Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. President | St. John's University website

The summer of 2025 sees the emergence of a promising tech startup, CareSwift, developed by students from St. John's University and the University of Scranton. The startup aims to streamline the documentation process for emergency medical teams (EMTs), potentially reducing the time spent on-site incident reports and improving patient history accuracy for insurance companies.

CareSwift is the creation of John Paul Mussalli and Brian Weigand from St. John's University, along with Jonathan Zero from the University of Scranton. The team recently secured $500,000 in funding and is currently participating in Y Combinator's (YC) summer program in San Francisco. They aim to launch their platform by September 9 during YC's "Investor Demo Day."

Y Combinator has a track record of launching successful companies such as Coinbase and Instacart. CareSwift was among the select one percent chosen from approximately 10,000 applications for this summer's program.

Brian Weigand's experience as an EMT in New York City inspired the idea for CareSwift. He stated, “Documentation was always a pain point for me,” highlighting how EMTs spend significant time completing reports instead of responding to calls.

The founders, who met at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, are leveraging their diverse skills to develop CareSwift. Brian serves as CEO, John Paul as COO focusing on business strategy, and Jonathan as CTO handling technical aspects.

John Paul Mussalli previously won $2,000 in a business plan competition for another app idea before shifting focus to CareSwift. He emphasized that current documentation practices hinder EMTs' ability to respond quickly to emergencies.

The team has been working intensively since arriving in San Francisco after driving cross-country from New York. Both Brian and John Paul are taking leaves of absence from their studies at The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies to concentrate on CareSwift.

James M. Kinsley, Director of St. John's Venture & Innovation Center (VIC), praised CareSwift as an example of innovation meeting hard work: “St. John’s created the VIC to support students like these...in realizing their potential.”

CareSwift integrates an AI-enabled assistant into ambulance reporting systems to facilitate quick and accurate report completion while ensuring compliance with health regulations. It also features an AI-powered review system that identifies insurance compliance risks.

The culmination of CareSwift’s collaboration with YC will be showcased at Demo Day, where they will present their company to investors and media outlets across the United States.

“Demo Day provides an opportunity to present our work to highly regarded investors across the United States,” said John Paul Mussalli. “We hope to have a well-established, revenue-generating business by September.”