As a mother of three young kids, I craved Summer Health before it existed. Parenting doesn’t fall into a schedule: it is relentless. Like all parents, I had questions that didn’t fit into short pediatrician appointments, along with an unending series of conditions like pink eye or a viral rash that shouldn’t require in-person care to treat. Not to mention that it sometimes took days to even get that appointment.

Today’s pediatric care system is not working for parents or pediatricians, who face record levels of burnout. 1 in 4 pediatricians report symptoms of depression and 61% feel overextended. Meanwhile, pediatric residency programs are struggling to fill open positions, with an 8% vacancy rate nationwide. Hospitals are closing or understaffing pediatric emergency departments and only 14% of US hospitals are pediatric-ready, which leads to long wait times. Access to providers in general remains a challenge: 40% of parents report difficulty scheduling appointments, just as they crave more 1:1 care. The pandemic heightened awareness of children’s health and more than half of parents feel anxious about their child’s development. The need for pediatric care has never been more acute. 

Summer Health was founded to radically simplify access to pediatric care. Our 24/7 platform gives parents access to care that fits their lives in minutes from anywhere. I use it to guide my own parenting decisions and keep my children healthy, whether I’m at home, on vacation, or it’s the middle of the night. Just last week, I turned to my Summer Health care team when my baby daughter wouldn’t stop crying for several hours, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I want every parent to have this experience, and our team is working tirelessly to make that dream a reality. Using Summer Health doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t also have a great relationship with a pediatrician; being a parent is not easy and all of us deserve a village. 

To date, Summer Health has helped families through over 30,000 visits to easily access care. That work has shown over and over that texting is the best medium for care in a true moment of urgency: parents can be present with their families while sharing photos and videos in real time from wherever they are. We’ve also seen how powerful the trust is between a patient and a provider who responds to your needs in a deeply empathetic way, fast. Immediate care should not be limited to those who can afford expensive concierge services. Neither should follow-up, which is why we check in after every single visit to ensure your family’s needs have been met, and every question has been answered.

We help families and shift some burdens off of pediatricians, like everyday conditions that do not require in-person care to diagnose and treat or quick day-to-day needs. This is how pediatrics should be for everyone. Summer Health has also grown to include specialty care for parents, including lactation, sleep, nutrition, and childhood development, complementary practices that not all pediatric practices can offer. We believe that the best care is not siloed: urgent care doesn’t happen in a vacuum. By offering access to specialists, we gain a complete picture of every child’s health care journey and follow along.

For the first time in generations, children face the possibility of shorter lifespans than their parents. Summer Health’s mission is evolving to meet this moment, with the ambitious goal of raising the healthiest generation through even broader access to care. We believe that an abundance of 1:1 care will help parents manage their children’s issues from developmental to chronic condition management to those distinct, one-off urgent care needs. It’s always-on pediatric care in your pocket. 

Summer Health is available directly to consumers, and companies offer it as a benefit to their employees. Those employees are more likely to return to work after parental leave and have better overall retention. But we do not believe care should only reach those whose employers are willing to pay for it. We are on a quest to get Summer Health in the hands of all families, especially the 33% of children who live in pediatric care deserts and those covered by Medicaid. With this funding, we’re hiring mission-aligned individuals who can help us continue to build and distribute our product. 

To give every parent access to Summer Health, I’m pleased to announce our $11.65M Series A, co-led by two mothers and long-term Summer Health users. As a mother of three, our new board member Alyssa Jaffee of 7WireVentures, has already served as a sounding board for key decisions. Deena Shakir at Lux Capital is also a mother of three and is doubling down on her seed investment to expand access to all parents. Our existing investors, Sequoia Capital, Box Group, and Metrodora Ventures are participating in the round as well as another new addition, Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates fund. Joining the board alongside myself and my co-founder Matthew Woo are Alfred Lin of Sequoia Capital, Chelsea Clinton of Metradora Ventures, and our co-leads Deena Shakir and Alyssa Jaffee. Our mission is personal for members of our board too; we collectively have 13 children. 

Every parent wants the best for their children. And every parent deserves immediate 1:1 answers to their questions without consulting Dr. Google. If you’re reading and saying yes, please, use the code SUMMERTIME for a free month of Summer Health. We can’t wait to hear what you think.

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