NEW ORLEANS – At the third annual New Orleans Health Innovators Challenge. the New Orleans Business Alliance and partners announced the winners of five pitch competitions, including the Social Isolation Challenge, which includes significant project funding from lead sponsors Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and Ochsner Health.

As champions of this year’s Social Isolation Challenge, Happy will receive $36K toward expanding its support-givers platform to additional markets. The company has a national network of support givers with backgrounds in healthcare, such as social workers and peer supporters, that operate using Happy’s innovative technology platform.

This year’s challenge, which focused on interventions to address loneliness in the aging adult population, took on new significance, as issues resulting from social isolation continue to rise in prominence as we navigate the current COVID-19 pandemic. 

In addition to the Social Isolation Challenge, four additional challenges were issued by Louisiana-based healthcare organizations. The following winners of these challenges were also honored during last week’s two-day event:

HCA/Tulane Health System’s Transition of Care Challenge – Dina

The Transition of Care Challenge sponsored by Tulane Health System sought a company that could use innovative technology to reduce the costs of care by reducing the need for health services through education and preventive care. The winner, Dina, utilizes a network of hospital care managers with home health aides to support a patient’s transition of care.

Lafayette General Health System’s Healthcare Consumer Engagement Challenge – Predict Health 

The Consumer Engagement Challenge sponsored by Ochsner and Lafayette General Healthcare focused on patient-provider unification through data streams that is delivered in real-time to the health care patient/ consumer in the modality/ device of their choice. Predict Health was the winner of the healthcare consumer engagement challenge. The companies behavior prediction mode on member and patient acquisition, engagement and retention across the health continuum won the judges over.

New Orleans Health Department’s + New Orleans East Hospital’s Diabetes Management Challenge – Pack Health

The third challenge was a unique challenge — I Deserve It Challenge posed by UJAMAA Economic Development Corporation and Tulane University focused on forward-thinking tech support to address inequitable health disparities. EDP Biotech was selected as the winner of the challenge and their mission and output highlight the need to support affordable health solutions that are accessible to all. 

Tulane University’s + UJAMAA Economic Development’s “I Deserve It”! Challenge – EDP Biotech

The final challenge picked up where last year’s event left off during the pitch competition and focused on diabetic management. The New Orleans East Hospital and the New Orleans Health Department teamed together to select winner Pack Health, a company that focuses on providing anyone who has a chronic health condition assistance by addressing social determinant barriers that improve their health experience, behavior and outcomes.

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