Andrea Trgovcich puts her stomach where her business is. Sort of.
The principal and founder of the Youngstown-based Wellness Integrated Network (WIN) even lost weight while testing her Web and mobile-based application; whether or not she lost sleep is unknown.
"My daughter and I are 'soft' testing this new system. We've both lost weight on it because of the pre-diabetic style of eating, which is six times per day. It's working for both of us and we're not pre-diabetic," says Trgovcich.
The WIN application tracks patients' or consumers' dietary consumption and recommends meals and activities based on medical history, lifestyle, cooking ability, available time and preferences. WIN organizes nutritional data, creates family meals (short of cooking, that is), and collects research data. Trgovcich says the three-year-old startup will target the medical field, but the applications are broader than that.
"It (WIN) has the capability to deal with any kind of nutritional aspect. It could be for an athlete training for a marathon or someone who needs to eliminate certain things from their diet. Or it could be a lifestyle choice," says Trgovcich. "Follow-on phases include grocery store and restaurant integration . . . We're tracking by a simple green, yellow and red light system: if you did it, if you substituted, or you skipped altogether."
"We got some interest right away from people who wanted to invest and thought it was a great idea. We applied to be a YBI portfolio (Youngstown Business Incubator) company right after that." Trgovcich is also getting help from JumpStart in Cleveland for advice on selecting a CEO, a search that is ongoing.
WIN is currently recruiting 40 to 50 patients ages 11-15 for a pilot in partnership with Humility of Mary Health Partners and Ohio University Osteopathic Medical School.
"We want the results published in an official, peer-reviewed journal. We're not just doing a 'proof of technology' at this point."
We are recruiting currently 40-50 patients (children ages 11-15Source: Andrea Trgovcich, Wellness Integrated Network
Writer: Patrick G. Mahoney