Caribbean Immigrant Lands Top Spot At First Venture-Backed, Health Care Tech Startup

By NAN Staff Writer

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. July 15, 2022: A Caribbean immigrant has landed a top spot at the US’ first ever venture-backed, health care-tech startup.

Grenada-born Michelle Garde has been named Head of Value Analytics at Yuvo Health, the first venture-backed, health care-tech startup dedicated to community health, according to a John Jay College report.

Garde earned her B.S. at John Jay in legal studies and an M.P.A. at New York University.

She originally wanted to work in the legal field, and switched gears to pursue a career in public health.

“I transitioned to health care because I saw a need in underserved communities to which I knew I could add value. It’s exciting to be at Yuvo because it’s a company devoted to helping people through community health centers,” Garde was quoted as saying. “The founding team is fully BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and the founder himself was a community health center patient as a child.”

Garde was raised by her grandparents and a large community of extended family in Grenada before moving with her family to the Ditmas Park area of Brooklyn, NY.

Garde says she is thrilled to join Yuvo Health. “I couldn’t dream of a better position. I’m using all of my past experiences and helping people who look like me get the health care they need,” she swas quoted as saying.

In her new role, Garde delves into different data points—like how many times people see a primary care physician—and illustrates community concerns to an array of stakeholders involved with community health centers. By creating a data-rich narrative, her team suggests robust solutions—like extending evening hours or developing an urgent care cooperative—that could improve the lives of people in underserved communities.

Yuvo is an administrative service and managed care contracting engine helping to support federally qualified health centers. The startup raised $7.3 million in January with a seed round of funding led by early-stage venture fund AlleyCorp, with AV8 Ventures, New York Ventures, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures and angel investors including Dr. Melynda Barnes, chief medical officer at Ro, also participating. The New York City-based Yuvo offers administrative and managed-care contracting services to FQHCs, which provide primary care for underserved populations.