Tag Archive for: GrandCare

Telecare Aware: A change of guard at GrandCare Systems

November 14, 2013 | By: Donna Cusano

This Editor has often referred to her former competitor GrandCare Systems as one of the ‘grizzled pioneers’ on the Conestoga Wagons of Telecare–even more grizzled than QuietCare (circa 2003-4) since their ur-system dates back to 1995-6, when it kept track of founder and CEO Charlie Hillman’s mother Clara. In the years since, the closely-held company has broadened its original telecare and activity monitoring tech into telehealth, socialization and home automation/monitoring into the most fully featured system in telecare/telehealth for older adults. Without making huge splashes, being beholden to VCs or moving from bucolic West Bend, Wisconsin, the company has grown through multiple alliances, the most unusual being home automation association CEDIA. GrandCare has a residential base of customers but has also developed a solid footing in senior communities both in assisted and independent living. Earlier this year, they reached into UK to partner with Saga and received the CE Mark for approval of its telehealth features for EU distribution.

The news is that they have a new CEO–Daniel Maynard, who is joining from the same position at Connecture, a software provider for health insurance comparison/enrollment (and exchange subcontractor in Minnesota, Maryland and Washington, DC.) Mr. Hillman will be moving to Chief Technical Officer, which may leave him more time for his work as a LeadingAge/CAST commissioner. Mr. Maynard understands early stage company growth, technology and healthcare well, since he has founded and developed several companies, including a predecessor to Connecture. 2014 may be an interesting year for news out of West Bend!

– See more at: http://telecareaware.com/a-change-of-guard-at-grandcare-systems/#sthash.JOO60inL.dpuf

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.

GrandCare Systems Names Daniel Maynard as New Chief Executive Officer

WEST BEND, Wisc. – November 13th , 2013

New Image

Digital health and remote monitoring pioneer GrandCare Systems, today announced the appointment of Daniel Maynard as GrandCare’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Maynard brings more than 25 years of industry experience to his new role having previously served as CEO and President of Connecture. Maynard replaces founder Charles Hillman, who has served as CEO since 2005. Hillman, an MIT educated engineer, will now serve as GrandCare’s Chief Technical Officer and as the company’s vision leader.

“We are delighted to add a person of Dan’s experience and expertise to the GrandCare team,” said Hillman. “Dan has a proven track record of driving and managing growth in the healthcare technology sector. I look forward to leading the product development team and providing a solution that is capable, reliable, scalable and affordable.”

“I had been searching for a proven, innovative technology solution with a large growth potential in the healthcare IT industry,” said Maynard. “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.”

Daniel Maynard has held various executive roles in the health insurance technology industry, including sales, marketing, operations, software development, financial management and corporate development. Throughout his career, he has built and led several companies, including CCISoft, Riverwood Solutions and Connecture. In 1997, Mr. Maynard formed CCISoft, which he sold to Workscape in 1999. In 2001, he formed Riverwood Solutions and continued on as president and CEO throughout the 2004 merger with Connecture. He serves on the board at Hayes technology Group and remains a strategic advisor to Alithias and Connecture.

About GrandCare Systems:

Since 2005, GrandCare Systems has provided the most comprehensive caregiving technology on the market, enabling individuals to remain safe, healthy and happy at home. GrandCare’s simple, touch platform enables a Resident to view pictures, receive incoming messages, watch videos, video chat with family, listen to music and play fun games. Using a series of wireless activity and telehealth devices, GrandCare can alert designated caregivers by phone, email or text if anything seems amiss (medications not accessed, glucose levels not taken, abnormal activity, etc.).

For more information: www.grandcare.com or call 262-338-6147

PR Contact:
Laura Mitchell
media@grandcare.com
262-338-6147

Knute Nelson and GrandCare Systems Present Seminar on Technology Empowered Caregivers at Silicon Valley Conference

November 7, 2013

MEDIA CONTACT:
Katie Perry, Foundation Executive Director
Knute Nelson
Direct: 320-763-1153

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Knute Nelson and GrandCare Systems Present Seminar on Technology Empowered Caregivers at Silicon Valley Conference

Knute Nelson, a leading senior care provider, and digital health remote monitoring pioneer, GrandCare Systems, have been selected to present “The New Care Professional: Powered by Digital Health Technology” at the AgeTech West Conference November 14-15, 2013, in San Jose, Calif. The AgeTech West conference entitled, “Aging Services Meets Silicon Valley: Creating the Future of Care” aims to arm aging organizations with guidance, support and the latest enabling technologies to create the best, most efficient and highly innovative aging service organizations.

“With the convergence of an aging population, declining percentage of care practitioners, and rapidly evolving technological capabilities — all at a time of healthcare reform — aging service providers have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage technology to help people remain healthy and independent as they age,” says AgeTech West Executive Director Scott Peifer.

Daphne Karpan, Registered Nurse and Palliative Care Manager at Knute Nelson, will present alongside Vice President of Business Development for GrandCare Systems, Laura Mitchell. Together, they will demonstrate how caregiving organizations like Knute Nelson are utilizing digital health and activity monitoring technologies to change and better the way caregiving services are deployed, without compromising quality.

GrandCare is an all-in-one, in-home monitoring and sensor technology that enhances direct client care to promote aging in place. Using a small, touch screen monitor placed in a client’s home, both clients and their families are able to access resources on topics such as health and wellness, bereavement and chronic disease education. GrandCare allows clients, caregivers and nursing professionals the ability to access essential client information to monitor and ensure proactive health care interventions. GrandCare also promotes family connectivity through video chat and multi-media sharing features.

“Knute Nelson has proven to be a visionary, creative and innovative partner,” said GrandCare’s, Laura Mitchell. “The professional caregiving industry is embracing technology solutions to positively impact patient care. Knute Nelson is a great example for others who want to see how it is done.”

The Knute Nelson Foundation was awarded two separate grants to introduce GrandCare technologies to palliative care and hospice clients throughout a 25-county west central Minnesota region where Knute Nelson serves. The grants were awarded by the Blandin Foundation and the Minnesota Department of Human Services through their Community Services/Service Development Program.

For information on Knute Nelson Home Care and Hospice visit www.knutenelson.org or call 320-759-1273.

About Knute Nelson
Knute Nelson, a 501c3 non-profit, faith-based corporation, is an innovative leader in senior housing and health care that offers a full family of services to the West Central Minnesota region. Knute Nelson Home Care and Hospice offer services provided in the comfort of an individual’s home ranging from skilled nursing care, physical/occupational/speech therapies, medication and pain management, smart home technology solutions and home health aide services throughout a 25-county region in West Central Minnesota. Persons of any age qualify for service.

About GrandCare
Since 2005, GrandCare Systems has provided the most comprehensive caregiving technology on the market, enabling individuals to remain safe, healthy and happy at home. GrandCare’s simple, touch platform enables a Resident to view pictures, receive incoming messages, watch videos, video chat with family, listen to music and play fun games. Using a series of wireless activity and telehealth devices, GrandCare can alert designated caregivers by phone, email or text if anything seems amiss (medications not accessed, glucose levels not taken, abnormal activity, etc.)

About AgeTech West
AgeTech West is a collaborative founded by LeadingAge California, LeadingAge Oregon and LeadingAge Washington advancing the delivery of tech-enabled aging services toward a new standard of care.

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Awards For Senior Living Products Show That The Aging Population Is Big Business

With millions of baby boomers hurtling head long into their golden years and resources for seniors limited, the business of caring for the elderly is about to boom as much as all those babies did. Keeping older Americans healthy and able to live independently will be more important than ever. SeniorHomes.com has created the Best Senior Living Award to recognize the companies creating the best products for the coming wave of older people.

HomeBaseThe 2013 winner is GrandCare Systems, a company dedicated to using the latest computer technology to help seniors live independently for as long as possible. Their simple touchscreen system helps these people stay in touch with their doctors, nurses, and family. The system also helps them keep track of taking their medicines, checking their weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar.

Everything is at the individual’s finger tips — literally. Just a touch on the computer screen starts the process. Easy-to-read menu items leads into several areas. It is so simple to use that previous computer experience is not required. It is designed to help make sure that the older adult is taking care of their health, staying connected with the outside world, and staying on top of their appointments and commitments.

http://inventorspot.com/articles/awards_senior_living_products_show_aging_population_big_business

Lutheran of Jamestown Smartments equipped with GrandCare receives positive evaluation from Leading Age

Kudos to GrandCare partners, Lutheran of Jamestown, for receiving positive evaluations on their usage of the GrandCare System for monitoring activities/wellness and socialization and family connecting, as well as various complementary technologies, throughout their Apartment “Smartments” community.

Sharon Hamilton, vice president of senior housing for Lutheran, an early and visionary adopter of remote monitoring and enabling technologies recently caught the attention of Leading Age for her usage of the GrandCare remote monitoring and socialization technology, as well as complementary technologies of other enabling and crisis management systems (think “help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”)

She was met with a very positive and encouraging evaluation by third party, vendor agnostic Leading Age of Washington, DC (formerly known as the American Association of Aging). Leading Age is an association of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to making America a better place to grow old.

Hamilton was smart to reach out to the organization and gauge an industry expert, who could take a non-partisan look at the usage of these technologies, in order to scale to a broader community base.

Dusten Rader from the Post Journal of Jamestown, NY wrote an interesting story titled, “Smartments Receive Positive Evaluation” on whether Leading Age found these Smartments to be effective and efficient. While conducting the assessment, the most cutting-edge of the technology solutions, including the GrandCare System were under a lot of pressure to prove their worth. GrandCare is a comprehensive digital health, activity monitoring, medication mgmt, socialization, video chat and infotainment technology to support individuals as they remain more independent, proactive, connected and self aware. The results were clear!

HomeBase

Leading Age’s senior VP, Robyn Stone was quoted in the Post Journal,
“I commend them on recognizing an opportunity,” Stone said. “And, also the notion that this isn’t something that was going to be done once and it’s over, rather that it’s going to be an interactive process. It’s hard for an organization to be a guinea pig, so to me that’s one of the assets of many of members – that they’re willing to think about the investment to really make this work. That is what I call continuous quality improvement.”

To read the full article click here: http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/627641/Leading-Age.html?nav=5057

The Smartments: 737 Falconer St. in Jamestown. For more information, call 665-8197 or visit www.lutheran-jamestown.org

Senior Cyborgs: The Rise of the Machine

Today’s featured video is from CES Silvers Summit in 2010. Listen to GrandCare founder, Charlie Hillman, discuss his notion of “Senior Cyborgs: The Rise of the Machines”… Utilizing home monitoring technology enable and enhance the lives of our senior population!

ENJOY

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT6s7GHOGfA]

GrandCare featured in Star Tribune article on aging and technology

We wanted to share the recent article by the Minneapolis Star Tribune on how enabling technologies are helping individuals to live independently, safely and happily at home.

GrandCare could not agree more with Andy Carle’s point of view on the acceptance of technology. When technology makes the quality of life better, it is accepted. When it makes life confusing and difficult, it is not. These seniors that we are discussing are the same folks that went from walking to flying and first put a man on the moon. They are not tech-phobic. We simply need to make the interface and user experience pain free and helpful.  At GrandCare, that has been a vision since day one. How can we bridge the generations and connect grandchildren and great grandchildren with their senior family members?  How can we find a middle ground when both generations prefer different methods of communication?

Note: As a clarification in the Star Tribune article, the GrandCare System is not an emergency response system.  Instead, GrandCare relies on a series of activity and telehealth devices to provide an overview of information on a loved one. The caregivers can set parameters to receive specified alert (unusual activity, doesn’t get out of bed, didn’t access medications, etc.). Designated caregivers can also log in to GrandCare’s web portal to add reminders, medication schedules and even video chat directly to the loved one through a simple and intuitive touchscreen appliance in the loved one’s home. Thanks again for shedding light on this emerging and innovative industry.

The new retirement: Technology

  • Article by: PAUL DUNCAN , Star Tribune
  • Updated: August 7, 2013 – 9:48 AM

It’s such a cliché: grandpa fiddling with the buttons on the cellphone he barely knows how to use, grandma struggling to remember how to switch the computer on. But is it true that older people don’t like technology and don’t use it?

The reality, says expert Andrew Carle, is completely different from the perception. Carle, director of the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University and a consultant on aging issues, coined the term “Nana Technology” for innovations that not only help our aging population, but actually can save their lives.

Carle was in Minnesota in June to give a talk to Aging Services of Minnesota in Brooklyn Center on “Nana Technology: Is There A Robot In Your Future?” This is a summary of his presentation:  

Why technology is important

In two words: Global aging, says Carle. The first of 78 million baby boomers turned 65 on January 1, 2011, and the population aged 85 and older is expected to more than triple from 5.7 million in 2010 to 19 million in 2050. And it’s not an American phenomenon; on the list of countries with the highest percentage of people over 60, the U.S. comes 43rd. The outcome, says Carle, is that global aging will affect us long before global warming. “Individuals who in 1968 thought they would change the world,” Carle says, “by 2028 actually will.” So how will we take care of all these seniors? The answer is: Technology…

Carle highlights these useful and potentially life-saving technologies for seniors…

 

Sandys Screen

GrandCare Systems (grandcare.com): An integrated system that uses sensors around the home to monitor health and wellness, and establishes a baseline of normal activities. Reports emergencies, and allows communication with the senior via an open TV channel or available touch screen unit

 

…

To read the full article: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/goodlife/218580541.html

GrandCare: My In-Home 2nd Brain

The “GrandCare” System Acting as my
“In-Home 2nd Brain” (so to speak…)

med-set-431The GrandCare System continues to be a solid and substantial in-home 2nd brain for me as I continue to work with the folks at the company. I forgot to take my meds the other evening, but was reminded to do so by the system with a text to my phone, etc. Reminders and events, etc are sent to me throughout each day – it is spectacular. More in the coming days and weeks as I (or others in my family or caregivers input more information into my system). Take care!

By Alexander Sandy Halperin, DDS
De-Stigmatizing Alzheimer’s
SandyHalperin@Gmail.com

GrandCare launches video competition for Grandparents Day Sept 8th!

Charlie and Gaytha Hillman with their seven grandchildren

Charlie and Gaytha Hillman with their seven grandchildren

Attention all you creative kids & teens!

National Grandparents Day is September 8th, 2013.

In celebration of this fantastic holiday, we’re doing something special.  We are hosting a competition for kids around the world to make the best video commercial promoting grandparents!  It can be creative, it can be musical, it can be theatrical, it can be fun!   Get your friends, family and grandparents involved!

Get your creativity on and submit your 30-second-or-shorter video to YouTube for your chance to win!!  The winners with the most views on September 8th, 2013 will receive technology and cash prizes.   Submit once, submit often!!!

All videos must be uploaded to YouTube.  Your video title must begin with the words “GrandCare Systems loves Grandparents contest.”   GrandCare will share your video through our various social media networks. Contestants will want to share their video with all their friends and family, too, because On September 8th, the video with the most views wins.

The first place winner will receive a cool technology prize (tba), will be featured on the GrandCare blog & social media networks, will have their video featured on the GrandCare homepage & will receive additional kudos & general awesomeness!

There will also be prizes for our Second & Third runner-ups (cash, gift cards & technology).

CONTEST Instructions & Rules:

– All videos must begin with the applicant sharing his/her first name and location and stating this is the GrandCare loves Grandparents contest

– Video must be submitted before Sept 8th, 2013 to youtube

– Videos must be submitted with the title “GrandCare loves Grandparents contest”

– Videos with the most views on Sept 8th, 2013 win

–  Videos must at some point include “hey, GrandCare, grandparents are awesome!” This can be spoken, sung or written at any point during the video

– There is no limit to how many videos you may submit

– Videos must be less than one minute in length

– Videos May not contain copyrighted material (songs or media)

 

If you are interested in partnering with GrandCare on this Grandparent promotional effort, please contact us: media@grandcare.com