Katherine Wells has long been a techie. She says her first love was the Commodore 64 computer, and she has spent her entire career as a software marketing executive.
When her parents got older and her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she moved her mother into a memory care facility and her father into an assisted living center. She then quickly learned the challenges of connecting with disparate care teams.
The issue reminded her of one the technology industry had already conquered.
“I realized we solved the problem in the tech world of disparate teams working together. It’s called Slack,” she said.
Surprised by the fragmented nature of her parents’ care, Wells began tracking providers on a spreadsheet. She realized that, combined, more than 30 people were keeping an eye on her parents, and she was struggling to communicate with all of them. And, on top of that, she couldn’t rely on her parents to relay information effectively.
“In that process, I realized that I had a preconceived notion that when you move somebody into residential care that everything is handled, and that you just show up and visit. That is not at all true,” she said.
The complexities of Slack didn't exactly translate to the senior care world, so Wells began developing her own solution that was focused on increased communication between families and care teams.
She shadowed numerous facilities, interviewed providers and even lived in her mother's facility for more than a week.
“I really got the inefficiencies that happen inside the senior care system and I knew we could solve them,” she said.
Her goal was to eliminate the ever-present game of telephone tag that often came with trying to relay important information.
With the Slack model in mind, she founded Serenity Engage, a mobile messaging platform that brought the patient’s entire care team and family members onto one thread. Anybody in that thread can respond to questions and share information with the family.
In addition, Serenity Engage’s platform gives senior care facilities the ability to share menus, daily activities and highlights with patient families.
“There is a lot of amazing, extraordinary care that happens inside the four walls of senior care that family never sees. Serenity allows that community to put a spotlight on what they’re doing,” she said.
The company signed up its first customers in 2019 and has been building out the platform since, bringing on a $1.25 million seed investment in April to accelerate that growth. York IE led the round, with participation from Kokopelli Ventures, The Fund and angel investors from the elder care community.
Wells said that funding will be split between building the company’s platform — namely, launching a desktop application — and growing its sales and marketing efforts.
While senior care can be slower to adopt innovations like Serenity Engage, Wells is hopeful that she can be a leader in guiding the industry forward.
“The aging space is changing dramatically, and I’m at the forefront of that,” she said.
