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Youth-centered technologies for entertainment and pleasure are growing by leaps and bounds, while care technology for the elderly has stagnated. Chia-Lin Simmons, our maverick nominee, is changing that. She took over the reins of a struggling company–one with the right technology but mired in litigation after losing its leadership. Based on her gutsy entry into this space and the positive changes she’s been able to enact in only seven months, we would like to nominate Simmons for Maverick of the Year.
Simmons joined NXT-ID as CEO in mid-June 2021. Through its subsidiary LogicMark, NXT-ID was producing innovative, non-monitored Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS). Aging adults could use it to call 911 or a close family member, giving them the confidence and safety to live independently. Because it was non-monitored, seniors on fixed incomes were not required to pay a monthly subscription fee. Additionally, veterans could receive a free device through their local Veterans Administration healthcare provider.
NXT-ID had a team of dedicated employees and an impressive technology portfolio, but when Simmons joined it was facing litigation due to the actions of its prior leadership, who had since left the company.
In only her second month with NXT-ID (July 2021), Simmons was able to secure a U.S. General Services Administration contract. GSA contracts enable government partnerships through purchasing agreements with federal, state, and local entities. This allowed NXT-ID to open its distribution channels beyond the Veterans Affairs Administration, to serve more aging adults and their caretakers.
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Simmons has big plans for the future of care technologies. Herself a member of “the sandwich generation”–people who care for both their children and their parents--Simmons saw the need for innovation as well as value in the products that comprise the care economy, and in the heart of those developing them. The AARP’s National Alliance for Caregiving 2020 Report says that 53 million adults in the U.S. today are caregivers, and 61% of caregivers are also working. In addition, the 2020 AARP Research Report Caregiving in the U.S. says that only 53 percent of caregivers report using “software or technological tools” to help them.
Today, many aging adults depend on PERS devices to call for help in critical care situations, but many PERS technologies face a serious need for improvement to meet and exceed the needs of aging adults. It sounds straightforward--a button designed to alert first-responders or a close family member. Unfortunately we must consider the real-world experience of people who rely on these devices. PERS devices are often difficult for the elderly to use due to complicated interfaces. Others require a monthly subscription fee. Some only work in WiFi range, and some rely on 3G, which is sunsetting this year. Inaccurate fall detection is another shortcoming of current personal emergency response technology leading to intrusive calls and/or loud alarms at the wrong times.
Leveraging her background in artificial intelligence (including her own startup LookyLoo for AI retail) and her work with other connected services (connected cars, Audible, GooglePlay and Harman International) Simmons is now working with NXT-ID to create novel consumer devices for our aging population, combining modern technological efficiencies with the devices necessary for compassionate caregiving.
Simmons' vision cannot be realized soon enough; the United States is undergoing a demographic shift with the number of older adults predicted to double over the next several decades, representing 23% of the population by 2050. More people in the U.S. want to live at home as they age--90% according to a 2021 Capital Caring Health survey.
Simmons joined a company whose future was not promised, and in a matter of months, she has gained the confidence of employees, investors, and the U.S. government to set NXT-ID (and the care economy) on a winning trajectory. We're proud to nominate her for Maverick of the Year.