Ardent Health Services is bringing innovation in-house.
The hospital operator has partnered with fellow Nashville-based SwitchPoint Ventures to launch an innovation studio focused on using data to create products that improve health care delivery and administration, according to a news release.
Once products are developed, they will be deployed across Ardent’s system of 30 hospitals and 200 sites of care with the goal of spinning them out as independent companies.
Ardent is one of the five largest private companies in Middle Tennessee, according to Nashville Business Journal research, with $4.87 billion of revenue in 2021. The company employs more than 25,000 people in six states, 315 of whom are in Nashville.
“Ardent and SwitchPoint share a commitment to addressing the root problems that burden healthcare delivery,” Ardent President and CEO Marty Bonick said in the release. “Making health care work better demands more than status quo thinking. SwitchPoint’s team listens, breaks down assumptions, attacks the salient issues, and iterates until there’s a breakthrough. Together, I’m confident we will bring big ideas and bold solutions to life in the areas that matter most to patients and caregivers.”
Ardent joins Brentwood-based LifePoint Health in a growing trend of hospital operators looking to develop their own solutions to inefficiencies and gaps in health care. LifePoint launched its in-house innovation studio, 25m Health, in 2021 with $20 million in seed money in a partnership with private equity firm Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO).
Ardent’s studio builds on an existing relationship with SwitchPoint — which builds artificial intelligence platforms for businesses — that began two years ago, according to the release. In 2021, the duo developed Winnow, an AI platform for clinician recruitment that uses predictive analytics to help Ardent source, recruit and retain health care workers.
“One of the reasons why innovation is so difficult is that people talk about the need for change, but won’t take the steps to make the change,” SwitchPoint CEO Ray Guzman said in the release. “It has been a breath of fresh air to work with Marty and his team. Their growth mindsets, respect for the creative process, and eagerness to follow through makes for an ideal environment to introduce disruptive solutions. Like us, they are serious about transforming the healthcare industry, and I’m excited for the future we are building together.”
