{"id":10701,"date":"2020-10-24T11:52:33","date_gmt":"2020-10-24T18:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10701"},"modified":"2020-10-24T11:53:24","modified_gmt":"2020-10-24T18:53:24","slug":"communication-is-key-for-well-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=10701","title":{"rendered":"Communication is Key for WELL Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/b>WELL Health<\/a>\u2019s CEO Guillaume de\u00a0Zwirek<\/a> first discovered healthcare\u00a0tech as a patient. During an Ironman\u00a0triathlon, he landed in the back of an\u00a0ambulance, suffering from acute heatstroke.\u00a0In the months after his hospital discharge, he\u00a0navigated a complex medical system full of\u00a0antiquated communication practices. Seeing\u00a0an opportunity, de Zwirek created WELL to\u00a0solve those challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWELL enables health systems, private practices,\u00a0and vendors to conduct seamless conversations\u00a0with patients across multiple channels,\u00a0including texting, email, telephone, and live\u00a0chat,\u201d said Pamela Ellgen, WELL\u2019s health editor.<\/p>\n

Through WELL, patients receive all of their\u00a0healthcare communication from one trusted\u00a0source\u2014their provider\u2014and service providers\u00a0can converse with patients in real time.<\/p>\n

The first WELL office opened in 2015 in\u00a0Redwood City, the heart of Silicon Valley. \u201cI\u00a0quickly realized that wasn\u2019t the right thing for\u00a0the company, or for our team,\u201d said de Zwirek.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bay Area was overcrowded with way too\u00a0many people willing to make crazy\u00a0commutes. Even though our office\u00a0was right on the train route, some of\u00a0our team still had to travel more than\u00a0an hour and a half just to get to work.<\/p>\n

And the cost of living was out of control.\u00a0In addition, turnover is a way of\u00a0life in Silicon Valley. It wasn\u2019t what I wanted for\u00a0WELL. I want to build a community of people\u00a0who are happy to be here and excited to help\u00a0build this company.\u201d<\/p>\n

WELL relocated its headquarters to Santa\u00a0Barbara in 2017 and now operates on Chapala\u00a0Street in Invoca\u2019s former headquarters. Listed\u00a0as number 170 on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing\u00a0privately held companies in the U.S.,\u00a0WELL employs 102 people, with 62 of them in\u00a0Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n

In March 2020, WELL unveiled its Rapid\u00a0Release Program, which allows health systems\u00a0to manage urgent COVID-19 patient communications\u00a0at scale. A technology that seems\u00a0tailor-made for our time, it can be deployed by\u00a0users in just 48 hours, which is far quicker than\u00a0a typical implementation. Seeking to address\u00a0the pandemic as effectively as possible, WELL\u00a0offered the program below cost and was able to\u00a0serve an additional 2.5 million patients within\u00a0weeks of launch. \u00a0wellapp.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Tech<\/a>

Tech Talk Special Issue for Santa Barbara Independent, published October 1, 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Tech Talk Special Issue<\/a> for the Santa Barbara Independent<\/em><\/a>, originally published on October 1, 2020.<\/p>\n

To read the issue as it appeared in print, please click here, Tech Talk 768_10_01_20<\/a><\/p>\n

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