Latest news with #RichardMcCarthy
Technical.ly
03-04-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
Techstars restarts its DC programming with a new health accelerator
Global investment company Techstars is teaming up with Kaiser Permanente's arm for DC, Maryland and Virginia patients to launch a new accelerator for early-stage healthcare startups. The program, called the Techstars Healthcare Accelerator powered by Permanente Medicine Mid-Atlantic States, will provide founders with mentorship, strategic resources and access to the health provider's network of nearly 1,800 physicians specializing in more than 60 medical and surgical fields. The accelerator will take place in person in DC. 'We are committed to continuously improving upon our nation-leading patient care,' Dr. Richard McCarthy, the executive medical director of the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, said in a press release. 'Innovation is fundamental to raising the bar.' Startups working in virtual care models, predictive analytics, preventive health, chronic disease management and other health-related fields are encouraged to apply. Applications for the program open on April 8 and will be accepted through June 11. This isn't the investment and startup support firm's first step into the health tech industry. Techstars previously launched a health and artificial intelligence accelerator in Baltimore via a partnership with Johns Hopkins University and regional insurance provider CareFirst. The program welcomed its first cohort in March. Some of Techstars' other programs underwent major changes in the past year. It ended its JPMorgan-backed accelerator in DC last summer — amid a series of broader changes that saw Techstars lose 17% of its staff — and wrapped its last cohort in December. Keith Camhi, a managing director at Techstars, will lead the new accelerator in DC. He first joined the company in 2018 and led several programs on the East Coast, including the JP Morgan-backed DC program. Camhi also led Techstars' global accelerator team before becoming a managing director in 2021. Since then, he invested in and advised about 70 startups, per his LinkedIn. 'Entrepreneurs are central to transformation in healthcare,' Camhi said in a press release. 'The opportunity to collaborate with a prominent healthcare provider like Permanente Medicine, combined with Techstars' programming, capital, and network, amplifies their ability to create meaningful impact.'
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blenheim Estate steps up to help hurling amid wood shortage
The sport of hurling has received a boost from the Blenheim Estate amid threats from ash dieback in Ireland. The estate has supplied hundreds of ash trees, which are needed to make the hurling sticks, or 'hurleys', used by players of Ireland's national sport, to manufacturers. Ireland's stock of the wood has been severely affected by ash dieback, a lethal disease first detected in the UK and Ireland in 2012. One of the ash trees cut down on the Blenheim Estate (Image: Blenheim Palace) Richard McCarthy, an Irish hurley maker who sources ash for many of the country's top manufacturers, including Star Hurley in Kilkenny, has been working with James Hunter, rural property manager at Blenheim Palace, on a deal that will see around 1,000 ash tree 'butts' harvested from the Blenheim Estate. These will be used to make between 5,000 and 10,000 hurleys. Mr McCarthy said: "I heard about the ash at Blenheim when James contacted me last year; we previously worked together on another estate where we cut wood for hurleys. "Ash is used because it is very strong, flexible, and lightweight - everything we need for hurleys. Hurling sticks, known as hurleys (Image: Blenheim Palace) Hurling sticks, known as hurleys (Image: Blenheim Palace) "From what I've seen at Blenheim from my visit, I think the ash looks very good, so hopefully we can get good quality hurleys from it." Hurling is the second most attended sport in Ireland, after Gaelic Football, and is played by around 275,000 people. Mr Hunter said: "As part of our active woodland management this year, we have commenced a series of works to thin and clear fell several compartments suffering from the advanced stages of ash dieback. "Whilst the majority of the timber will go for firewood, it's great to see some value being realised and a niche market being supported such as Richie's business with hurling sticks. Hurling sticks being made (Image: Blenheim Palace) 'However, I think it should be made clear that we are not clearing all ash from the estate, as we look to see if we have resistant specimens which may in the future be bred for 'dieback' resistant ash trees, to ensure they do not disappear from the British landscape forever." Hurling is not the only sport which buys wood from the Blenheim Estate. For the last seven years, Banbury-based English Willow has been sustainably sourcing cricket bat willow trees from the estate. In 2018, the firm purchased and felled a significant number of trees from the estate - enough to produce around 2,300 top grade cricket bats - and replaced them free of charge. Rachel Furness-Smith, head of estates at Blenheim Palace, said: "Working with English Willow means we can manage our willow trees in a sustainable and organic way, which is good for the environment, promotes biodiversity, and makes use of traditionally unproductive areas of the estate."
