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Sage snaps $9M for preventing older adults from calling nurses using a physical button

Sage
Image credits: Sage

Currently, care is often assessed subjectively, leading to inaccurate care plans resulting in emergencies. According to WHO, approximately 30-50% of people living in long-term care institutions each year experience a fall, which frequently results in an ER visit.

And here’s where New York’s Sage comes into play! It is an operating system that replaces nurse call systems. Today, the US company has announced that it has secured $9M in a seed funding round led by Goldcrest Capital. Existing investors, including ANIMO Ventures, Distributed Ventures, and Merus Capital, participated. 

How will the funding be used?

As Sage billed a $9M fund, we at Tech Funding News had an exclusive chat with Raj Mehra, CEO, and co-founder at Sage, to learn more about the company’s fund utilisation, revenue model, USP, and much more. 

Starting with the fund utilisation, Raj Mehra shares, “Our $9M round will be utilised for continued expansion of our product and engineering teams and a new focus on implementations, business development, and client success organisations. Outside of expanding our team, we will invest in our product to provide leverage for caregivers while improving health outcomes for older adults.”

How was Sage born?

Raj Mehra, Ellen Johnston, and Matt Lynch met through Palantir Technologies and its network and bonded over shared experiences of witnessing loved ones struggle with receiving care.

“We each had personal experiences with family members that led us to understand the challenges both adults and caregivers have in the aging process, whether in a facility or at home,” says Mehra. 

“I saw first-hand my grandmother’s challenges in retaining her independence as she aged. But, at the same time, her caregivers had limited tools to support their efforts, and it wasn’t sustainable,” he further adds. 

And that’s how Sage was born!

What does Sage do?

Sage is a software platform that captures essential data to prevent emergencies and improve quality of life. The platform works by connecting older adults to caregivers when they need help. 

Explaining the technology, Mehra shares, “We deploy voice-activated and press devices to enable older adults to signal that they need assistance. In addition, our software allows caregivers to receive alerts when device activations occur, and they utilise our software to triage and resolve all incidents.”

He adds, “Most care staff complete the resolution process in 20 seconds or less.”

Helping through data

The platform captures essential data that saves lives from identifying health anomalies and increases the level of care to understanding staff performance. Further, the caregivers will take care of their residents’ daily physical needs to help with isolation and loneliness. 

Mehra explains the importance of data, “The data enables care managers to take a preventative approach by implementing interventions such as physical therapy if someone has increased issues in mobility. For example, a spike in questions might result in a manager examining a resident for memory loss. Therefore, the data is critical in assisting residents before a more severe injury or outcome.”

Where Sage stands

Currently, the company works with some of the largest senior living operators in the country. According to Mehra, these chains take care of over 20,000 residents annually across Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and Ohio.

Throwing light on expansion plans, Mehra reveals, “Today, our biggest market is assisted living facilities, and we’re beginning to enter skilled nursing. In the future, Sage’s plans include the home market so that we can help caregivers and older adults who are aging at a facility or home.”

At present, Sage employs around 15 people and works on a subscription basis. 

What makes Sage stand out?

“Our competitors include legacy solutions that consist of walkie-talkies and pull cords. More recent competitors are point solutions that are coming up with hardware solutions marketed toward sensors for a single situation such as a fall. Unfortunately, Today the geriatric care market, especially in senior living, lacks a data-driven operating system, which is Sage’s focus,” Mehra concludes. 

“We’ve been deeply impressed by how Sage has transformed the lives of caregivers and care for older adults in a short period. With the population of older adults expected to double to 1.5B by 2050, older adults deserve greater attention and technology like Sage to live longer and better lives,” says Adam Ross, Partner at Goldcrest Capital.

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