Funding For Women-Led Health Startups Surged Over 2000% In 2023
Bloomberg reported that women-led firms received $52 million in funding — 31% of all funding dollars allocated last year — compared with just $2 million, or 1.4%, in 2022. Other news is from Sanford Health, Merakey, Elwyn, Redesign Health, HCA, and more.
Bloomberg:
Women-Led Health Startups Drew $167 Million Of Funding In 2023
Funding for women-led health startups surged more than 2,000% last year, helping drive fund raising of $167 million for the industry, according to a report sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and prepared by consulting firm Salient Advisory. Companies founded solely by women received $52 million in funding, representing 31% of all funding dollars allocated last year, according to the report. (Olurounbi, 2/13)
More health industry updates —
Modern Healthcare:
Sanford Health Brings Primary Care To Senior Living Facilities
Sanford Health and Good Samaritan Society are looking to integrate onsite care into senior living through a $200 million South Dakota community, as providers increasingly partner with senior living operators to keep residents healthy. Integrating healthcare into senior living facilities has been gaining traction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as operators look for ways to prevent infections from spreading and keep residents out of the hospital. (Eastabrook, 2/13)
Modern Healthcare:
Merakey, Elwyn Drop $1B Deal
Behavioral health companies Merakey and Elwyn ended their plans to merge and form a $1 billion organization. The decision to not move forward with the deal was amicable, said a Merakey spokesperson who declined to share additional details. Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania-based Merakey, a behavioral and developmental education services organization, and Media, Pennsylvania-based Elwyn, a behavioral health service provider, entered into a non-binding merger agreement in March. (DeSilva, 2/13)
Modern Healthcare:
Redesign Health Lays Off 77 Employees
Redesign Health, which helps create and invests in healthcare startups, laid off 77 employees on Tuesday. In an email to employees, Redesign Health CEO Brett Shaheen said the restructuring is due to slower than expected recovery in the U.S. venture capital market that has affected the pace of new company creation. Redesign Health declined to disclose its number of employees prior to the cuts. In April, the company posted a blog on its website that said it had around 200 employees. (Turner, 2/13)
Modern Healthcare:
HCA’s Sam Hazen Realigns Leadership Team
HCA Healthcare said Tuesday it is realigning the responsibilities of its C-suite to implement strategies faster. The move comes as HCA works to bring more than $2 billion in capital projects online this year, part of the Nashville, Tennessee-based system’s aggressive push to take market share in both inpatient and outpatient care. The for-profit system said starting April 1, its three operating groups will report to Chief Operating Officer Jon Foster, who was named to the role just over a year ago. (Hudson, 2/13)
Also —
CBS News:
State Of Emergency: How Minnesota Hospitals, State Officials Prepare For Cyber Attacks
State officials reported more than 1,000 security incidents last year, hitting schools, universities, and government offices. Hospitals and health clinics have also been on the defensive. Yan Kravchenko, Director of Core Technology and Information Security at Hennepin Healthcare, said his team manages more than 50,000 devices. "Quite literally every aspect of health care at this point has some technology component to it, which is to say nothing of all the medical devices that we rely on every single day," he added. "An attacker has to be right once, but someone responsible for defending our systems we have to be right 100% of the time. We have to always be prepared. It never stops." (Kaplan, 2/13)
The Boston Globe:
St. Mary’s Home For Children Interim CEO Calls Report ‘Beyond Disturbing’ As He Focuses On Improving Staffing, Conditions
Charles Montorio-Archer stepped in to lead St. Mary’s Home for Children just two days after a shocking report exposed abuse, neglect, poorly trained staff, and chaos at the residential home for troubled and abused youths. The longtime executive director, Carlene Casciano-McCann, hastily retired in the wake of the report by the state Office of the Child Advocate, in which she was quoted as telling investigators that she wouldn’t let her own dog stay at St. Mary’s. (Milkovits, 2/13)
