Mendota Heights Company Raises $7 Million for Senior Health Care

Healthsense, a Mendota Heights company that makes devices to safely monitor senior citizens, received $7 million in financing from the Merck Global Health Innovation Fund and the Fallon Community Health Plan.

Healthsense is a two-and-a-half-year-old company that uses tracking devices and software to keep tabs on seniors' movements in their home in order to send out an alert if something goes wrong.

Here's more on the $7 million in financing from the press release:

The financing supports Healthsense as it continues to extend the reach of its remote monitoring platform throughout senior living communities and homes across the United States. Using the company's eNeighbor(R) passive monitoring and analytics technology, caregivers can proactively detect emerging health concerns before they turn into emergencies. Care providers can also be automatically alerted to emergent situations like falls, minimizing the potentially catastrophic consequences of such events. The integration of the company's solutions can meet the monitoring and oversight needs of individuals across the continuum of care, helping them stay independent and healthy as long as possible.

"Healthsense has led the way in developing flexible care solutions for senior living communities and home-based care organizations to provide better care. As we go forward, our attention will increasingly focus on enhancing care models to advance the adoption of remote monitoring in health management," said Brian Bischoff, Healthsense CEO. "The addition of respected investors and industry leaders like Merck GHIF and Fallon Community Health Plan supports our belief that our technology and approach can both improve quality and reduce cost. Both companies represent strong strategic alliances for us at this important point in our growth."

"The Healthsense technology and related business platform support an industry trend toward better outcomes and reduced health care costs at the most appropriate location to receive care," said Patrick Hughes, Fallon Community Health Plan President and CEO. "As a leader in the growing senior care and complex dual-eligible markets, we're excited about our relationship with Healthsense and proud to support their efforts to bring solutions that are increasingly important to these markets."

Ziegler acted as financial advisor to Healthsense on the Series D Financing transaction.

About Healthsense, Inc. Healthsense, the fastest growing provider of aging services technology, provides technology-enabled care solutions for the entire senior care continuum. With a full range of remote monitoring, emergency response, and wellness management solutions, Healthsense helps senior care providers reduce costs, increase independence, and enhance caregiver and senior experiences. Built on a Wi-Fi platform, Healthsense products are scalable and enable flexible technology-enabled care designs that help communities deliver the highest quality of care. Visit www.healthsense.com for more information.

About Merck Global Health Innovation Fund By investing in breakthrough health care innovations that are adjacent to Merck/MSD's core pharmaceuticals and vaccines business, Global Health Innovation Fund (GHIF) is at the vanguard of Merck/MSD's broadening focus on health and wellness. Established in 2010 as a LLC, GHI deploys its evergreen $250 million fund to rapidly identify and develop transformative global health care opportunities. For more information, visit http://www.merck.com/ghi/index.html .

About Fallon Community Health Plan Founded in 1977, Fallon Community Health Plan is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit health care services organization. From innovative health insurance products available throughout Massachusetts for all populations, to unique health care programs and services for independent seniors, FCHP supports the diverse and changing needs of all those it serves. FCHP has consistently ranked among the nation's top health plans, and is the only health plan in Massachusetts to have been awarded "Excellent" Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance for its HMO, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid products. For more information, visit www.fchp.org .