PRESS RELEASE - August 24, 2000:
Thursday August 24, 9:00 am Eastern Time Press Release
Stayhealthy to Enter Personal In-home Care Market in Partnership With AccentCare Innovative Web-Enabled Products and Services Company Will Help Improve Communications For Patients and Caregivers
MONROVIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 2000-- Stayhealthy Inc., a leading online company dedicated to empowering consumers to monitor their health and fitness, has signed an agreement with AccentCare, a leading personal in-home care services company, to introduce Stayhealthy's innovative products and services to the rapidly growing elder care market. John Collins, chief executive officer of Stayhealthy, and Joseph I. Davis, president of AccentCare, made the announcement today.
Under the terms of the agreement, AccentCare, which provides a wide range of caregiving services that enable seniors to live independently at home and is one of the nation's largest independent personal in-home care services companies, will make Stayhealthy's products and services available as part of its personal in-home care services. Stayhealthy's new BC1 Body Composition and Calorie Tracker, a simple Web-enabled desktop device that allows users to accurately monitor their body composition and measure caloric burn using the Internet, will be the first product made available by AccentCare under the partnership.
The companies will launch a co-branded Web site linking AccentCare and Stayhealthy on-line resources to users of Stayhealthy devices through AccentCare. The Web site will offer in-home readings on personal, password-protected Web pages, free email accounts and e-commerce to AccentCare customers.
AccentCare meets the urgent need for personal in-home care and more effective care management among seniors, family caregivers, families who are geographically isolated from a loved one, firms seeking to help their employees, and healthcare providers endeavoring to deliver more effective long-term care. The company provides personal in-home care and care coordination services via a national network of owned and affiliated agencies.
``Partnering with an industry leader like AccentCare allows Stayhealthy to introduce our innovative Web-enabled products and services to the elder care market, where our products and services will significantly improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of caregivers to monitor their loved one's or patients' health and fitness on a convenient and highly accurate basis every day,'' said Collins. ``We expect this partnership to have a positive impact on our revenues and profitability and the use of our products and services to enhance AccentCare's leadership of the personal in-home care services industry.''
``AccentCare is dedicated to continuously improving the effectiveness of our services and the quality of life for seniors and caregivers. Stayhealthy's Web-enabled devices combine accuracy and convenience and will integrate seamlessly into the personal in-home care market,'' said Davis.
AccentCare Direct, the company's call center, provides real-time interaction and guidance and supports delivery of senior services such as medication reminders, grocery delivery, transportation and personal in-home care services. AccentCare offers support throughout the personal in-home care process, from assessing needs, developing a care plan and locating professional assistance to identifying the products and services required to implement the care plan, and monitoring care delivery over time.
The AccentCare Web site at www.accentcare.com is a comprehensive one-stop resource for planning, implementing and monitoring the care of a person with age- or medical-related related disabilities. The site includes the AccentCare OnePlan, a comprehensive decision-making program, which helps users develop a care plan for a loved one; a comprehensive directory of products and service providers, including a proprietary directory of personal in-home care agencies; ``LiveCare,'' a real-time interactive chat on-line support service available with an AccentCare professional; proprietary content covering topics of relevance to both families in need and to those planning for the future; ``The FamilyPage,'' which enables family members and authorized professionals to share information and communicate with each other. The site also offers other valuable applications, such as meal/shopping planners and a family photo album.
Stayhealthy is leading the development of Web-enabled products and services for management and measurement of weight, blood pressure and heart rate, hearing loss, vision and colorblindness and respiratory function. Created for consumer and clinical use, the company's leading-edge products and services facilitate better communication and increase efficiencies between doctors and patients and healthcare facilities, reduce the need for in-person appointments and improve opportunities for early illness detection. In doing so, Stayhealthy's comprehensive home monitoring programs create mutually beneficial opportunities for a wide variety of industries and professionals such as self-insured employers, physicians, dieticians, nutritionists, fitness trainers, health club owners, insurers and others.
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., AccentCare is the trusted source that empowers families to access comprehensive solutions to improve quality of life and bring peace of mind to people affected by the aging process. The company provides a wide range of care giving services that enable seniors to live independently at home. With more than 1,300 full-time employees, AccentCare is one of the nation's largest personal in-home care service firms.
Headquartered in Monrovia, Calif., Stayhealthy Inc. is a leader in developing and marketing Web-enabled products and services that empower consumers to screen, assess and monitor their health. The company's proprietary programs are accessed through its comprehensive health Web site that features a comprehensive drug database, original health, nutrition and fitness content, and e-commerce. For more information, contact Stayhealthy at 626/256-6152 or visit the Stayhealthy Web site at www.stayhealthy.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks associated with the uncertainty of Stayhealthy's future financial results, additional financing requirements, development of new products, government approval processes, the impact of competitive products or pricing, technological changes, the effect of economic conditions, and other uncertainties.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact:
Stayhealthy Inc. Peter Bylsma, 626/256-6152 pbylsma@stayhealthy.com or AccentCare Eric Relyea, 949/623-1535 erelyea@accentcare.com |