About Us
Even the best medical care is no substitute for the unique emotional support a parent provides for a child, or an old friend can lend in a moment of crisis. As physicians, we see the difference friends and family make to our patients every day. Unfortunately loved ones aren't always able to be as involved as they would like to be. Sometimes they work busy schedules, live in different parts of the country, or simply don't know enough about the care process to participate fully. Situations like these made us search for a way to involve them more in the care process. View more
Tom Antkowiak MD, MS and Rajeev Puri MD began testing solutions slowly, at first by creating email groups for patients. While they could update those friends and family members in the waiting room after surgery, email also enabled them to update those who weren't able to make it to the hospital that day. It opened up a forum for questions about care and treatment, and reinforced the community of people outside the hospital who cared for the patient.
Email was a cumbersome solution, but the overwhelmingly positive responses from patients and families motivated them to develop a more elegant one. With CareUpdate they can give families real-time updates during the 2 to 3 hours it takes for a routine hip replacement; send text, photo and video messages straight to families about the care process; and provide a platform for families and friends to communicate directly with care teams. They knew the tool would help them in their practices, and quickly realized the difference it could make across care settings from operating rooms to retirement communities.
We have interviewed dozens of doctors, industry leaders, care professionals, and patients, and used the best research data available in designing the app. The result is a simple and versatile tool that will help family and friends to stay involved at every stage of care. Doctors, nurses, and care professionals can send updates about surgery, treatment, and recovery, and remain in contact throughout the care process. Patients, family, and friends will have a platform to support their loved ones while remaining connected with the care team.
We hope to share CareUpdate with as many care providers and institutions as possible to make healthcare communication more efficient, effective, and compassionate. We firmly believe that CareUpdate can revolutionize healthcare communication. View less
Our dynamic leadership team is determined to improve the patient
and family experience
We are backed by a trusted network of advisors that includes nursing leaders, hospital CEOs, healthcare investors, and technology experts. Together, we are focused on fundamentally changing healthcare communication.
Tom Antkowiak M.D.
Product & Design
Tom Antkowiak MD, MS is a board certified orthopedic surgeon practicing in the Sports Medicine Division at OAK Orthopedics. He graduated cum laude from Albany Medical School and completed his residency at University of California Davis and his sports medicine fellowship at the prestigious Southern California Orthopedic Institute. Dr. Antkowiak has co-authored numerous research articles and lectured on innovative surgical techniques for treatment of knee, hip, and shoulder injuries. His commitment to provide compassionate and dedicated care led him and his partners to develop CareUpdate.
Ted Antkowiak
CEO
Ted is a seasoned entrepreneur with an extensive background in communication technology, and mobility solutions. He has deep, cross-functional experience in technology management with a successful track record leading innovations from private equity backed companies to Fortune 500’s. He led Global Business Development at Copiun, a mobile communication startup where he engineered a successful acquisition of the company by the leader in secure enterprise mobility solutions, Good Technology (now Blackberry) in under one year. Prior to Copiun, Ted led the global go-to-market strategy for Unified Communication Solutions at 3Com. There he successfully built a productive partnership with IBM that earned high praise, including the Beacon Award for ‘Most Innovative Solution.’ Throughout his career, Ted has been a mentor to other serial entrepreneurs—helping teams to build successful, scalable, and profitable startups. Ted holds a M.S. in Engineering from the Poznań University of Technology and the University of Toronto.
Rajeev Puri M.D.
Customers & Partnerships
Rajeev Puri MD received his medical degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus Ohio. He interned in general surgery and completed an orthopedic surgical residency at the Ohio State University Medical Center. He later completed a fellowship in Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at the University of Pennsylvania and a second fellowship in Hip and Knee Total Joint Revision at Indiana Orthopedics Indianapolis Methodist Hospital. He currently practices at OAK Orthopedics where he uses computer aided planning as well as gender specific implants in knee replacements and has been refining a hip replacement technique that does not require cutting of any muscle possibly leading to faster recoveries. Dr. Puri has received numerous awards for his caring and compassionate care including Healthgrades' highest ranking as a "Five-Star Doctor," recognitions by Patients Choice as one of America's Most Compassionate Doctors, and is the only orthopedic surgeon to receive the prestigious Golden Stethoscope Award from the Riverside Medical Center.
Peter Antkowiak M.D.
Innovation & Strategy
Peter Antkowiak M.D. is a physician specializing in Emergency Medicine at Maine Medical Center and a clinical associate at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Antkowiak’s training spans settings from the Medical/Surgical Intensive Care Units, to Pediatrics, to directing Emergency Medical Services. Across this spectrum of care Dr. Antkowiak consistently experiences a need for improved care-team, patient, and family communication. He is passionate about using technology to improve healthcare quality and delivery. Dr. Antkowiak received his M.D. from Albany Medical College, and a B.Sc. in Economics and Neuroscience from McGill University. He has trained and researched at numerous universities including the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, MIT, UMass Medical School, Tufts, and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Antkowiak has received numerous awards recognizing his international research, leadership, patient care, and service to the community from organizations that include Bausch & Lomb, the Massachusetts Medical Society, and the American College of Emergency Physicians.
Darragh McNicholas
Marketing & Social Media
Darragh McNicholas is a journalist and writer living in New York City. He currently writes about art and culture for numerous publications including Salon, Words Without Borders, and The Brooklyn Rail, and helps NGOs and other institutions organize art exhibits and other cultural programing throughout New York City. He has also worked as a web copy consultant for a major New York hospital, and volunteered for the medical charity Surgicorps. He received a BA in history from Queen’s University and a Master's of Journalism from New York University.
Johanu Botha Ph.D.
Security & Compliance
Johanu Botha is an emergency management and business continuity specialist. He has worked with public, private, and military organizations to ensure adherence to relevant best practices and regulations. Projects Botha has led range from business continuity planning for large government departments to developing Hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability Assessments at the facility-level. Botha has published several peer-reviewed publications on policy analysis and emergency management. Botha is an army officer in the Canadian Armed Forces reserve. He received a B.A. in English, Political Science, and Psychology at McGill University before obtaining a Masters of Public Administration at the University of Manitoba and a PhD at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration. Botha has held a number of prestigious academic awards, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral award.
Jaan Altosaar
Technology
Jaan Altosaar is a PhD candidate at Princeton University where he studies the intersection of Bayesian inference and deep learning. His desire is to enact societal good through new technologies like machine learning. He has worked on numerous projects through Google Brain and Google DeepMind and, in 2014, launched Useful Science, a resource that condenses peer-reviewed scientific articles for the general reading public to promote scientific research that improves lives.
Tom Griffey
Technology
Tom Griffey is a full stack software developer, musician and former educator from Boston, MA. He has a passion for writing and producing music, collaborating on software projects, and developing youth through the arts. Tom graduated from New York University with subsequent training in mobile and web application development at the Nashville Software School. In his spare time he can be found boxing, DJ'ing, brewing beer, and playing the guitar way too loud. Tom currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.
