New VP, investments among strategic scale-up efforts at Overland Park healthcare startup

ModRN Health has dramatically accelerated over the past year, said CaRessa Hutchinson, detailing moves that include more patients, new funding and the addition of an on-call expert in fast-growing startups.

With more than 80 clinicians (nurses and doctors) on its team, the Overland Park-based virtual primary care solutions company is now providing family healthcare, plan navigation and patient advocacy services for 60 companies in 23 states. Based on current working proposals, those numbers are projected to grow in the first quarter of 2023, said Hutchinson, founder and CEO of ModRN Health.

“(We have a) proven 88 percent average engagement rate with our service,” she said. “Well over anyone else in our industry.”

Hutchinson strongly agrees with the sentiment that “the team you build is the company you build,” she said, describing the decision to bring on Caroline VanDeusen — a former principal with KCRise Fund — in July as the startup’s vice president of strategic partnerships. 

“Caroline is genuinely passionate about improving and personalizing the healthcare experience to drive healthier outcomes and affordability of care,” she continued. “This is our mission at ModRN and alignment with that mission is a must for anyone on our team as we work every day to disrupt the status quo of how healthcare is delivered and paid for today. She has a ‘figure-it-out’ mentality and is willing to roll her sleeves up and focus on whatever needs to be done which is critical for a growth-stage company.”

Hutchinson and VanDeusen met through KCRise Fund’s investment in ModRN Health — one of two recent financial backers, which also includes an undisclosed investment from Rockway Creek.

“(VanDeusen’s) experience with fast-growing startups, complex product offerings, complex sales process, and within highly regulated industries makes her effective in her ability to help us continue to develop strategic partnerships,” Hutchinson added. “Her unique background and skill sets have proven to make her an extremely valuable addition to our team — all while remaining 100-percent mission driven.”

Click here to read more about the mission of ModRN Health and its beginnings.

Connecting the dots

VanDeusen feels fortunate to join the momentum at ModRN Health, she said.

Caroline VanDeusen, ModRN Health

“I can’t say enough about CaRessa’s grit, intelligence, drive and commitment,” she explained. “She is endlessly inspirational and a domain expert coming from the healthcare field. Derek Sherry, COO and co-founder at ModRN Health, has a long history in tech and change management.”

In addition to the strength of the startup’s existing team, VanDeusen noted she was attracted to the company because of its market timing.

“The healthcare and health tech industry is just ripe for disruption,” she added. “There’s a lot of change in the way health care is delivered, health insurance is constructed, and paid for by employers.”

She came on board to help the co-founders connect all the dots as far as strategic partnerships with insurance providers, employers, third party administrators, and all the moving parts of the industry, she said.

“This company is growing really, really fast,” she continued. “There’s a lot of moving pieces and I’ve been able to come in and start documenting and establishing some of the processes for going to market. They have so many great operational things in place that I hopped on board and was able to hit the ground running. … ModRN Health had their first paying customer in 2019 and has just really come a long way being live and in 23 states. This could really be an explosive fourth quarter for them.”

VanDeuesen worked at KCRise Fund for a year and a half and helped portfolio companies make connections to potential corporate customers. But she said missed the business side and investing her time in one project.

“I realized I could be more impactful with a hyper focus on one company, rather than really trying to fractionalize what I was doing with go-to-market advice or making introductions,” she explained.

Before joining KCRise Fund, VanDeuesen worked in the tech industry for 12 years — first in finance, then in business development — including with KC startup PayIt and NIC Services, which was acquired by Tyler Technologies.

Healthy gains

As part of its major growth this year, ModRN Health has begun offering pop-up primary clinics on employers sites, Hutchinson shared, and added a self-funded employer market to its product market fit — which allows the company to bring on bigger employers nationwide.

The company has also gained new government contracts to support community health initiatives — which is currently live in Michigan — and to support acute care delivery at the southwest border. 

Those aren’t ModRN health’s first government contracts. In early 2021, the company contracted as the supplemental nursing provider for the National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network (NETCCN).

Click here to learn more about ModRN Health’s work with NETCCN

The company also has big plans for the coming year. Hutchinson noted that they will be working with several nationwide broker firms as resellers of ModRN Health in the first quarter.

ModRN Health is included in several health insurance packages for employers in 2023 to help contain healthcare costs in a time when they are experiencing double digit increases. Health benefits are typically the second most expensive line item on an employer’s annual cost report.

This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.

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