Empower Clinics Inc, one of the largest operators of medical health and wellness centers in the US, revealed that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Specialty Network of North America Inc (SNNA) to launch a healthcare network to bring quality and affordable specialty healthcare to underserved communities in the United States.
The Vancouver-based integrated healthcare company noted that tens of millions of people are living in areas with insufficient basic healthcare and 65 million people live in regions without adequate primary care designated by the US federal government.
According to the US Census Bureau, 8.3% of people, or 27.2 million, did not have health insurance at any point in the year 2021. Surveys also show that over two of five or 43% of working-age US adults are inadequately insured. Almost 70 million Americans are either uninsured or underinsured.
READ: Empower Clinics sees Q3 revenue nearly triple thanks to COVID-19 testing, higher MediSure sales
In a statement, SNNA CEO Alexis Wukich said the partnership would enable them to provide high-quality specialty care services to underserved communities.
“Our model will enable us to scale our processes and protocols so that we can expand our programs quickly, from both a geographic and services perspective,” she added. “We recognize Empower is a leader in integrated healthcare and diagnostic solutions in the US and Canada, and we expect to leverage the brand and assets of Empower to accelerate our business and growth model.”
SNNA plans to do the following:
- Launch an initial pilot to offer specialty cardiology screening services to underserved communities anticipated to be located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the first quarter of 2023;
- Utilize Empower’s diagnostics division Medisure Lab to complete diagnostic screening services and processing of lab panels and tests;
- Launch a second pilot of specialty cardiology screening services for underserved communities potentially in Dallas, Texas in the first half of 2023;
- Explore the addition of other specialty screening services for its pilots such as dermatology screening utilizing advanced dermatology scanners, virtual care, and telemedicine services.
Improving healthcare through innovative collaboration
“High quality and affordable healthcare is one of the biggest challenges facing the US and it’s also an area where Empower Clinics’ integrated healthcare solutions can make a huge difference,” said Empower Clinics CEO Steven McAuley.
“Combining our clinic, diagnostics, and at-home testing experience with SNNA’s experience and talent in the US will create exciting solutions for underserved patients across the US,” he added.
McAuley emphasized that improving the quality of healthcare through “innovative collaboration” is a core goal for the company.
“We will continue to create such partnerships that are both transformative for patients and immediately accretive to our business,” he added.
The details of the partnership and its investment structure will be finalized in a definitive agreement to be wrapped up in early 2023. “Up to two other strategic investors may participate in the investment of this initiative,” said the company.
Separately, Empower also said in the same statement that it has issued 1.45 million stock options to directors, officers, and consultants. Each option is exercisable to acquire a share at a price of $0.04 for a period of 5 years from the grant. Certain options are fully vested on issuance with other options subject to vesting periods over the course of the term of the options, said the firm.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
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