CarePredict's AI Wearables: Revolutionizing Elder Care in Broward County
Assisted living facilities across Broward County are quietly reshaping how caregivers monitor senior health. Wrist-worn devices now track residents' movements down to granular details. Simple actions like fork-to-mouth gestures, bathroom visits, and sleep quality are tracked, transforming abstract concerns about wellness into actionable data.
According to Neilsberg, seniors comprise more than 17% of Broward's population. A peer-reviewed study published in JMIR Aging found that facilities using AI-powered wearables reduced hospitalizations by 39% and falls by 69%, outcomes that could save both lives and the substantial costs associated with senior injuries.
Plantation's Twin Pioneers
CarePredict, headquartered in Plantation, stands as Broward County's flagship entry into the senior wearable market. Founded by Satish Movva, a healthcare technology veteran with decades at IBM and Interim HealthCare, the company emerged from a deeply personal challenge.
“As a primary caregiver, I found it overwhelming and nearly impossible to monitor my parents' conditions between visits with them,” says Movva. That frustration evolved into CarePredict in 2013, launching what would become a sophisticated AI platform designed exclusively for aging populations.
Meanwhile, just blocks away, Data Driven Care, founded in 2020 and also based in Plantation, offers a compelling alternative. Its Curasen platform utilizes easy-to-install environmental sensors that monitor activities from a distance, tracking bed occupancy, kitchen activity, and bathroom use while integrating data from third-party wearables like Fitbit or Apple Watch.
The Technology Behind the Promise
CarePredict's Tempo wearable uses sophisticated gesture recognition algorithms and indoor location sensors with Context Beacons to identify Activities of Daily Living. The system incorporates biosensors for monitoring heart rate and pulse oximetry, providing physiological data alongside behavioral patterns.
The distinction from consumer wearables matters profoundly in elder care. Fitness trackers require nightly charging, precisely when falls are most likely to occur. Moreover, Tempo features swappable batteries ensuring continuous monitoring, plus two-way voice communication that allows seniors to speak directly with caregivers rather than simply pressing an emergency button.
“What is more appealing about CarePredict, apart from the fact that it addresses the needs of both our residents and staff, is the simplicity of the technology,” said Peter DeMangus, former Chief Business Development Officer of Solterra Companies. “The CarePredict system is the least disruptive and fastest to install, requiring no servers, antennas, or external hardware.”
The Evidence: Numbers That Save Lives
For senior living operators evaluating new technologies, peer-reviewed evidence matters. CarePredict's clinical validation strategy is anchored by research published in JMIR Aging in 2020. This retrospective cohort analysis used anonymized data from 490 residents across six facilities over 24 months.
The results proved striking. Communities using CarePredict exhibited fall rates 69% lower than control facilities, with hospitalization rates declining by 40%. Furthermore, resident length of stay increased 67%, translating to approximately $500,000 in additional annual revenue for an average community.
“Communities using CarePredict have continuous visibility into the evolving health of a senior and are able to identify older adults that are at increased risk for a health decline,” noted Dr. Gerald Wilmink, CarePredict's former Chief Business Officer and the study's lead author. “This ability to intervene much earlier and protect residents from conditions that left untreated could result in hospitalization was a significant contributing factor to improved outcomes.”
The predictive capabilities extend beyond falls. The company claims its algorithms can predict UTIs up to 3-4 days in advance, enabling timely treatment and preventing hospitalization. By detecting subtle changes in behavior days before an event occurs, such as increased time in the bathroom preceding a UTI or decreased walking speed signaling fall risk, caregivers can intervene proactively rather than reactively.
The Cost of Doing Nothing
The 2022 inaugural State of Falls report focuses on not only how Americans feel about aging and falling, but also on the actual impact that falls have on adults who are living in and outside of senior living communities.
The financial stakes extend far beyond revenue considerations. Falls imposed direct annual costs of $380,000 on typical assisted living facilities, with fall-related hospitalizations averaging over $30,000 per incident.
Consequently, these economic realities help explain why CarePredict secured $29 million in Series A-3 funding in 2023, bringing total capital raised to approximately $60 million. The funding came from SV Health Investors' Medtech Convergence Fund and Aspire Healthtech Partners, with existing investors participating.
“As a primary caregiver, I have a huge sense of relief since using CarePredict”, explains Renee Vander Hayden, who cares for her 93-year-old mother. “I work late hours and am constantly worried about her well-being. Now, I can look at CarePredict's TouchPoint app and immediately see how she is doing. Has she eaten? Does her daily activity patterns look normal? I can see she is safe at home and know the app will alert me if something's off track.”
The Regulatory Tightrope
The regulatory pathway for senior wearables presents nuanced challenges. The FDA's 2019 general wellness guidance created a compliance policy for low-risk products that promote healthy lifestyles without making specific disease claims.
However, products claiming to diagnose, treat, or prevent specific conditions must undergo FDA review. Classifications range from Class I general controls to Class III high-risk devices requiring robust clinical trials. The 510(k) clearance process demands substantial evidence of safety and efficacy.
CarePredict's positioning suggests a calculated strategy of operating in the wellness space while delivering medical-grade insights. The absence of explicit FDA clearance in public filings indicates the company has chosen to emphasize general wellness claims rather than diagnostic capabilities in its official marketing. This approach allows faster market entry but carries risks if the FDA determines the company's predictive claims cross into medical device territory.
Broward's Ecosystem of Innovation
Broward County hosts over 50 senior living communities, providing a robust testing ground for innovative technologies. The concentration of facilities, combined with Florida's aging population of nearly six million seniors, creates unique advantages for companies developing aging-focused solutions.
The Broward County Area Agency on Aging has partnered with multiple technology providers including ElliQ companion robots, LifeLoop communication platforms, and Tranquility's 4D radar fall detection systems. This support from local aging services creates an ecosystem where startups can pilot programs, gather feedback, and refine their offerings.
“CarePredict enables Right at Home Tri-County Metro to increase the value we provide to our home care clients by helping our caregivers stay ahead of possible health issues,” says Jeff Welsh, Owner and President, Right at Home, Tri-County Metro. “The AI technology packed into their sophisticated platform also allows us to reach new clients who might not be quite ready for traditional home care services.”
Nevertheless, adoption barriers remain. One of the most significant is initial cost and implementation effort. While the ROI is clear in the form of reduced hospitalizations and increased occupancy, the upfront expenditure can deter smaller facilities operating on thin margins.
Looking Forward: A Model for the Nation
As senior wearable technology matures, several trajectories appear likely. Interoperability with electronic health records could enable seamless data sharing between facilities and primary care providers, closing information gaps that currently hinder coordinated care. Additionally, Medicare and private insurers may eventually cover predictive monitoring devices, recognizing their potential to reduce expensive acute care interventions.
“The rapidly increasing senior population along with declining caregiver numbers is a global problem that cannot be solved using scarce human caregivers alone,” Movva has emphasized.
Technology-enabled care represents not a luxury but a necessity as caregiver shortages intensify and senior populations continue growing.
For Broward County, the implications extend beyond individual facilities. Success in senior health technology could position the region as a leader in aging innovation, attracting investment and talent while addressing pressing social challenges. The county's combination of demographic need, established senior living infrastructure, and entrepreneurial capacity creates conditions where meaningful progress becomes possible.
The Broward PACE Program, which provides comprehensive coordinated care for seniors, demonstrates the county's commitment to innovative aging solutions. This holistic approach, combined with private sector innovation from companies like CarePredict and Data Driven Care, positions Broward as a national model.
The question facing stakeholders is no longer whether technology will transform elder care, but how quickly and equitably these innovations can reach the seniors who need them most. Broward's experience suggests that the answer lies in continued collaboration between startups, facilities, regulators, and families, working collectively to ensure that aging populations receive dignity, safety, and the highest quality of life that modern technology can enable.
