What You Should Know:
– Vital Start Health, a University of Pennsylvania startup and a member of Microsoft for Startups, has launched COURAGE as the next-generation, virtual reality, multi-lingual coaching and psychotherapy telehealth platform for maternal well-being support across the pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and postpartum stages.
– The platform empowers patients with experiential practice and immersive psychoeducation, with the goal of driving better diagnoses, and targeted treatment, leading to greater effectiveness and outcomes.
– The American Psychological Association has recommended Virtual Reality for Mental Health. In addition to the existing body of evidence, Vital Start has successfully completed an initial feasibility study at a leading Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
VR enabled Personalized Platform for the Well-Being of Pregnant and Postpartum Moms
Vital Start Health grew its network of Perinatal Wellness Coach practitioners and launched its Direct-to-Consumer 1:1 Coaching Service for mothers in maternity including those with an infant in the Neonatal ICU or needing support through loss and grief during maternity, a tough area with not enough support options currently. The services provide the mothers with a personal trainer for maternal well-being enabled through affordable Virtual Reality options. The platform has been developed by Persistent using Microsoft Cloud, as part of the Microsoft for Startups program whose support and mentorship have helped significantly in bringing this unique platform to market. The platform has key partners including a well-known patient advocacy group and a maternal remote patient monitoring platform, Happy Mama by Reach.
“Reach is elated to partner with Vital Start. Vital Start’s personalized maternal mental health and well-being programs answer the call of women seeking affordable high quality, tailored resources that meet their diverse situations”, says Fran Ayalasomayajula, MPH, MSMIS, PMP, HMCT, and President of Reach. With these key partnerships, Vital Start aims to grow enterprise sales across health systems, health insurance companies, employers and pharmaceuticals.
