04 March 2010
GE Healthcare appoints Direct Supply Inc. as national distributor for GE QuietCare
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. March 4, 2010 – GE Healthcare, a unit of GE (NYSE:GE) announced today that it has entered into a distribution agreement for its flagship Home Health technology, GE QuietCare®, with Direct Supply Inc., a leading provider of eldercare equipment, eCommerce and service solutions to senior living facilities. Direct Supply will distribute and co-market GE QuietCare across the United States.
GE QuietCare is a remote passive activity and behavioral monitoring system for seniors, using wireless sensors to non-intrusively track the daily patterns of seniors’ activities. GE QuietCare alerts caregivers to behavioral changes that may signal potential health issues or emergency situations such as an increase in bathroom visits or a possible fall. It is used primarily in assisted living facilities to enhance levels of care and to help the elderly retain their independence.
Direct Supply has extensive and long-standing relationships with skilled nursing, assisted living and independent living facilities throughout the United States. Through Direct Supply’s established country-wide sales and service infrastructure, GE Healthcare will be able to increase its geographical reach and bring GE QuietCare to a greater number of assisted living facilities.
Commenting on the agreement, Agnes Berzsenyi, General Manager Home Health at GE Healthcare said, “With Direct Supply as our distributors and with their expertise in this sector, we will be able to bring the benefits of GE QuietCare to many more assisted living facilities across America and help them offer an even higher level of care for their elderly residents.”
John Rydzewski, Director of Direct Supply’s Services and Solutions business unit said, “GE QuietCare is an excellent product that may help enhance the quality of life for our nation’s seniors. We are excited to be working with GE Healthcare to bring this innovative technology to our market place. Our customers – the caregivers in senior living communities – can rely on it for peace of mind, and residents will benefit from the independence they will retain.”
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.
Our "healthymagination" vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.
For our latest news, please visit http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com
About Direct Supply
Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Direct Supply is the leading provider of equipment, eCommerce and service solutions to Senior Living. Founded in 1985, this employee-owned company provides quality, eldercare-approved products and services, an unexcelled response to customer needs and leads the change for industry advocacy in Washington. Learn more at directsupply.com.
Press Contacts
GE Healthcare
USA : Tara Chiarell
c/o Allison & Partners
+1-646-428-0610 (office)
tara@allisonpr.com
UK: Dr. Val Jones
+44 1494 498052 (office)
+44 7917 175 192 (mobile)
val.jones@ge.com
Direct Supply
Bob Klein
Senior Vice President, Corporate & Legal Affairs
+1 414-760-5804 (office)
+1 414-331-5804 (mobile)
BKlein@directsupply.com
