Mayo, CommonSpirit, Henry Ford Health: Where hospitals are spending their innovation dollars

Hospitals and health systems have been busy joining innovation consortiums, opening research centers and investing in promising startups.

Here are 17 health system innovation moves since Nov. 16:

1. Tampa, Fla.-based Moffitt Cancer Center said Dec. 15 it plans to build a 775-acre global innovation center in the hopes of preventing and curing cancer worldwide. The initial clinical and research investment will be approximately $800 million.

2. Portland-based MaineHealth said Dec. 15 it’s investing $500,000 in a program to launch health tech innovators in partnership with Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health and the Roux Institute at Northeastern University in Portland.

3. Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Health introduced a remote COPD monitoring program Dec. 14 for patients with the chronic lung disease.

4. Nashville, Tenn.-based Ardent Health Services partnered Dec. 13 with software company Care.ai to implement the company’s Virtual Nursing platform at Albuquerque, N.M.-based Lovelace Medical Center.

5. Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health launched the Lloyd H. Dean Institute for Humankindness & Health Justice on Dec. 9 to research how kindness and empathy in healthcare settings can improve outcomes in diverse populations.

6. EyeKnow, an Israeli startup that uses artificial intelligence to reduce workplace violence, won a $75,000 nursing care challenge Dec. 8 that enables it to develop its solution and enter the U.S. market with the help of Detroit-based Henry Ford Health.

7. OSF Ventures, the venture capital arm of Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare, and UnityPoint Ventures, the venture arm of West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health, participated in a $15.1 million series A financing round Dec. 8 for Cardiosense, a digital health company working to detect heart disease earlier.

8. Mayo Clinic Ventures is among the investors in a $5.4 million funding round launching virtual fertility startup Turtle Health into eight states, a company spokesperson emailed Becker’s for a Dec. 8 story.

9. OSF HealthCare and Chicago’s Insight Hospital & Medical Center joined the Chicago ARC collaborative Dec. 7 that aims to make healthcare more equitable through innovation.

10. Marlton, N.J.-based Virtua Health expanded its hospital-at-home program to all five of its hospitals Dec. 7.

11. Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare joined forces Dec. 6 with venture capital firm Connecticut Innovations to help launch healthcare startups.

12. Urbana, Ill.-based Carle Health partnered Dec. 5 with data and analytics technology company Health Catalyst to further advance its innovative analytics capabilities.

13. Cancer Focus Fund, a venture capital arm of Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, joined a $25 million series A funding round Nov. 30 for Nectin Therapeutics, which develops novel immunotherapies.

14. TGH Innoventures, Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital’s innovation center and venture fund, participated in a $27 million financing round Nov. 29 for Medical Informatics Corp., a virtual care and analytics company.

15. University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson launched a remote monitoring program for diabetes patients Nov. 22.

16. Hartford HealthCare partnered Nov. 17 with Google Cloud on data-powered projects to improve health equity, patient flow and value-based care across the health system.

17. Munster, Ind.-based Community Healthcare System won the 2022 Aspire Innovation Award from Ultimate Kronos Group on Nov. 16 for its use of Dimensions employee self-scheduling technology.