RDnote, a digital health startup based in New Orleans, has been selected by the Lafayette General Foundation (LGF) to receive a $250,000 seed investment through its subsidiary Healthcare Innovation Fund (HIF). Launched through Propeller’s Accelerator program and currently housed out of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, RDnote provides clients such as hospital systems with a unique nutrition care practice model to manage and customize interventions for patients at high-risk for chronic disease. RDnote’s potential to improve quality of care for patients struggling with chronic conditions such as congestive heart failure and diabetes made the company a natural fit with LGF's mission to link investors’ passion with to the mission of Lafayette General Health, To Restore, Maintain and Improve Health.
The seed funding allows RDnote to pilot its product in partnership with Lafayette General Health System and accelerate growth to other hospital systems in the Gulf Coast Region.
RDnote founder Molly Hegarty worked as a nutritionist designing wellness programs to improve the health of offshore oilfield workers in the Gulf of Mexico before developing RDnote, which she founded to combine her experience as a registered dietitian with her extensive skills in software product management and engineering. Hegarty received her B.S. from the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering and an M.S. from Bastyr University’s School of Nutrition and Exercise Science. She completed her Dietetic Internship at Tulane University’s School of Public Health.
“We are so excited for RDnote to partner with Lafayette General Foundation because we’ll be able to use the investment funds to improve the flow of information between patients with chronic diseases and their healthcare providers in the Gulf Coast region,” said Molly Hegarty, founder of RDnote.
LGF selects recipients after a rigorous review process designed to determine both the company and/or product’s marketplace potential and its ability to achieve it. The Foundation’s board must approve the investment, and only do so if the evaluation process is completely satisfied.
”We’re happy to partner with RDnote,” said Cian Robinson, Executive Director of Lafayette General Foundation. “We saw the company’s full potential right away. This will greatly benefit patients who are battling chronic conditions across the health system.”
Lafayette General Foundation’s Healthcare Innovation Fund was capitalized through a $1.5M investment from Lafayette General Health (LGH) and $1M from the Louisiana Seed Capital Program under the Louisiana Economic Development Corporation (LEDC). LEDC allows investment funds such as HIF to leverage the Federal Treasury Department State Small Business Credit Initiative funds with private funds to invest in seed and/or early stage businesses located in Louisiana.