A new St. Paul-based health care company focused on providing care to older women has raised $7 million as it announces the opening of its first-ever clinic.
Herself Health, which focuses on providing advanced primary care to women over the age of 65, announced Thursday that it secured seed funding, led by a founding partner, New York-based investment firm Juxtapose.
As part of the announcement, the company also said it had opened its inaugural clinic in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul.
Funds are going toward the new clinic, hiring staff and future expansions, CEO and Co-founder Kristen Helton said in an interview.
Herself Health looks to meet an unaddressed need to provide care focused on women, who are more often misdiagnosed than men, and particularly for those who are older, Helton said.
"With the launch of Herself Health, we are breaking the mold of one-size-fits-most healthcare, which traditionally falls short of providing the best care for women of this generation," Helton said in a statement. Helton has held leadership roles in the health care space, previously co-founding an integrated biosensor company, Profusa, and founding and leading Amazon’s health care model, Amazon Care.
At the new clinic, located at the intersection of Ford Parkway and Cleveland Avenue South, patients will be treated for geriatric health, women’s health and weight management, according to the announcement. The company already accepts Medicare and is in the process of contracting with several Medicare Advantage plans, Helton said.
Looking ahead, the company plans to expand to include home-based and virtual-care services as well as evolve its care based on patient experiences from the first clinic, Helton said.
“Our focus is really to elevate the experience (for patients) and design backwards from our patients,” Helton said. “These early patients that are part of our practice are part of the future of Herself. Their voices are really important. … We’re taking that into mind and building on that.”
By early 2024, Herself Health expects to open three more clinics in the Twin Cities area, the CEO added.
The company has about 25 employees, a majority of whom are based in the Twin Cities, and is hiring, Helton said.
With the funding announcement, Herself Health also announced that the former president and CEO of WW, formerly Weight Watchers, Mindy Grossman, has been added to its board. Grossman currently also works as a partner at The Consello Group.
"Kristen and Herself Health have created a model for health care that will give a wider population elevated and meaningful experiences they wouldn't otherwise have access to," Grossman said in a statement.
