This week in How success happens, I spoke with Kwamane Liddell, founder of ThriveLink, a platform that uses AI to help families access programs like health insurance, food stamps, and utility assistance. Having begun his career in healthcare as a nurse, Liddell's unique insight into the needs of underserved communities inspired him to create solutions that bridge the gap between healthcare access and the social determinants of health.
You can listen to our full conversation above, and below, I've extracted three key points. I hope you find as much inspiration in Liddell's journey as I did.
Transforming personal experience into advocacy
Liddell shows how we are witnessing health disparities made him keenly aware of public health issues. His connection to health care disparities led him to innovate and advocate for underserved communities.
“I was a nursing manager at Alameda Health System and I had seen so many patients lose their lives from wellness, not because they needed more health care,” he says. “We lowered their blood pressure or helped them control their diabetes. That's easy. But they had to be able to afford their medication when they left or have access to healthy food and housing and all those things. .”
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The impact of ThriveLink
Liddell shared a powerful story of a patient who benefited tremendously from ThriveLink services, illustrating the profound impact that accessible health care resources can have on individuals and communities.
“When we were doing our first pilot with Atrium Health in North Carolina, (a) patient came into the doctor's office and she had very serious clinical needs. But part of what she was really concerned about was the bill its services,” Liddell says. “She didn't have the money to pay them. And during the pilot, the doctor gave her ThriveLink's phone number. And without any extra work from the doctor or the team, she signed up. She called the number and registered it in her utility helper, which she didn't know existed, and pay her $519 bill.
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AI-powered healthcare
Liddell shows how it can drastically reduce costs and expand service capabilities at community clinics across America, enabling ThriveLink to provide essential patient support efficiently.
“At ThriveLink, we build AI bots that talk to patients and enable them to verbally enroll in things like food stamps, utility assistance and even Medicaid without any internet or phone number needed,” says Liddell. “Me it, we can make it affordable for every community clinic in America to be able to support and enroll patients like never before. And that's really our focus: making tools. We will continue to make tools in healthcare and beyond.”
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