Cayaba Care, a maternal health company offering community-based clinical services via technology-enabled multidisciplinary care teams, launched today and announced the closing of a $3.2M seed round. Cayaba Care’s technology-enabled, community-based care model addresses current gaps in maternity care for women experiencing social and health inequities. The round was led by Flare Capital with participation from Digitalis Ventures, Kapor Capital, SteelSky Ventures, and angel investors who will help further Cayaba Care’s mission of reimagining maternity care for underserved women
Cayaba Care is building partnerships with obstetric practices that focus on extending care beyond the practice walls, providing home and near-home clinical and behavioral health services, coordinating care, and addressing social determinants of health. By utilizing technology, Cayaba Care can improve access for patients, identify timely interventions, and improve overall health outcomes.
“The current obstetric practice provides exceptional care to patients who are able to make it into the office. However, for a variety of reasons patients may miss appointments,” said Dr. David Jaspan, Chair Department of Obstetrics at Einstein Health Network. “To impact quality, we need a solution that extends past the walls of the practice and reaches beyond traditional obstetrical care. We are excited to partner with Cayaba Care. Together we will collaborate with our patients and their families to address specific social needs that have traditionally been overlooked and thereby we will create lasting solutions rather than episodic interactions.”
As part of a sweeping action plan in response to the tragic rate of maternal deaths, on December 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its intention to reduce maternal mortality by 50% by 2025. Recent statistics reveal extraordinary inequities, with Black and Hispanic women facing three to four times the rate of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. In Philadelphia, where Cayaba Care’s has launched, Black women accounted for 43% of all births but suffered 73% of all maternal deaths that same year. Similar disparities occur in other communities with preterm births and infant mortality rates.
“COVID showed the value of telemedicine in prenatal care, which is here to stay. Unfortunately, many underserved patient populations who could most benefit from the convenience of telemedicine or home visits lack broadband access or a provider who can easily provide those services. We need solutions to improve outcomes by bringing technology to these communities and meeting people where they are,” commented Dr. Colleen Denny, Medical Director, Ambulatory Women’s Health Services at Bellevue Hospital.
“Moms and babies are at the centers of many communities. At Cayaba Care, we believe moms deserve to be heard, and we are focused on designing empathetic solutions specifically rooted in the patient voice and bringing high-quality care that fits into their complicated lives,” said Olan Soremekun, CEO and co-founder of Cayaba Care. This funding comes at a time when maternity and newborn outcomes in the U.S. are among the worst among developed countries, and the U.S. is the only developed country with worsening trends.
Cayaba Care was founded to improve outcomes in communities by reimagining how maternity and pediatric care is delivered. Before founding Cayaba Care, Dr. Olan Soremekun held leadership roles at Cigna, supporting physician groups’ adoption of value-based payment models. In addition, he has held physician leadership roles leading clinical operations and service-line expansion. Dr. Fleming, a board-certified OB-GYN, has practiced in various settings after completing the Minority Health Policy Fellowship at Harvard University, residency at Meharry University, and medical school at Vanderbilt University, and serving as a Senior Clinical Advisor designing clinical programs targeting the underserved population. Kit Dobyns, a Rhodes Scholar and co-founder of TrialSpark, rounds up the founding team and will drive the development and adoption of important new technologies to innovate maternity care delivery to improve outcomes in underserved populations.
“Addressing inequity in healthcare and improving access to high-quality care for historically underserved populations is one of Flare Capital’s core values,” said Michael Greeley, Co-founder and General Partner at Flare Capital Partners. “A number of our strategic Limited Partners, including many of the largest payers and providers in the nation, have identified this acute market need and are committed to partnering with mission-driven entrepreneurs like Olan, Mary, and Kit to drive lasting changes.
