Verily has set its sights on building a high-tech rehabilitation center that will explore, evaluate and validate different models for responding to the opioid crisis.
To be based in Dayton, Ohio, Alphabet’s life sciences arm teamed up with two local health providers to build what it described as a nonprofit “learning health system” focused on addiction medicine.
“Beyond providing the technical infrastructure to treat patients day-to-day, the system will also generate insights that could advance the understanding of how to treat and promote sustained recovery for those experiencing addiction and allow for evolving best practices,” wrote Danielle Schlosser, a senior clinical scientist in behavioral health, in a Verily blog post.
The goal is to create a campus that includes clinical services and housing, as well as businesses and mixed-use development open to patients and the local community. Verily also said it plans to invest in revitalizing the surrounding neighborhood.
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Titled OneFifteen, the venture was launched with healthcare providers Kettering Health Network and Premier Health, and in partnership with Alexandria Real Estate Equities. It will be helmed by Marti Taylor, former CEO of University Hospital and the Ross Heart Hospital at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
“People living with addiction need multidimensional and easy-to-access treatment,” Schlosser wrote. “We recognize that if the full continuum of care as well as other services like recovery housing and vocational training could be in one location, it could produce better outcomes for patients and their loved ones.”
At the top of this year, Verily announced a $1 billion funding round for it to undertake new projects, partnerships and potential acquisitions. Verily’s CEO, Andrew Conrad, said he hopes the fundraising will allow the company to better position itself in evidence generation, as well as in value-based reimbursement care models.