Sam Fazio, Ph.D., is senior director of Quality Care and Psychosocial Research at the Alzheimer’s Association, where he oversees quality care standards and social and behavioral research initiatives in Mission Engagement. Dr. Fazio has over 30 years of experience in the field of aging, including research, leadership and management and direct care. He has contributed to a variety of projects in education and training, medical and scientific relations and program services since joining the Association in 1994.
Dr. Fazio is the lead author of the Association’s 2018 Dementia Care Practice Recommendations, a key initiative designed to share evidence-based practices with professional care providers in an effort to deliver high-quality, person-centered care to people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The recommendations were published as a supplement to The Gerontologist and are being used to educate care providers and care communities across the U.S.
As an expert in person-centered dementia care, Dr. Fazio has published many academic articles, and is the author of the book The Enduring Self in People with Alzheimer’s: Getting to the Heart of Individualized Care and co-author of Rethinking Alzheimer’s Care. Dr. Fazio also serves as principal investigator and co-investigator on many NIH and donor funded grant projects.
Prior to joining the Association, Dr. Fazio worked for Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center at the Alzheimer’s Family Care Center. He received his doctorate in developmental psychology from Loyola University Chicago.