Living with cognitive disorders poses significant daily challenges for both patients and their caregivers. To address these challenges, Catalyst by Wellstar is recruiting for a pilot program with MapHabit, a company dedicated to helping individuals with cognitive decline live more independently.
Catalyst by Wellstar stands out from other innovation and venture firms by offering companies the unique opportunity to pilot innovative projects within Wellstar hospitals. This approach allows us to test and refine solutions in real-world healthcare settings, ensuring they meet the needs of both patients and healthcare providers.
MapHabit helps those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), autism, and traumatic brain injuries (TBI), as well as individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (ADRD).
It supports caregivers in providing effective and compassionate care while empowering those with cognitive disorders to develop new tools for their independence.
MapHabit is the first company to apply the spared memory system through visual cues and applied behavioral analysis. These are proven habit-building tools for people with cognitive decline.
Caregivers can program the steps for a task they would like to help their loved one learn. Their system enables individuals to watch the steps and eventually accomplish daily activities without needing to consciously think about each step, tapping into a spared region of the brain. It’s this memory system that is spared in neurodiverse people that can be leveraged to drive independence.
“Now there’s hope with a dementia diagnosis. Our system allows caregivers to assist rather than perform tasks for their loved ones,” said Matt Golden, co-founder and CEO of MapHabit. “This approach not only enhances the quality of life for those with dementia but also provides meaningful support for caregivers.”
It’s common for family caregivers to experience “learned helplessness,” where they feel they must do everything for the person. While that may be the case in the present, MapHabit helps these caregivers plan for the future before they experience burnout or neglect their own health.
MapHabit and ATDC
MapHabit is part of the Advanced Technology Development Center’s (ATDC) Accelerate portfolio, which supports high-potential technology startups. ATDC, a program of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, has been nurturing technology startups in Georgia since 1980.
Catalyst by Wellstar is sponsoring and collaborating with ATDC for the next three years to accelerate a dedicated health tech pipeline, fostering innovative Georgia-based startups that will positively impact the health of communities across the state and beyond.
This partnership aims to ensure that companies like MapHabit can thrive, ultimately benefiting the well-being of patients and families.
The Pilot at Wellstar
The pilot program is being conducted in Douglasville and Paulding, involving 10 primary care physicians and 75 families who are patients of these practices. The study will conclude in August. This initiative also involves collaboration with the Wellstar Population Health and Wellstar Accountable Health teams, and features a diverse participant population – 65% of study patients will be African American.
Leading this pilot are Ron Alleyne, MD, Assistant Vice President, Medical Director Population Health Administration at Wellstar Health System, and Charles Craton, MD, Internal Medicine specialist at Douglasville Medical Center, and Quality Medical Director for the Primary Care & Medicine Service Line. Their expertise and leadership will help ensure the pilot’s success and meaningful impact on patient care.
Patients interested in participating in this innovative pilot can take the current Catalyst Voice Survey for a chance to join the program.
This pilot program shows one of the ways Catalyst by Wellstar supports innovative solutions that improve healthcare outcomes and enhance the quality of life beyond the walls of a traditional healthcare setting.
I am the person not the care giver having trouble doing and remembering things.