Latest news with #HollyAdams
Technical.ly
08-05-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
GoWell Benefits aims to take the stress out of employee health plans
Startup profile: GoWell Founded by: Holly Adams Year founded: 2021 Headquarters: Philadelphia, PA Sector: Insurance Funding and valuation: $2.83 million, according to PitchBook Key ecosystem partners: Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Naples Technology Ventures, Chloe Capital When Holly Adams worked as a benefits consultant helping businesses navigate health insurance enrollment, she knew there had to be a better way. For more than a decade, she watched as employers and employees struggled with complicated enrollment processes, long questionnaires and tech that wasn't as accessible as she knew it could be. 'I tried different things, even sending iPads to stores to see if they made it easier, but it just was a little bit too complicated for the average consumer,' Adams told She took what she'd learned and came up with GoWell Benefits, a platform launched in 2021 that simplifies the enrollment process for employers with an easy and accessible way to insure employees. 'We work with brokers and we work with employers, insurance carriers, and employees,' Adams said. 'All those entities touch our system to make insurance more transparent and a little bit easier to understand.' From early adoption to tech startup Adams started her career at the end of the 1990s, when tech was just starting to enter the workplace. Working for GlaxoSmithKline, she helped the company get its compliance data warehouse set up. Her job back then was to meet with developers to make sure that prescription data could be analyzed. While she would shift away from a technical job when she went into benefits consulting, that experience would come in handy when she decided to create GoWell. 'I had the opportunity to work with programmers and work towards realizing a dream,' Adams said, 'then I took that experience and used it to build my own dream.' The biggest hurdle, she said, is getting the enrollment process started. An employee who feels overwhelmed by enrolling before it even starts isn't going to be focused on what matters, like which deductibles meet their needs, which prescriptions are covered, co-pays and whether their chosen doctors are covered. 'Until you get that piece in, it's hard to try to make insurance more transparent, because people are trying to figure out how to do it, as opposed to what they should be focusing on, which is what they're getting,' she said. It's a holistic approach, she said, that meets employees where they are, engaging them and ultimately making it easier for the employer to track benefits. One of the 2% of VC-funded ventures Today, GoWell has about 10,000 users on its platform, a staff of 10 employees and has reached profitability. In the beginning, Adams used her own funds to support the startup, but funding eventually started coming in, including from its lead investors Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Naples Technology Ventures, as well as Chloe Capital, a VC firm that focuses on investing in women. 'They've been very supportive in helping us build out the technology and make it as a startup,' Adams said. 'We're really lucky because we're one of 2% of women [owned startups] that are funded.' So far GoWell has raised $2.85 million, according to Pitchbook. There are more funding rounds to come for GoWell, she said, with plans to use future investments to add more components to the platform, including AI. 'That's what we're developing now,' Adams said. 'Making our software more intuitive.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
County unveils disability registry
LISBON, Ohio (WKBN) – First responders in Columbiana County now have a new tool to help them assist people with developmental disabilities. The Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD) and the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency recently unveiled the Columbiana County Disability Registry which provides first responders with information such as name, address, diagnoses, communication/mobility needs, and other pertinent health information that would help during an emergency. Residents can also add triggers to the registry that may cause reactions, along with calming methods and specific locations where someone may go if under stress. Registration is open to anyone served by CCBDD. A form can filled out which is then entered in the county's 911 database. Holly Adams, CCBDD Behavior Support Supervisor, said the idea for the registry was born after police were called to assist an autistic person who was unable to respond to police due to a communication deficit. Because officers didn't know why the individual wasn't responding, the situation escalated until a family member arrived to intervene. 'After this happened in Columbiana County, it hit home that this was a real-life incident of a classic scenario where an autistic individual couldn't respond and the police didn't know why he wasn't responding. The registry came directly from this incident,' she said. Brian Rutledge, director of the Columbiana County Emergency Management Agency, said all five county dispatch centers have access to the information. Dispatchers are automatically alerted whenever they receive a call that someone on the registry needs assistance. They can relay this vital information to first responders who can make changes in how they interact with the person. The plan doesn't stop with the registry. Erin Anthony, CCBDD Behavior Intervention Specialist, is working with first responders to understand typical behaviors in people with certain disabilities like autism and explore simple changes responders can make to prevent potential issues. For instance, if a disabled person's trigger is flashing lights, simply turning off the emergency lights and sirens can help calm the individual. Anyone who wishes to be included in the registry is asked to call the CCBDD Behavior Support Department at 330-424-0404. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
