Zócalo has built a business around a simple thesis: that Latino patients are better served by care that comes from their own communities. With $15 million in new funding, the company is betting that health plans are finally ready to pay for it.
“This milestone means something deeper to me,” said Mariza Hardin, who launched Seattle-based Zócalo with fellow Latino founder Erik Cardenas five years ago. “It’s about representation, responsibility, and the opportunity to build a system that finally works for our communities.”
The Series A funding, led by economic mobility-focused VC Equal Opportunity Ventures, brings Zócalo’s total raised to $22.7 million. Other investors in Zócalo’s round include Vamos Ventures, Animo Ventures, Acumen America, Sorenson Ventures, Kapor Center, BarronKent Ventures and Mexico City-based family office investor Talipot.
Health plans that offer Medicaid-managed care plans are under pressure to cut costs and improve outcomes, and are looking to community health workers to engage hard-to-reach patients.
Zócalo’s model integrates promotoras de salud, Spanish for community health workers, into whole-person care plans for patients with complex medical, behavioral and social needs. The promotoras live and work in the communities they serve and lead proactive outreach and trust-based relationship building with patients.
“We built Zócalo to consistently engage the patients the system misses,” said Cardenas. “Our model is designed around sustained engagement and outcomes. When you connect and engage high-need members, you change both clinical outcomes and cost.”
Zócalo plans to use the capital to expand its services across the country and increase value-based partnerships with health plans. The company has more than a dozen partners, including Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net.
