Building a Blueprint for Coordinated Care
Situation
Watershed Health was founded out of a deeply personal realization that the greatest challenge in healthcare isn’t always the medicine—it’s the coordination. After experiencing firsthand the confusion and information gaps that patients and providers face, the company’s founder set out to build a system that fills the space between systems.
What began as an idea to bridge disconnected networks has evolved into a powerful community-wide care coordination platform that helps healthcare providers work together seamlessly, from hospitals to rural clinics. Watershed makes it possible for every patient encounter to be informed, efficient, and collaborative—helping improve outcomes while reducing strain on providers and communities alike.
Why Austin?
Originally launched in Alabama, Watershed Health chose Austin as the place to scale its mission. The city’s health innovation ecosystem—rooted in collaboration between public agencies, private providers, and emerging life sciences companies—offered the perfect environment to bring coordinated care to life.
Watershed’s partnerships with Austin Public Health, the Travis County Jail system, and local hospital and behavioral health authorities became a model for how cities can integrate health and community services. Austin’s open, innovative culture allowed the company to transform a promising concept into a national blueprint for connected care.
"Austin is a great place for people to commune, learn from one another, and participate in the broader innovation ecosystem. The more that we collaborate and share ideas across industries, the more successful we all become.”
— Effie Carlson, CEO, Watershed Health
Outcome
Watershed Health continues to expand across Texas and the nation, empowering more communities to improve outcomes through coordination. The company’s vision is simple but transformative: a world where every patient—regardless of background—receives fully connected care, and every provider has the information they need to deliver it.
As the CEO puts it, the goal is bold yet attainable: “to kill the fax machine.”
10.5 million patients
now served across four states, through more than 3,000 participating provider institutions
500 million referrals
processed and 130 million coordinated encounters through its growing network
Established Austin
as a national model for coordinated care between public and private health systems
