The Health Assurance Podcast, Episode 4: Dr. Toyin Ajayi on Healthcare Equity and Business

The co-founder of Cityblock talks about effectively and efficiently treating marginalized populations

There’s no question that one of the biggest issues in healthcare these days is equity. When it comes to health outcomes, zip code is often destiny.

In the latest episode of The Health Assurance Podcast, Toyin Ajayi, M.D., co-founder and chief medical officer of Cityblock, talks about the company’s mission and its innovative model for treating underserved populations in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Washington D.C. The key, she explains, is focusing on engagement and trust above all else.

“You see in this population of folks very very high hospitalizations and often very low engagement with community-based clinical services,” Ajayi says. Cityblock works to first establish relationships with its members, helping them with issues in their lives such as housing insecurity and food insecurity before tackling more traditional healthcare problems. “We take the time to build that relationship and understand what matters to people.”

Ajayi also talks about Cityblock’s development at Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, as well as why its value-based care model is attractive to investors. In December, the company raised $160 million in funding, and it’s currently valued at more than $1 billion.

Listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.