DEBRA A. ROSS, MAOM CDP CALD

GERIATRIC CARE ADVISOR

When a loved one shows signs of dementia, you want Debby on your team to help create a greater understanding of the many facets to dementia and how planning for the future will be affected.  Her compassion and expertise are unparalleled. Debby has more than 25 years of first-hand experience in geriatric wellness, care development and dementia expertise.  She serves as community educator with the Alzheimer's Association in conjunction with Schoolcraft College; is the lead training facilitator for the Michigan Center for Assisted Living; maintains certification as a Dementia Practitioner for more than 13 years – and her list goes on. She's a featured speaker at hospitals and universities plus has appeared on TV and radio promoting geriatric and dementia education.  

Caring for persons who are living with a dementia-related disease is life altering for everyone involved.  Her passion is to aid as many persons as possible to have a more compassionate understanding of dementia by offering coping skills, useful communication tools, decode behaviors, and help eliminate unwarranted guilt that so many experience.

For more than 25 years, she has dedicated her voice and skills to creating caring environments of the highest quality through continued education and practice.  As a former director, exceptional dementia education and leading-by-example for staff, families and residents was a top priority.  As a representative of the Alzheimer's Association, it has been her honor to reach out to health care professionals and community members alike to instill a greater understanding of what dementia-related disease entails and offer workable-sharable resources for immediate effect.  Whether she is speaking to large groups or one-on-one, the goal is still the same.  No one should feel alone on this journey.  Each person is uniquely individual and care strategies should be custom designed to meet every stage of progression.   
To further instill quality and excellence in the realm of caring for the aged, Debby leads the certification program for assisted living directors seeking to obtain their board-certified license in the state of Michigan.

From its inception, she has been teaching the Alzheimer's Association Dementia Certificate program at Schoolcraft College with huge success, offering a variety of courses from understanding Alzheimer's and related dementia through to dignified end of life care. 

Debby has been certified as a practitioner by the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners since 2008 and has also incorporated an additional certification in Montessori Dementia Care through the International Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners.

She continues her long standing relationship with the American Red Cross by teaching their Babysitter Training program to children 11 years and older instilling the importance of quality care from a very early age.

Having been employed by major healthcare organizations, she is most comfortable in hospital and community care settings and maintains respectful affiliations among her colleagues.

She holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Management along with a Bachelor of Arts in Business through the University of Phoenix.  She achieved her Nursing Home Administrator education through Madonna University and continues to be a guest educator for their geriatric courses. To further her commitment to education, Debby has recently obtained her TESOL certificate to teach English as a second language.

After 22 years in Oakland County, she has returned to her home roots in Macomb County.  As a true Michiganian, she and her husband enjoy traveling our great state including the beautiful upper peninsula.  To maintain life wellness, Debby has been teaching adult choreographed dance for more than 30 years with a loyal following of students!

Some of her accomplishments and affiliations are as follows:

• ACHCA – American College of Health Care Administrators
• Alzheimer's Association – Greater Michigan Chapter
• American Red Cross – Southeastern Michigan Chapter 
• ICCDP - International Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners
• Macomb Literacy Partners-ESL
• Madonna University 
• MCAL - Michigan Center for Assisted Living 
• NCAL - National Center for Assisted Living
• NCCDP - National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners
• Schoolcraft College 
• University of Phoenix Alumnus

Get in Touch: [email protected] 

Office: (248) 692-7392 | Direct: (248) 795-1884