dementia care by helping caregivers see not just the diagnosis, but the person who remains.
Interested in bringing this training to your organization?
The Taming the Chaos of Dementia Institute offers engaging, evidence-informed educational programs for memory care communities, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, hospitals, adult day programs, and family caregivers. If you would like to schedule a workshop or learn more about our training programs, we would be delighted to work with your team. Contact us to discuss how we can tailor a program to meet the needs of your organization. Contact Barbara or Ruth at admin@tamingthechaosofdementia.org ot visit our website at www.tamingthechaosofdementia.org.
A New Vision for Dementia Care: Empowering Normalcy & Belonging
The Maryland Gerontological Association Annual Conference brought together professionals, caregivers, advocates, and leaders committed to improving the lives of older adults, and we were honored to be part of this important event.
Barbara Huelat and Ruth Shea presented an inspiring and thought-provoking session titled A New Vision to Dementia Care: Empowering Normalcy & Belonging to an enthusiastic and deeply engaged audience. The presentation explored a growing movement in dementia care that shifts away from custodial models and instead focuses on dignity, purpose, belonging, and meaningful daily life for people living with dementia.
Drawing from real-world caregiving experiences, evidence-based design, and innovative care models from around the world, the presentation challenged attendees to rethink what dementia care can become. Rather than asking only how to keep people safe, the discussion focused on how we can help individuals continue to experience joy, identity, connection, and normalcy throughout their dementia journey.
Topics included:
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Human-centered approaches to dementia care
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The role of environment as a “silent caregiver”
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Small-scale and dementia village models
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Communication and behavioral interventions
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Meaningful engagement and purposeful activities
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Supporting caregivers while reducing stress and burnout
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reating environments that foster belonging and dignity
The response from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with many sharing personal caregiving stories and expressing hope for a more compassionate and empowering future for dementia care.
In addition to the presentation, the Taming the Chaos of Dementia Institute hosted an exhibit table featuring resources, conversations with caregivers and professionals, and signed copies of Barbara and Ruth’s books The Caregiver’s Compass, Caring Through Chaos, This is Me and, Taming the Chaos of Dementia. The table became a wonderful gathering place for meaningful dialogue, shared experiences, and new connections within the dementia care community.
We were also delighted to offer special door prizes featuring gift sets of our books and caregiver resources, which added excitement and engagement throughout the conference experience.
Events like the MGA Conference remind us that there is a growing desire for a more humane and hopeful approach to dementia care—one that recognizes that people living with dementia still need purpose, beauty, connection, and a sense of belonging.
We are grateful to everyone who attended our session, visited our table, shared their stories, and joined us in imagining a new vision for dementia care.
To learn more about our work, speaking engagements, caregiver resources, and upcoming programs,
Barbara Huelat Presents at ASID Gather 2025 in Atlanta
At ASID Gather 2025 in Atlanta, Barbara Huelat presented Taming the Chaos of Dementia: Creating Memory Care Environments. Her interactive session explored how design can improve quality of life for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Attendees discovered how sensory-friendly features, biophilic elements, and spatial cues can reduce stress, ease confusion, and foster dignity. Through storytelling and design challenges, Barbara highlighted the importance of empathy and person-centered solutions in both residential and professional care settings. The lecture was followed by a popular book signing, featuring two of Barbara’s books—The Caregiver’s Compass and the widely acclaimed Taming the Chaos of Dementia. The session underscored a vital message: design has the power to bring calm, connection, and meaning to life with dementia.
The Spirituality of Caregiving
Exploring Deeper Meaning in the Caregiving Journey
On February 17, Ruth Shea spoke to four Sodalities in Anne Arundel County, sharing reflections on the profound and often unspoken spiritual dimension of caregiving.
She began by acknowledging the visible reality of caregiving—the daily tasks that fill a caregiver’s life: assisting with bathing, dressing, toileting, preparing meals, managing medications, attending medical appointments, and maintaining the home. These responsibilities are often carried alongside the demands of family life, careers, and personal commitments.
But caregiving, as Ruth shared, is far more than a series of tasks.
Beneath the surface lies something deeper—something transformative.
At its heart, caregiving is a relationship. It is a connection between two people navigating vulnerability together. In this space, roles begin to shift. The one who appears strong becomes the student, and the one who is fragile becomes the teacher.
Through caregiving, we are invited into experiences we might otherwise never fully understand—moments of isolation, confusion, grief, and longing. We learn to sit with discomfort, to witness loss, and to offer presence when words are no longer enough.
And in these quiet, often difficult moments, many caregivers begin to sense something more.
Something unseen.
Something beyond language.
Something sacred.
It is in this space that caregiving becomes not just an act of service, but a journey of the soul.
Ruth Shea is available to speak to groups on The Spirituality of Caregiving, offering heartfelt insights that resonate with caregivers, families, and professionals alike. Her presentations inspire reflection, connection, and a deeper understanding of the meaning found within the caregiving experience.
If this message speaks to you—or to your organization—we invite you to connect with us. Whether you are supporting caregivers, building community programs, or seeking meaningful dialogue around dementia care, we would be honored to be part of your journey.
Reach out to explore speaking engagements, workshops, or caregiver resources designed to support and inspire.Contact Ruth at admin@tamingthechaosofdementia.org or check out our website at www.tamingthechaosofdementia.org.
Barbara Huelat and Ruth Shea exhibitors at the DCHCA 2025 Annual Convention
