The state’s largest healthcare system, Baptist Health, has joined with the State of Arkansas and the state’s largest health insurance company, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield (ABCBS), in an innovative partnership designed to improve healthcare while also boosting the state’s economy.
HubX-Life Sciences is the first privately-funded and industry-specific business accelerator program in Arkansas.
“This program is bringing talented innovators to the state with whom we have an opportunity to showcase what Arkansas has to offer entrepreneurs,” said Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “Since announcing the HubX accelerator, FIS – a Little Rock-based financial services company – has announced a financial technology accelerator in partnership with the Venture Center. As we see more organizations participate in programs such as these, we will continue to see increased investment opportunities and continued exposure and growth for the state of Arkansas.”
Wells said Baptist Health is partnering with HubX-Life Sciences because Baptist is committed to improving the lives of Arkansans by changing the way healthcare is delivered.
“HubX-Life Sciences invites innovative technology solutions to traditional healthcare challenges that could result in better patient outcomes, better patient experiences and overall increased efficiency,” Wells said. “At Baptist Health, we are constantly evaluating our performance and striving to fulfil our mission, vision and values in new and innovative ways.”
Wells said all of the companies participating in the accelerator have developed medical devices or digital health platforms that could potentially have tremendous impact on the quality of patient care and or patient engagement/satisfaction.
The seven companies were chosen based on a set of selection criteria developed collectively by Baptist Health, ABCBS, and the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub.
“Essentially, we were looking for companies that were attempting to solve problems that we as healthcare providers and payers deemed important,” Wells said. “The most important criteria was evaluating whether we as Baptist Health, ABCBS, and the Innovation Hub could provide value to a company and could they, in turn, add value to our organizations. We received over 70 applications from all over the world, and we worked diligently to get that number down to seven.”
Several months of national and international recruitment went into selecting the startup companies that will participate in the 13-week program. Each company will receive seed investment, as well as intense mentorship and assistance, as they rapidly proceed from concept to product development and customer acquisition. Initial seed investments into the companies will range from $25,000 to $50,000, and the companies will also qualify for additional back-end investments.
Wells said they believe that the accelerator has the potential to attract high tech entrepreneurs to the state of Arkansas. It is their hope that more technology-based companies consider Arkansas a place where innovation can occur and be maintained.
“We believe that the accelerator program has the potential to contribute to Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s strategic objectives for the State of Arkansas,” Wells said. “The governor has taken considerable steps to promote technology proficiency throughout the education system, as well as the economy. We hope that, collectively, all of our efforts make Arkansas more attractive and known for business development and technology-driven entrepreneurial activity.”
“We're delighted and honored to have a cohort of healthcare founders of this quality,” said Jeff Stinson, the director of entrepreneurship at the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, who also directs HubX-Life Sciences. “The ability to attract technology and talent of this caliber to a first-year accelerator is due in no small part to the access provided by Baptist Health and Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, each of whom have been tremendous partners in this undertaking. We really can’t wait to get these founders to Arkansas and begin working with them.”
Mark White, president and chief executive officer of ABCBS, said in the ever-changing healthcare environment, it is imperative to innovate and recreate the way business is done to better serve their members to ensure they have access to quality healthcare and reliable, affordable health insurance.
“Effectively reaching healthcare consumers, empowering them with information they can understand for making good decisions, and providing them with the tools they need to make the process easy are all paramount to the future health of our members and all Arkansans,” White said. “We want to encourage companies with bright, motivated employees to consider the possibilities of a great, new healthcare system.”
Warwick Sabin, executive director of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, said the program is well positioned to make Arkansas a national leader in healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship.
The participating companies will be selected based on their potential to provide solutions to several key priorities identified by Baptist Health and Arkansas Blue Cross, which include digital healthcare platforms, healthcare services and medical devices.
The program will partner with Iron Yard Ventures, which operates a Digital Health Accelerator that is ranked among the top five health accelerators in the nation. Iron Yard Ventures will share its expertise, training, mentor network, and other assets during its engagement with HubX-Life Sciences.
For more information visit www.hubx.biz.
