🗞️ Nurse-Led Healthtech Company Successfully Exits

Team Huddle

AONL’s annual conference came to a close early April, with it coming some major announcements that affect nursing. Of course, I rounded up the highlights for you. 😉

Separately, i’ve added yet another to company to my database of “Start-ups building AI Nurses without any nurses on their leadership team” list. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Who knew the list would grow so quickly! Its almost disappointingly so.

Nurses bring deep clinical expertise, realistic product design, patient-centered perspective, and trust/credibility to the table. The resulting product would obviously be better than when something is build without nursing leadership. So why is this still happening?

• Are there not enough qualified nurses?

• Is there an access gap where nurses aren’t connected to startup ecosystems, VC networks, or product communities?

• Have nurses been left out for so long that including us doesn’t even cross their minds?

While we cannot immediately address some barriers, we can make a difference in 2 actionable ways:

1. Demand accountability in leadership representation. The next time you see a company building products that complete typical nurse roles or have nurses as an end-user, take a look at their leadership board. If you don’t see a nurse on there, CALL THEM OUT ON IT. And then email me so I can add them to my naughty list. 👀

   

2. Challenge yourself to learn a non-nursing skill that is essential for building a scalable business. I’m not saying you need to sign up for an MBA, STAT. Consider free online resources (Youtube University anyone?) or by taking a webinar.

🧼 📦 Anyway, give me some CHG wipes and i’ll get off my soapbox now.

News Nurses Need to Know

1. Avasure acquired Nurse Disrupted

   • Details: AvaSure, a leader in AI-powered virtual care solutions, has acquired Nurse Disrupted, a nurse-founded virtual nursing platform for an undisclosed amount. Bre Loughlin, MS, RN, founder of Nurse Disrupted, will join AvaSure as the Executive Director of Virtual Care Innovation.

   • Why it matters: Most recent successful exit by a nurse-founded company specializing in virtual nursing platform.

     

2. Q&A with Microsoft’s Chief Nursing Officer

   • Details: Ex-trauma nurse Kathleen McGrow, DNP, MS, RN, is now Microsoft's Chief Nursing Information Officer (CNIO) aiming to integrate clinical insights into healthcare technology development. McGrow advises nurses to pursue continuous education, engage in networking, and actively participate in technological advancements within their orgs.

   • Why it matters: Her role emphasizes the importance of incorporating nurses' perspectives to create tech solutions that enhance patient care and provider workflows — something Microsoft rightfully values!

3. STUDY: Towards conversational diagnostic artificial intelligence

   • Details: Researchers developed AMIE (Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer), an AI system trained to conduct diagnostic dialogues that mimic real clinician-patient conversations. In 159 simulated cases, AMIE outperformed primary care physicians in diagnostic accuracy, history-taking, and communication. Obviously, emphasize the need for real-world validation before clinical deployment.Obviously, this needs to be real-world validation before clinical deployment but WOW.

   • Why it matters: AI tools trained on clinical conversations will need input from nurses to ensure accuracy, patient-centered communication, and cultural competence = opportunities for informatics nurses and nurse consultants in tech. The time to be an AI-literate RN is now! Furthermore, this opens space for nurse-led startups to build a product specific to nursing tailored workflows and nurse-patient tailored interactions (care coordination, community health screening, symptom triage, discharge teaching etc).

4. CareView Communications Announces New Business Agreement with Alaska Native Medical Center

   • Details: CareView Communication’s AI-powered Patient Safety System includes predictive tools like Virtual Bed Rails® and Virtual Chair Rails® that enables centralized monitoring of multiple patients. The goal is to reduce falls and enhance safety while decreasing reliance on in-person sitters. The partnership also strengthens CareView’s presence in the PNW and builds on its existing collaborations with Vizient-affiliated hospitals.​

   • Why it matters: A new “virtual sitter” monitoring system to be on the lookout for. This builds on the trend toward integrating advanced monitoring technologies within established nursing workflows and protocols.

5. Hallmark Announces Integration with CareRev’s On-Demand Healthcare Workforce Marketplace

   • Details: Hallmark integration with nurse-founded but no longer led CareRev's on-demand healthcare workforce marketplace, providing hospitals immediate access to over 35,000 per diem nurses. This collab aims to enhance staffing flexibility, allowing healthcare facilities to efficiently manage fluctuating patient volumes while reducing reliance on 💰 travel nurse contracts.

   • Why it matters: Similar to UNC’s partnership with Shiftmed announced earlier this year. Same software function, different company. End result is more per diem flexibility and less travel contractors potentially coming to Hallmark supported hospitals near you.

6. Tariff’s send healthcare industry into “uncharted waters”

   • Details: Pharmaceutical companies are excluded from the tariff list however med devices and supplies were not leading to concerns across the healthcare sector. ✨ Executives at large and small practices argue this will be a large financial hit with Providence’s CEO estimating the tariffs could cost the health system between $10M-25M/year.

   • Why it matters: Higher cost, lower margins = fat must be trimmed from operational costs else. Guess where the biggest expense for hospitals are? Yep, its workforce wages and benefits. Prepare for slower hiring or hiring freezes all together and potential layoffs for non-essential or low performing employees within and outside of nursing pool.

     

7. Nursing Economics Study

   • Details: Nursing should no longer be seen as a cost center but as a key driver of both patient outcomes and financial performance in value-based care. Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) should use models like the Nursing Human Capital Value Model to quantify the return on investment (ROI) in nursing through metrics like reduced readmissions, improved safety, and staff retention. By aligning clinical care with financial goals, they can demonstrate that investing in nursing leads to both better care and cost savings.

   • Why it matters: Nurses directly influence outcomes, proving their role is not just clinical but also essential to hospital financial health. CNOs must lead with data to show nursing investments improve quality and efficiency—making nurse leadership critical to healthcare strategy.

✨ - at time of original article publication

Funding Announcements

Raised 💸 = Hiring potential. Follow these companies closely to see Nurse-qualified positions posted. Remember: Just because some positions don’t say “Nurse”, doesn’t mean you aren’t qualified!

• Solace, a platform pairing Medicare members with healthcare advocates, raised $60M series B at a $300M valuation.

• Marit Health, a salary data aggregator for clinicians, raised $3.2M.

• Daymark Health, a care coordination model for oncology patients, raised $11.5M.

• Rebranded Episode Solutions to Deacon Health raised $7M to launch a specialty care navigation platform.

Other Notable Reads

A 👏🏻 Nurse 👏🏻 did 👏🏻 THAT!

Melinda Yormick, RN, Foster School of Business Executive MBA (2024) created CLARA. CLARA is Waze™ meets air traffic control, providing hyper-accurate indoor navigation for patients and staff, including real-time positioning of staff and resources. By harnessing precision mapping and concurrent data, CLARA streamlines hospital operations, enhances patient care, and reduces friction in rapid delivery of care. Read more about her journey.

Forward Nursing: Education Opportunities 🏃🏻‍♀️

Round-up of grants and career development opportunities i’ve come across that can help nurse innovators like YOU! (Not sponsored or affiliated with RN Forward.)

• 2025 AI Bootcamp (remote) by the National Institute of Nursing Research

  • TBH: Not sure how up to date the course information is (new AI breakthroughs are developed everyday!) but its a 2 day time commitment and should give you the basics you need.

  • When: Monday, June 2 to Tuesday, June 3, 2025, from 10 am - 3 pm ET

  • Cost: Free

  • Join the waitlist

• Penn Nursing Innovation Accelerator 2025 Pitch Event

  • TBH: Great way to learn about how UPenn Nursing is at the forefront of nurse innovation and to listen to actual nurses pitch in front of Venture Capitalist (VCs).

  • When: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 from 12-2:30pm PDT.

  • Cost: Free