Access To Care

Founder Yusuf Henriques and Chief Scientific Officer Bradford Wilson, PhD, have combined their experience at the FDA, in the military, and in academia to drive the development of therapeutics that are effective in underrepresented populations. — Challenge While COVID-19 was devastating across the globe, it was particularly damaging for communities of color. African American, Latino, and Native American populations experienced disproportionately higher rates of infection and death than their European-American counterparts during the pandemic. This was in part due to underlying inequities in healthcare and increased exposure…

Our Health Transformer Showcases feature entrepreneurs who are upgrading healthcare delivery in every sector. April’s inspirational presenters are increasing access to care in underserved global markets, enhancing the healthcare experience, preventing blood sugar spikes, and improving pelvic health. — On Apr 27, 2023, a select group of participants spent an hour meeting inspirational entrepreneurs from the StartUp Health portfolio who are working to achieve health moonshots that will improve the health and wellbeing of people around the world.

The seed funding expands the StartUp Health portfolio company’s care navigation software and partnerships with a focus on addressing social determinants of health with cultural competency. — Pear Suite, a StartUp Health portfolio company working to empower community health workers and better address the social determinants of health (SDOH), announced the closing of $2.5M in seed funding. The funding will enable the Honolulu, HI-based company to support community health workers to better act on SDOH data as…

A team of co-founders are building on their Silicon Valley experience and a tech surge in Guadalajara, Mexico, to create a new virtual care offering for Spanish-speakers in America. It’s a holistic, culturally-responsive approach to health that’s a breath of fresh air for an often under-treated community. — Challenge It’s payday at a medium-sized onion farm in Southern California. The workers, the majority of whom are seasonal migrants from Mexico, gather in the break room waiting for their checks. The HR representative enters the room, hands out the paychecks and then attempts to tell the employees about some health…

Founder Justin Ayars is building on more than a decade of LGBTQ+ advocacy, business development, and entrepreneurial work to create a virtual-first digital health platform that matches LGBTQ+ patients (and allies) with culturally-competent providers who are trained to create safe spaces where patients can be their authentic selves. — Origin Justin Ayars has a unique background. His godfather was Liberace, his father was a renowned musician who worked with Elvis and Barbra Streisand, and his grandfather worked for the CIA since the agency was created in 1947. Presented with these unusual paths, he instead chose to become a trial lawyer…

Arcora Foundation and Project Access Northwest support expanded access to dental care. — Before he could dream about life after graduation, Alex, a high school senior in Washington state, had to face the painful reality of untreated dental issues. Alex had pain in his mouth that affected his quality of life. He had not seen a dentist in 10 years. Not because he…

Scan.com recently expanded from the UK to the US, connecting patients with scanning centers, covering MRI, ultrasound, CT, and X-ray. — Scan.com, a London, England, UK-based StartUp Health company on a mission to make booking an imaging scan a simple, stress-free, and transparent process that is accessible to everyone, announced their $12M Series A. The round — which will build on the company’s recent expansion into the US — was co-led…

Backed by clinical validation and empathy, a team of doctorpreneurs created an app to empower and enhance the wellbeing of chronic inflammatory disease sufferers – giving them the tools to manage their own care and minimize the physical and mental challenges caused by fluctuating relapse and remission. — Challenge You cut your finger or scrape your knee, and your body sends inflammatory cells to heal the affected skin. This is an example of ‘acute inflammation.’

Other health innovation funding rounds this week went to health insurance, neurotech, care coordination, behavioral health, and much more. — This week’s health innovation funding featured StartUp Health company Medwise.ai, a Leeds, UK-based search platform for medical professionals and healthcare organizations. Finance Yorkshire led the £1M ($1.2M) seed round, with participation from StartUp Health, CalmStorm VC, and Deeptech Labs. <source>