A startup founded by a Cincinnati mother-and-son duo is one of a few dozen companies worldwide selected to compete in a Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiative for promising social entrepreneurs.
Re-Assist, a digital health platform for referrals founded by Forest Park resident Ashley Barrow and her 13-year-old son, Aaron Bess Jr., has been selected as a finalist for the “Solve 2022 Global Challenge,” an MIT initiative.
The startup is one of 75 finalists overall out of 1,100 applications from 117 countries. Re-Assist will compete with 15 other companies in “The Care Economy” category, dedicated to solutions that make care more accessible and affordable.
Selected teams — eight of the 15 — will be invited to pitch their solutions to a panel of judges ahead of the Solve Challenge Finals Sept. 18-19 in New York City. Those finalists will share more than $1.3 million in available funding, and take part in a nine-month “Solver” program, which includes coaching, mentorship and networking opportunities.
Re-Assist, which Cincy Inno profiled shortly after its graduation from Northern Kentucky’s SoCap Accelerate last year, was founded by Barrow and her son to digitize a process that’s largely manual.
When patients move from an acute to post-acute level of care, for example, they’re often handed a paper list with names of potential resources, Barrow said. “You’re handed this paper list, and you try to look things up online, but you can’t find the websites. The social worker doesn’t really know, so you’re calling the place. It’s confusing during a time of crisis, and people are basically picking the first place they can find, and it sometimes ends up being inadequate. I just thought, ‘There’s got to be a better way,’” she told me at the time.
Re-Assist allows patients to take more control of their care planning process by filtering and choosing providers relative to insurance, location and more.
That allows patients to make more educated decisions. The goal is to reduce patient re-admissions, length of stay and expedite the referral process.
“I see Re-Assist having a global impact on health care process and patient quality of life,” Barrow said in a release.
Re-Assist is currently located at the Norwood, Ohio-based incubator Alloy Growth Lab. Besides SoCap, Barrow has participated in Mortar’s accelerator. She was also awarded a Main Street Ventures “Launch” grant to support the development of her digital health platform.
In her Solve profile, Barrow said funds from the initiative would allow Re-Assist to pilot its platform and finalize proof-of-concept.
"We have developed great relationships with health care entities all over the state of Ohio, however (we) will need techniques to tighten our strategic plan to market our product," she said.
Solve, since its launch in 2015, has catalyzed more than $50 million in commitments for its participating teams and entrepreneurs.
Supporters can vote online for Re-Assist until Sept. 18. The top vote getter receives a separate grant award.
