Drive Health and Google Partner with the State of Illinois to Improve At-Risk Maternal Health Outcomes
Healthy Baby pilot is powered by Nurse Avery, an agentic AI health assistant, to support underserved Illinois populations
Google provides Pixel phones, Fitbit devices, and advanced cloud technology to seamlessly integrate this innovative, cost-effective initiative
PHOENIX and SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- To address healthcare gaps and improve maternal health outcomes, Drive Health and Google Public Sector today announced a partnership with the State of Illinois to launch Healthy Baby, a pilot program in rural Cook County that provides Google Pixel phones, Fitbit devices, and Google Cloud technologies to expectant mothers that enable access to Drive Health's AI-powered Nurse Avery.
The United States is facing a maternal healthcare crisis, particularly in rural and underserved communities. Research shows that more than 80% of maternal deaths are preventable (CDC 2022) and that babies of mothers who do not get prenatal care are five times more likely to die (Office on Women's Health 2021). The multi-year pilot between Drive Health, Google, and Cook County will engage more than 56,000 participants, aiming to achieve key clinical objectives that include reduced mortality, improved birth weights, and more full-term pregnancies. In addition to improving access to maternal health, this initiative will enhance community-based care and timely interventions, which will help reduce healthcare costs.
'Our mission has always been to create technology that breaks down barriers and democratizes healthcare access,' says Kevin Longoria, CEO of Drive Health. 'Partnering with Google, the State of Illinois, and former Senator James Clayborne to launch Healthy Baby represents a critical milestone in our commitment to supporting the most vulnerable populations. We are proud to deploy this technology to deliver immediate, life-changing impact.'
Expectant mothers in vulnerable populations face significant health disparities with only a quarter of high-risk mothers on Medicaid receiving consistent prenatal care. Behavioral health conditions also go undiagnosed or untreated in up to 40% of pregnant women in Medicaid populations. In Illinois, a third of counties are considered maternal care deserts and over 90% of hospitals are designated mental health care shortages, which often contributes to poor maternal outcomes.
'The Healthy Baby pilot represents a critical step in maternal healthcare, showing how AI can help deliver personalized, proactive health support directly to underserved mothers,' said Chris Hein, Field Chief Technology Officer, Google Public Sector. 'Using the AI agent, Nurse Avery, and delivering it through Google Pixel phones and Fitbit devices, the program provides real-time support – managing appointments, monitoring vitals, and offering health guidance directly, aiming to make essential resources more readily available.'
Key Features of Agentic Nurse Avery for Healthy Baby
Drive Health's Nurse Avery, an agentic AI health assistant, is the cornerstone of the pilot, helping bridge the gap between providers and patients, optimizing more effective in-person care. Women in Cook County considering family planning, expectant mothers, and mothers with children under three years old are eligible to participate in the pilot. Participants receive a Google Pixel 8a phone to communicate with Avery and a Fitbit Inspire 3 device, complete with simple instructions and ongoing support.
With user consent, the Fitbit device will not only track participants' physical activity, but also monitor their heart health and sleep data. Drive Health will then bring the data into its platform, offering personalized recommendations tailored to each mother-to-be's unique needs. All this happens within a HIPAA-compliant infrastructure and on devices that prioritize the user's privacy and security. Google Pixel phone's flexible management model ensures that participants have seamless access to all necessary Drive Health resources, while keeping the information on their personal profiles private and secure – ensuring they get the support they need without compromising their personal data.
Avery engages patients proactively, offering reminders, answering common questions, and prompting care plan adherence. Available services on the platform include:
The platform is designed with accessibility in mind, including voice-command options for those with limited technical abilities. Built with Google Cloud's infrastructure, the system prioritizes patient data security by adhering to state and federal data security and privacy guidelines, ensuring the protection of patient information.
For more information about Drive Health and its agentic AI Nurse, visit DriveHealth.ai. To learn how Google Public Sector partners with state and local government agencies to provide innovative solutions to improve government services, visit here.
About Drive Health
Drive Health makes healthcare simple and accessible – anytime, anywhere, for everyone. Its mission is to ease the burden on healthcare providers, build trust with consumers, and simplify healthcare through secure, AI-enabled solutions. For more information, visit DriveHealth.ai.
About Google Cloud
Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.
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