PHOENIX, AZ, May, 6—Grace Management, Inc. launched a pilot in 2024 introducing TapRoot’s Ella®, an innovative digital tool that provides interventions and solutions for care partners of people living with dementia and other neurocognitive disorders, in its Dirigo Pines community in Orono, Maine. Ella, a first-in-class, validated behavioral digital tool, has been seamlessly integrated into the Memory Care neighborhood, supporting caregivers and clinical staff as they deliver exceptional care.
TapRoot’s Ella is a mobile application that care partners can easily access using a mobile phone or tablet device. It provides direct suggestions on person-centered, non-pharmacological interventions and approaches for over 60 different “reactions” (commonly known as behaviors). These reactions, such as resisting assistance with showering, exit seeking, or resisting clothes changing, are common caregiving challenges. With Ella, these behaviors are understood as natural responses to potential stressors or misunderstandings in the environment, aligning with TapRoot’s philosophy of delivering empathetic, personalized care.
The application also features a comprehensive library of easily digestible training materials for caregivers and a unique “Who I Am” URL for families to input data, ensuring Ella’s artificial intelligence (AI) can precisely tailor interventions for each individual. Care partners then reference Ella for fast and practical guidance on managing specific behavioral challenges, receiving a curated list of two to four recommended interventions to either prevent or redirect dementia-related reactions.
Ella also links the medical and personal information of the residents, while using information from caregivers on what they are observing to provide the best approach. Ella utilizes unprecedented data on the diagnoses, severity of the disease, symptoms (reactions), and more to suggest the interventions most likely to mitigate the reaction. This approach integrates personal histories, traumas, and past living environments to tailor preventative strategies and reduce the occurrence of dementia-related reactions.
The Grace Management pilot aims to validate Ella’s role in decreasing reliance on psychotropic medications, mitigating the frequency and severity of dementia-related reactions, and offering tailored interventions and approaches to mitigate behavioral episodes through improved approach planning.
Dr. Ashlea Smalley, National Director of Life Enrichment and Memory Care for Grace Management states that “Unexpected reactions can be one of the most challenging aspects of caring for people living with dementia, for both the caregiver and person with dementia. Having tech tools, like Ella, that empower our care associates with immediate, person-centered solutions to these reactions helps us to seamlessly deliver a higher quality of care and reduce moments of resident distress. Tools like Ella are helping to bridge the gap between innovation and empathy in a way that supports our team and residents.”
About TapRoot Interventions & Solutions
TapRoot Interventions & Solutions created digital assistant, Ella®, the first personalized care management platform designed especially for caregivers of persons with cognitive deficits. Ella elevates the caregiver with evidenced-based behavioral approaches to mitigate behavioral expressions of persons with dementia-related disease, mental illness, autism, and other cognitive deficits. Ella supports population health management principles and enables outcome measures for long-term care operators and payers.
To learn more, please visit https://TapRootElla.com or connect with TapRoot on LinkedIn
About Grace Management, Inc.
Grace Management, Inc. (GMI) was established in 1984 to develop, market, and manage residential communities for seniors. GMI combines sound fiscal and operational management, adherence to ethical standards, and dedication to the long-term satisfaction and quality of life of all residents and associates. Grace Management, Inc. is a subsidiary of CPF Living Communities and is ranked in ASHA’s 50 largest seniors housing owners. To learn more, please visit: www.GraceManagement.com.
For more information about Grace Management’s memory care programming contact Dr. Ashley Smalley, National Director of Life Enrichment and Memory Care at asmalley@gracemanagement.com.