Gannon University’s Erie Technology Incubator Hosts Major Announcement

At the event, it was announced that InnovaTel Telepsychiatry, a member company at ETI, received an investment commitment of $2 million from Canyon Health Partners, a national private equity firm. "This investment capital allows InnovaTel to increase its capacity to meet the complex clinical needs of patients and our provider partners, and will further our efforts to expand into new states and create additional jobs," said Jon Evans, InnovaTel co-founder and CEO.

InnovaTel Telepsychiatry was launched in 2014 to address the difficulty community mental health providers experience in recruiting and retaining qualified psychiatrists, particularly in rural areas, and to provide much-needed care in these underserved areas.

ETI is the only technology incubator in the Northwest Pennsylvania region and provides mentoring and strategic guidance to its members. Jeff Parnell, the organization's executive director, said, "Through their consistent growth, their commitment to the Erie Technology Incubator, investments by Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and more recently, a significant capital investment from a national private equity investor, InnovaTel is poised for take-off. Jon Evans, Lee Penman, and the company's world-class team of psychiatrists and other professionals are building a state-of-the-art company. The caliber of care they deliver drives home the role that telemedicine can play in today's healthcare marketplace."

"Since our founding in 2014, InnovaTel has focused on delivering high quality, psychiatric services to patients in underserved communities. From the very first days, Jeff Parnell and the Erie Technology Incubator, as well as the team at Ben Franklin Technology Partners, have provided the critical support and guidance for our success to this point. We literally could not have accomplished our goals without their ongoing support," said Jon Evans, co-founder and CEO of InnovaTel Telepsychiatry.

About the investment, Evans said, "This investment capital allows InnovaTel to increase its capacity to meet the complex clinical needs of patients and our provider partners, and will further our efforts to expand into new states and create additional jobs."

Since 2008, ETI member companies have created 143 new jobs and raised $35 million in investment capital, and is itself achieving significant growth in its membership. In the past three years, ETI has accelerated its growth from 13 members to 31.

InnovaTel, a technology company nurtured at Gannon University's Erie Technology Incubator (ETI), will make an announcement Thursday, February 2, regarding a significant recent investment in the company. Principals in the company will also detail their plans for future growth as well as recapping the jobs they have created and the support they have received in Erie.