Mary Furlong and Associates, 9/3/2019
Earlier this year, VitalTech was announced as one of five finalists for the Silicon Valley $10K Business Plan Competition, hosted by Mary Furlong & Associates. Ernie Ianace, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, shared that the experience was a good introduction to Ziegler Link-Age and their ecosystem, and that their participation in the event led to more visibility in the senior living community space.
VitalTech began as a biosensor technology company and has since expanded with the development of VitalCare, their integrated digital health platform. The VitalCare platform supports senior living communities in offering a wide range of care solutions to their residents – from home health care to skilled nursing facilities. The platform supports everything from tracking population health, to remote patient monitoring and Telehealth. It acts as a digital support ecosystem that encourages and supports residents aging in place across the entire care continuum.
Their broad and flexible digital health platform helps improve care, increase health and well-being for older adults, and supports the work of care teams. The platform is also modular, so senior living communities can choose which type of support they need from the technologies. When a company signs on to use VitalCare, they receive complimentary staff training during the onboarding process and have access to 24/7 customer support so the senior living operator doesn’t need to worry about sorting out technical questions.
The success of VitalTech to date is partially a result of the strong strategic partnerships they have built over time. For instance, Ginna Baik, the Strategic Business Development Manager for Senior Care at CDW-Healthcare, was instrumental in helping VitalTech create relationships with senior living operators. Another important partner is The Thrive Center in Louisville, Kentucky, which now lists VitalTech as one of their preferred senior care platforms.
Finally, VitalTech announced the closing of their Series A financing round from two strategic investors: Concord Health Partners, a healthcare focused investment firm, and Stanley Ventures, the investment arm of Stanley Black & Decker. Stanley Healthcare is simultaneously entering into a commercial agreement with VitalTech to resell the VitalCare and VitalBand product lines.
When it comes to suggestions for other companies entering the longevity market, Mr. Ianace concludes “The most successful businesses build from the ground up with boomers and their needs and wants in mind. If products aren’t built so that an 85-year-old can use it, they simply won’t be successful. Beyond design, companies also need to take the time to build strong relationships with thought leaders in this field.”
Looking forward, VitalTech is continuing to pick up speed, as it prepares to launch its third generation of senior wearables VitalBand LTE which supports mobile personal emergency response (MPERS) this fall. This design will also provide on wrist EKG monitoring and geo-tracking services. This summer, it will release the second generation of its popular Bluetooth enabled VitalBand wearable. Furthermore, the company is excited to see that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services continues to support payment for remote patient monitoring, PERS and Telehealth platforms and looks forward to the release of new payment codes in January 2020. This kind of federal support will help the company continue to improve patient outcomes, lower overall costs, and enhance quality of life and care for patients across the health system.