McLean staffing startup ShiftMed LLC has raised $45 million in new funding, as a staffing shortage plagues the health care industry and demand mounts for the startup’s service.
The company said Wednesday the funding will support its national expansion and further development of its workforce management platform, which connects hospitals and other health care organizations with available workers — from nurses to therapists to in-home caregivers.
Atlanta venture capital firm Panoramic Ventures and Healthworx, the innovation arm of Baltimore's CareFirst Holdings LLC, led the round. Existing investors Motley Fool Ventures of Alexandria, 3TS Capital Partners of Vienna and Blue Heron Capital of Richmond also participated.
ShiftMed counts more than 700 enterprises using its platform — including health systems, skilled nursing facilities, home health and assisted living providers. In doing so, the business reports that it helped those organizations care for more than 200,000 patients in the third quarter of 2021.
“We believe the company has the scale to be an important player in the health care space,” ShiftMed CEO Todd Walrath said in a statement.
The ShiftMed app serves 56 markets across the U.S. but the company did not say specifically where it operates and where it’s expanding next. We have reached out to the company for that and other details, and will update this post as we hear back.
Healthworx already has a presence in Greater Washington, working with Georgetown social entrepreneurship incubator Halcyon since October 2019 to support companies focused on improving health outcomes, increasing access to health services and cutting costs for patients. It’s also teamed up with District health tech startup Socially Determined Inc. to track Covid-19 risk factors geographically through the crisis.
“In our efforts to improve health equity, we recognize that ancillary services like caregiving play a vital role,” Doba Parushev, director of venture capital for Healthworx, said in a statement. “Our investment in ShiftMed expands our toolkit with in-home services, supporting our mission and continued ability to improve health outcomes.”
The financial backing for ShiftMed comes as health systems and provider organizations across the industry battle a shrinking workforce and increasing demand for care, not just for Covid-19, but as patients who put off appointments through the coronavirus pandemic now seek care with worsening conditions. That’s as employees across sectors rethink their careers in favor of remote work, retirement and other opportunities — and as their employers in many cases remain challenged to fill their positions.
