Fort Lauderdale-based entrepreneurs Craig Bolz and Jeffrey Nadel are passionate about devising tech-powered solutions to improve the lives of seniors, right from home.
Last year, the two founders – South Florida natives who have known each other since preschool – came together to build their second startup, Assure Health. The startup aims to improve health outcomes for seniors by providing them with easy-to-use connected health devices and a suite of human-powered support.
Nadel, Assure Health’s CEO, explained to Refresh Miami that healthcare is “fragmented and episodic,” with the “average person spending 12 minutes with their doctor every four years.” Nadel and team believed that “if we could find a way to push closer to this idea of everyday care, then it would be a good thing.” And so Assure Health was born.
The first step in the patient’s journey with Assure Health is an initial telehealth visit. An Assure Health doctor walks the user through the issues they may be facing and helps determine a care plan tailored to the patient’s needs. Next, Assure Health sends the user a series of devices that measure and automatically report information like blood pressure, blood glucose, and weight. The data is shared with nurse practitioners, who manually analyze the patient’s data on a daily basis.
Key to Assure Health’s system is making the devices easy to use. “We like to say we put everything we do through the grandparent test,” Nadel explained. “With our devices, we have gotten to the level where the patient pulls the devices out of the box, and they just use them.” The devices use cellular data to transmit information, letting users avoid having to fiddle with WiFi settings – arguably making the devices as grandchild friendly as they are grandparent friendly.
Another key aspect of Assure Health is its human touch. Care managers, who monitor patients’ data, are available via text, phone, and video appointment. Bolz and Nadel (pictured above) see the startup’s Chief Medical Doctor, Michael Hafran, as a co-founder. Hafran, who has 15 years of clinical experience, validates the technology and processes the startup uses.
“We are not becoming a patient’s primary care provider,” COO Bolz underscored. Instead, he said that Assure Health sees themselves as a “care collaborator,” working alongside a patient’s “entire care team to deliver better outcomes to the patient, a better experience for the patient, and to reduce overall healthcare cost.” Assure Health is subsidized by insurance programs, including Medicare, and is available at little to no cost for qualified seniors.
Already, Assure Health has achieved some early wins. They have partnered with Higi, a major smart health station operator and Michigan State University Health Care. The organizations have teamed up to enable medical professionals to monitor and offer better care to patients, with a particular focus on those who live in rural areas.
“These have been transformational partnerships,” said Nadel, because they have enabled the startup to broaden their reach and help underserved communities.
Assure Health is the second business venture Bolz and Nadel have undertaken together. Their first, an alcohol delivery startup called Klink, was acquired by Delivery.com in 2017. They used those funds, in part, to get Assure Health off the ground.
Earlier this year, the startup raised a $2 million seed round that included healthcare executives, doctors, a family office and a local business leaders organization. The team reports that this funding will continue to help them execute an ambitious growth strategy, which includes an expansion of their team from 12 people currently to 30 people by the end of January and 50 a few months after that. They are also in early talks for a Series A round.
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