LOUISVILLE, Ky. (July 10, 2018) — SentryHealth, an innovative Louisville-based healthcare company formerly known as Edumedics, announced today the completion of a $9.5 million Series A financing, the naming of noted healthcare investor and business leader Bruce Lunsford as chairman of its board of managers, and its recent rebranding as SentryHealth.
The company announced in December 2015 the closing of the first $4.2M of the Series A. Today’s announcement of an additional $5.3M brings the total Series A to $9.5M.
The Series A round was led by Lunsford Capital, LLC, a private investment company founded in Louisville by Bruce Lunsford. The round was syndicated by a group of funds and angel investors geographically dispersed in the Eastern U.S. Chicago-based OCA Ventures participated in the round, and their General Partner Bob Saunders is an observer to the company’s board of managers. Other participants in the round include Chrysalis Ventures’ co-founder Doug Cobb, and Blue & Co. partners Dale Skaggs and Mike Stigler.
Newly appointed board chairman Bruce Lunsford first joined the Edumedics board in October 2015. He is the former chairman and CEO of Ventas, Inc., a healthcare real estate investment company (REIT) that became one of the largest healthcare real estate investment trusts in the United States, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Lunsford is currently the chairman of Arcadia Communities, LLC, a Louisville-based real estate development company, which specializes in senior living communities. Also, joining the company’s board of managers is angel investor and IBM veteran Jack Danehy. Danehy’s investments over the past two decades have included Telapoint (acquired by Wright Express in 2007) and Zirmed (acquired by Bain and merged with Navicure in 2017).
According to SentryHealth CEO Alice Shade, “We are delighted to close this important capital raise, and to welcome Mr. Lunsford and Mr. Danehy to our board. SentryHealth will use the growth capital to accelerate our expansion into states beyond our core populations in the Midwest.”
SentryHealth delivers world-class care to the workplace on behalf of employers seeking to improve the health of employees and their dependents while reducing medical, pharmacy, disability and workers’ compensation costs for their employers. Care is delivered at the worksite, at a near-site clinic, or remotely via telehealth following a proactive, programmatic approach to member outreach combined with personalized care delivered by mid-level practitioners.
According to Shade, “SentryHealth has proven that there’s a better way to deliver healthcare services, one that has measurable engagement, quality and cost improvement with recent quarterly results showing client savings exceeding 40 percent among program participants with chronic diseases. We bridge the gap between primary care and employer health program offerings, and with industry-best participation rates, we consistently drive double-digit cost reductions.”
People with chronic diseases – obesity, diabetes, COPD and hypertension – typically account for up to 75 percent of an employer’s medical costs because employees with chronic diseases are often unable to effectively manage their conditions over the long-run, resulting in complications such as kidney failure and heart disease. SentryHealth works directly with this group to improve health outcomes and drive significant savings for employers.
“I am very impressed with the results the SentryHealth team has delivered for its clients — they are breaking new ground with their proactive approach to care for those who have chronic conditions and are also providing a solid ROI for their clients,” added Lunsford. “Through a combination of evidence-based protocols and patient education, all supported by their proprietary technology platform Healthward, the company is driving accountability and measurable health improvement among its members.”
The Healthward technology platform uses proprietary algorithms and program elements to identify members with a chronic disease and those at-risk of imminently developing one. It orchestrates the outreach and engagement efforts needed to activate at-risk employees and keep them engaged. On the care delivery side, Healthward ensures adherence to SentryHealth’s evidence-based clinical protocols that have proven so effective.
“We chose SentryHealth for our new name as a symbol of our vigilance and dedication to protecting and improving the health and well-being of our client’s employees and their dependents,” added Shade. “What doesn’t change is our deep commitment to providing an exceptional care experience, or our dedication to delighting our clients.”
The company was founded in 2010 by Alice Shade and Dr. Richard Goldstein. While working at physician services company UPA Services and the University of Louisville respectively, the founders recognized that employees with chronic conditions often account for a disproportionate percentage of a company’s medical costs, yet often did not receive the necessary and appropriate care to best manage their condition. They developed the initial Intellectual Property while working on the problem for U of L’s employees, and later licensed the technology and spun out the company to deliver care to other populations.
Mark Crane, a Louisville-based health care executive and former E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year, joined SentryHealth as COO in August 2014 and helped lead the company’s $9.5 million Series A financing. Crane worked closely with Louisville-based Venture First to identify and secure the group of investors.
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