diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index a835091..b638105 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ gem 'uglifier', '>= 1.3.0'
 # See https://github.com/rails/execjs#readme for more supported runtimes
 # gem 'mini_racer', platforms: :ruby
 
+# basic health check gem
+gem 'health_check'
+
 # Use CoffeeScript for .coffee assets and views
 gem 'coffee-rails', '~> 4.2'
 # Turbolinks makes navigating your web application faster. Read more: https://github.com/turbolinks/turbolinks
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index c308226..87d9c0d 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -324,6 +324,8 @@ GEM
     hashdiff (1.0.0)
     hashery (2.1.2)
     hashie (3.6.0)
+    health_check (3.0.0)
+      railties (>= 5.0)
     htmlentities (4.3.4)
     http-cookie (1.0.3)
       domain_name (~> 0.5)
@@ -778,6 +780,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   fuzzy-string-match
   gibberish
   github_changelog_generator
+  health_check
   inspec_tools (>= 1.4.2)
   jbuilder (~> 2.5)
   json