About Megan Carnarius
Megan Carnarius, RN, MT, NHA – Executive Director, Balfour Cherrywood Village
Megan Carnarius joined Balfour as Executive Director of Balfour Cherrywood Village in 2002. She is a nurse, licensed nursing home administrator, and a much sought after speaker on the topic of Alzheimer’s care, a specialty that she has focused on in her training, management, and program design for more than a decade.
Megan blends two decades of medical and holistic patient care experience in leading Balfour’s Alzheimer’s program for patients and families. Her philosophy on memory care is that people with Alzheimer’s disease are trying their best to manage and their quality of life can be greatly enhanced if the environment supports their strengths and allows them to express their individuality within the community. Megan turned her focus to specialization in Alzheimer’s care in the early 1990s. She has consulted with healthcare leaders both in Colorado and nationally to promote therapeutic and psychosocial models of care.
Megan is committed to providing Alzheimer’s education to families and caregivers in the community. She delivers a popular fall and spring lecture series for families and workshops for caregivers on all aspects of caring for those with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. She has also produced two educational CD’s: "Alzheimer’s Disease: How Do You Know When It’s Time To Seek Help?" and "Beyond Simply Surviving – Helpful Approaches to Support Caregivers" Megan served as an adjunct Faculty Member for Naropa Institute, gerontology program, Masters in Health Care Administration. She continues to lecture to families and care professionals on all aspects of Alzheimer’s care.
