Voalte

Voalte, established in 2008, pioneered mobile communication solutions tailored for the healthcare sector. The company was founded by Trey Lauderdale, Oscar Callejas, Benjamin King, and Rob Campbell, a former executive at both Apple and Microsoft. Lauderdale, who served as CEO, brought his experience from Siemens and Emergin, coupled with a master's degree in entrepreneurship, to identify a critical gap in clinical communications—the reliance on outdated pagers and bulky in-house phones. Callejas, with a background in business management and marketing, took on the role of Chief Experience Officer. Their joint vision was to replace antiquated systems with a unified, secure platform on smartphones.

The company's core offering is the Voalte Platform, a comprehensive suite that integrates voice over IP (VoIP) calls, secure text messaging, and critical alarm/alert notifications into a single application environment. This platform was designed to serve hospital systems and other healthcare organizations, enabling care teams to communicate securely and efficiently both within and outside the hospital walls. The product lineup includes Voalte One for in-hospital communication on dedicated devices, Voalte Me for secure messaging on personal smartphones, and Voalte Messenger, a web client for desk-based staff. A key benefit is its ability to integrate with existing hospital infrastructure, such as Electronic Health Records (EHR), nurse call systems, and patient monitoring devices, creating a connected ecosystem. Revenue was generated through the deployment of its software platform across hospital networks, with installations ranging from a few dozen to several thousand devices per system. Before its acquisition, the company had achieved an annual revenue approaching $40 million and had raised a total of $74 million in funding over several rounds.

Voalte's trajectory was marked by significant milestones, including early partnerships with development partners like Sarasota Memorial Hospital and securing substantial funding, such as a $35.9 million investment in 2014 to fuel expansion. This growth culminated in its acquisition by Hill-Rom Holdings in March 2019 for a total consideration of up to $195 million, consisting of $180 million in cash and $15 million in potential milestone payments. At the time of the acquisition, Voalte's platform was used by over 220,000 caregivers across more than 200 healthcare facilities. The acquisition integrated Voalte's communication technology with Hill-Rom's connected care solutions, such as smart beds and patient monitoring systems, to create a more robust, data-driven clinical workflow.

Keywords: clinical communication, healthcare communication platform, caregiver communication, secure medical texting, hospital communication systems, point-of-care communication, nurse call integration, alarm management, VoIP healthcare, HIPAA-compliant messaging, Trey Lauderdale, Hillrom acquisition, patient care coordination, mobile health communication, Voalte One, clinical workflow solutions, real-time healthcare communication, smartphone communication healthcare, hospital systems integration, care team collaboration