Heal Lands $20 Million in Venture Funding
Los Angeles-based Heal has raised $20 million in venture funding, bringing the med-tech startup’s total capital raised to more than $69 million.
Heal and its digital platforms assist patients in booking physician house calls, often for urgent care and routine illness visits. Heal has helped deliver more than 60,000 house calls since launching in 2015. In-home physician visits coordinated through Heal typically last for longer durations, according to the company.
The startup recently expanded its coverage area to include Sacramento and the Inland Empire and is now available to more than 70% of California residents. It’s also available to residents in Washington D.C. and northern Virginia. The company is an in-network provider with PPO insurance plans from from Blue Shield of California, Health Net, Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, CareFirst and other insurance companies.
New funding comes from Bascom Ventures, Inflection Capital, IRA Capital, RLJ Equity Partners and Trans-Pacific Technology Fund, among other sources. Heal will use the additional funds to pursue new markets, explore new business models and further advance its technology, according to the company.
In addition to house calls, Heal also currently offers services to coordinate in-home physical therapy and lactation consulting. A spokesperson for Heal told Home Health Care News that it plans to expand into other home-based services in the future.
Assisting Hands Expands to Two New States
Nampa, Idaho-based Assisting Hands Home Care has signed a string of franchise agreements to open new offices in Virginia and Illinois, along with its first locations in Michigan and Massachusetts.
Assisting Hands is a franchise company that offers non-medical companionship and personal care services, in addition to skilled nursing services. Launched in 2006, the franchise company has grown to 108 units across the country, largely using an area representative franchising model.
The new office locations in Virginia and Illinois will be in Arlington and Matteson, respectively. John Benchoff, a two-time cancer survivor, will open the Massachusetts Assisting Hands franchise in Wilmington in June. In Michigan, franchisee Monique Coleman, provide home care services to residents in Clinton Township and the surrounding area, including Detroit, also beginning in June.
Kaizen Health Raises $3.8 Million
Chicago-based Kaizen Health, Inc., has raised $3.8 million in Series A funding.
Kaizen Health is a health care logistics and non-emergency medical transportation technology platform that works with health systems to streamline the process of scheduling transportation for discharges, clinical trials and recurring appointments. The startup—which has national partnerships with Lyft and St. Louis-bsed MTM Inc.—also works with in-home health care providers and senior living communities.
St. Louis-based Lewis & Clark Ventures led Kaizen’s Series A round. Co-investors included MTM Inc., along with Chicago-based groups Ekistic Ventures, Hyde Park Angels and Impact Engine. Global philanthropy organization Acumen also contributed.
The cross-investment between the Chicago startup and the St. Louis fund will allow Kaizen to expand its reach, providing services for more patients and providers, according to the company. Kaizen’s current customer bases are in Illinois and California.
ResMed Acquiring HEALTHCAREfirst
San Diego-based ResMed (NYSE: RMD) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire HEALTHCAREfirst, a privately held cloud-based software and services provider based in Springfield, Missouri. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
ResMed is a global tech-driven medical device company that specializes in sleep-disordered breathing and respiratory care. It has about 6,000 employees, while its technology helps provide services to patients in more than 120 countries.
HEALTHCAREfirst provides cloud-based tech and services to improve business and clinical operations for more than 4,000 home health and hospice agencies. Its services include clinical management software, outsourced revenue cycle management services, Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (CAHPS) surveys and, more generally, advanced metrics.
ResMed’s acquisition of HEALTHCAREfirst will complement its existing software solutions offered by Brightree, which ResMed purchased in 2016 for $800 million.
The transaction is expected to be finalized before the close of the first quarter of ResMed’s fiscal year 2019, which ends on Sept. 30.
Written by Robert Holly
Companies featured in this article:
Assisting Hands Home Care, Heal, HEALTHCAREfirst, Kaizen Health, ResMed
