A care coordination company to improve communication between hospitals and senior care facilities and make the transitions between the two less problematic has raised $4 million from a set of institutional investors. In a phone interview with MedCity News, Caremerge CEO and founder Asif Khan said the company would use the funding to add up to 20 sales, marketing and engineering staff this year to help scale up the business and expand its customer base.
With senior citizens expected to make up 45 percent of the U.S. population this year, there are relatively few digital health companies focused on this demographic, according to a StartUp Health report released last year with the AARP. But Caremerge has attracted a group of investors with an aging bias — most of the investors in this funding round have focused on seniors or have a fund dedicated to investments in companies serving seniors. Cambia Health Solutions‘ investment arm led the oversubscribed round. Generator Ventures, which specializes in startups for aging and longterm care, Ziegler-LinkAge Longevity Fund, which invests in companies serving seniors, also participated, along with GE Ventures, and Arsenal Venture Partners. GE Healthcare added Caremerge to its Health Growth Acceleration Program with StartUp Health in 2013.
Khan said although it would focus on hiring the staff with the best fit for the company rather than conform to a timeline. it planned to add five staff right away, 10 staff in the next 6 months and another five in the second half of the year.
[Care coordination] to support seniors is an area that has always been neglected and that’s why we started this company three years ago. We also need to figure out ways to help seniors stay at home for as long as they can. We haven’t figured it out yet…but we are well ahead of other companies.”
