A consortium of investment firms and a big name from the home health and hospice sector has pumped $76 million into a Massachusetts-based company that markets a tech-based staffing service for nurses and aides.
Suvretta Capital Management and Avidity Partners led the funding round for Waltham-based connectRN Inc. They were joined by HBM Healthcare Investments, Infinitum Asset Management, Adage Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management and Park West Asset Management as well as publicly traded Amedisys Inc. The last member of that group invested $5 million – the other firms’ slices of the $76 million pie aren’t being disclosed – and will use connectRN to attract workers looking for more career flexibility.
“Innovating around how we engage our clinical staff to drive additional capacity is a key initiative for Amedisys as we enter 2022,” Amedisys Chairman and CEO Paul Kusserow said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the outstanding team at connectRN to roll out the platform to further differentiate Amedisys.”
Health care workers of many stripes have left their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing burnout and poor working conditions. Those decisions have added to a talent shortage that New York City-based Mercer this fall said will worsen further in coming years as demand grows but workers are more difficult to find and/or keep.
By investing in connectRN, Baton Rouge-headquartered Amedisys is joining the ranks of health care corporations getting more directly involved in securing the future of their workforces. Hospital titan HCA Healthcare Inc. nearly two years ago finished its purchase of Galen College of Nursing and has since invested in new campuses to feed a number of its health systems around the country. Similarly, Community Health Systems Inc. is partnering with Jersey College to set up a handful of hospital-based nursing schools.
“Our ability to deliver the right opportunities, on their terms, in a supportive and nurturing environment is what we believe to be the future of healthcare,” said Ted Jeanloz, CEO of connectRN, which is set to triple revenues this year and has now secured $100 million in backing to carry out its leaders’ vision. “This financing will accelerate our rapid growth in new and existing markets and provides the resources to realize our vision of becoming the premier destination for nurses and aides to gain career opportunities and the community support they deserve.”
