Medical Guardian makes smart, sleek devices that made Carol feel safer \u2014 and put George at ease. The couple remembers getting live customer service from the company to test out and learn to use the device. Now, when he has to leave his wife alone, George ensures Carol is wearing her Medical Guardian necklace.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has made a world of difference to us,\u201d Felgate says. \u201cIt\u2019s part of our normal routine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Normal for many Americans: For the past 13 years in a row, Medical Guardian has landed on the Inc. 5,000 list of fastest-growing private firms and helped hundreds of thousands of older adults and their families feel more secure. And now, according to company Founder and CEO Geoff Gross, they want to go a step further. Their mission: Help solve the ongoing shortage of at-home caregivers.<\/a><\/p>\n A booming industry <\/p>\n Globally, medical alert devices are a $10.27 billion industry.<\/a> Medical Guardian has a considerable slice of that pie, joining companies such as Bay Alarm, Medical Alert and Mobile Help LifeFone, not to mention newer wearables, like UnaliWear, Apple Watches and Echo \/ Alexa devices that offer more than just medical alerts. Then, there are \u201cwellness devices\u201d aimed at a younger audience: Whoop and Oura Rings purport to track sleep, blood pressure \u2026. and sometimes get in trouble with the FDA<\/a> for claiming to be medical devices.<\/p>\n Dr. Brooke Salzman, medical director for Jefferson Geriatrics, understands the need for such devices. More people than ever are living longer than ever. Many don\u2019t want to renounce their independence. And falls, especially, are a real and present danger. According to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death<\/a> in Americans 65 and older.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, as we age, we tend to develop other conditions that put us at risk for health emergencies. Older people with heart disease, COPD, diabetes, even hearing loss can benefit from medical alert systems. With a growing market of options, Salzman points out that there are a couple factors in making a choice. The first is cost; some health insurance plans cover only certain systems. The other is ease of use. Some devices have the nasty habit of setting off alarms and putting in calls to call centers at the slightest bump; others tend to be overcomplicated for many seniors.<\/p>\n Medical Guardian devices, on the other hand, are intentionally streamlined, straightforward and not confusing to use \u2014 an important fact given the age of their clientele.<\/p>\n Inspired by his own life <\/p>\n The story of why Gross founded Medical Guardian<\/a> is similar to the Felgates\u2019. More than 20 years ago, his grandmother Freda, who, like Carol Felgate, had to be hospitalized after a fall, balked at the idea of a medical alert device. Fiercely independent \u2014 and frustrated by ads that portrayed seniors as helpless \u2014 Freda thought wearing a big plastic bracelet would make her look old.<\/p>\n So Gross, the business-major son of an incurable entrepreneur, collaborated with a Silicon Valley tech design company to create a device that did what so many medical alert devices do \u2014 communicate with customers when there\u2019s an emergency, and call EMS if necessary \u2014 except sleeker-looking. The idea took off: Actor Florence Henderson (of \u201cThe Brady Bunch\u201d) became their spokesperson; Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg became a customer.<\/p>\n The company has three wearable alert devices: the MGMove and MGMini Lite, both worn as watches, and the MGMini, a medical alert necklace. One reason why the system works better than trendier, more bells-and-whistles-filled versions is another simple solution: the Move, MiniLite and Mini operate on long-life batteries that do not need frequent recharging. (They last up to five days.)<\/p>\n Medical Guardian\u2019s base membership price is $40 per month, and Medicaid and Medicare Advantage both cover the system for qualifying participants.<\/p>\n Today, Medical Guardian has 630,000 members \u2014 about double their membership from 2022<\/a> \u2014 and handles 200,000 calls per month, resulting in about 20,000 emergency dispatches. Gross has grown his staff from 310 in 2022 to more than 529 in 2026 \u2014 130 of whom are Philly-based. Their annual revenue is $250 million.<\/p>\n Medical Guardian has been successful by any measure, but Gross says he wants to do more. The population of U.S. residents ages 65 and up<\/a> continues to grow. And, 54 percent<\/a> of Americans in their 40s have both children of their own and one or more parents over age 65. This cohort \u2014 the \u201csandwich generation\u201d \u2014 is often simultaneously caring for their kids and managing their parents\u2019 increasing medical needs, putting a strain on time and wallets. Every year, more than 53 million Americans<\/a> are acting as unpaid caregivers for family members.<\/p>\n At the same time, there\u2019s a shortage of nursing assistants, home health aides and other medical professionals<\/a> to help care for older adults.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re having a major societal crisis right now that\u2019s not talked about as much as it should be,\u201d Gross says. \u201cThere\u2019s not enough personal, professional caregivers. There\u2019s not enough hospital beds. There\u2019s certainly not enough long-term care to adequately take care of this aging population for the first time in history.\u201d<\/p>\n So a year or so ago, Gross again saw an opportunity for Medical Guardian to expand into a connected care model, helping older adults keep track of their medical data and storing it in an easily accessible digital portal that they could share with both their doctors and concerned family members.<\/p>\n As with everything the company does, the goal of the MyGuardian Web Portal and app is to help keep older adults safe. The new platform added a layer of monitoring \u2014 tracking location, oxygen levels and blood pressure \u2014which it shares out with designated loved ones. Add-ons, like fall detection services, messaging and reminder apps, and automatic alerts to family members, range in cost from around $3 to $10 per month.<\/p>\n Gross says members usually join at 75 or 76 years old, but Medical Guardian is hoping to get customers earlier, to prevent accidents and flag potential medical issues. They want to move from reactive \u2014 someone falls and they need assistance \u2014 to proactive.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a wraparound service care platform that essentially helps you age. This device should not signal that you\u2019re getting older and that you\u2019re frail,\u201d says Chief Marketing Officer Matt Guerrieri, adding that the products \u201cshould signal that safety equals peace of mind, equals freedom and that you can continue living your life gracefully and aging with dignity.\u201d Customers often begin using the devices at home. Some continue to use them after hiring professional at-home help or after moving into senior or assisted living.<\/p>\n Gross also sees potential for Medical Guardian to grow its footprint in more senior care facilities and healthcare organizations, where the devices serve as alert systems for staff, and the portal can make current and historical patient data readily available. The company already has more than 1,000 such partnerships and works with Independence Blue Cross and Jefferson Health to help get their devices to more people.<\/p>\n Striving for continual improvement <\/p>\n As his company grows, Gross seeks to expand Medical Guardian\u2019s use of their AI tool, Goldi. Already, they use AI to welcome new members, help them set up the equipment and answer basic questions. This fall, Goldi will also be able to do daily check-ins and reminders, ask about physical and mental health, and save notes to a user\u2019s profile.<\/p>\n The AI rollout has been bumpy: In late 2024, The New York Times\u2019 product recommendation site Wirecutter dropped Medical Guardian devices from their list of the \u201cBest Medical Alert Systems,\u201d <\/a>saying the company\u2019s use of automation to answer alerts was cumbersome, failed to understand what customers were telling it, and \u2014 in what a Medical Guardian representative told Wirecutter was an \u201cisolated incident\u201d \u2014 shared a new user\u2019s information with a Wirecutter reviewer. The company said this last issue happened only with demonstration devices sent to reviewers (not customer accounts) and that they have implemented controls to ensure the issue would not reoccur.<\/p>\n Medical Guardian further says the Times review does not accurately characterize how their devices use AI, explaining that 90 percent of calls are for non-emergency situations \u2014 a customer accidentally pushing a necklace button when dressing, or bumping a wrist on a surface \u2014 which can be relatively easily taken care of with an automated system.<\/p>\n<\/a>Medical Guardian\u2019s Mini Bundle. Image by AJI <\/p>\n