SOMERVILLE, MA – Cherish Health, a Cambridge technology innovator that pioneers solutions to improve lives and enable care using advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, medical evidence, and human touch, and its non-profit partner, Health eVillages, a global organization that provides medical resources such as mobile technology, training, and apps to low-resource settings, are launching their broad partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic with a program that will monitor and support the health care needs of formerly homeless veterans.

Their first joint program will bring this new technology to 29 elderly veterans who currently reside at the Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center, a transitional and permanent housing complex in Somerville operated by the Volunteers of America of Massachusetts (VOAM), that also provides a range of support services for veterans with multiple medical conditions.

Mayor Joseph Curtatone has taken a lead in bringing these organizations together to improve the delivery of health care to the most vulnerable, including the city’s veterans. “We’ve heard tragic stories involving multiple deaths at veterans’ facilities in other parts of our state and for that reason I have brought together a number of partners who are working to prevent that from happening in here in Somerville,” Curtatone said. “Like our beloved veterans, we are embracing the creed that no one gets left behind.”

Cherish Health was founded earlier this year by serial entrepreneur Sumit Nagpal, formerly SVP and GM for Health Innovation at Comcast, and prior to that Global Lead for Digital Health Strategy at Accenture. “Initially, we launched a biosensor patch to help individuals with long-term conditions receive care where they live with 24/7 support from their care teams,” said Nagpal, who serves as CEO. “As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, we worked with clinicians in the United States, UK, India, and elsewhere to rapidly devise care pathways while we scaled up production to make the technology available to healthcare organizations racing to cope with the disease. We are now deploying the solution across these and other geographies.”

Three versions of bandage-like, low cost Cherish Serenity biosensor patches monitor combinations of respiration, oxygen levels, temperature, heart rate, and EKG. Cherish Health’s Safe@Home kits contain a two-week supply of these connected biosensors and provide a turnkey solution to help safely monitor individuals who have been diagnosed with the virus while remaining socially distanced to minimize transmission. They also help those admitted to hospitals to return home sooner, freeing up beds for those who need them.

“Our veterans have sacrificed so much so we may live with the freedoms and privileges we enjoy,” said Cherish Health CEO Sumit Nagpal. “During this time of unprecedented need, we are grateful to do all we can, with generous support from Health eVillages, to help keep our national treasures safe.”

Global healthcare activist and innovator Donato Tramuto founded Health eVillages in 2011 following the earthquake that devastated Haiti. Since that time, the organization has provided state-of-the-art mobile health technology, including medical reference and clinical decision tools as well as community resources, to medical and public health professionals serving the most vulnerable populations around the world. Tramuto has been a champion for addressing loneliness, social isolation, and social determinants of health both domestically and in emerging countries.

Tramuto, also the founder of the non-profit Tramuto Foundation and author of “Life’s Bulldozer Moments”, is looking forward to this collaboration with Cherish Health and Volunteers of America of Massachusetts. “When I founded Health eVillages in 2011, I never intended to try to solve the world’s healthcare problems alone,” Tramuto explained. “Health eVillages is a collaborative mission shared by many dedicated, experienced individuals and organizations and I am thrilled to have the support of Summit and Cherish Health and Volunteers of America of Massachusetts, to help us move the needle to improve the lives of our aging veterans. These are uncertain times for us all, but no one deserves our appreciation and unwavering support more than the soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. I am honored to be a part of this effort.”

Charles E. Gagnon, President & CEO of Volunteers of America of Massachusetts, explained that Mayor Curtatone and the City of Somerville “have always supported and partnered with our Mass Bay veterans to ensure that they are provided a safe, supportive and healthy environment. Our mission is to stabilize the health of our residents while customizing an individual service plan in order for all our vets to achieve and realize a greater degree of self-sufficiency and secure permanent housing.

“It certainly ‘takes a village’,” Gagnon added, “and this innovative collaboration and partnership with Mayor Curtatone, Cherish Health and Health eVillages is an ideal opportunity to improve the care for our elderly veterans by providing early prevention measures and improving access in real time to address their complicated health conditions. We are thrilled and humbled to participate in such an important health innovation during this public health crisis.”