Kathi Sitek was inspired to start her own company after helping a close family member through the twilight years of her life. That company, Pill Pouch, is now starting to take off as a startup in
TechTown.
"It's a family business," says Jessica Sitek, who helped co-found Pill Pouch with her mother Kathi Sitek and her brother Jason Sitek. "It started when my mother started taking care of our grandmother Stella."
Pill Pouch manufactures a medication management product designed to help eliminate confusion when managing multiple medications. The product holds a sample of each pill, along with pertinent drug information and any special instructions. "We're developing a mobile app for the tech savy customer," Jessica Sitek says.
Pill Pouch has recently signed a deal with Meijer to sell its product in the big-box retailer's 56 stores in the Midwest. Pill Pouch's principal product is also available through Henry Ford Home Health Care, Priority Health, Michigan Heart Association, Binson's Home Health Care Centers, as well as independent pharmacies in West Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Vermont and Iowa.
The 9-month-old company is also working with the University of Michigan to leverage a National Institute of Health grant to show quantifiable results that the product helps improve patient adherence to taking their medications in a timely manner.
Source: Jessica Sitek, co-founder of Pill Pouch
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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