Cityblock, a Brooklyn, NY-based company building sustainable, scalable systems that provide high-quality, cost-effective care for underserved populations with complex health needs has raised $65 million in Series B funding. The funding was led by Redpoint Ventures, 8VC (affiliate venture fund with Cambia Health Solutions and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina), Echo Health Ventures and StartUp Health including existing investors Sidewalk Labs, Thrive Capital, Maverick Ventures, Town Hall Ventures and EmblemHealth.
Understanding Social Determinants of Health
The CDC defines “social determinants of health” as the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age. This also includes the systems in place to offer health care and services to a community. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics.
Cityblock Overview
Spun out of Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet Company in 2017, Cityblock partners with community-based organizations, health plans, and other risk-bearing providers to deliver personalized primary care, behavioral health care, and social services to reach people in neighborhoods that face high poverty rates and accompanying social challenges. The company aims to become the market-leader in value-based care services.
Care Delivery Platform
Cityblock’s care delivery platform Commons makes it easy for care teams to collaboratively care for each member with built-in SMS and video-visits enable easy communication with members. Other features of the Commons include:
360 view of health: Collects and ingests data from diverse sources—electronic health records, medical and pharmacy claims, community health sources, and direct interactions with members—and makes that actionable through decision-support and workflow tools.
Inclusive Care Planning: Commons incorporates real-time clinical decision support and evidence-based protocols. The resulting individualized Member Action Plan focuses on goals and tasks directly relevant to the member’s needs.
Community Partnerships: Networks of community-based organizations and integrated community members into our co-design process to ensure we’re providing the social services that members need most.
Neighborhood Hubs
Cityblock has partnered with health insurer Emblem Health to open their first Neighborhood Hub in Brooklyn for members and care teams to meet, partake in educational classes, family counseling, or social events. Since launching in Brooklyn, Cityblock has expanded their Neighborhood Hub to Watertown, CT and plans to open another Hub in Charlotte, NC in partnership with Blue Cross North Carolina.
The company plans to use the funding to scale their team, technical product capabilities, and expansion into existing and new markets.
“Existing care delivery models simply don’t work for many in lower-income communities. As a result, many people in these communities get stuck in a cycle of emergency room visits and hospital stays,” Elliot said about the decision to invest in Cityblock. “Iyah, Toyin, Bay, and the Cityblock team are building an entirely new way of providing care for this large and previously underserved population.”
