Kari is a highly skilled healthcare professional with over 25 years of experience, primarily working with adults and the geriatric population. She is an Occupational Therapist, a Certified Dementia Practitioner®, a Certified Alzheimer's Disease Dementia Care Trainer®, a Certified Montessori Dementia Care Professional®, a Certified Montessori Dementia Care Professional Trainer®, and a Board Certified Patient Advocate. During her high school and college days in South Dakota, Kari's healthcare career began as a CNA/Medication Aide at a nursing facility and group home. After graduating with a BS in Social Work and Psychology, she started working as a Social Worker at Kings College Hospital in the borough of Southwark in Southeast London, UK. This included hospital assessment, discharge planning, and case management post-discharge to prevent hospital readmissions. After returning to the US, Kari worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist while completing prerequisites for her master's degree in Occupational Therapy. She has been an OT for 14 years and holds several therapy-specific certifications.

 

Experience in various healthcare roles and settings, including acute care and ICU, long-term acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient and aquatics, adult day centers, vocational rehabilitation, home health, and skilled nursing facilities, have provided Kari a deep understanding of how health systems function. In addition to her professional experience, Kari was also a caregiver for her father for 16 years after he sustained a hemorrhagic stroke in 2007 and then developed mixed dementia. She has been the healthcare employee and the caregiver, seeing situations from both perspectives, which is why she strongly believes in educating and supporting patients and professionals. 

 

Kari's teaching style is unique and engaging, as per the feedback from our course evaluations. She uses interesting "real-life" examples, facilitates interactive dialogue, and adds a bit of humor to make the learning experience enjoyable. Clients and families find her relatable, knowledgeable, and committed to achieving positive results. Kari has ambitious plans for Karing Consulting and is dedicated to providing top-quality healthcare consulting services.