Date: Jun 06, 2010 Source: Company Data (
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Prevail Health Solutions LLC (http://www.prevailhs.com), a Chicago-based health care technology company, is excited to announce that it has been awarded a $500,000 Phase II grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) prestigious Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR).
The funding will support Prevail as it continues to develop and deliver its novel online program, Vets Prevail (http://www.vetsprevail.com), which provides mental health support and resilience training for Veterans and Service Members returning from combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (OIF/OEF).
The NSF SBIR program funds the most promising up-and-coming technology development companies. Less than 1% of companies that apply to the program are eventually awarded a Phase II grant, so this award is an honor for Prevail and a validation of the company's work thus far. "Some of the most innovative and successful American companies have come through the SBIR program, said Richard Gengler, the company's CEO, "and Prevail is proud to join their ranks."
The $500,000 grant will allow Prevail to accelerate its ongoing development and increase the number of lives it touches with its programs. The company is hard at work developing additional training programs on the same model as Vets Prevail, but tailored to the unique needs of active duty Service Members and military Families. However, Mr. Gengler, a Veteran himself, is primarily focused on the second benefit: "This funding will allow Prevail to continue putting Veterans and Service Members through the program—bringing support to many more men and women in need while we continue working with the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration to get the resources necessary to provide availability on a national level."
Entry into Phase II makes Prevail eligible for the Phase IIB matching program, in which 50 cents of additional grant money are awarded on every dollar raised to the effort from outside the NSF, up to $1 million. This provides a unique opportunity for organizations concerned with military mental health issues to stretch their program dollars. Prevail will be actively seeking partnerships with organizations that would like to finance greater access to online mental health promotion while taking advantage of the leverage provided by the Phase IIB program.
With recent research concluding that 37% of troops returning from OEF/OIF will diagnose positive for a deployment-related mental health condition like PTSD or depression, the need for reintegration support and resilience-building programs is urgent. Vets Prevail's online delivery makes it an easily 2 of 2 accessible and anonymous first step to care for returning Veterans and Service Members who would benefit from support but would be unlikely to seek it due to concerns about stigma or difficulty of access.
About Prevail Health Solutions LLC Prevail Health Solutions LLC is a Health 2.0 company founded in January 2008 by Richard Gengler and Roger Sweis, then MBA students at the Booth School of Business. The company was created to provide effective and accessible mental health care to the growing number of Service Members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Gengler, a former US Navy pilot, and Sweis, a former health care executive, combined their backgrounds to create a unique delivery model to bring mental health resources to returning Troops.
