Rural Virginia clinicians and the startups willing to build tools for their problems rarely end up in the same room. Funding decisions move forward anyway, often without either side's input reaching the other.
The technology and the people who need it should be part of the same conversation before the funding decisions get made.
What we're building
CHARN is organizing a series of working sessions to connect rural Virginia healthcare providers with Virginia-based startups building connected health tools. The format is simple and deliberately small:
- A few small, focused sessions, sized for real conversation.
- No sales pitches allowed. Startups are there to listen first.
- Clinicians describe the real challenges they face, in their own words.
- Startups and providers discuss what's actually possible together.
- Online first, so we can learn fast before deciding what comes next.
Why this, why now
Virginia was awarded $189.5 million in first-year funding from a CMS rural health transformation program, part of a $50 billion, five-year national initiative. Continued funding is contingent on annual reassessment, so the case for what to build has to keep getting made, year over year. Clinicians are increasingly asked what they want, but the systems most have been exposed to are large enterprise platforms built for big health systems, not the rural clinics they actually run. Without a clear view of what smaller, purpose-built tools can do, that funding risks going toward systems that don't scale down to the communities they're meant to serve. The startups building for these challenges deserve to hear the real constraints directly from the people who face them, and clinicians deserve to see what's actually possible beyond the big-ticket systems they already know. We want that exchange to keep shaping how the money moves with each reassessment.
Who this is for
This first round is for three groups:
- Rural healthcare providers in Virginia who want a direct line to people building tools for problems they actually have.
- Virginia-based startups building connected health tools who want to hear real problems firsthand.
- Organizations and funders who want to help make these sessions happen.
Get involved
We're keeping this early and informal on purpose, and we expect it to keep going well past the first round of sessions. If you're a rural healthcare provider, a Virginia startup, or an organization that wants to help make this happen, reach out and we'll follow up as sessions take shape.
Reach out →Or email us directly at info@charn.org