The U.S. workforce has never been more diverse age-wise. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in four workers is over the age of 55, compared to just one in seven in 1979. In addition to Baby Boomers, four other generations are part of the workforce — the Silent Generation, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Organizations that aim to offer tailored benefits must focus on employees’ stages of life.Instead of taking a universal, all-purpose approach, stage of life benefits include programs that address the various challenges employees of different generations face. Whether it’s supporting maternal health, family planning, eldercare or other stages, personalizing benefits allows employees to tap into a menu of options designed to support their unique needs at a specific moment in time.Join VSP Global Innovation Center Head Ruth Yomtoubian, Kindbody Founding Physician and Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Fahimeh Sasan and VillageMD Chief Human Resources Officer Amy Smith for a discussion on how stages of life are shaping the future of healthcare benefits, moderated by MATTER CEO Steven Collens.For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

Starting at a young age, ageism — discrimination or unjust treatment of older people based on stereotypes — shapes the way we think about ourselves and others as we age. Instead of focusing on the negative perceptions of aging, it’s time we focused on the value of the wisdom, insights and life experiences older adults contribute to our communities. What if we thought of aging as an opportunity rather than a crisis? What if we had systems in place to better support all of us as we age? How would that affect our health and well-being?Robert Espinoza, executive vice president at PHI and chair-elect of the American Society on Aging, and Mary O’Donnell, president of RRF Foundation for Aging, explore how changing the way we talk about aging could help us live longer and healthier lives and what health equity could look like for older adults if it were achieved.Learn more about PHI.Learn more about the American Society on Aging.Learn more about RRF Foundation for Aging.About Advancing Health EquityMATTER’s Advancing Health Equity podcast series focuses on unpacking the complexities of health inequities impacting the healthcare system and the health and well-being of individuals and their communities. These 20-30 minute interview-style sessions are meant to take quick dives into critical areas of health equity and answer questions like:What does health equity mean today?Where do current gaps exist in the various areas of healthcare?Where do we see intersections in care?How can technology and innovation be leveraged strategically to positively make a change?For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

People who belong to the LGBTQ+ community experience a number of health disparities, including a lack of access to culturally competent care and worse health outcomes. Join Kate Steinle, chief clinical officer of FOLX Health — the first digital healthcare provider designed by and for the medical needs of the LGBTQ+ community — and Brian Richardson, CEO of StartOut — a national nonprofit organization empowering LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs — as they discuss the health needs of the LGBTQ+ community and tactical steps we can take to make healthcare more inclusive.Learn more about FOLX Health.Learn more about StartOut.About Advancing Health EquityMATTER’s Advancing Health Equity podcast series focuses on unpacking the complexities of health inequities impacting the healthcare system and the health and well-being of individuals and their communities. These 20-30 minute interview-style sessions are meant to take quick dives into critical areas of health equity and answer questions like:What does health equity mean today?Where do current gaps exist in the various areas of healthcare?Where do we see intersections in care?How can technology and innovation be leveraged strategically to positively make a change?For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

About this eventWith a staggering $93 billion in excess healthcare costs and $42 billion in untapped productivity annually in the U.S. alone, health equity is critical to the total cost of healthcare.To combat health inequities, we need to recalibrate health equity efforts by adopting a total reinvention mindset and embedding health equity into the development of digital solutions. Accenture’s U.S. health inequity: beyond the statistics report found three key areas to building a digital core: 1) mitigating bias in data and algorithms, 2) designing inclusive products and services and 3) creating sustainable and structural change.How might digital health help us close the gap?Join panelists Whit Rawlinson, Oncology Digital Innovation Leader at Merck, Ken Tubman, Head of Patient Engagement at Takeda, Sans Thakur, Chief Growth Officer of Medable, Dr. Ankoor Shah, Pediatrician and Health Equity Lead at Accenture, and Alexander Condoleon, Head of Digital Healthcare at Sanofi for a discussion moderated by Laura Westercamp, Managing Director in Accenture’s Life Sciences and MedTech practice, to deep-dive into how digital health can support health equity and ways it might divide. How might digital health make more equitable healthcare a reality from recruiting diverse clinical trials to patient access support?For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

AboutOral health is linked to overall health yet more than 56 million Americans live without access to a dental professional.To continue to address the gaps in our oral health care system, CareQuest Innovation Partners in partnership with MATTER continues SMILE Health — a program designed to identify and accelerate early stage startups driving change in the systemic health landscape.Listen to Dean of Harvard Dental School Dr. William V. Giannobile and Chief Innovation Officer of CareQuest Innovation Partners Mariya Filipova discuss our current oral health system, how to bridge the gap between oral and overall health, ways to make oral health more accessible and equitable and the launch of SMILE Health.For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

Join MATTER as we welcome Stephanie Tilenius, CEO and founder of Vida Health, for our April Tales from the Trenches.Stephanie was motivated to found Vida Health after she tried to help her father manage the multiple chronic conditions he faced. She knew he needed someone with medical knowledge in his corner to help him manage them on a daily basis and get him on a path to better health. Instead, he got lost in a confusing and impersonal healthcare system, like so many do today.Wanting to change her father’s experiences, Stephanie started Vida Health in 2014 with the mission to treat multiple chronic conditions at once through personalized care plans and the power of human connection.Prior to founding Vida Health, Stephanie founded Planetrx.com, an online pharmacy and disease management company. Stephanie is a trailblazing entrepreneur and "intrapreneur" who builds products, platforms and businesses from the ground up. She has played key roles for large companies, such as Google, eBay and PayPal. Stephanie also currently serves on the boards for Coach, Seagate and Tradesy.On April 12, Stephanie joined us for a conversation moderated by Suzet McKinney, DrPH, Principal, Director of Sterling Bay Life Sciences to discuss Stephanie's career journey, the founding of Vida Health and how she plans to advance healthcare.About Tales from the Trenches™MATTER’s signature Tales from the Trenches series is an opportunity to hear the early stories of some of the global businesses we read about in the news — straight from the founders who led them to greatness. This series invites seasoned healthcare entrepreneurs to the MATTER stage to share learnings, stories and key takeaways from their journeys.For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

More than 80 percent of counties across the United States lack adequate access to healthcare, with a third of the U.S. population living in a healthcare desert, an area with insufficient access to primary care providers, pharmacies, hospitals, trauma care centers, optometrists and more. While access has been scaled broadly in the last decade across multiple industries, including banking, entertainment, fashion and food, it has remained elusive in healthcare. However, in recent years, products, services and models that have been driving access and growth in other industries are finally beginning to find traction in healthcare.Join VSP Global Innovation Center Head Ruth Yomtoubian, PlenOptika CEO and Co-founder Shivang Dave, Homeward SVP of market strategy and development Stephanie Gutendorf, and Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and Deloitte Health Equity Institute Executive Director Jay Bhatt for a panel discussion on the innovations, trends, technologies and startups transforming both access and how people in healthcare deserts receive care.For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

Shar Matin, CEO of Cordis, has over 20 years of medical device experience from Fortune 500 companies to leading commercial and technical teams in the U.S. and overseas. Along with his current role as CEO of Cordis, he serves on the Board of Directors of Koru Medical Systems. Previously he was COO of ViewRay, Inc. and Spectranetics. In these roles, Shar helped disrupt the healthcare market by building exceptional teams.On February 21, Shar joined us for a conversation moderated by Nancy Sullivan, CEO and managing director of IllinoisVENTURES, to discuss Shar’s journey, Cordis’s acquisition of MedAlliance and where he plans to push Cordis in the future.About Tales from the Trenches™MATTER’s signature Tales from the Trenches series is an opportunity to hear the early stories of some of the global businesses we read about in the news — straight from the founders who led them to greatness. This series invites seasoned healthcare entrepreneurs to the MATTER stage to share learnings, stories and key takeaways from their journeys.For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

Dr. Roy Smythe, CEO of SomaLogic, is an internationally recognized surgeon, biomedical scientist, academician, health system administrator and healthcare business entrepreneur. Dr. Smythe joined SomaLogic in 2018 and has led the company in creating sustainable and scalable growth eventually leading to the company’s initial public offering in 2021.Prior to his work at SomaLogic, he served as chief medical officer at Valence Health and AVIA. Dr. Smythe trained in general surgery, surgical oncology and thoracic surgery and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in molecular therapeutics while in medical school. As a medical and scientific thought leader, Dr. Smythe has authored more than 300 papers, abstracts and essays in academic, literary and humanities publications.On January 26, Roy joined us for a conversation moderated by Dr. Timothy Cunniff, executive vice president of research and development and chief scientific officer of Paragon Biosciences, to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, lessons he’s learned along the way and his vision for the future of SomaLogic.About Tales from the Trenches™MATTER’s signature Tales from the Trenches series is an opportunity to hear the early stories of some of the global businesses we read about in the news — straight from the founders who led them to greatness. This series invites seasoned healthcare entrepreneurs to the MATTER stage to share learnings, stories and key takeaways from their journeys. Tales from the Trenches is free and open to the public.For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth

Bob Badal is a healthcare industry veteran and kidney care expert, with a career spanning multiple successful startups, corporate operations and ventures. Along with his work at Strive Health, he co-founded Treatment Technologies & Insights (TTI), a digital healthcare company, in 2017. Bob began his healthcare career directly out of college working in both health plan network development and hospital administration roles. Come hear about his career constant: to identify and deploy disruptive solutions to improve patient care.About Tales from the Trenches™MATTER’s signature Tales from the Trenches series is an opportunity to hear the early stories of some of the global businesses we read about in the news — straight from the founders who led them to greatness. This series invites seasoned healthcare entrepreneurs to the MATTER stage to share learnings, stories and key takeaways from their journeys.For more information, visit matter.health and follow us on social: LinkedIn @MATTERTwitter @MATTERhealthInstagram @matterhealth