The Cedars-Sinai Accelerator program will greet its 10th accelerator class, featuring 10 innovative health-tech startup companies from the United States and around the globe.

During the three-month program, participating companies will have the opportunity to network and seek mentorship from more than 300 clinicians, executives and resources across Cedars-Sinai.

In this episode of Digital Health Today, host Dan Kendall and Anne Wellington, Managing Director of the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator, discuss the broad scope of work surrounding Cedars-Sinai as a healthcare provider, the genesis of the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator program, how Cedars-Sinai acts as an advocate for startups, and future plans for the program.

“We understand the importance of helping startups develop technology that empowers the patient or healthcare professional to better track, manage and improve health and healthcare delivery,” said Darren Dworkin, Chief Information Officer of Cedars-Sinai Accelerator powered by Techstars. “We bring the expertise of leaders who are on the front lines of care every day and can provide thorough perspective to technology companies who are making real changes in the space. Through our partnership with HLTH, we bring this collaboration to life in the Startup Pitch competition.”

At the heart of our accelerator program and our companies’ success are the mentors and the executive sponsors guiding our company co-founders as they participate in the intensive three-month bootcamp.  Time and time again, when we ask our alumni about their favorite part of the program, they point to the mentors who challenge and inspire them to be the best they can be.

Learn about five different ways mentorship can add value to your startup, as told by our alumni founders:

"The highlight of HIMSS18 was seeing our Cedars-Sinai Accelerator alumni onstage in the Innovation Live Zone, alongside Darren Dworkin, CIO of Cedars-Sinai, and Dr.  Rick Riggs, CMIO of Cedars-Sinai. Darren and Rick spoke with Deep6 AI, Invio Inc., and Cancer Aid, all alumni of our program, about how to successfully navigate the healthcare ecosystem. The session was honest, inspiring, and completely full."

While hospitals share inventors’ dreams of striking gold, they have kept their expectations in check. “We certainly wouldn’t mind if we stumbled on the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, ” Mr. Dworkin says. “But there is a lot in between—companies that will make incremental improvements.”

I’m excited to share that the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator powered by Techstars program will run its fourth class in Los Angeles starting on July 9, 2018. Applications are now open and will close March 25.

"Innovation is the hallmark of modern medicine. New strategies, new techniques, and new developments...all in the cause of better health." Class 3 company founders Ben Casavant and Sumeet Bhatia join accelerator director Omkar Kulkarni on Fox LA to discuss their innovations and accelerator experience with Fox LA.