Episcopal SeniorLife Communities Receives Alzheimer’s Association Grant to Improve Respite Care for People Living with Dementia and their Caregivers.

July 16, 2025 — Episcopal SeniorLife Communities (ESLC) has been awarded a $125,000 grant from the Alzheimer’s Association Center for Dementia Respite Innovation (CDRI) to enhance the quality and availability of dementia-specific respite care for people living with dementia and their family caregivers in Hilton, New York.

ESLC is one of 41 recipients chosen to receive grant funding from more than 200 applicants across the country. Funds will be used to support the development of a volunteer led daytime respite program onsite at ESLC’s St. Leo Community Center (171 Lake Avenue, Hilton NY). This program will be developed in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association Rochester & Finger Lakes Region Chapter, The Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, St. Leo/St. Mark’s Church, Hilton-Parma Parks & Recreation and SUNY Brockport’s Golden Eagle League. The program will be the first of its kind in Hilton and is expected to draw participants from other surrounding communities.

“Caring for someone with dementia can be overwhelming, and this grant helps ensure families don’t have to do it alone. More than 15,000 individuals have been diagnosed with dementia locally, and the true number is underreported, the majority of those are living at home and want to stay there. In response, ESLC launched the Community Dementia Program to provide essential support. This award allows us to expand those services, with the help of several dedicated partners, offering much-needed dementia-specific respite care and resources for individuals living with dementia and their caregivers”. Lisa Marcello, President and CEO.

Episcopal SeniorLife Communities’ Community Dementia Services currently offers support for individuals living with dementia and their families. Services include personalized care navigation, 24/7 access to a dementia support line, caregiver education and training, and access to home and companion care. In partnership with Unity Health Geriatric Associates, participants also receive virtual medical assessments and ongoing support from dementia-trained specialists. The program emphasizes person-centered care and provides access to dementia-friendly activities that promote wellness, social connection, and quality of life.

In conjunction with the grant, Episcopal SeniorLife Communities will also receive online training and ongoing technical assistance from the CDRI to ensure respite services are dementia-capable and to support sustainability. The CDRI will also collect data and evaluate the impact of these innovative  projects from all grant recipients to inform public policy.

“We congratulate Episcopal SeniorLife Communities on its grant and look forward to working with its team to help enhance respite care services for local dementia caregivers,” said Sam Fazio, Ph.D., vice president care and support programs and research, Alzheimer’s Association. “We intend to gain insights from each respite program we fund, ultimately developing a catalog of programs, tools and resources that will be easily accessible to interested caregivers and care providers.”

The Alzheimer’s Association created the CDRI in 2024 after receiving a $25 million grant from the Administration for Community Living (ACL), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Over the next four years, the CDRI will provide $25 million in grant funding to local respite providers and organizations to enhance the quality and availability of respite care nationwide. Visit alz.org/cdri to see the full list of this year’s grant recipients.

Funding disclosure

This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $13,261,685 with 75 percent funded by ACL/HHS and $3,285,728 amount with 25 percent funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.