Bio

Carmen Bowman fell in love with Validation early, in college and proudly worked to get three levels of certification: Certified Validation Worker, Certified Validation Group Practitioner and Certified Validation Presenter. She has taught many a workshop and many teams in a year-long education process for ALL members of nursing home teams so that ALL know the Validation techniques. If only a handful of your team know them, they will not spread but if All have learned them and are encouraged by each other and through care planning, ALL will use them and, in turn, stress reduces for ALL.
Carmen Bowman is a consultant, trainer, author and owner of Edu-Catering: Catering Education for Compliance and Culture Change, turning her former role of regulator into educator. Carmen was a Colorado state surveyor for nursing homes, assisted livings and adult day programs, a policy analyst with CMS Central Office teaching the national Basic Surveyor Course, and the first certified activity professional to be a surveyor. As a contractor to CMS, Carmen co-developed the original Artifacts of Culture Change, Artifacts 2.0 and first-ever for Assisted Living, facilitated both Creating Home national symposiums on culture change and the environment, and then food and dining. Carmen led the Dining Practice Standards task force. She has a Master’s in Healthcare Systems, a Bachelor's in Social Work, is a Certified Eden Alternative Associate and Mentor. Carmen co-founded the Colorado Culture Change Coalition. With Action Pact she has authored eight culture change workbooks and hosts Conversations in Culture Change with Carmen every month for 15 years now. Carmen is Co-Editor of the international journal Activities, Adaptations and Aging: Purposeful and Dignified Living for Older Adults. She started a new eResource series called Using Regulations to Reject & Replace Institution with Home & Normal Life starting with GUARDIANS OF NORMAL LIFE and encourages all to become one!