The Best Friends™ Virtual Master Training Institute is a three-day course to become a Master Trainer in the relationship-centered Best Friends™ Approach to Dementia Care. This training will teach you how to train others in the Best Friends™ approach.
Registrants of the Best Friends™ Institute must have prior knowledge of the Best Friends™ approach. If you are new to Best Friends, see our Introductory Training options. To learn more about the benefits and responsibilities of being a Master Trainer, see the Best Friends Master Trainer Guidelines and FAQs.
For questions regarding the training arrangements, please contact bestfriends@healthpropress.com or call 1-888-337-8808 ext 180.
What
The Best Friends™ Virtual Master Training Institute
Who Should Attend
Nurses, Social Workers, Long Term Care Administrators, Adult Day Care and Activity Specialists, Home Care Providers, Marketing and Outreach Professionals, Executive Directors, and Aging Consultants.
Where
From your personal computer, via Zoom
When
June 10-12, 2025
Cost
Early Bird discount! $1400 per person if you register before 4/1/25.
Regular registration rate after 4/1/25 is $1,750 per person.
Discounted rate ($1,487) available for companies sending 3 or more attendees or who have existing Master Trainers. Contact us for details.
Regular registration rate after 4/1/25 is $1,750 per person.
Discounted rate ($1,487) available for companies sending 3 or more attendees or who have existing Master Trainers. Contact us for details.
Registration Deadline
May 6, 2025
Early Bird Deadline April 1, 2025
Early Bird Deadline April 1, 2025
CEUs
9 CEUs available from National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB), and National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP).
Questions? Contact
MATERIALS AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR VIRTUAL TRAINING
The Virtual Best Friends™ Training Institute is conducted using the online Zoom meeting platform. You are provided with email links to register for each virtual training session. You also receive a User’s Guide to Zoom describing the functions used during the training. Additional printed training materials are shipped in advance of the training to an address you supply for this purpose.
Participants use their own computer equipment and wifi connection to join the virtual training. Due to the interactive nature of the training, your video and audio must be on and fully functional for every session. You are responsible for the proper functioning, reliability, and capacity of your computer equipment and internet service used during the training program. Malfunctions on the user’s end are not the responsibility of the training host, but all reasonable efforts will be made to assist with resolving technical difficulties. Any malfunction on the part of the training host will be addressed as quickly as possible and accommodations will be communicated immediately to participants, including rescheduling of sessions or provision of new meeting links if needed.
SPECIAL ACCOMODATIONS
If you would like to request a special accommodation for a disability (e.g., large-print materials), please contact us by by calling 1-888-337-8808 ext 180 or emailing bestfriends@healthpropress.com.
TRAINING SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
All registrants attending the training to become Master Trainers will experience 12 hours of stimulating lecture and interactive learning over the course of 3 days, including the completion of a post-training test and active participation in discussions, small-group work, and other exercises during the Institute. Attendance at all six sessions is required for certification.
Day 1
- Session 1 | 11:00am–1:00pm EST: The Best Friends™ Model Defined
- Session 2 | 3:00pm–5:00pm EST: The Experience of Dementia; Best Friends™ in Action
Day 2
- Session 3 | 11:00am–1:00pm EST: Best Friends™ in Action (cont.)
- Session 4 | 3:00pm–5:00pm EST: Creating and Sustaining a Best Friends™ Program
Day 3
- Session 5 | 11:00am–1:00pm EST: Training presentations
- Session 6 | 3:00pm–5:00pm EST: Implementing Best Friends™; Post-test
*All times are listed in Eastern Standard Time; adjust for your time zone
CEUs
For interested candidates, continuing education credits (9) are available from National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB), and National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP). It may be possible to arrange for other professional CEU and contact hour categories for particular Institutes. Contact bestfriends@healthpropress.com for further information.
REGISTRATION PROCESS AND CONFIRMATION
Registration for Best Friends™ Master Training is accomplished via the online Application Form. Master Trainer Certification is a multi-step process that begins with submission of your online application on or before the Registration Deadline of May 6, 2025. Once the application is submitted, you will be immediately redirected to the online pre-test, which confirms familiarity with core tenets of the Best Friends™ approach. Please be prepared to take the pretest when submitting your application (allow approximately 20–30 minutes to complete both steps). Because this is a master-level training, attendees are required to score 80% or above on the pre-test. If you have worked in a care setting following Best Friends practices or read The Best Friends Approach to Dementia Care or other Best Friends books, you should be comfortable with the topics on this pre-test.
Applicants who pass the pre-test will receive confirmation and an invoice for the registration fee. Payment is due within 10 days of invoice date or by the registration deadline, whichever comes first. Registration will not be complete until payment has been received. Your place at the Institute is not reserved until all steps of the registration are completed. All registrations will be confirmed by e-mail.
Early Bird and Other Discounted Rates
An Early Bird rate of $1,260.00 is available for any application received by 11:59 pm PST on April 1, 2025. Early Bird rates will become invalid if payment is not received by your invoiced payment deadline. You will be re-invoiced at the full Institute rate and your space at the Institute will not be guaranteed until payment is received in full.
A discounted rate of $1,339.00 is available for companies sending 3 or more attendees or who have existing Master Trainers.
Space is limited at Master Training Institutes. Apply early.
Trainer(s)
Tonya M. Cox, M.S.W., L.N.H.A.
With a long history of supporting Best Friends™ approaches in dementia care, Tonya Cox currently ensures that training and implementation of Best Friends™ practices are maintained across all care settings for the regional Kentucky-based operator Christian Care Communities in her role as Vice President of Operations. She notably blended the Best Friends approach into a Green House® site as the former Executive Director for The Homeplace at Midway. And before that was Director of Community Based Services for Christian Care, which included overseeing the original Best Friends™ Adult Day Center in Lexington, Kentucky. For more than 15 years Tonya has been developing programs and services for persons with dementia and their caregivers, including working on national curriculum development for professional caregivers in various care settings and serving as Vice President for Mission and Service for the Greater Kentucky/Southern Indiana Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Tonya presents locally and nationally on activity programming and dementia care. She is a co-author on two of the Best Friends™ books (The Best Friends Book of Alzheimer’s Activities, Volume One and Volume Two) and contributed to The Best Friends Approach to Dementia Care, Second Edition, with Virginia Bell and David Troxel. She has served as co-chair of the Kentucky Alzheimer’s Disease Advisory Council and is a practicum supervisor for both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville Kent School of Social Work. Tonya is also Adjunct Professor at Midway University in their Health Care Administration Program.
Wendy Schrag, RN-BC
Board certified in Geriatrics and educated in nursing, behavioral science, and long-term care management, Wendy Schrag is highly qualified for her longtime work with people living with dementia. She is Vice President of Clinical Services for Touchmark, a provider of multi-level senior housing that includes dedicated memory care on its 13 campuses across 9 northwestern states plus Canada. Certified as a Master Trainer in 2013, Wendy was instrumental in designing and implementing programs to train Touchmark staff in the Best Friends approach. Progressing from Memory Care Manager for just one community to Memory Care Support Manager for the entire organization, she provided guidance and education on person-centered care and Best Friends™ practices to nurses and other care staff at all Touchmark communities before assuming her current responsibilities.
Wendy also gives informational presentations to the public on issues relating to dementia and is trained as an Alzheimer’s Association Support Group Facilitator, working with families who are caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease or other age-related dementia.
DEADLINES & CANCELLATIONS
Cancellation Policies
Applicants registered for attendance who need to cancel on or before May 6, 2025 may do so but will remain responsible for 25% of the registration fee to cover costs associated with pre-test administration and materials preparation. Applicants who have submitted payment will be refunded 75% of the fee paid. Registrants who cancel after the cancellation deadline or are no-shows will be held responsible for the full amount of their registration fee.
Although no credits or refunds will be available after May 6, 2025, organizations may choose to send qualified substitutes, pending HPP approval and space permitting.
Substitutes must:
- Submit a completed application to HPP, and
- Pass the qualifying pre-test, and
- Receive approval from HPP for attendance at least 5 business days in advance of the Institute
Rescheduling to a Different Training Date
After the May 6, 2025 cancellation date, requests to be rescheduled for later training dates are admissible, space permitting. A rescheduling fee of $275.00 will be incurred.
