Meet the founder

Emilia Bourland, OTR, ECHM is the president and founder of Higher Standards Caregiver Training, as well co-founder of WCN University for family caregivers. She has been an occupational therapist for over 10 years, working in adult settings ranging from home health to the ICU, and everywhere in between. Emilia has worked as adjunct faculty at Texas Woman's University, teaching masters level occupational therapy students both hands on clinical skills and advanced professional reasoning. She has taught safe handling and care skills to nurses, caregivers, and clients/patients since the start of her career as an occupational therapist, and has worked extensively in the community providing home modification recommendations and fall prevention consulting to help people and organizations operate safely and successfully. Emilia holds her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, her master's degree in occupational therapy from Texas Woman's University, and her Executive Certificate in Home Modification from the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California. She is nationally registered with the National Board of Certification of Occupational Therapists. Emilia has been academically published in "Topics In Stroke Rehabilitation," and is the creator of "The Guide to Successful Aging" Planning Tool.

In addition to her role at Higher Standards Caregiver Training, Emilia also provides consulting services for fall prevention programs and organizations specializing in medical/adaptive equipment use, safety, and design. She can be booked as an expert speaker for select events.