Healthcare CEOs announce opening of Corporate Innovation Center

The Louisville Healthcare CEO Council (LHCC) announced the opening of the LHCC Corporate Innovation Center.

This collaborative space located on E. Jefferson Street in downtown Louisville is uniquely positioned to serve as a hub for the emerging innovation district in NuLu. Both Mayor Fischer and the LHCC member companies share a vision of connecting corporations, innovators and entrepreneurs in one shared collaborative innovation district.

“We chose this initial space because of its proximity to the University of Louisville Life Sciences Campus, the University of Louisville Trager Institute and the Thrive Center” said LHCC CEO Tammy York Day. “We’ll be able to leverage our partnerships with the University of Louisville, Story Louisville, LEAP and the new Microsoft Workforce Initiative to forge meaningful connections to create and scale healthcare solutions.”

This is the next step in building out a healthcare innovation community and the second major initiative announced late last year as part of the LHCC’s strategic plan to create a strategic investment fund, open a corporate innovation center and leverage the success of the 2019 CareTech Pitch to expand to a top Aging Innovation in Healthcare International Summit in Louisville.

Chairman’s Circle

Led by Randy Bufford, founder, former CEO and current chairman of the board of Trilogy Health Services, the Chairman’s Circle is comprised of former CEOs and founders who have transitioned out of their full time roles and choose to mentor entrepreneurs identified as having the relevant innovations for solutions to healthcare gaps uncovered in the LHCC corporate innovation discovery work.

“As members of the Chairman’s Circle, our roles will be many. We’ll be ambassadors for the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council, and for our great city itself. We’ll serve as mentors, helping to guide and grow entrepreneurs and innovators in the healthcare space. We’ll act as researchers, exploring investment opportunities and ideas that have potential. And perhaps most importantly, we’ll operate as community connectors, forging crucial links between new companies, their leaders and the resources they need to succeed here in Louisville. I am honored to serve as chair for such a dynamic group of servant leaders, and am humbled to serve the city of Louisville,” said Bufford.

Corporate Innovation Discovery

LHCC’s member companies represent the entire continuum of care. LHCC is using this unique advantage to identify healthcare gaps and business challenges in individual member companies, but also to examine opportunities for high-impact innovation on a systems level; specifically, relative to a growing aging demographic.

This initiative is led by William Altman, former chief strategy officer for Kindred Healthcare and current chief strategist for the LHCC innovation committee. This work will also help inform the call for innovations for the 2020 CareTech Pitch2.0.

This year, CareTech Pitch2.0 will take place as part of the Aging Innovation in Healthcare Summit, the third initiative planned by the LHCC in 2020. The invitation only Aging Innovation in Healthcare Summit is set for April 29-30 and includes industry leader keynote and fireside chat events along with the much anticipated CareTech 2.0.

Kiel Dowlin, CEO of HomeHero and early stage innovation winner of CareTech stated, “The CareTech Pitch in 2019 along with access to LHCC CEOs was a launching point for our business and continues to be a driving force behind our significant growth since May of last year. This experience has confirmed my beliefs that Louisville has become one of the greatest drivers of innovation in the aging care space and its community of established companies are committed to continuing to support and invest in local solutions.”

The Corporate Innovation Center and the Aging Innovation Summit are two examples of how Louisville’s healthcare CEO’s are leveraging the healthcare ecosystem in Louisville to produce the solutions that address national healthcare challenges across the entire continuum.

About LHCC

The Louisville Healthcare CEO Council (LHCC) consists of 12 organizations committed to improving the healthcare ecosystem. The CEOs who make up the LHCC board of directors organized the council to leverage the strength and assets of their organizations to be a powerful voice to transform Louisville’s health economy and position the city as the premier center for aging innovation. The LHCC is a catalyst for growth in the aging innovation healthcare sector, fostering collaboration and facilitating resources for everything from game-changing ideas and start-ups to mature operations and products. Member companies include: