Cathy Lockhart, Director of Nursing at Trico LivingWell Retirement Community, has been named to the Memory Care Innovation Awards Class of 2026 by Senior Housing News.
The Memory Care Innovation Awards program is designed to recognize passionate and innovative industry members who are shaping the future of cognitive care across behavioral health, home health and home care, hospice and palliative care, senior housing and senior living, and skilled nursing. To become a Memory Care Innovation Award winner, an individual must be nominated by their peers. The candidate should be a high-performing employee who knows how to put vision into action, serving as an advocate for those living with memory-related disorders and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.
Lockhart sat down with Senior Housing News to share her journey caring for patients and residents with cognitive care needs, her thoughts on the future of cognitive care in senior housing & senior living, and much more. To learn more about the Memory Care Innovation Awards and view this year’s winners, visit https://innovation.memorycarebusiness.com/.
SHN: How long have you been working in the senior housing & senior living industry, and what has your career journey looked like?
Lockhart: I have been working in the senior living industry since early 2012. I did not realize at the time that senior living would become something I am deeply passionate about. Over the years, I have grown through progressively responsible leadership and nursing roles and have had the opportunity to build experience across resident care, operations, quality improvement, employee education, and organizational development.
Today, I am the Director of Nursing at Trico LivingWell, where I oversee nursing services, memory care, resident care programs, accreditation, policy development, and quality initiatives. On any given day, that can mean moving from strategic planning to supporting a family conversation to debating whether a policy really needs one more revision.
Memory care in particular continues to inspire me because no two days are ever the same. It challenges you to be creative, adaptable, and deeply human. I believe the best innovations are often not the flashiest ones, but the ones that make everyday life safer, easier, more meaningful, and more joyful for residents and the teams who support them.
SHN: What inspired you to focus on caring for individuals living with memory-related conditions?
Lockhart: Memory care is one of the few areas of healthcare where the environment, the approach, and the human connection can completely change someone’s experience of the day.
I found myself drawn to the complexity of supporting people living with cognitive change. There is a tendency to focus on what someone has lost, but I have become much more interested in what remains, who that person still is, and how we create environments where they can continue to thrive.
I love that memory care asks us to be both evidence-based and endlessly creative. Sometimes the solution is clinical. Sometimes it is changing lighting, adjusting routines, rethinking communication, or discovering that what looked like a behaviour was actually a person trying to tell us something important.
People living with neurocognitive conditions will humble you quickly. They don’t care about your title, your strategic plan, or how many policies you have written. They care whether you make them feel safe, understood, and respected. That has shaped me both professionally and personally, and it is what continues to inspire me today.
SHN: If you could describe the current state of memory care in senior housing & senior living in one word, what would it be and why?
Lockhart: One of the biggest changes I have seen is how our understanding of dementia and memory-related conditions has evolved. When I started working in assisted living, there was still much more stigma and misunderstanding. Cognitive change was often viewed primarily through the lens of loss, behaviors, or limitations.
While there is still work to do, I see far more compassion, curiosity, and understanding in our communities. Families are asking different questions. Teams are becoming more skilled and person-centered. We are paying greater attention to the environment, meaningful engagement, communication, and preserving identity and dignity.
At the same time, memory care continues to become more complex as residents arrive with increasingly diverse needs and expectations. What gives me hope is that innovation is no longer only about technology or new programs. It is about recognizing the person behind the diagnosis and designing care that helps them continue to live a meaningful life.
SHN: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career caring for individuals with cognitive needs?
Lockhart: A diagnosis does not erase personality, humor, wisdom, preferences, relationships, or the desire to feel valued and understood. Early in my career, I underestimated how much remains when memory changes. Experience has taught me the opposite.
Some of the funniest, wisest, and most honest conversations of my career have happened in memory care. I have learned that people continue to surprise us when we create environments that support connection, autonomy, and dignity.
SHN: What is one change you would most like to see across the memory care landscape in senior housing & senior living today?
Lockhart: If there is one change I would most like to see across the memory care landscape, it would be expanding knowledge and compassion beyond those who have direct caregiving responsibilities.
The professionals who work directly in memory care are often exceptionally skilled and deeply committed. They understand neurocognitive conditions, adapt communication, and provide incredible support every day.
Where I see opportunity is in extending that understanding into our broader communities. People living with cognitive change do not only interact with care teams. They ride city buses, visit grocery stores, go to the bank, attend community events, and continue participating in everyday life. Small moments with bus drivers, cashiers, reception staff, retail employees, neighbours, and community members can have an enormous impact on whether someone feels confident, welcomed, and included.
I had the opportunity to visit care communities in the Netherlands and was struck by how naturally this seemed woven into the culture. It felt less like dementia awareness belonged only to healthcare professionals and more like a shared understanding across the community.
I would love to see Canada moving in that direction. My hope is for communities where living with cognitive change does not mean becoming separated from everyday life, but where more people feel equipped to respond with patience, understanding, and compassion.
SHN: Looking ahead five years, what do you think will have the greatest impact on your ability to deliver innovative, high-quality cognitive care?
Lockhart: I think the greatest impact on our ability to deliver innovative, high-quality cognitive care will be our willingness to continue challenging traditional assumptions about aging, dementia, and what quality of life really means.
We are learning more every year about the relationship between environment, meaningful engagement, autonomy, health, and cognitive wellbeing. At the same time, residents and families are arriving with higher expectations and increasingly complex needs. Meeting those expectations will require us to stay curious, adapt quickly, and remain open to doing things differently.
SHN: If you could give yourself advice on your first day serving the cognitive care needs of your senior housing & senior living residents, what would it be and why?
Lockhart: I would tell myself to spend less time trying to manage every moment and more time connecting with people. The relationships are the part that mean the most anyway.
SHN: In your view, what qualities define a Memory Care Innovation Award winner?
Lockhart: A Memory Care Innovation Award winner should be someone who stays curious and never becomes too attached to the phrase, “We’ve always done it this way.”