Business Briefs: Comfort Keepers and Lyft Team Up

Comfort Keepers Partners with Lyft

Home care franchise company Comfort Keepers has partnered with on-demand transportation service company Lyft.

The partnership does not require seniors who use Lyft services through Dayton, Ohio-based Comfort Keepers to have the Lyft app or a smartphone. To schedule a ride, seniors can contact the staff at their Comfort Keepers office, who will coordinate pickups and drop offs with Lyft’s concierge service. Transactions for the ride are added to the client’s Comfort Keepers invoice.

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“Our mission is to help seniors age in place as independently and comfortably as possible. Trusted transportation for seniors gives caregivers and seniors alike peace of mind that they have access to easy, fast, and affordable transportation” Sarosh Mistry, CEO of CK Franchising Inc., the franchisor for Comfort Keepers, said in a press release. “Reliable transportation not only allows seniors to remain independent, it also reduces isolation and loneliness, two aspects that play a crucial role in overall well-being and quality of life.”

Always Best Care Expands to Chicagoland

Senior services provider Always Best Care has opened its third franchise location in Illinois. Always Best Care of DuPage will serve Bloomingdale, Lombard, Hinsdale, Wheaton, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Oak Brook and Darien.

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The franchise is partly owned and operated by Bloomingdale resident Dave Pawelek, who holds a master’s degree in public health and brings more than 30 years of experience in health care services to the business, according to a press release.

“We are very pleased to welcome Dave and his partners as our newest franchise owners,” Jake Brown, president of Always Best Care, said in the release. “The team’s background in healthcare and business, coupled with their commitment to helping others, will help the business thrive within the Chicagoland area.”

New Platform Connects Home Care Patients and On-Call Doctors

National home care provider Griswold Home Care has launched a new platform, GriswoldConnect Powered by Teladoc, to provide home care patients with virtual access to a live doctor without an appointment.

“We’re excited to introduce this very economical way to get prompt care to the seniors we are serving,” Griswold Home Care CEO Matt Murphy said in a press release. “This partnership aligns with Griswold’s mission to deliver top-quality homecare, and with our vision to leverage technology to provide the best possible care-receiving experience. This relationship provides peace of mind to care recipients, convenience to the care recipient’s families, and reduced risk of readmission to referral sources.”

The technology will be available by phone or web around the clock from any location.

Healthcare Tech Company Raises $735,000

Cloud-based health care coordination platform startup CrossTx has raised a $735,000 angel round led by the Frontier Angel Fund 2, according to a press release from the company.

“If you look in the unlikely place, you will often times find something special,” Liz Marchi, Frontier Fund founder, said in the release. “CrossTx is just that, a high-growth, innovative tech company based in Bozeman, Montana.”

CrossTx plans to use the funds to grow sales, development and customer success.

“We are at an integral crossroads of growth and development,” CrossTx founder and CEO Chad Nybo said. “The need for our platform to better the patient experience is infinite. Not only are we giving providers a 360-degree view of a patient’s health, but we are allowing providers to measure results that assist in business decisions.”

Executive Care Expands Home Care

Home care service provider Executive Care has secured three franchise agreements for new offices in Pasadena, California; Seattle, Washington; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These offices will be the first in these three states.

“We have always seen California, Washington and Pennsylvania as excellent markets for Executive Care to grow in, and we’re thrilled to have talented teams spearheading our expansion,” Lenny Verkhoglaz, CEO and co-founder of Executive Care, said in a press release. “Executive Care is committed to providing compassionate care to all and we are excited to introduce residents across the nation to our high quality services and care.”

On-Demand Doctor App Delivers 16,000 House Calls in Two Years

Heal, an app for on-demand doctor house calls, announced that it delivered 16,000 house calls in the last two years. In addition, the app helped to save more than $5.9 million in health care costs, reduce prescription antibiotic usage by more than 50%, and decrease non-emergency trips to the emergency room by 62% for its patients and partners.

“In February 2015, we saw our first Heal patient—ever,” Nick Desai, CEO and co-founder at Heal, said in a press release. “With visionary investors and a world-class team, we are excited to more fully realize our mission of striving to make healthcare more effective, intuitive, and affordable for all.”

Heal offers on-demand doctor services to people 12 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Vaporstream Secures New Clients in Post-Acute, Long-Term Care

The secure messaging platform provided by Vaporstream has welcomed five new organizations as clients, one of which is Pyramid Home Health Services, which provides home health, hospice and pharmacy services throughout Missouri.

The other four organizations include HopeHealth, ACS Home Care, Visiting Dentist and Long Island Colorectal Rectal Survivor and Support Group.

“Vaporstream provides a secure and compliant way to text message physicians, nurses, home health aides, patients and even family members in order to streamline workflows, improve productivity and expedite care,” Galina Datskovsky, CEO of Vaporstream, said in a press release. “Our expanding roster of home health and long-term care facilities is evident that Vaporstream is filling a gap in the market.”

Written by Alana Stramowski

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