HealthCatalyst Northwest Arkansas Selects Startups for $20,000 Community Pilot Projects

New program pairs innovators with NWA community partners to improve health and economic vitality

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- HTA and NXTUS, Inc. announced the seven early-stage companies selected for the inaugural HealthCatalyst Northwest Arkansas (NWA) pilot cohort, made possible by the Walton Family Foundation.

The startups were selected by Arkansas non-profit organizations to implement $20,000 innovation projects, with the funding distributed between the startup and its community partner. Together, they will test solutions designed to enhance the local organization's capabilities and improve the health and economic vitality of the region. Each startup will work alongside its community partner to pilot test its solution, with program impacts announced at the HealthCatalyst NWA Innovation Showcase on September 29 at the Heartland Whole Health Institute. Register here.

"Northwest Arkansas has the community partners, problems worth solving, and the will to do something about it," said Jeff Stinson, Director, HTA. "The quality of companies that chose to bring their work here, out of more than 200 applicants from around the world, is a real signal that this region is becoming a proving ground for health innovation."

"This program promises a triple win for Northwest Arkansas," said Mary Beth Jarvis, President and CEO of NXTUS. "Startups get a chance to gain customers, community organizations get to be early adopters of technology tools that can improve their operations, and residents get improved services and economic growth around them."

Sixteen Northwest Arkansas healthcare providers and community organizations are participating in the program: Arisa Health, Arkansas Behavioral Health Integration Network, Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Rural Health Partnership, Children's Safety Center, Communities Unlimited, Community Clinic, EverHope, Havenwood, Jones Center, Mercy, Our Blood Institute, Spring Creek Food Hub, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), UpSkill NWA, and Washington Regional Medical System.

The 2026 cohort companies and pilot projects:

• Ashmi Health (Boston, Mass.): Personalized AI nutrition guidance for women's hormonal and metabolic health. Piloting with UAMS to deliver voice-first blood pressure and glucose monitoring, photo-based meal logging, and dietitian-reviewed nutrition content to pregnant and postpartum patients.
• GaitIQ (San Antonio, Texas): AI-powered mobility health platform for adults 55+. Piloting with the Jones Center to integrate objective mobility measurement into existing fitness and wellness programming.
• Huml Health (Bentonville, Ark.): Wearable AI platform enabling proactive addiction recovery care. Piloting with Arisa Health on a six-month post-discharge monitoring program for substance use disorder patients.
• Life Startup Essentials (Phoenix, Ariz.): Essential home kits that help transition from homelessness to housing. Piloting with Havenwood to provide complete houseware kits to program graduates as they move to permanent housing.
• Pear Suite (Tulsa, Okla.): AI-powered care navigation platform for community health workers. Piloting with EverHope to conduct a billing readiness assessment and provide technical assistance to help EverHope access Medicaid and other services reimbursements.
• We The Village (New York, N.Y.): Scaling evidence-based family engagement in addiction recovery. Piloting with the Arkansas Behavioral Health Integration Network to train community leaders in the CRAFT family program, equipping families with skills to support loved ones with substance use disorders.
• Welfie (San Diego, Calif.): Building and empowering the future healthcare workforce. Piloting with the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership to launch the Arkansas Rural Health Academy, a training and job placement pipeline for healthcare workers.

HealthCatalyst NWA is also supported in part by Simmons Foods, a company that has invested in the health of NWA communities for more than 75 years. This program also collaborates with Visit Bentonville, The Collaborative, NWA Council, and Startup NWA. To learn more about HealthCatalyst NWA, visit https://hta.health/healthcatalyst-nwa.

About HTA:

HTA is an Arkansas-based healthtech accelerator whose core value proposition is guaranteed hospital pilots and clinical trials through a decade-built clinical partner coalition. HTA connects early-stage health technology companies with the partners, clinical relationships, and market feedback needed to grow and scale. The organization runs four programs.

About NXTUS:

NXTUS, Inc. helps entrepreneurs grow companies of significance. The organization connects startup founders with community resources, capital, and customers. NXTUS manages NXTSTAGE programs aimed at accelerating the pace of innovation by connecting startups with mature businesses and regional partners.

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SOURCE HTA