Advocate Aurora Health and MATTER announce 2019 Health Tech Venture Challenge winner

UCC-related Advocate Aurora Health, one of the 10 largest not-for-profit integrated health systems in the country, and MATTER, the premier healthcare incubator and innovation hub, named digital health startup LifePod the winner of the 2019 Health Tech Venture Challenge. Following a live pitch event on Nov. 5, LifePod was awarded a $10,000 cash prize, a six-month MATTER membership and the commitment from Advocate Aurora Health to pilot their solution.

Launched in mid-August, the 2019 Health Tech Venture Challenge called on digital health startups to reimagine the aging experience with solutions that improve care coordination, address social determinants of health and focus on preventive care for this growing population of aging adults. Approximately 10,000 people turn 65 every day in the United States.

“Older Americans continue to make up a bigger and bigger portion of the population, so our quest to help people live well means helping them age well too,” said Advocate Aurora Health Chief Strategy Officer Scott Powder. “We want to invest in new technology solutions like this one that will allow people to live happy, healthy and independent lives for as long as possible.”

From an initial pool of 62 applicants, finalists Kindfull, LifePod, medsense, MyndYou and Nymbl were selected to present their solutions to leaders from Advocate Aurora Health at MATTER. Ultimately, judges chose LifePod for their novel, easy-to-use and personalized approach that not only improves health outcomes for aging adults, but also addresses their unmet social, economic and environmental needs.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have won this pitch competition,” said LifePod CEO and Co-founder Stuart Patterson. “We look forward to collaborating with Advocate Aurora Health on a pilot, and on helping the aging population age in place and live a better life.”

LifePod uses voice technology to allow smart speakers and other devices to proactively interact with aging adults for more personalized care. Caregivers can customize the tool to deliver specific messages using language most familiar and comforting to the recipient.

“Transforming care for America’s growing aging population is one of healthcare’s most pressing challenges,” said MATTER CEO Steven Collens. “We’re proud to have worked with Advocate Aurora to help them find the right partner, and look forward to seeing the outcome of LifePod and Advocate Aurora’s collaboration.”

Advocate Aurora Health is the 10th largest not-for-profit, integrated health system in the United States and a leading employer in the Midwest with more than 70,000 employees, including more than 22,000 nurses and the region’s largest employed medical staff and home health organization. A national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience, and value-based care, the system serves nearly 3 million patients annually in Illinois and Wisconsin across more than 500 sites of care. Advocate Aurora is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies and is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, and pediatrics. The organization also contributed $2 billion in charitable care and services to its communities in 2016.

The MATTER collaborative includes more than 200 cutting-edge startups from around the world, working together with hospitals and health systems, universities and industry — leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together they are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.