San Antonio women's healthcare startup Betty's Co. recently launched a new mobile clinic called Care Close-By and saw its first in-person patients last week.
The startup, founded in 2020 by CEO Jennifer Newell and husband Justin Newell, offers an approach to women's health care that pairs gynecology with mental health and wellness services. Focusing primarily on women between the ages of 13 and 40, the company began seeing patients remotely last July and unveiled the Betty's Co. app in December 2021.
Newell said Betty's Co. originally intended to launch a brick-and-mortar location in a walkable retail environment, but those plans were scrapped, at least for now, because of the pandemic.
"We had our site picked out, our layout designed and were awaiting financing when Covid hit," she said. Newell pivoted and rolled out the mobile clinic sooner than planned, since she had always hoped to offer the option of a mobile clinic to raise awareness and provide on-site care at colleges, for employers and at events. Through the mobile clinic, Betty's Co. and its team of health professionals pair the care it offers via its digital platform (called Care Anywhere) with in-person care.
While Betty's Co. is just getting its in-person start in San Antonio, Newell hopes to expand the brand into other Texas markets within the next 12 months.
The startup has eight employees, including Newell. The mobile clinic will have three to four employees working at a time. Two women's health clinicians, Dr. Jillian LoPiano and Lindsey Lavoie, a women's health nurse practitioner, will conduct patient visits at the mobile site.
In 2021, Betty's Co. won the $50,000 grand prize at TechFuel's pitch contest for early-stage startups, and in December 2020, it won the $25,000 Geekdom Community Fund pitch competition.
The clinic's weekday hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekend hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its March locations can be found on its company calendar, or visitors can attend launch events Saturday at Blue Star Arts Complex; March 10 and March 12 at Hemisfair; March 16-17 and March 19 at Brooks, and March 23-24 and March 26 at the Shops at La Cantera.
