CareAcademy, a provider of specialized online training for senior home care professionals, today announced that it has raised $1.675 M in seed funding to further expand its course portfolio and increase its market penetration.
Rethink Education, Lumina Foundation, and Techstars Venture Capital Fund are the company's primary investors.
Founded in 2016, CareAcademy currently serves approximately 50 home care agencies, including Home Instead Senior Care, CareLinx, Grace Homecare, and Guardian. More than 9,700 home care professionals are currently enrolled in CareAcademy courses, which cover topics such as infection control, nutrition and meal preparation, dementia, fall prevention, and safe transfers.
"We see a tremendous need for efficient training in the home care market," said Matt Greenfield, managing partner for Rethink Education. "The rapidly aging U.S. population, the increased acceptance of home care by physicians, and the desire of most seniors to 'age in place' are among the many factors contributing to significant year-over-year growth in the home care market and an ongoing need for skilled professionals. And yet, currently there are very few educational resources available to develop critical job skills. " According to a recent AARP study, there will be more than 60 million Americans over 65 by 2020, and more than 90% will prefer to age at home. IBIS World research projects that more than 600,000 new caregivers will be needed by 2022.
"We started CareAcademy because we recognized a huge unmet need for senior home care training," said Helen Adeosun, co-founder and CEO of CareAcademy. "Our mission is to provide highly accessible, focused training to prepare home care professionals with the skills and knowledge required for quality care. Additionally, our multi-tier certifications give employees an avenue for upskilling and career advancement. Our training has been proven to help home care agencies retain and develop their employees and meet the wide range of state requirements in a cost-efficient, reliable way."
"Agencies see the value in our content almost immediately," said Dr. Madhuri Reddy, co-founder and chief medical officer of CareAcademy. "Our video courses are based on medical research, best practices in geriatric care, and our own personal experiences in working in the education, home care, and geriatric medical fields."
In addition to using the dollars raised to expand its training portfolio, CareAcademy is planning to create Spanish versions of its courses (the company already offers 24/7 English and Spanish language support) and add new functionality to its training platform. The company will also be expanding its sales and marketing team.
For more information on CareAcademy, visit http://www.careacademy.com.
About CareAcademy
Boston-based CareAcademy provides expert-developed online training for senior home care professionals. Hour-long video courses, which can be accessed by any mobile device, cover critical topics such as infection control, nutrition and meal preparation, dementia, fall prevention, and safe transfers. The company provides 24/7 English and Spanish language technical support to accommodate caretakers' schedules.
Currently, more than 50 home care agencies rely on CareAcademy for the professional development of their employees and for meeting state certification requirements. Representative customers include Home Instead Senior Care, CareLinx, Grace Homecare, and Guardian.