Parkview Health and MATTER launch innovation competition to reduce infant mortality

Fort Wayne, IN and Chicago, IL — Parkview Health, a not-for-profit, community-based health system serving more than 895,000 people in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio, and MATTER, the premier healthcare incubator and innovation hub, today announced a strategic partnership to help reduce the significant rates of infant mortality in the United States. The Healthy Mom and Baby Competition, also sponsored by Management Performance Hub and the Indiana Chapter of HIMSS, invites innovators to submit ideas and solutions that address the needs of women during pregnancy and their babies after birth.

While infant mortality rates in the United States are already higher than many developed countries at 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live infant births, the infant mortality rate in Parkview’s home region of northeast Indiana tops state and nation averages at 7.3 deaths per 1,000 live infant births*.

“At Parkview, we’re dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of our patients, so we have a great interest in improving the lives of individuals in our community and state,” said Jolynn Suko, Chief Innovation Officer at Parkview. “Our goal for this competition is to find solutions that will allow us to provide better, innovative care for our moms and babies.”

The competition seeks solutions that address either of the following focus areas: ensuring a healthy pregnancy for mom by increasing access to care, clinical resources and social support, and supporting baby after birth by ensuring proper nutrition, safe sleep and stable environments.

“The Healthy Mom and Baby Competition gives innovators the unique opportunity to collaborate with a leading regional health system and help thousands of mothers and babies in northeast Indiana,” said Steven Collens, CEO of MATTER. “This competition can help a new company launch or an existing startup accelerate their growth, and we encourage all healthcare innovators who are passionate about this issue to apply.”

This competition is open to existing startups, as well as anyone with an innovative idea for a product, solution or service that fits within the competition scope. Prizes include the opportunity to pilot the winning solution with Parkview Health, a $10,000 cash award and a one-year membership at MATTER.

Interested companies can learn more and apply by visiting the competition website. Applications are due by 11:59pm CST on Friday, April 10.

About Parkview Health
Parkview Health is a not-for-profit, community-based health system serving a northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio population of more than 895,000. With more than 13,000 employees, Parkview is the region’s largest employer.

Parkview Health includes 10 hospitals and an extensive network of primary care and specialty care physicians. Parkview has been named one of America’s Best Large Employers by Forbes magazine and has been designated a Magnet® health system for nursing excellence.

About MATTER
At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 200 cutting-edge startups from around the world, working together with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.

*Source: https://www.footprintsfortwayne.com/footprints/footprints-home