Out of the incubator: First-time entrepreneur rolls out on demand in-home health care app

A Detroit-based company has developed a smart phone app that serves as an online marketplace for on demand respite care.

It’s the direction health care is heading, says CarePRN CEO Jason Wolfe, who’s also a registered nurse. More and more patients are opting for in-home care, and something like CarePRN helps facilitate that.

While its patients’ families that often carry much of the workload during cases of in-home care, CarePRN is designed so customers can dial up a licensed nurse to come over for an hour or two so they can take a well-deserved break from the stress of home health care.

The app also benefits those providing the in-home health care. Nurses choose their own rates, hours, and services provided. They then give 30 percent of their hourly earnings to CarePRN.

The company got its start two years ago, when Wolfe won an award at a Hacking Health competition at TechTown Detroit. He would go on to enter in TechTown’s Business Incubation Center, where he learned the finer points of business.

“I didn’t come in as a business man. I’m a nurse,” says Wolfe. “But TechTown taught me the business acumen that I need to succeed as an entrepreneur.”

Wolfe and his team rolled out CarePRN three months ago. They’re taking a slow and methodical approach in getting this thing off the ground. Service is currently limited to Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties. As they grow their base, Wolfe will take feedback from CarePRN users and improve the app, before eventually expanding service to the state and then the nation as a whole.

Currently, CarePRN has nearly 50 active home care providers in its system. The company wants another 100 more. All providers must pass a background check, and be licensed.

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