Kristen Helton is no stranger to the healthcare needs of her patients. After co-founding biosensor company Profusa, she went on to work at Amazon and in 2019 helped create and lead the company’s Amazon Care division.
For the next three years, our focus will be on creating a positive experience for our patients. Although the company deployed feedback loops to provide a better experience, Helton found that patients still said they were dissatisfied.
When Amazon Care shut down in 2022, Helton decided to find a way to address that grievance by focusing on a population she felt was lacking in care: providing care to women 65 and older.
she founded own health Last year, the company touted it as “the first healthcare company purpose-built for this patient population.”
“Women don’t feel heard and they’re not well served,” Helton told TechCrunch. “Doctor appointments take forever and women tend to tell them everything within 10 minutes. As a result, they don’t feel well cared for and pushed to the next step, while the doctor doesn’t have time to really get to know them what their needs are. Also, these women have very unique issues.”
While healthcare is getting personalized, senior care isn’t immune gender difference. Herself Health conducted a primary care survey of more than 700 women in this age group and found that women in this age group were more likely to be misdiagnosed than men. They were less likely to receive a diagnosis of chronic heart disease or stroke and therefore not receive appropriate treatment. Women are also more likely than men to be diagnosed with osteoporosis, autoimmune disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
The company currently operates a clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota, offering a “whole person” approach that includes health, wellness, mobility, mental health, and social and behavioral health. Physicians take the time to talk with patients and understand their goals, then develop a customized care plan that is woman-centered and age-sensitive, Helton said.
Image Source: own health
Helton declined to disclose details about revenue, but said the company signs up hundreds of patients each month and operates a fee-for-service model.
Herself Health joins a string of startups also addressing aged care, including Papa, Carewell, Devoted Health, Heal and nursing forecastThe company, which announced $29 million in new funding last week, monitors the daily activities and behavior of older adults for early signs of health problems.
Six months after raising funds $7 million seed roundHerself Health is back with some additional venture capital, raising a $26 million Series A round with Accrative’s Michael Cline as lead investor. Juxtapose also participated in this round. The company has raised $33 million to date.
“The company has shown tremendous traction in acquiring patients and using the seed money to scale has really paid off handsomely,” Klein said in an interview. “On top of that, we have a very good Clinical staff talent and really builds on our deep capabilities in women’s health issues. They’ve proven the ability to get patients so now it’s just a matter of perfecting both of those over time as they scale .”
With the new funding, Herself Health plans to expand its footprint over the next 18 months. It will add two more clinics in Minneapolis-St. Louis. It will launch in the São Paulo region this year and at least one in new markets in 2024, Helton said.
The company is also working to improve its services, including offering virtual care so follow-up visits can be conducted digitally when clinics are too far away. Helton also hopes to increase the membership of its team of doctors, nurses and medical assistants.
“We will continue to iterate and improve the tools we have for patients and providers,” she said. “We are bringing significant resources, technology and communication channels into our practice to ensure we can provide the best possible care for our patients.”
