Marie B. Smart SW

Marie Smart is a graduate of King College in Bristol, Tennessee. She retired from the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky after serving twenty-nine years as an Alzheimer's Family Care Specialist. She continues to provide, on a private basis, education and support to families living with the challenges of dementia care. She is a contract consultant as a member of the Quality Assurance Review Team for The Breckinridge Christian Care Communities Board.

Ms. Smart assists with clinical assessments of the Senior Volunteers in the Health Aging Cohort Program. She provides education, training, and support to professional and family caregivers. Maris has worked in Kentucky as a health and family care professional since 1972 and has specialized in the care of the frail elderly since 1982. She has concentrated on the care of families living with dementia since 1988. Ms. Smart has extensive experience in the clinical assessment of persons with AD and related disorders, in family assessment, care planning, and support, and in the training of both professional and family caregivers on topics related to AD and the caregiving approach.

For almost four decades, it has been not only her profession but also her passion to offer supportive care and guidance to families living with progressive dementia. She has had opportunities to help families learn and use sage, creative, and positive approaches with their persons. And, that has made life more comfortable for all. They have explored together how to meet the need for meaningful daily routines and activities and the essentials of a safe and supportive physical environment. They have learned that laughter and gentle touch and a sincere "I'm sorry" can be very real "save-the-day" approaches. It is learned over and over that each person (whether impaired or not) is unique and valuable, "a pearl of great worth." Living with dementia is all about living!