colleagues in care

What colleagues in care does

Colleagues in Care (CIC) is a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization co-founded in 2010 by Dr. John Kenerson, an interventional cardiologist, and Dr. Lisbet Hanson, an OB-GYN. Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with a secondary presence in Hampton, the organization focuses on hypertension management and cardiovascular disease prevention in low-resource healthcare settings. Its primary field experience is concentrated in Haiti, specifically the Baptiste region, where it partners with local nonprofits, hospitals, and traditional healers to extend clinical capacity through clinic support, a maternity center, and clean water initiatives.

CIC's core deliverable is the Cumulus Lift Series (CLS), a digital knowledge base organized into six parts containing 47 modules and four supporting resources. Parts 1–3 are freely accessible to the public, while Parts 4–6 are password-protected pending institutional partnerships, reflecting a staged distribution model tied to partnership formation. The organization also operates CIC GPT "Maxi," a ChatGPT-based chatbot trained on CLS content to provide interactive, conversational access to the knowledge base. Planned enhancements include SMS/MMS distribution, multilingual translation, text-to-speech, and animation capabilities intended to broaden accessibility in low-bandwidth and low-literacy environments.

CIC operates a donations-based nonprofit business model with no commercial revenue stream. The Founders Forward Fund serves as an internal financing vehicle, and the organization relies entirely on charitable contributions and volunteer labor. No paid headcount, audited financials, or donation totals were disclosed. All CLS content is provided at no cost, and the organization's reach is mediated through partner organizations and the Overseas Medical Fund (which the co-founders assumed leadership of in 2010) rather than through direct customer relationships.

Name

colleagues in care

Legal name

Colleagues In Care

Website

https://colleaguesincare.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Colleagues in Care is a volunteer-based nonprofit providing the 47-module Cumulus Lift Series digital knowledge base and a ChatGPT-powered chatbot to manage hypertension and cardiovascular disease in low-resource healthcare settings, primarily serving clinicians and communities in Haiti.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Health Education and Hypertension Management Resources

NAICS

Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Care Management & Coordination Platforms (case/disease management workflows) (HLACAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Multi-Condition RPM Platforms & Care Orchestration (device-agnostic, population management) (HLALAFAL)

Keywords

• Global health education
• Hypertension management resources
• Cardiovascular disease prevention
• Low-resource healthcare training
• Volunteer medical services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hampton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization operates as a nonprofit relying on donations. The founders have made substantial personal financial commitments to support the organization through the Founders Forward Fund. They invite contributions from clinicians, medical students, volunteers, and the broader community.
2. Founders Forward Fund: A dedicated fund created by the founders (Drs. Kenerson and Hanson) to ensure organizational sustainability beyond their direct involvement. Accepts financial support from the community.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Colleagues in Care provides the Cumulus Lift Series, a six-part digital knowledge base of 47 modules and 4 resources that translates complex hypertension and cardiovascular care guidelines into actionable clinical protocols for low-resource healthcare settings. The organization offers free public access to Parts 1-3 (the Basics Trilogy) via PDF downloads and an AI-powered Chat Pathway, while delivering volunteer services and global health partnerships to frontline workers in underserved communities.

Product overview

Colleagues in Care operates as a single unified platform centered on the Cumulus Lift Series (CLS), a six-part digital knowledge base designed to establish best possible practice for hypertension management in low-resource healthcare settings. The portfolio includes Parts 1-3 (Engage, Essentials, and Education) publicly accessible as the 'Basics Trilogy' in PDF and Chat Pathway formats, while Parts 4-6 (Management, Women's Hypertension, and Advanced Topics) are password-protected pending partnership formalization. Supporting services include the PDF Pathway for comprehensive source documents, the ChatGPT-powered Chat Pathway for AI-assisted learning, volunteer programs, and the Founders Forward Fund for financial contributions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cumulus Lift Series: A comprehensive six-part digital knowledge base establishing Best Possible Practice for clinical care in low-resource healthcare settings, focused on hypertension management and cardiovascular disease prevention.
• Best Possible Practice
• CIC GPT Maxi
• Founders Forward Fund

Products and services

• Cumulus Lift Series A comprehensive six-part digital knowledge base establishing best possible practice for clinical care in low-resource healthcare settings, containing 47 modules and 4 resources covering hypertension screening, education, and medical management. It is targeted at clinicians, volunteers, and local advocates in underserved communities worldwide.
• Cumulus Lift Series Part 1: Engage The foundational module covering the purpose and approach of the Cumulus Lift Series, including modules on accompaniment, best possible practice methodology, and transitioning to a mindset of service, designed for general audiences, volunteers, and advocates.
• Cumulus Lift Series Part 2: Essentials Focuses on community blood pressure screening and accurate BP measurement techniques, including a certification course and measurement handbook, targeted at general audiences, volunteers, and local advocates.
• Cumulus Lift Series Part 3: Education Health literacy and lifestyle education covering tobacco avoidance, alcohol use, physical activity, diet, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular risk assessment, targeted at general audiences, volunteers, and local advocates.
• PDF Pathway (Classic Pathway) Comprehensive source documents offered as a 6-part PDF with a linked table of contents, providing on-the-ground experience and medical knowledge for addressing hypertension in low-resource areas. Parts 1-3 are freely accessible to the public without login.
• Chat Pathway (CIC GPT Maxi) An AI-powered interactive pathway trained on the Cumulus Lift Series PDFs, allowing users to ask questions and receive tailored responses. Users can specify preferences for answer length, reading level, format, and tone. Password-protected and available by request.
• Volunteer Program Opportunities for volunteers to contribute through site maintenance, translation, content evaluation, group liaison services, and professional review of clinical materials. Targeted at clinicians, medical students, and community advocates interested in global health service.
• Founders Forward Fund A financial support program enabling clinicians, medical students, volunteers, and supporters to contribute to the ongoing success of Colleagues In Care's mission, with donations processed via Stripe.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Virginia Beach Obstetrics and GynecologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Lisbet Hanson is a senior founding partner of Virginia Beach Obstetrics and Gynecology, where she has practiced for decades. This professional affiliation contributes to her expertise in women's health that informed the Cumulus Lift Series content.
• Cardiovascular AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. John Kenerson is a founding partner of Cardiovascular Associates in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His 40-year cardiology career and leadership roles informed the development of the Cumulus Lift Series.
• University of Rochester School of Medicine & DentistryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Thomas A. Rocco serves as a clinical professor emeritus of medicine at this institution and has directed cardiovascular research and clinical trials, contributing expertise to the organization's mission.
• Common Ground Community High Blood Pressure CollaborativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Thomas A. Rocco has been an active member since its founding in 2010. The group works to improve blood pressure control and prevent complications of hypertension.
• International Society of Ultrasound in OB-GYNminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Lisbet Hanson served as an Ambassador and was Director of its global outreach program, contributing to international women's health initiatives.
• Overseas Medical FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIC assumed leadership of this existing nonprofit to expand their scope from local aid to building enduring global health partnerships centered on healthcare education.
• Haitian Local Nonprofits, Hospitals, and HealerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForged alliances with local nonprofits, hospitals, and healers in Haiti during medical missions and infrastructure projects. These partnerships enabled clinic renovation, maternity center construction, and clean water piping installation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BRAC: Large global development nonprofit operating health programs for underserved populations in Africa and Asia, including NCD and community health worker initiatives. Comparable in leveraging community-led models to reach low-resource populations.
• Partners In Health: Global health nonprofit delivering care and training in low-resource settings, with a strong focus on NCDs including hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Comparable mission of pairing clinical excellence with health-system strengthening in underserved regions.
• AMREF Health Africa: African health nonprofit running community-based training and service delivery programs across NCDs, maternal health, and primary care. Comparable in community-led health education and field operations in LMICs.
• Resolve to Save Lives: Global cardiovascular health initiative that prioritizes hypertension control in low- and middle-income countries through technical packages and country partnerships. Most directly comparable to CIC in mission, geography, and target disease area.
• Clinton Health Access Initiative: Global health nonprofit implementing programs in LMICs, increasingly including NCDs and hypertension medication access. Comparable as a mission-driven NGO building country-level health partnerships.
• World Heart Federation: Global CVD advocacy and education organization coordinating World Heart Day and policy efforts across member societies. Comparable as a cardiovascular-health-focused educational and advocacy body operating globally.
• Last Mile Health: Nonprofit focused on training community health workers to deliver primary care in remote, last-mile settings. Comparable in the emphasis on frontline health worker enablement in resource-constrained environments.
• PATH: Global health nonprofit working on innovative, low-cost health solutions across LMICs, including chronic disease and health worker training. Comparable as a mission-aligned nonprofit operating across multiple low-resource geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Novartis Foundation: Pharma-funded foundation running population-level cardiovascular and hypertension programs in LMICs (e.g., Better Hearts Better Cities). Comparable focus on hypertension management in low-resource urban settings, but funded by and aligned with a major pharma sponsor.
• American Heart Association: Largest US cardiovascular health organization producing widely used clinical guidelines, patient education, and professional training. Comparable disease area and educational content focus, but vastly larger scope and traditional rather than low-resource-specific framing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about colleagues in care