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New Orleans-based mobile integrated health care startup wins big

Ready Responders swept the competition at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, winning $55,000 in prizes

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Co-founders Justin Dangel and Ben Swig were the first of three finalists to pitch to the panel of elite judges from across the nation.

Photo/Ready Responders, Inc

By EMS1 Staff

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Ready Responders, Inc., a mobile integrated health care start up based in New Orleans, La., won The Big Idea Competition at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. Not only did it take home $25,000 as the Grand Prize winner, but it also won a $30,000 marketing package from a local advertising agency, Peter Mayer.

Ready Responders, Inc. builds on previously successful mobile integrated healthcare and community paramedicine programs across the US and the world. It establishes a network of part-time EMTs and paramedics who are dispatched immediately to 911 calls as a supplement to traditional 911 care via smartphone app communications while also conducting post-discharge follow-up for at-risk patients using the latest in telemedicine technology.

“It was a pleasure to discuss our business with representatives from the city’s most influential organizations and businesses throughout the night,” said co-founder Justin Dangel. “By leveraging the use of technology to assess people’s health without wasting EMS and hospital resources, we can truly improve the well-being of New Orleans residents, and it seems that many people in this city agree.”

Ready Responders’ win represents the growing levels of support for mobile integrated health care in communities across the country.

“The vision of Ready Responders is to live in a city where people have more healthy days than sick days,” explained co-founder Ben Swig. Achieving this will take time, as such a three-phase rollout of the business model is planned to begin in the next six to 12 months. The first phase includes the launch of the Ready Responders app, which will notify a network of part-time emergency medical professionals when someone nearby needs medical attention. The second phase launches a nurse hotline that will help residents with non-emergency health inquiries. The third phase incorporates home-based telehealth consultations with hospital-based physicians.

The Big Idea is the first major award won by the company, and it serves as a key introduction between the citizens of New Orleans and the concept of Ready Responders. Ready Responders is also working on developing collaborative relationships with other EMS systems around the country to fill gaps and utilize existing evidence-based practices.

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