PE Giant KKR Creates New Mental Health Services Company, Geode Health

The global private equity giant KKR has created a new mental health services company called Geode Health, the firm announced Wednesday.

The new platform will partner with psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists to offer in-person and virtual outpatient mental health treatment to children and adults across the U.S. The goal is to support clinicians so they can improve access and outcomes for patients.

Headquartered in Chicago, Geode plans to partner with existing providers and open new clinics to meet the substantial need for behavioral health services nationwide, according to a press release.

Advertisement

The news comes just a few months after KKR invested a reported $1.2 billion into Therapy Brands, a practice management and EHR software platform for behavioral health and physical rehabilitation providers. The firm’s behavioral portfolio also includes BrightSpring Health Services, which KKR acquired in 2019, and Blue Sprig Pediatrics, which KKR formed in 2018 to address the unmet clinical needs of children with autism.

Geode further deepens KKR’s footprint in behavioral health, as well as its commitment to the space. An investment from the firm’s Health Care Strategic Growth strategy — which is focused “on high-growth health care-related companies for which KKR can be a unique partner in helping reach scale” — is funding the company’s creation, according to the press release.

Gaurav Bhattacharyya will lead the new company as CEO. He comes to Geode from Elite Dental Partners, a dental support organization with more than 100 offices across 12 states, where he held the same position. In the past, he’s also served as a division vice president at DaVita, a dialysis company with more than 2,800 centers across the U.S.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Bhattacharyya has tapped Mike King to serve as Geode’s COO. King has previously served as general manager at Cityblock Health, a Medicaid- and Medicare-focused value-based care platform, as well as Division Vice President at DaVita and COO at Impact Fitness.

“While 1 in every 5 Americans suffers from mental illness, treatment options remain considerably less prevalent – a gap that has unfortunately only widened as a result of COVID-19,” Bhattacharyya said in the release. “With Geode, we hope to address this urgent need and enable better clinical outcomes for more patients by building a scaled, provider-focused mental health services platform.”

Companies featured in this article:

,