Hen House Café raises $2,500 for dementia friendly business training
The Hen House Cafe, which was the first business in Citrus County to become trained and certified as ‘Dementia Friendly,’ has raised more than $2,500 to be used for the training of other businesses throughout the county in the techniques of ‘dementia friendly’ customer service. The money will be used to fund scholarships to offset the cost of employee training and business certification.
Kim Speckner, owner of The Hen House, located at 206 Tompkins Street in Inverness, Florida, explains, “I am a believer that Dementia Friendly certification is not only the right thing to do for any business that may serve individuals with dementia and their caregivers, but that it is also smart business. It has brought us new and repeat customers, and has given our restaurant a reputation for a higher level of customer service.” The Hen House was certified Dementia Friendly in June, 2015.
Hen House Dementia Friendly training scholarship money was raised through cook book sales and special fund-raising events. Any business in Citrus County interested in learning more about training and certification, or applying for scholarships for its employees to be trained can contact Debbie Selsavage, President of Coping with Dementia LLC, the Inverness-based company that provides Dementia training and certification. Selsavage may be reached at 352-422-3663 or [email protected].
Selsavage states, “We are very grateful for this valuable support from the Hen House. Better understanding and accommodating the needs of individuals living with dementia, as well as their caregivers, is extremely important to a region like Citrus and surrounding counties where more than a third of the population is over the age of 65. This demographic alone guarantees that we will all more frequently interact with individuals and families coping with dementia, and it is important that we respond to them with understanding and compassion.”
While a per-trainee fee is charged for training and certifying for-profit businesses, Selsavage adds that Dementia Friendly training and certification is available also to churches and non-profit organizations for free.