OSF Ventures Invests In Second Venture Capital Fund

PEORIA, Ill., March 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- OSF Ventures, the corporate investment arm of OSF HealthCare, is joining other health care systems and strategic investors from within the healthcare industry as a limited partner in Boston-based LRVHealth. As part of LRVHealth's collaborative innovation platform, which represents a network that delivers care to 50 million Americans across 25 states, OSF will help identify, create and invest in early-stage companies spanning healthcare IT, tech-enabled health services, medical devices, and diagnostics.  

As a strategic investor in LRVHealth's fourth fund, OSF HealthCare will benefit from access to early-stage companies that have been identified and vetted through a vast network that reaches across the healthcare continuum in the U.S. These companies are often in the initial phases of developing solutions to enhance patient experiences, improve outcomes, and reduce costs.

"Tapping into this network will help augment our portfolio with companies at an earlier stage of development than we focus on with direct investments," said Stan Lynall, vice president of OSF Venture Investments.

OSF Ventures continues to seek direct investment opportunities with medical startups at mid-stage development around the U.S. It also partners with incubators, accelerators, and universities to help develop, test, pilot, and implement solutions throughout the health care system.

This is OSF's second limited partner investment in a venture capital fund managed outside of the organization. In December of 2016, OSF Ventures announced a limited partner investment in Ascension Ventures. The subsidiary of the nation's largest Catholic and nonprofit health system researches hundreds of health care companies annually for possible investment and shares similar values and focus as OSF HealthCare.

Likewise, LRVHealth focuses on investment themes that align with OSF's beliefs about certain industry realities, including the gradual shift to value-based care and the importance of new technologies to enable that transformation.

"Consumerism in healthcare is quickly evolving and consumers are demanding a different experience from their health care providers," Lynall added. "As another set of eyes and ears that's looking for the best innovation in the digital health ecosystem, LRVHealth will enable us to be ahead of the curve in meeting and exceeding these new expectations."

The investment in ways to reduce health care costs is also aligned with OSF HealthCare's mission. "We invested in LRVHealth because its team truly believes reducing cost is tremendously important for clinical providers to remain financially viable and able to serve their communities," according to Lynall.

"All of the health systems within the LRVHealth network are forward-looking organizations that are focused on identifying and nurturing innovation to help address the healthcare industry's largest challenges – and OSF fits that mold perfectly," said Tripp Peake, general partner at LRVHealth. "OSF HealthCare is recognized as a top-rated U.S. system overall and Becker's Hospital Review has identified OSF as a leader in healthcare system innovation programs. Partnering closely with the OSF Ventures and OSF Innovation teams gives our network another conduit to people who understand the healthcare system best and are already looking for impactful ways to improve care and control costs."

LRVHealth's strategic investors now include 11 health care systems and the Innovation Institute, a for-profit venture owned by six non-profit hospital systems that operate in 20 states. The institute invests in and incubates healthcare startups, connecting them with doctors and other healthcare companies.

Additionally, LRVHealth has attracted a distinguished group of advisors consisting of entrepreneurs, health care executives, leading clinicians, policy experts, and other industry insiders. Most recently, the firm welcomed former ONC chief and assistant secretary at HHS, Dr. Karen DeSalvo, to its team of executive advisors.

According to Lynall, "The firm has compiled a team and network that reaches all corners of the healthcare system. Being able to call on experts in a given area at any time gives us extreme confidence in LRVHealth's ability to find and nurture the most promising young digital health startups."

Several individuals within OSF will interact with LRVHealth and its strategic network to help identify and guide investments that further innovation in healthcare. In turn, the advisor group will be a resource as OSF HealthCare moves from a fee for service to value-based, coordinated care that emphasizes prevention.

OSF Ventures specializes in venture optimization, partnering financially and operationally in companies that improve patient outcomes and reduce costs to health care systems. OSF Ventures is a division of OSF HealthCare. More at www.osfventures.org.                                                   

OSF HealthCare, headquartered in Peoria, is owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, and consists of nearly 21,000 employees in 126 locations, including 13 hospitals, 11 Centers for Health and 15 OSF PromptCares throughout Illinois and Michigan. OSF Innovation, ranked among the top 10 innovation centers in the country, is located in Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center. Launched in 2016, OSF Innovation is a multidisciplinary innovation center focused on internal and external innovation to solve the largest health care challenges. More at www.osfinnovation.org and www.osfhealthcare.org. 

LRVHealth is the premiere early stage venture platform exclusively focused on finding, investing in and building disruptive new digital health, devices and diagnostic companies. Founded in 2000, the firm consists of experienced healthcare entrepreneurs, operators and investors with deep domain expertise in almost every aspect of the healthcare system. In addition to its operating partners, LRVHealth has built an effective "inside healthcare" network that consists of a small number of highly engaged provider organizations that are both geographically and competitively diverse, and are complemented by select payers and healthcare vendors who add valuable perspective and expertise across the healthcare landscape. For more information visit www.lrvhealth.com.

Contact: Colleen Reynolds| Media Relations Coordinator– OSF HealthCare   309.825.7255

SOURCE OSF Ventures