Chad Barker

What does it truly mean to deliver Whole Person Care (WPC)? It means bridging the gap between a doctor's visit and the real-life social needs that impact health—like access to housing, food, and behavioral support. This is why the recent announcement from SACVALLEY MEDSHARE represents a significant step forward for healthcare in California. They have officially launched the statewide NinePatch, Inc. platform, in a key partnership with NinePatch, Inc. and Solano Women in Medicine (SWIM). John Helvey, CEO of SACVALLEY MEDSHARE, highlighted the impact: "This is a huge step forward for the communities we serve. By integrating the NinePatch, Inc. platform and collaborating with visionary partners like SWIM, we’re helping our providers and counties close care gaps, reduce fragmentation, and improve outcomes for individuals and families—especially those facing complex social and behavioral health challenges." This collaborative vision is shared by their partners. Dr. Lisa Holt, Chief Wellness Officer at NinePatch, adds that the partnership is about "This partnership is founded on a culture of collaboration and a shared commitment to transforming care delivery across the nation. By enabling seamless information flow, targeted referrals, and vendor-agnostic systems, we’re creating the federated infrastructure CalAIM envisioned—one that supports integrated, data-informed care for the whole person.” It's truly exciting to see this level of commitment to making integrated care the new standard in California! IDENTOS Inc. is also working on creating products and solutions for seamless data interoperability between systems that enable the flow of consented information across key stakeholders. Initiatives and projects, like the ones undertaken by SacValley Medshare, highlight the importance of all the hard work we are collectively doing to care for the whole person. https://lnkd.in/gMQ8XbAm #WholePersonCare #CalAIM #HealthcareInnovation #HealthIT #SDOH #Interoperability #HealthEquity #CommunityHealth #PublicHealth #HIE #CIE #DxF

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Bridging Deserts: Why CAHP 2025 Matters for California's Healthcare Transformation I just landed in Palm Springs. After facilitating CalAIM implementations across multiple counties, the desert setting feels right – we're all searching for sustainable partnerships like travelers seeking water. The data tells our story: 78% of super-utilizers drift between systems. They're not "patients" of any single organization – they're Californians whose complex needs demand we build ecosystems of care, not isolated oases. Three #CAHP2025 moments that could transform our landscape: 🤝 Negotiation as partnership design – Kwame Christian's framework isn't about winning contracts. When CBOs fail, health plans fail. When rates get squeezed, safety nets collapse. We dig wells together or thirst alone. 🏥 Street medicine as trust infrastructure – CalOptima/USC aren't running charity. They're rebuilding trust where traditional systems left communities dry. Technology enables, but relationships transform. 📊 Data sharing that flows – EDIE taught me: technical solutions are 20%, trust channels 80%. Data, like water, finds the path of least resistance. We need to build those channels together. Monday's surprise lesson? Meal packing. When executives and CBO directors work shoulder-to-shoulder, hierarchies evaporate like morning dew. Our strongest CalAIM partnerships sprouted from informal connections, not formal contracts. I'm seeking collaborators who: • Learn from failure openly (Camden taught us well) • Build beyond compliance minimums • Invest in CBO capacity, not just contracts • Think ecosystem – we share the same aquifer The workforce drought is real. The funding cliff approaches. But transformation happens when we share maps across the desert – when competitors become caravan partners navigating together. California's attempting something audacious: turning good intentions into reliable systems. As expedition partners, not solo travelers, we might just reach that promised land of coordinated care. Let's build bridges across the desert. Coffee conversations welcome. #SystemsTransformation #CalAIM #CAHP2025 #HealthcareInnovation #BuildingBridges What partnerships could transform your corner of healthcare? I'd love to hear your perspective.

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Big news for children’s oral health in Sacramento County! We’re thrilled to share that California Northstate University (CNU) has been awarded funding to bring its proven Concentric Circles Model of community-based oral health to families with young children across Sacramento County. And we’re proud to announce that Dental.com is partnering with CNU to power this initiative with our virtual-first, AI-enabled care technology. Why This Matters For decades, the traditional dental system built around office and clinic visits has failed to reach many low-income, diverse, and rural families. Only 50% of U.S. children receive an annual dental visit For Black, Hispanic, or low-income children, that drops to below 30% This leads to preventable pain, infections, ER visits, and learning challenges This program directly addresses those disparities. What the Concentric Circles Model Does CNU’s multi-tier model brings dental prevention and early intervention into the community, partnering with: Head Start programs Home visiting organizations Culturally aligned Community Health Workers (CHWs) These teams deliver: ✔️ Early oral health assessments ✔️ Fluoride varnish ✔️ Coaching on “mouth-healthy habits” ✔️ Care navigation ✔️ Portable dental hygiene services ✔️ Telehealth connections for early treatment The model has shown that 80%+ of children can remain healthy without ever needing a trip to the dental office. Who Benefits The program will begin with families enrolled in SETA Head Start across five Sacramento County zip codes, expanding over time to additional regions. These families are culturally diverse, primarily low-income, and face major barriers to traditional dental care. Dental.com’s Role We are honored that CNU selected Dental.com as its technology partner. Our platform will support: 🦷 AI Smart Scan screening 📱 Virtual triage and guidance 🔗 Intelligent referral pathways 🌐 Family-friendly, accessible digital tools Together, we’re accelerating a model of care that brings oral health to the community, where it’s needed most. A huge congratulations to CNU and all partners making this impact possible. We’re excited and humbled to play a role in transforming the future of public health dentistry. #OralHealth #PublicHealth #DentalInnovation #HealthEquity #Telehealth #AIinHealthcare #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #DentalCare #Sacramento #DentalCom #CommunityHealth

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Verisk’s Wildfire Model for the United States is the first to complete California’s Pre-Application Required Information Determination (PRID) review process for insurance ratemaking—a major step forward in supporting a more resilient insurance market. This landmark achievement reflects years of collaboration, transparency, and scientific rigor from our team and partners at the California Department of Insurance. Learn more: https://vrsk.co/4kVU0or #WildfireRisk #InsuranceResilience #CatModeling

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Great news in CA today: Gov Gavin Newsom just signed SB53 into law, which puts important regulations in place for large "frontier" model deployments. A few important areas: safety protocols for assessing and mitigating potentially catastrophic events; transparency reports and anonymous risk reporting plus some whistleblower protections. It will be interesting to see if Gov Hochul in NY will now sign the RAISE act, which has some overlap here. https://lnkd.in/dHw9TpYw

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If you’re building a health tech startup, here’s a useful perspective from the accelerator side. At ViVE, I spoke with Keith Camhi, Managing Director of the Techstars Healthcare Accelerator powered by Permanente Medicine Mid-Atlantic States. The program invests in early-stage startups and helps founders run pilots with physicians in the Kaiser Permanente ecosystem. Some interesting takeaways: • Techstars still prioritizes “Team, team, team” above everything else; • Founders in the program are interviewed by physicians before acceptance; • The goal isn’t just mentorship — it’s getting real pilots with providers; • AI startups dominate applications, but the focus remains on real clinical problems. Applications for the next cohort open soon, so founders may want to keep an eye on it. Short interview from #ViVE 👇 🎥 Watch here: https://lnkd.in/gNN_5628 #Vive2026 #digitalhealthinsideout #health2tech #digitalhealth

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California is the top Home Health state The chart below shows the total Medicare amounts for home health agencies by state. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quietly updated the utilization statistics data for Post-Acute Care providers, including IRF, LTC, SNF, Hospice, and Home Health. And yes, they are now also available in mimilabs to be explored! Aside from the excitement of new datasets, the chart has some interesting story too. Texas and New York have been the top markets, but something changed dramatically since 2020. California, previously 3rd in the home health market size, finally became 1st in the nation and has been broadening the gap ever since. As can be seen, all other states show downward trends in home health spending. Not just TX and NY - you'll notice the lines are slightly heading down for other states too, making California's surge even more remarkable. So, what happened to CA? It may have been the perfect storm, though we can't pinpoint exactly what drove this shift. California had the nation's longest lockdown—March 2020 to January 2021—while home health was deemed "essential" and could keep operating. So 40 million Californians are stuck at home, hospitals are feeling unsafe, but home health agencies could still visit? Who knows, but one can imagine. The data also shows telehealth expansion (permanent reg changes in 2021), Medicare Advantage plans adding in-home benefits (from 223 plans in 2020 to over 1,000 in 2023), California's aging demographics, and nearly $1 billion in state investment for care worker training. But without more granular data, we're mostly connecting dots. My question would be: how does this dramatically different utilization pattern affect ACO benchmarks and performance? California ACOs might be seeing inflated home health spending built into their spending. It would be fascinating to dig deeper into how state-specific pandemic policies have created these lasting structural changes in post-acute care utilization patterns.

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What a great example of #airporttech! I like the "...friendly nudge by an officer." Excellent use case of curb management. Thank you Andrew K Kirk and Automotus for your partnership. INRIX #airports #govtech

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Anne Descalzo ’12 and Rachel Zillner ’09 launched Clutch in 2019, and since then, they’ve built one of the fastest-growing companies in the Sacramento region. 🚀 From running COVID-19 response efforts to launching Sacramento’s first female-founded venture capital fund – and now owning a major ad agency – these #MadeAtSacState women are changing the game. 👏 Full story: https://lnkd.in/gbdM5C6J Runyon Saltzman, Inc. | The RADZ Group | Frequency Coworking & Events | MinervaVerse 🎥 Sacramento State/Phillip Altstatt

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At HOMY Robotics , we’re building caregiving robots to help seniors age in place safely and independently in the comfort of their homes for as long as possible, while giving families support and peace of mind. We’re currently deploying in senior living communities across the Bay Area. If you have aging loved ones or are connected to senior living communities, please reach out at homyrobotics.ai. 🤖💙 Thank you, Adewale Yusuf , for featuring HOMY Robotics!

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Innovation can drive better health for everyone. That’s why we’re proud to invest $5 million in San Diego-based startups advancing medical research and patient care. This funding is part of Prebys Ventures, launched earlier this year as a way for Prebys to invest in local companies and grow capital that can be reinvested back into the community. It’s one more way we’re strengthening our region’s workforce and health ecosystem, attracting more capital, and investing in the future of San Diego 🔗 Read the full announcement https://lnkd.in/gjyV4q8Q #PrebysVentures #HealthInnovation #SanDiegoInnovation #ImpactInvesting #MedicalResearch

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Crafton Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has just been accepted into a Japan-US accelerator program called Beyond Japan, organized by IGE UC San Diego & JETRO - Japan External Trade Organization . Hayato Watanabe, CFA & I are delighted that others recognize the potential that our #mRNA company has to solve some of the most pressing problems in medicines today such as finding more cures for #cancer, whether it is #personalizedcancervaccines or otherwise!

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Wondering who’s funding startups in San Diego? Connect.org has done an excellent job tracking investments into San Diego-based companies over the past few years. Even better, they’ve published a companion table listing all the VC firms with a SoCal presence that have backed local startups. Super useful data. But there’s one catch: the firms aren’t ranked by how much they’ve actually invested. So I used AI to do that. I ranked each firm by the total dollars they’ve invested in San Diego companies in 2024 and 2025 (so far). Are there any other resources you use to track investment activity in San Diego that others should know about? 2025 Rankings Qualcomm Ventures – $90.00M SignalFire – $60.00M Mark IV Capital – $21.00M Cove Fund – $7.20M Keshif Ventures – $5.20M ClearVision Equity – $0.85M WestLane Capital Partners – $0.16M 2024 Rankings Bonfire Ventures – $20.50M (ALVYS Series A) Mucker Capital – $16.00M (Wildfire Growth) B Capital – $16.00M (Wildfire Growth) Longley Capital – $2.60M (LOOQ AI Seed) NuFund – $2.50M (Alt Sports Data Seed) #sandiegostartups #venturecapital #investment #angelinvesting

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Thinking about starting your own business? This in-person event breaks down exactly what you need to know to get started, and it’s free to attend.

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What I value most about technology is when it quietly removes barriers to care. In my eyes, that’s exactly what this milestone achieves. Through our new partnership with Sutter Health, Hyro’s responsible AI agents will support its 3.5 million patients through voice, chat and SMS. This will simplify access while giving staff the breathing room to focus where they’re needed most.I’m proud of the engineering foundation that makes this collaboration possible, and even more proud of the impact it will have for millions of Californians navigating their care. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dVjbVBvg

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Folsom Tech Week 2026 kicks off TODAY in Folsom, CA, and the energy is electric. From March 3-6, innovators, founders, investors, and public sector leaders are converging for four days of ideas, deals, and collaboration that will shape the future of technology in the Sacramento region and beyond. This year's event features a powerful lineup across HealthTech, GovTech, and Artificial Intelligence, with dedicated programming for startups at every stage. Whether you are competing in the pitch competition, hacking through the night at the hackathon, or sitting across the table from potential investors at the founder/funder breakfast, there is no shortage of high-value moments. The networking opportunities alone make the trip worthwhile. Folsom Tech Week brings together the builders, the backers, and the decision-makers who are driving real change. If you are not already here, it is not too late to join us. Let us make this week count. Tag a founder or investor who needs to be in the room. Folsom Tech Week 2026 starts now.

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