A Cincinnati health care technology firm is adding a new face to its C-suite as it prepares for more growth in 2021.
Halo Health, one of Cincy Inno's Startups to Watch, named Steve Smerz its new chief technology officer, effective Jan. 4, the company announced in a news release. Smerz most recently was executive vice president of technology at NovuHealth, now Icario, a Minneapolis-based health and wellness organization.
The chief technology officer position is new to Halo, with the role previously being split between various directors and managers. The new position comes at a critical time for Halo as the downtown-based startup looks to scale in the new year.
"Steve Smerz has an outstanding reputation for successfully integrating information technology functions of high-growth organizations; critical skills which are aligned with our objectives as we embark in the next year of surpassing client expectations," Halo CEO and co-founder Jose Barreau said in a statement.
What started as a HIPAA-compliant texting application has evolved into much more. Halo's suite of offerings allow for instant access to electronic health records, critical and clinical teams, physician on-call schedules, call centers, labs and directories as well as voice-over-internet-protocol calling. Its roster of customers includes some of the most prestigious hospital systems around the country.
Smerz is the latest C-level addition to Halo's team. In 2020, the company hired Kurt Hammond as its first chief growth officer and Julia Goebel as its chief marketing officer.
The firm ranks among Greater Cincinnati's top 20 best-funded startups, with $20.6 million in capital raised as of July 31, 2020, according to Courier research.
