Forefront Telecare Secures Series A Funding to Expand Behavioral Health Telehealth Platform

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on January 8, Forefront Telecare, a U.S.-based telehealth platform for behavioral health, announced the closing of its Series A financing round. The investment amount was not disclosed. This marks the company’s first venture capital raise since completing two earlier rounds—$655,600 in April 2010 and $312,500 in January 2011. The Series A round was led by Spring Lake Equity Partners, with participation from Ziegler Link-Age.

Furthermore, in its external financing announcement, Forefront Telecare also announced the appointment of Rob Rebak as its new Chief Executive Officer. With 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Mr. Rebak has accumulated strategic and operational expertise spanning Fortune 500 companies to startups. Previously, he served as President and CEO of AbleTo, a behavioral health telehealth platform, and as CEO and Chairman of QualityHealth, a healthcare management platform.

Forefront Telecare was established in 2010 to specialize in providing high-quality behavioral health telehealth services to elderly patients in underserved areas and rural hospitals across the United States. The professional services offered by Forefront Telecare include psychiatry and clinical psychology, with physical therapy and advanced wound care services added in early 2014. Psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and other behavioral health professionals affiliated with Forefront Telecare deliver services to clients and patients via online platforms.

According to a report titled “Mental Health and Aging in the United States” on the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website, at least 20% of Americans aged 55 and older experience mental health issues each year. U.S. Census data from 2016 shows that 75% of rural areas lack psychiatrists. These stark realities indicate that the solutions provided by Forefront Telecare can have a significant positive impact on this population. By leveraging flexible scheduling technology, logistics, and management systems, combined with extensive expertise in behavioral health, Forefront Telecare is able to create solutions that integrate effectively with existing client systems and workflows. Currently, the company’s services are deployed across 20 U.S. states.

Forefront Telecare will use the new funding to expand its national network of telepsychiatry and related service providers, and to develop a HIPAA-compliant (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) telemedicine platform.

“In my view, the healthcare industry today is in an era of ‘mission-driven innovation.’ Forefront Telecare is a company that truly approaches behavioral health telehealth services from the patient’s perspective, leveraging technology to enhance the care experience, which I find very compelling,” said Rob Rebak, the new CEO of Forefront Telecare. “Furthermore, Forefront Telecare focuses on helping the most vulnerable elderly populations who face significant health challenges such as severe depression, anxiety, dementia, and suicide risk. In rural areas of the United States, these challenges are significantly exacerbated by a shortage of relevant clinicians. I admire Forefront Telecare’s efforts in addressing these issues, and I am excited to embark on this new chapter here.”

Spring Lake Equity Partners is a Boston-based venture capital firm that primarily invests in late-stage, technology-driven private companies. Spring Lake Equity Partners seeks to partner with exceptional management teams to create value for all stakeholders.

Ziegler Link-Age focuses on early-stage, growth capital, equity, and quasi-equity (including convertible bonds) investments. The fund seeks to invest in areas such as health management, healthcare technology, chronic disease management, big data analytics for health, and telemedicine, as well as companies that are improving healthcare for the elderly in the United States.