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West Bend Daily News Reports: GrandCare taps software exec as new CEO

GrandCare taps software exec as CEO

By DAN MUCKELBAUER

Daily News Staff

Dan MaynardThe appointment of veteran software executive Daniel Maynard as CEO of health monitoring pioneer GrandCare is seen as enabling the West Bend company to continue to grow, said its founder, former CEO Charlie Hillman, who will become its chief technology officer and “vision leader.”

Maynard will be able to focus on sales distribution channels and pricing, critical to market growth, Hillman said Wednesday after the official announcement. Maynard was president of Brookfield-based Connecture Inc., which guides consumers in insurance options, and made the transition to GrandCare the past few months, Hillman said.

“I had been searching for a proven, innovative technology solution with a large growth potential in the healthcare IT industry,” Maynard said in a statement. “GrandCare is already a well-respected and credible industry leader. I look forward to joining this great team and taking GrandCare to the next level.”

“He saw such potential in GrandCare. We’re happy,” said Hillman, who will focus more on product development. “I’m a pretty good startup guy and we needed someone to take this to a new level.”

The 8-year-old downtown West Bend company with 20 employees markets Internet-based systems that monitor elderly in their homes and connects with relatives or other caregivers. It began after Hillman’s experiences with his great-aunt in her late 80s who lived next door to him.

GrandCare Founder, Charlie Hillman

GrandCare Founder, Charlie Hillman

“We’ve grown a lot the past couple of years and I think we can grow much faster, and there’s no indication that GrandCare will move outside of West Bend,” said Hillman, noting expansion locations near the company’s 327 N. Main St. site, including the former Ziegler Co.

“Why would we move to a more expensive place?” Hillman said. “We like it here. We like the work ethic of the place.”

Economic Development Washington County announced a $200,000 loan to GrandCare in July, enabling it to execute foreign and domestic contracts, EDWC Executive Director Christian Tschescholk said.

The West Bend-grown company is expected to be a major player globally, notably in the United Kingdom, Tschescholk said. Having top talent like Maynard helps move the company forward and bring high-tech jobs to West Bend, he said.

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.