A Cincinnati health care tech startup that saw accelerated growth due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic has raised millions in new capital, and the funds will help it expand beyond its traditional client base and more.
Over-the-Rhine’s Carefeed, which provides digital communication solutions to senior care facilities, said Tuesday it closed a $3 million financing round led by New York City-based Reformation Partners. Existing investors Allos Ventures, based in Indianapolis and Cincinnati, and M25, a Chicago- and Indianapolis-based VC firm, also participated.
The investment follows an undisclosed seed raise announced in July 2021.
The new funds will allow Carefeed to accelerate the adoption of its platform by skilled nursing and senior living communities across the U.S. and Canada.
The company also plans to broaden its suite of solutions and expand into other patient care settings.
“This investment supports our goal to make life easier for care communities through improved communications,” Terry Wall, founder and CEO of Carefeed, said in a release. “People working in senior care and other care provider settings have been under enormous pressure — especially because of Covid-19 — and we are constantly developing and enhancing solutions to support their efforts.”
Carefeed’s solutions are already being used by some of the largest senior living companies in the U.S. The company said it offers significant time- and cost-saving features to support communications while also helping communities stay compliant with regulations that govern the distribution and accessibility of information.
Carefeed "automates antiquated processes" like paper admission agreements and calendars, phone-based safety announcements, care conference schedules and more and distributes them via text, email and voice.
Additionally, Carefeed’s new portal provides a hub for family members to access information specific to their loved ones in addition to important community-wide updates.
For Reformation Partners, this is its first investment in the Cincinnati area, and one of only a handful its made in the Midwest. The firm, founded in 2019, provides early growth equity with 11 portfolio investments to date, including startups in Dallas, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Boston and more.
Jim Hao, founder and managing partner at Reformation Partners, said Carefeed sits at the "forefront of the software revolution" in long-term care settings.
John McIlwraith, managing director of Allos, said Carefeed continues to see rapid growth. New capital should accelerate that.
“This is our second investment in Carefeed, and we’re excited to see the strong demand and the introduction of its solutions in other patient care settings,” McIlwraith said.
Wall, prior to starting Carefeed in 2020, led national sales for the hospital business unit at Kenwood-based PatientPoint, a Cincinnati health care tech company led by Mike Collette. Wall spent seven years traveling the country working with hospitals and health systems and witnessed first-hand the need for tech enhancements in the elder care space.
Carefeed is a gBeta Cincy and SoCap Accelerate alum. It was named a Cincy Inno “Startup to Watch” in 2021.
The company currently has eight employees with plans to double that number over the coming year.
