Startup Q&A: healthy aging, redefined

By 2030, the last of the baby boomers — the largest generation ever in the U.S. — will be over the age of 65. For the first time in U.S. history, the number of older people will be greater than the number of children. As more people live longer, there is an opportunity for technology to not only improve care, but also enhance quality of life for older adults.

In August, we are featuring MATTER companies that are building technologies, experiences and business models that redefine healthy aging for the modern era.

Aging_CareTree_website%20copy.png Carl Hirschman, CEO and Founder of CareTree

What is CareTree’s mission?
CareTree’s mission is to help anyone in a caregiving situation better communicate, coordinate and overall manage the care for their loved one or patient.

How will CareTree improve healthcare with respect to healthy aging?
Grandma and Grandpa are not going to download an app to manage their diabetes or dementia. That leaves it to their family members or caregivers to make sure they are taking the right medications, getting to appointments and following the care plans of their various providers. CareTree gives caregivers a central place to manage this information and guides them through what they should be doing to manage the caregiving process based on their unique caregiving needs so they can have peace of mind.

What will the world look like if CareTree achieves everything you hope and dream?
CareTree has become the expert at engaging families and the “quarterback of care” managing a loved one’s caregiving situation. Companies that are looking to affect senior care or engage with those families will turn to CareTree to help guide and manage that process.

Aging_UpholdHealth_web.png Maggie Norris, CEO of Uphold Health

What is Uphold Health’s mission?
Uphold Health’s mission is to provide every patient access to intelligent advance care navigation so that families are empowered with the right knowledge, resources and services at the right time.

How will Uphold Health improve healthcare with respect to healthy aging?
Just over 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day. Nearly 40 million Americans provide unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older. Our platform empowers patients and their caregivers with a roadmap to the care they want, when they want it. This helps relieve caregiver burden, prevent unnecessary suffering and reduce the cost of care.

What will the world look like if Uphold Health achieves everything you hope and dream?
End-of-life care delivery is broken and costly. Patients are suffering from treatments and services they don’t want or need. Family caregivers are burdened with decisions they aren’t prepared to make, and faced with responsibilities they aren’t equipped to assume. When you or a loved one suffer from a critical illness, trying to determine what to do, where to go or how to prepare can be confusing and costly. At Uphold Health, we imagine a future where every family is informed, prepared and provided the appropriate care — as they define it — every step of the way. Our intelligent advance care navigation platform sets the new standard in support care delivery.

Aging_SafeinHome_CK-ba49f6.png Don Shirley, President of SafeinHome

What is SafeinHome’s mission?
To allow people to age in place for as long as they possibly can by providing independence without isolation or intrusion.

How will SafeinHome improve healthcare with respect to healthy aging?
It is far and away the preference of all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem for people to remain living at home for as long as they possibly can. By providing an unobtrusive digital health solution, SafeinHome passively tracks normal day-to-day activity around the living space and generates alerts when individual behavior varies from established patterns. By alerting the care circle to adverse events, and more importantly potential adverse events, SafeinHome ensures peace of mind for the ecosystem while enabling people to keep their independence.

What will the world look like if SafeinHome achieves everything you hope and dream?
We envision a world where institutional care for a senior, adult with developmental disabilities or any person requiring an extra level of connectivity to the healthcare system will be the exception, rather than the rule. People of all ages will be able to maintain their independence and dignity, while providing the needed peace of mind to all stakeholders in healthcare, including patients, providers and payers.