IntelyCare’s app matches nurses with nearby shifts, helping fill shortages at long-term care facilities.
A startup bringing a tech-based approach to healthcare staffing raised $45 million in equity and debt financing. Boston-based IntelyCare’s software matches nurses with openings at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, letting them opt into shifts of their choosing.
With an expected nursing shortage, many healthcare facilities are already feeling the pinch — especially skilled nursing facilities, which generally have fewer nurses available to cover dropped shifts.
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“It’s quite common for nurses in this industry to stay 16 hours even if they’re scheduled for 8 hours. It leads to burnout and becomes quite dangerous for patient care as well,” Co-Founder and Chief Nursing Officer Chris Caulfield said.
Caulfield started the company after working as a nurse at a long-term care facility, which was running into the same problems with short staffing. Caulfield and his team looked for solutions, but couldn’t find anything that would meet their needs. Most staffing agencies had a weeklong queue before a nurse was available, but with a cancelled shift, they needed someone that day.
“There was really no good solution that anyone could deliver,” Caulfield said.
So, he teamed up with CTO Ike Nnah, to start a new company in 2016.
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IntelyCare uses machine learning algorithms to predict when facilities will need additional staff and what price to charge. It also keeps track of what types of shifts its nurses are looking for, suggesting better matches. The company claims it can add more than 20% capacity to post-acute care facilities’ available workforce.
So far, healthcare providers seem to be keen on IntelyCare’s model. The startup currently serves 500 nursing facilities with 11,000 nurses. It doubled its revenue and the number of facilities it serves between 2018 and 2019, and has plans to further expand. The company currently operates out of nine states, including Massachusetts, Florida and Missouri, and expects to add 11 additional states this year.
“It really struck a nerve with both sides. Both our clients and our nurses are finding that this is the solution they’ve been looking for,” CEO David Coppins said.
With the new funding, the startup plans to fuel its geographic expansion. IntelyCare will also further invest in its data science — which Coppins said has been a “critical component” for the company’s success — and will also look to add new workforce management services later this year.
Endeavour Vision, a Swiss private equity firm focused on medtech companies, led the funding round. Other participating investors included Kaiser Permanente Ventures and Generator Ventures.
“As an investor in innovative medical and digital health technologies, we look for companies with disruptive solutions to the challenges facing today’s healthcare system,” Rob Barmann, senior investment director for Endeavour Vision, said in a news release. “IntelyCare’s rapid and significant growth demonstrates the value it is bringing to the nursing sector. With a unique technology and an experienced team, the company is well-positioned to develop further, and we are proud to support it in its next phase of growth.”