Behavioral Health Treatment Center Merges with B2B Telehealth Company, Lands $7M Round

Behavioral health companies Integrative Life Network LLC and Integrative Health Centers Inc. have merged, rebranding as Peregrine Health.

The fusion of the two Nashville, Tennessee-based behavioral health companies creates a company with direct-to-consumer and business-to-business service lines. Each was founded and led by Ryan Chapman, who will lead the combined company as CEO, according to a news release.

The acquisition coincides with a new $7 million funding round led by Atlanta-based venture firm BIP Ventures. Previous investors in the progenitor companies that participated in the latest round include Martin Ventures, Chapman Capital and FCA Venture Partners.

The joint company will provide behavioral health telehealth services for other health care organizations as well as operate intensive outpatient programs (IOPs), partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) and residential programs in four states: Colorado, New Mexico, Tennessee and Vermont.

Integrative Health Centers was founded to provide behavioral health services to federal safety-net clinics via telehealth. Its approach was based on Integrative Life Center, Chapman told Behavioral Health Business. The telehealth business works with 200 clinics in 18 states.

“The Peregrine team has built a platform that extends high-quality care to geographies and demographics that often receive sub-par care,” BIP Ventures Managing Partner Mark Buffington said in a statement. “The company’s rapid growth and high customer retention are a testament to the massive need in the marketplace and the quality of Peregrine’s solution.”

Integrative Health Centers received a $2.95 million seed round led by FCA Venture Partners in 2021. At that time, it provided behavioral health services to medical groups and centers via in-person and telehealth visits.

At the beginning of the year, Integrative Live Network announced it had acquired Shadow Mountain Recovery Center, in turn expanding into New Mexico.

“We’ve grown our network of treatment centers from a single location in Nashville, Tennessee, to 10 facilities across four states,” Chapman told BHB. “As we’ve grown the network of treatment centers, we have opportunities to build out markets with a coordinated continuum of care that allows our telehealth clients to access higher-acuity levels of care within the same ecosystem of providers, which is not typically available to these patient populations.”

The move comes at an uncertain time for intensive programs and telehealth offerings. Payers such as Aetna are trimming coverage for these services. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is also developing new rules to regulate telehealth that involve certain medications.

For Peregrine Health, telehealth is a vital aspect of serving those who lack access to behavioral health care. Chapman notes that 50% of U.S. counties don’t have a psychiatrist or addiction medicine specialist.

“We’re creating access to services that aren’t typically available in these communities where there is strong demand, but no providers,” Chapman said. “We will continue to advocate for the critical importance of telehealth options for mental and behavioral health services, especially in underserved markets where there is often a lack of providers in the communities.”