It was back in June earlier this year when GTCR, a private equity firm, announced its acquisition of GreatCall. For those not familiar with GreatCall, it is a firm based in San Diego, CA that specializes in providing connected health and personal emergency response services (PERS) to seniors. At the time of the acquisition, GreatCall was said to be serving a customer base consisting of more than 800,000 subscribers in America. And now provided with additional equity capital by GTCR, GreatCall is now in a really good position to expand into new markets.
GreatCall has launched Lively Home, an in-home sensor system (consisting of a bed sensor, a chair sensor, a fridge sensor, motion sensors, and even a flush sensor behind the toilet) that has the ability to monitor sleep, movement, food intake, and other activities on a daily basis. The information it tracks is then collated by machine learning software, with the objective of detecting possible health issues early. For now, this sensor system is not sold directly to end users, but marketed to managed care insurance providers and senior living communities.
But that may change soon. As explained by David Inns, the chief executive officer of GreatCall, the company might make elements of its Lively Home tech available to consumers, specifically as part of the firm’s Lively Mobile and Lively Wearable lineup of medical alert gadgets.
Those familiar with GreatCall may also be familiar with its Jitterbug phones. The company offers the Jitterbug Smart (smartphone) and the Jitterbug Flip (flip type cell phone). Apart from its gadgets, the firm also provides health and safety services (see list below), which its customers can easily access from their mobile device or Lively gadget.
Lastly, GreatCall is also offering family caregiving solutions. Another point of GreatCall’s existing products really is to empower people who are caring for a senior family member. While the Lively Mobile and Lively Wearable devices are important for keeping Mom or Dad safe, the Jitterbug phones help customers keep in touch with their loved ones, while of course, offering compatibility to all of GreatCall’s health and safety services, including the GreatCall Link app, which should allow users to rest assured that Mom or Dad is okay.
To know more about GreatCall and its Lively gadgets, visit its official website now.
