Michigan Business Beat | Erica Armstrong, Root Functional Medicine | Funding & Healthcare Innovation

Originally uploaded September 21st, reloaded October 4th. Jeffrey Mosher welcomes Erica Armstrong, MD, FMCP-M, Founder & CEO, Functional Medicine , Grand Rapids, MI. Erica, welcome back to the Michigan Business Network, remind the Michigan business community about your business? Root Functional Medicine recently closed a Series A funding round. What does that investment allow the company to do next, and why is Grand Rapids the right place to build that next stage of the business? You’re bringing together physicians, dietitians, lab testing and your rootOS technology platform. What problem are you solving for employers and their employees that traditional healthcare approaches may not address as effectively? RootOS is described as the world’s first functional medicine operating system. From a business perspective, how does the technology help you deliver your model at scale and measure outcomes for customers? With the new downtown headquarters and a team of 16 employees, what does Root’s expansion mean for the company’s future in West Michigan, and what would you like the local business community to understand about where you’re headed? You were a practicing family physician before becoming a founder. What did you see in traditional healthcare that made you believe a fundamentally different model needed to exist? Healthcare benefits are already one of the largest expenses for employers. What evidence are you seeing that addressing root causes can actually change healthcare costs, not just improve employee engagement? There are a lot of digital health and employee wellness companies competing for employers’ attention. What makes Root different? You’ve gone from treating individual patients to selling healthcare to employers. What have you learned about what CEOs and CFOs actually want from healthcare benefits? Developer of world’s first functional medicine operating system selects downtown Grand Rapids for new headquarters The Right Place, Inc. announces that Root Functional Medicine plans to expand its presence in the region with a new headquarters at 120 Ionia Avenue SW in downtown Grand Rapids. Starting September 1, the company will lease 3,920 square feet on the second floor for its 16 employees. Founded in 2022 by local family physician Dr. Erica Armstrong, the company recently closed a Series A funding round led by HealthXVentures, a Wisconsin-based digital healthcare-focused venture capital firm. Root combines advanced lab testing, board-certified physicians and dietitians, and its proprietary software platform, RootOS—the world’s first functional medicine operating system—to deliver measurable outcomes for individuals and employer populations. » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN’s YouTube: www.youtube.com/@MichiganbusinessnetworkMBN » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: X.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/ Root Functional Medicine CEO Dr. Erica Armstrong discusses Series A funding, RootOS, employer healthcare, and West Michigan growth.