West Bend Daily News: GrandCare receives $200K county loan

Company offers health care, technology

By DAVE RANK

A $200,000 county low interest loan was approved for GrandCare Systems LLC, a growing technology company in West Bend, through the Economic Development Washington County, the EDWC announced Monday.

GrandCare is rapidly expanding sales of its digital health monitoring and socializing technology for the elderly both domestically and internationally, GrandCare co-founder and CEO Charlie Hillman said.

GrandCare Systems combines digital health assessment, biometric readings, daily living activity sensing, medication management, smart home automation, video chat and virtual touch-based communications technology for the private home market since 2006.

“Home health care is a growing segment of the global economy,” EDWC Executive Director Christian Tscheschlok said. “We are excited to support the growth of a local company that offers significant potential to elevate our economy through its noteworthy leadership in that expanding market.”

Hillman’s wife, Gaytha Traynor, co-founded GrandCare and is the company’s chief operating officer.

In part, the company’s current expansion is due to the the Community Development Block Grant loan from the EDWC, Hillman said.

GrandCare now is available for retail purchase throughout the United States, Bermuda, New Zealand, Australia and [soon] the United Kingdom, Laura Mitchell, vice president of business development, said.

The daughter of Hillman and Traynor, Mitchell has been a part of GrandCare since its founding. “It started with just four of us in 2005,” Mitchell said. “We now have 18 employees.”

In January, GrandCare announced it had an exclusive contract to provide technology to the largest home health care provider in the United Kingdom, Mitchell said.

“It’s an exciting time for GrandCare and the ‘aging in place’ technology industry,” Hillman said. “The vision that the EDWC has shown will not only help build up our team to support our large contracts, but also will showcase that Washington County is a pioneer in the Health Information Technology space.”

The loan will help GrandCare expand its staff, Mitchell said, including finding a new CEO to step in for Hillman.

“Charlie has been the vision of GrandCare and he wants to remain the visionary,” Mitchell said. Hillman and Nick Mitchell, vice president of product development, built GrandCare’s products from scratch, Laura Mitchell said. “He (Hillman) wants to stay in development.”

Nick and Laura Mitchell are married.

“We are considered the pioneer in the industry,” she said. “We have that credibility.”

GrandCare’s largest competitor is a partnership formed by General Electric and Intel, she said.

The company is also preparing to launch its own e-commerce online site to sell its products directly to consumers, Laura Mitchell said.

GrandCare is located at 327 N. Main St., Lower Riverside. For more information, visit www.grandcare. com or call 338-6147.

GrandCare Systems awarded CDBG loan from EDWC

WEST BEND, Wis., (July 8, 2013) – GrandCare Systems®, a Washington County-based organization, is rapidly ramping up deployments of their touch-based digital health monitoring and socialization technology both domestically and internationally. This expansion is in part due to funding provided through the award of a CDBG loan for $200,000 from Economic Development Washington County (EDWC).

“It’s an exciting time for GrandCare and the ‘aging in place’ technology industry”, says GrandCare founder, Charles Hillman. “The vision that the EDWC has shown will not only help build up our team to support our large contracts, but also will showcase that Washington County is a pioneer in the Health Information Technology space.”

The GrandCare System starts with a large, user-friendly touchscreen placed into a loved one’s home. This touchscreen displays weather, news, calendar events, medication prompts, reminders, family photos, videos and allows for one-button Skype with designated family and friends. Various activity, smart home sensors & telehealth devices are placed around the home to give authorized caregivers and family “peace of mind” that all is normal and safe at home. Caregivers can choose to receive email, text or phone alerts if specified conditions occur (e.g. medication noncompliance, unusual night activity, failure to access the kitchen during mealtime, etc.)

GrandCare also enables the loved one with their own large sized “smart device” giving them easy access to family photos, videos, web-based content and one-touch Skype calls with children and grandchildren. These features are critical to help overcome the very real and damaging effects of social isolation.

“Home healthcare is a growing segment of the global economy”, states Christian Tscheschlok, Executive Director of Economic Development Washington County, “We are excited to support the growth of a local company that offers significant potential to elevate our economy through its noteworthy leadership in that expanding market.”

GrandCare is available today for retail purchase throughout the United States, Bermuda, New Zealand, Australia, and soon in the UK. For more information, visit www.grandcare.com or call 262-338-6147

About GrandCare Systems

GrandCare Systems, on the market since 2006, uses a series of wireless activity & telehealth sensors in a loved one’s home to alert family members if anything seems amiss. Family can Skype and send pictures, messages, videos, etc, to the loved one using a simple touchscreen interface. GrandCare combines digital health assessment, biometric readings, activity of daily living sensing, medication management, smart home automation, video chat, and virtual touch-based communications into the most comprehensive and fully-featured technology in the private home market.
For more information, visit: www.grandcare.com

About Economic Development Washington County

Economic Development Washington County (EDWC) is an independent economic development organization fueling growth businesses and industries for the creation of quality jobs and wealth in Washington County. EDWC accomplishes this through a focus on existing business development consulting; engaging in driver-industry business attraction; supporting qualified start-up enterprises and serving as a central voice on economic development issues.

About CDBG RLF Funds

Economic Development Washington County (EDWC), on behalf of Washington County, administers a pool of funds that can make loans to businesses wishing to expand or locate in the county. These loans are customized to a project but have typically been smaller in size ($20,000-$100,000) and are made at a low interest rate. Principal and interest repaid by those businesses with loans are reinvested back into the fund to be lent out again, making it a “revolving loan fund,” or RLF.

DealerScope Magazine: 40 Under 40

GrandCare’s Laura Mitchell voted one of Dealerscope’s Top 40 under 40!

 

Laura MitchellLaura Mitchell, 34, Vice President, Business Development, GrandCare Systems
Twitter: @ laurahmitchell

Background:
Grew up in California, Wisconsin, Germany and Minneapolis; now lives in Wisconsin

Higher education:
University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Freiburg, Germany

Career:
Eight years in the CE industry. Helped to Build GrandCare’s distribution network, strategic partnerships, and oversees the sales, marketing and social media campaigns. Speaks around the world about aging and technology, digital health and GrandCare technology

Industry accomplishments:
“I started the industry’s first aging and technology conference call (later turned into a webinar) in 2008, which went on for four years and attracted hundreds of industry enthusiasts, dealers and tech providers. This webinar spurred the formation of the Aging Technology Alliance.

“I am also proud to have started and coordinated the Digital Health Pavilion, the Future Home Pavilion and all digital health educational sessions for CEDIA and EHX for the past three years. This has led to several educational webinars for many other AV organizations as well as many articles that I have authored on why the digital health industry is an important and critical industry to get involved with. My proudest moment in this industry was when I was featured in Forbes for my social media and guerrilla marketing efforts for GrandCare.”

Awards:
2013 Young Turks of CE; 2011 Recipient of Flame Award for Innovation and leadership; 2012 AARP Sterling Award for Health & Wellness; Finalist for the 2012 Wego Health Trailblazer Award

What you like best about your job:
“I love being part of a disruptive and innovative industry. I love that every day is exciting, fast-paced and there is a lot of room for creativity and thinking outside of the box.”

What you like least about your job:
It can be stressful to be building a technology in an industry that didn’t exist before. We are making up the rules of the game as we go along. It has been frustrating to be a part of an industry that grew at a glacial pace (we started eight and a half years ago). The exciting piece is that it has made the success and the acceptance so much sweeter.

Favorite pastime:
Writing songs; performing and spending time with my band; playing sports; and running

Last book read:
“Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”

Favorite movie:
“Amelie”

Best concert:
Jimmy Buffett

Favorite CE product of the year:
Jawbone UP

If you could be anyplace else right now, it would be: I am actually in Australia, training new GrandCare partners who are enthusiastic and eager to adopt and sell GrandCare down under … there really wouldn’t be anything else I’d rather do at the moment (besides having my family here with me).

Laura Mitchell on BBS Radio – Reaching For The Gold

“The GrandCare System helps connect elders with the world in ways designed to maximize their independence while also ensuring their safety. This technology not only tracks when they take their medication and other important health statistics. It also allows elders to send e-mails and other important correspondences without the technology frustrating or intimidating them.

Laura Mitchell serves as VP of business development for this company. She has spoken throughout the country about how digital home health can mitigate hospital admissions and otherwise have positive outcomes for elders and their family.”

Reaching For The Gold with Harriet Tramer

Reaching For The Gold airs every other week
BBS Radio Station 1 – Tuesdays
2:00 – 2:55 PM (PST)
5:00 – 5:55 PM (EST)

Harriet Tramer is publishing journalist and a college instructor. Harriet finds that these two careers have much in common as they both demand honing communication skills every day. Over the years, however, her understanding of precisely what is meant by “communication skills” has changed exponentially. At first, she taught classes in the most traditional sense, standing in front of students. And she wrote for print media. But now she instructs her students almost exclusively online and her writing is published in print and over the web. Times have changed but the need to speak to your audience by being concise, yet intriguing, remains the same.

—– Contact Harriet Tramer —–
Email: harriet.tramer@tri-C.edu
Website: http: www.justwannatalk.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/JustWannaTalk1

Michael Neuvirth Reviews GrandCare Systems

Home Care Services And Monitoring At The Touch Of A Finger

Michael Neuvirth give GrandCare Systems a Four and a half Star Review
http://caregiverreviews.com

This Review covers a product and technology that has been helping Caregivers since 2005. It is specifically designed to let your loved ones enjoy a high quality of life – while living in their own homes.

Visit Caregiver Reviews online at caregiverreviews.com

Easy To Use, Feature Rich Home Care System

GrandCare Systems combines digital health, biometric readings,  daily living sensing, medication management, smart home automation, video chat and virtual touch-based communications into a comprehensive home care monitoring system.

Caregivers can virtually engage with a loved one, regardless of geographic location.The simple to use, touch-based platform lets your loved one look at family photos, get, read and send “email”, watch videos and conduct video chats, listen to their favorite songs, play games – and more.

Created By Caregivers For Caregivers

Pricing

I spoke with the very nice people at Grandcare. We discussed pricing and they told me that each customer has his/her own specific needs and should end up with a system that suits those particular, specific needs. Grandcare told me that the best way for the customer to get started with Grandcare and learn about the particular pricing is to contact Grandcare directly via a very short questionnaire. You can access the questionnaire here.

Grandcare told me that their goal is for each customer to get the perfect system that suits their need and the questionnaire is the first step in the process. After you submit the questionnaire, Grandcare will contact you directly.

After speaking with Grandcare, it was clear to me that they will not push you to buy more than you need. There is no obligation to buy and they are really good at answering your questions.

I am honored to have included GrandCare in the very first dedicated review site for Caregivers – Caregiver Reviews

Initially, we are only reviewing sites that we know really help Caregivers and improve their quality of life and the quality of life of their loved ones.

Caregivers are extremely busy and we will not waste their time telling
them what not to read – rather we are focusing only on sites like GrandCare – that truly help Caregivers everyday…

Sincerely,

Michael Neuvirth
Founder
Caregiver Reviews
www.caregiverreviews.com

Grandcare’s system gives Caregivers peace of mind – plus the entertainment and socialization features are great for your loved ones. So, just for this – I highly recommend that you check it out further.

The Next Step Please visit Grandcare’s website, submit the questionnaire and learn more about Grandcare yourself.

Take a look at Michael’s full review of the GrandCare System.

GrandCare Systems Partners with mySmartCTI to Bring Aging in Place Technology to Australia

mySmartCare delivers touch-based digital health monitoring technology

mySmartCTI Logo

GrandCare Systems® appoints mySmartCTITM as Australian distributor

GrandCare Systems of the USA has today appointed mySmartCTI as the Australian distributor of its touch-based digital health monitoring and socialization technology solution.

mySmartCare powered by GrandCare’s technology will be available throughout Australia and includes telehealth functionality, socialization and family coordination features as well as activity of daily living monitoring.  For the residents, it means social connection, games, weather and news reports and one button video chat calls with children and grandchildren.

mySmartCare is also designed to provide family & caregivers with “peace of mind” by looking after activities of daily living (e.g. medication access, fridge access, sleeping patterns and door monitoring) as well as automatic monitoring and recording of vitals.  If a specified check point is not met, the system can alert a designated caregiver by email, text or phone call.

Says Peter Garrett, Managing Director of mySmartCTI, “As a leading technology integrator in Australia we are proud to be able to deliver a solution that assists the 90% of older Australians who wish to stay living in their homes whilst delivering peace of mind for them and their loved ones.”

“We are looking forward to entering the Australian market through mySmartCTI and utilizing their credibility and expertise”, said GrandCare founder Charlie Hillman, “the GrandCare technology takes away distance as a barrier to connectivity and care, reconnecting the aging population with their family, friends and social networks”.

About the partners

mySmartCTI is an Australian company that prides itself on making a positive difference for its customers, their employees and the environment. mySmartCTI helps to create the most energy and resource-efficient environments possible. Using the latest technologies with highly trained consultants and technicians, mySmartCTI is able to optimize buildings and outdoor environments so they more comfortable, and use less energy and resources with a resulting reduction in ongoing operational costs. mySmartCTI is Australia’s largest commercial building systems integrator with over 50 staff and offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth.

GrandCare Systems on the market since 2006, uses a series of wireless activity & tele-health sensors in a loved one’s home to alert family members if anything seems amiss. Family can Skype and send pictures, messages, videos, etc., to the loved one using a simple touchscreen interface. GrandCare combines digital health assessment, biometric readings, activity of daily living sensing, medication management, smart home automation, video chat, and virtual touch-based communications into the most comprehensive and fully-featured technology in the private home market. If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview, please call Alistair Grice, Marketing Manager at mySmartCTI on 02 9887 1000 or email Alistair.Grice@mysmartcti.com.au

Contact: Alistair Grice​
Tel: 02 9887 1000
Mob: 0405 111 122
Email: Alistair.Grice@mysmartcti.com.au

Second Annual AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch Finalists Announced

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 7, 2013 – AARP and LivePitch Media today announced the 10 startup finalists for the second annual AARP Health Innovation @50+ LivePitch – http://health50.org – which will take place May 31, 2013 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This premier showcase features the most innovative startup companies in the “50 and over” health technology and innovation sector.

This year’s expert Judges include: Geoffrey Clapp, Health IT Entrepreneur and Advisor to Rock Health; Brad Fluegel, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Walgreen Co.; Alan E. Hall, Founder, Partner, Island Park Investments; Mercato, MarketStar, Grow America; and Nina Kjellson, General Partner, InterWest. The show is emcee’d by Lisa Suennen, Managing Member, Psilos Group.

Attendee Registration

Investors and industry professionals are invited to register to attend Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch. Attendees can register for $399 ($100 off the door price) when they do so prior to May 31st at http://Health50.org. Registration includes access to the full-day event, lunch, networking, an evening reception, a copy of the exclusive proprietary research report: Health Innovation Frontiers: Untapped Market Opportunities for the 50+, AARP LivePitch Dealbook containing detailed profiles of all 127 companies that applied to pitch at the competition, access to AARP’s Life@50+ expo hall (May 30 – June 1) and a ticket to The Temptations and The Four Tops (May 31, at 7:30 pm).

Read more

Another Great Piece from Savvy Seniors’ Jim Miller

What types of new home technologies can you recommend to help me keep tabs on my elderly mother? She lives alone, about an hour’s drive from me, and I worry about her safety.

— Concerned Daughter

BRADENTON HERALD – Helping an aging parent remain independent and living in their own home has become a little easier in recent years, thanks to a host of new and improved assistive technology products. Here are some top rated options you should know about.

[…]

Monitoring systems

System Comp TRANS HR03-13

GrandCare offers a wide variety of sensors and devices for customers to choose from.

Another more sophisticated technology for keeping tabs on your mom is with a home monitoring system. These systems will let you know whether she is waking up and going to bed on time, eating properly, showering and taking her medicine.

They work through small wireless sensors (not cameras) placed in key locations throughout the home. The sensors will track her movements, learning her daily activity patterns and routines, and will notify you or other family members via text message, email or phone if something out of the ordinary is happening. For instance, if she went to the bathroom and didn’t leave it could indicate a fall or other emergency.

You can also check up on her patterns anytime you want through the system’s password-protected website. And for additional protection, most services offer SOS call buttons as well that can be placed around the house, or worn.

Some good companies that offer these services are BeClose (beclose.com, 866-574-1784), which runs $399 or $499 for the sensors, plus a $69 monthly service fee if paid a year in advance. And GrandCare Systems (grandcare.com, 262-338-6147), which adds a fantastic social component – through a senior-friendly computer – to go along with the activity monitoring. GrandCare leases for $150 to $300 per month.

Medication management

Med Minder

MedMinder provides the only pill dispensers with their own, built-in Cellular connection.

If you want to make sure your mom is keeping up with her medications, there are medication management devices you can now rent, that will dispense her medicine on schedule, provide constant reminders, and even notify you if her medicine is not taken. Two products that offer this are MedMinder (medminder.com, 888-633-6463), which rents for $40 per month, and the Philips Medication Dispensing Service (managemypills.com, 888-632-3261) that costs $75/month.

Jim Miller, a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book, can be reached at Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.
Or visit www.savvysenior.org.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/05/07/4514595/assistive-technologies-that-help.html#storylink=cpy

Grand News for GrandCare this April

Front Page! Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

“A Time To Build – Why entrepreneurs are key to jump-starting the Milwaukee area’s economic rebirth”

By Rick Romell

“Or consider the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where in January Hillman climbed onto a step stool in front of GrandCare’s booth and told scores of invited media and other guests, virtually all of them sipping free beer from the company, that the little West Bend firm had signed its biggest contract ever.”

Read More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiXTbBhCBH4&w=560&h=315]

Midland Daily News:

“GrandCare Systems provides seniors peace of mind”

Congratulations to David and Becky Schmelzer of Reassure Resources for their appearance in the Midland Daily News!

“The goal is to keep people in their homes for their enjoyment and for caregivers to stay in contact,” said Dave Schmelzer, owner of Reassure Resources and area distributor for GrandCare. “A lot of these people are lonely and don’t have any socialization.”

Read More on why his organization chose to partner with GrandCare Systems.

Aging in America 2013: conference report

Now Available: Joop Koopman’s, report for Bayard Presse on the annual conference of the American Society on Aging, March 12-15th in Chicago.

Commentary on presentations by: Aging in Place Technology Watch’s Laurie Orlov, gerontologist Ken Dychtwald, Mary Furlong’s What’s Next Summit preceding ASA, AARP, Scott Collins of Link-age Connect, Caring.com and Louis Tenenbaum.

Technologies: Care Innovations, GrandCare Systems and Philips.

Communities: On Lok Lifeways, Avenidas (virtual).

“The reality remains startling: between 2010 and 2050 the US population of 65 and older will have doubled to close to 80M. There are 40M Americans over 65 today; already there are 5M people older than 85, half of whom are still at home and almost half of whom suffer from some form of dementia. Worldwide, 15 percent of the population is 65-plus—a figure that will increase exponentially. Nearly 40 percent of the developed world will be over 55 by 2050.”

System Comp TRANS HR03-13

… “Key players in the realm of software and hardware that are making Aging-in-Place a reality are, to name but a handful, are Philips’ Healthcare at Home (prominently present at ASA with a large display in the exhibit hall and through sponsorship of general sessions); CareInnovations, a partnership of General Electric and Intel—the partnership forged precisely because the Aging-in-Place market remains scattered and unfocused and thus hard to penetrate; and GrandCare Systems, whose VP of Business Development [Laura] Mitchell elaborated on a major deal with Saga in the UK, that country’s counterpart to AARP, for the sale and distribution of a computer-like device capable of comprehensive health, security, and movement monitoring in the home. The company is pursuing sales elsewhere in Europe as well…”

Joop Koopman is an experienced writer/journalist, with a background in Catholic media (as editor and publisher), baby boomer-oriented marketing, as well as public relations serving both commercial and non-profit clients and causes. He currently provides a stable of European magazines catering to the 50-plus audience with information on US marketing trends. He is fluent in Dutch and French.