MaternaTech is an innovation partnership between Winrock International, Baptist Health, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Washington Regional Health System, uniting a leader in healthcare business acceleration, the state’s largest health system, the state’s largest insurer, and Northwest Arkansas’ most extensive health system to Accelerate Maternal Health Innovations in early risk identification and prevention, reducing pregnancy and childbirth complications and solutions for the critical first 12 months after birth.

Through MaternaTech, we will bridge the gap between innovative maternal health technologies and their real-world adoption and utilization by clinicians, caregivers, and health systems through a curated acceleration program that integrates clinical expertise, healthcare payor engagement, and direct market access.   

Numerous factors contribute to Arkansas’s maternal health challenges. However, there is a significant gap between emerging technologies and innovations and their adoption and utilization by clinicians, caregivers, front-line workers and health systems. This leads to fragmented efforts that delay or prevent the application of new technologies.  Arkansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee’s 2023 report provides specific recommendations for improving the utilization of protocols, screeners, technologies, treatments, and interventions for maternal health conditions. 

Our Goal

How We Will Accomplish This:

• Rigorous recruiting and selection of companies are based on the unique needs and challenges in Arkansas and the Southeast of the U.S.
• Company engagement begins with a problem-centric focus, commitment, and meaningful ongoing stakeholder collaboration, inviting promising companies to work from the inside.   
• Strategic Pilot Development in a curated environment to accelerate the design, validation, and deployment of new innovations and technologies that improve the maternal population’s health, safety, and well-being. 
• Additionally, our approach includes working with companies to navigate funding, reimbursement, and value attribution pathways to advance their innovations.
• Implementation and Scale for Impact with a state-wide platform.  

The MaternaTech Partnership

Winrock’s mission is to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources across the globe. This includes our dedication to expanding local, regional, and state economies by providing high-impact programs and early-stage capital investment to promote technology entrepreneurship and innovation. Winrock has been leading the way in accelerating technology ventures over two decades. Through its programs, Winrock has assisted 820 companies, helped them raise over $473.6 million in capital, and created more than 6,000 jobs. 

Baptist Health

Baptist Health has provided top-quality healthcare with compassion and innovative services for over a century. Arkansas’ most comprehensive healthcare organization operates 12 hospitals, urgent care centers, a senior living community, over 100 primary and specialty care clinics, a nursing and allied health college, and a graduate residency program with more than 250 points of access. It is Arkansas’s largest private, not-for-profit healthcare organization, employing approximately 11,000 people and offering groundbreaking treatments, renowned physicians, and community outreach programs.

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield 

Founded in 1948, ABCBS, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is the largest health insurer in Arkansas. Its family of affiliated companies has more than 3,200 employees. For more than 75 years, Arkansans have trusted ABCBS for affordable, reliable insurance plans. ABCBS offers health and dental insurance policies for individuals and families who purchase their insurance directly and those whose insurance coverage is provided through their employer.  

Arkansas Blue Cross offers a complete portfolio of health management tools and resources designed to improve the health of our members, no matter where they fall on the care continuum from healthy to chronic to acutely ill. ABCBS also participates in the Blue Venture Funds (BVF), a unique collaboration among Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) companies, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), and Sandbox. It is owned, governed, and capitalized by participating Blue Plans and affiliates. ABCBS is also a member of Echo Health Ventures, which exists to invest in building and growing great healthcare companies. These respective funds (BVF and ECHO) invest in venture and growth opportunities within healthcare technology, healthcare services, and clinical sciences.  

Washington Regional Medical Center

Since its beginnings as a county hospital in 1950, Washington Regional has grown into the largest healthcare system in Northwest Arkansas, with a workforce of more than 3,600 employees. The 425-bed medical center features five distinguished Centers of Excellence: the J.B. Hunt Transport Services Neuroscience Institute, Pat Walker Center for Seniors, Total Joint Center, Walker Heart Institute, and Women and Infants Center. Serving the region through 45 clinic locations throughout Northwest Arkansas and operating as a Regional Trauma Center, Washington Regional delivers world-class health care services to the community. 

Funding Partners