Tech-Enabled Pediatric Behavioral Health Startup Emilio Health Raises $5M

Emilio Health, a technology-enabled behavioral health startup, has raised $5 million in seed funding.

Oak HC/FT provided the funding, which will allow Emilio Health to open its first clinics, launch its digital platform and grow its leadership team.

Palo Alto, California-based Emilio Health launched in October, with the goal being to improve the way behavioral health services are provided to children and adolescents.

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The company’s model will combine out-patient treatment with technology in an effort to better collaborate care, using digital solutions for tracking, scheduling and communication. Those virtual tools will also keep parents, pediatricians, school counselors and others important people in the loop regarding children’s needs and progress.

Meanwhile, Greenwich, Connecticut-based Oak HC/FT is a venture growth-equity fund that invests in health care and financial services technology. Following Oak HC/FT’s investment, co-founder and managing partner Annie Lamont will join Emilio Health’s board of directors.

“The current system of care for behavioral health is deeply fragmented, with limited access, inconsistent quality and insufficient coordination resulting in poor outcomes and high costs,” Lamont said in a press release announcing the news. “By wrapping live clinical support with a digital experience, Emilio Health is reconstructing this broken system.”

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About 20% of all children have a diagnosable behavioral health condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, yet only about 20% of those children receive treatment. Still, in the U.S., that equates to about $8.9 billion spent on children’s mental health every year, according to the Journal of Pediatrics.

Part of Emilio Health’s aim is to change those figures.

“We envision a world where all children and families can get affordable, quality-based interventions both in person in convenient locations as well as using our digital platform,” Giovanni Colella, co-founder and executive chairman of Emilio Health, said in the press release.

Emilio Health plans to officially launch its clinics and digital platform in 2020.

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