Plans are in the works to create a network of healthcare clinics aimed at serving truckers, other travelers, and folks living in rural areas. Part of its financial backing comes from trucking industry executives.
Interstate Health Systems announced its intent to establish a network of primary care, urgent care, and telemedicine services along the nation’s interstate highway system. This milestone brings the medical services company one step closer to breaking what it calls the long-standing healthcare barriers faced by the nation’s 3.5 million professional truck drivers and introduces a new model for serving the healthcare needs of rural Americans and interstate travelers.
With its initial funding in place, IHS said it will begin opening 60 clinics over the next two years. Additionally, it will deliver a technology platform that integrates with trucking company platforms and includes services such as real-time telemedicine and a unified prescription service network.
The organization recently announced it plans to build more than 300 urgent care clinics in the next six years located near truck stops and travel centers serving professional drivers, the traveling public, and the underserved communities living nearby. As a result, the organization said it will enable more immediate healthcare access to 46 million Americans currently living in medically underserved areas, as well as 18 million veterans who can now select their provider of choice through the Veterans Community Care program.
The company said it has received financial backing from various private investors, many of who are veteran transportation and technology industry executives, including:
- Rob Estes, CEO, Estes Express Lines
- Brad Pinchuk, CEO, Hirschbach Truck Line
- Bob Peterson, Chairman/CEO, Melton Truck Lines
- Gary Enzor, Former Chairman/CEO, Quality Distribution
- Jett McCandless, CEO/Founder, project44
- Ron Rother, Former CEO/Chairman of Strive Consulting
- John Larkin, Partner at Clarendon, ex-Stifel
- Chad Eichelberger, President, Reliance Partners, ex-Coyote Logistics
- Tommy Barnes, CRO, MyCarrier, ex- project44 & Coyote Logistics
- Bruce Campbell, Former CEO/Chairman, Forward Air
- Perry Mandera, CEO/Founder, Custom Companies
- Fulton Wold, Former CEO/Founder, Bold Planning Technologies
“The IHS model is a major leap forward in solving a variety of healthcare challenges that our professional drivers face daily,” said Rob Estes, CEO of Estes Express Lines. “IHS is supported and advised by a dynamic group of trucking, healthcare and technology leaders with the expertise needed to fundamentally redefine the future of healthcare in rural America.”
IHS is led by healthcare industry veteran Jeff Seraphine, who is serving as the company’s chief executive officer. Seraphine formerly served as chief development officer and hospital group president for Lifepoint Health and has more than 25 years of hospital and healthcare system executive leadership experience.