For millions of families across the Bay Area and beyond, one of the toughest questions is how to keep aging parents or grandparents safe, healthy, and independent. Most seniors want to remain in their own homes, surrounded by familiar routines and memories. But adult children often struggle with the risks—falls, chronic health conditions, loneliness, and the staggering costs of round-the-clock care.

Enter Connected Home Living (CHL), an innovative service founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and senior care operator Neil Tantingco. CHL blends cutting-edge technology with live remote care coordination, providing families with peace of mind at a fraction of the cost of traditional caregiving.

In this post, I’ll walk you through Neil’s story, how Connected Home Living works, the technology behind it, and why it’s quickly becoming a game-changer for families who want their loved ones to age safely at home.

A Silicon Valley Career Shift to Senior Care

Neil Tantingco didn’t start out in healthcare. After graduating college, he worked for top tech firms including Netscape, Yahoo, and VMware. But despite a solid career in Silicon Valley, he didn’t feel fulfilled. On weekends, he found himself volunteering at assisted living communities—helping residents to meals, serving dinner, even showing seniors how to use technology.

Raised in a Filipino family where elders are treated with deep respect, Neil always felt a strong connection to older adults. “They called me the senior whisperer,” he recalls. Eventually, his passion led him to purchase an assisted living community in Visalia, California, where he became a hands-on owner-operator.

That was 25 years ago, and it gave him a front-row seat to the challenges families and senior living providers face every day.

The Problem: Chronic Conditions, Rising Costs, and Gaps in Care

When seniors move into assisted living, it’s rarely by choice. Most arrive after a fall, a surgery, or a health scare. Communities like Neil’s inherit residents with chronic conditions such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, and mobility issues. But assisted living is classified as non-clinical care—facilities aren’t required to have doctors or nurses on staff.

This creates a major challenge: caregivers, who often have no medical training, need to monitor residents with complex health issues. “How do you know when diabetes is spiraling out of control?” Neil asks. “How do you keep track of red flags before they become emergencies?”

At the same time, the cost of care is skyrocketing. In the Bay Area, professional caregivers cost between $35–$50 per hour. Just five hours of help per day can run $6,000 a month. Around-the-clock care can easily exceed $22,000 per month.

For many families, that cost simply isn’t sustainable. The gap between what seniors need and what families can afford is exactly where Connected Home Living steps in.

The Solution: Blending Technology with Remote Care

Connected Home Living was born from Neil’s search for a way to improve care without breaking the bank. The model combines two elements:

1. Smart, Non-Intrusive Technology – Devices like fall detection radar, passive motion sensors, and telehealth tools keep an eye on seniors’ safety and health.
2. Live Remote Care Coordination – Real caregivers, known as “remote care coordinators,” interact with seniors daily through phone, video, or text. They provide companionship, reminders, and safety checks—just like an in-person caregiver, but at a fraction of the cost.

This approach doesn’t replace caregivers entirely—it bridges the gaps between visits. If a caregiver clocks out at 2 p.m., Connected Home Living is still there, watching for falls, reminding about medication, or checking that the stove is off before bed.

Fall Detection: A Smarter Alternative to Life Alert

Traditional “pull cords” and Life Alert pendants have major limitations. Seniors often don’t fall within reach of a cord, and they don’t like wearing pendants to bed or in the shower—where most falls actually happen. Even smartwatches fail to pick up slow-moving falls, such as sliding out of bed.

Connected Home Living uses 4D radar-based fall detection mounted on the wall or ceiling. This system can detect when someone has fallen, wait a few minutes to ensure they’re not just tying their shoes, and then automatically alert staff or family.

The results can be lifesaving. Instead of waiting hours—or even days—seniors get help within minutes. “We’ve saved countless lives this way,” Neil says.

Monitoring Health and Chronic Conditions

CHL also integrates with Bluetooth-enabled medical devices:

• Blood pressure monitors
• Glucometers
• Pulse oximeters
• Digital weight scales
• Even stethoscopes and EKGs

These devices track health data in real time, flagging trends that might signal trouble. For example, if a senior with congestive heart failure is gaining weight rapidly or showing signs of swelling, CHL alerts caregivers and doctors before the situation becomes critical.

Hospitals are taking notice. El Camino Hospital partners with CHL to send patients home with telehealth kits, reducing 30-day hospital readmissions from nearly 25% to under 5%. That not only saves money but improves patient quality of life.

The Virtual Caregiver: Companionship and Safety in One

Technology alone isn’t enough—seniors need human connection. That’s why CHL pairs each client with a dedicated remote care coordinator. This person builds a relationship with the senior, checking in daily through calls or video.

A typical evening check-in might include:

• Chatting about their day or family visits
• Confirming the stove is turned off
• Making sure pets are inside
• Checking that doors are locked
• Watching them take their medication

This human touch provides both companionship and accountability, giving families peace of mind while reducing the risk of accidents.

Affordable Care: A Fraction of the Cost

Perhaps the biggest selling point of Connected Home Living is cost. Instead of $40 per hour for a caregiver, CHL’s highest-tier plan costs about $16 per day—for 24/7 monitoring.

Families can combine CHL with part-time caregiving to dramatically reduce expenses. Neil shared the example of a family in Livermore paying $22,000 a month for round-the-clock care. With CHL, they safely cut back to 12-hour coverage, slashing their costs in half while still protecting their loved one.

Scaling Nationwide

What started as one man’s quest to improve his own assisted living community has grown into a national service. Today, Connected Home Living partners with home care agencies in 33 states, with plans to expand across all 50 and into Canada.

Even Medicaid is taking note. The state of Colorado now covers CHL for Medicaid recipients, recognizing its ability to cut down on unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

Aging in Place: A Growing Priority

The truth is, most seniors don’t want to move into assisted living—even Neil admits he wouldn’t want to live in his own facility. Surveys show that 79% of older adults want to age in place, staying in their own homes for as long as possible.

With Connected Home Living, that goal becomes far more realistic. Families get the assurance that their loved ones are safe, while seniors maintain independence, dignity, and comfort.

Final Thoughts

For families in Silicon Valley and across the country, the challenges of senior care are only growing. Rising costs, caregiver shortages, and the desire to age in place all point toward the need for innovative solutions.

Connected Home Living offers exactly that: an affordable, scalable, human-centered way to keep seniors safe at home. By blending technology, telehealth, and virtual companionship, CHL bridges the gap between independence and safety.

As Neil Tantingco puts it: “Technology has to play a part if we’re going to let seniors stay in their homes without going bankrupt.”

If you’d like to learn more, visit connectedhomeliving.com or call 408-634-5111 for more information.