January 30, 2017 in Sustainability
Last week, two companies — Des Moines, IA-based Certintell and San Francisco, CA- based LivWell Health — were chosen as our two newest peer-selected investments in Health (more on our award winning peer-selection methodology here).
Our three-month Health program ended last week in San Francisco. Run in partnership with the Kresge Foundation — and with local support from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of SEPA and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center — the program was focused on finding, training and investing in entrepreneurs tackling issues related to the social determinants of health.
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While we’ve seen great advances in healthcare, people in underserved communities still have below-average health outcomes: studies show that slightly less than half of an individual’s health outcomes can be attributed to socioeconomic factors. In other words, your zip code is a better predictor of your health than the care you receive in the clinic.
The 13 participating companies in the program focused on easing the friction that low-income patients face when attempting to receive or continue care. That includes making it easier to get to the doctor’s office, helping health professionals monitor patients in their own home, or developing cheaper and easier ways to get nutritional therapy.
The two winners will receive $75,000 in investment each:
Certintell is a telemedicine solution designed for smartphones, allowing low-income patients, who frequently only have access to the internet through their phone, the ability to connect remotely with their care team.
LivWell Health is a web based solution for hospitals, post-acute facilities, and senior living communities to manage home- and community-based resources.
Our next program, Village Capital Health: US 2017, will begin recruiting this summer. Sign up to receive updates from our Health team by clicking here!
