Building a Rural Pediatric Care Platform from Vision to Reality

Building a Rural Pediatric Care Platform from Vision to Reality

Client: PEMPal
Founder: Dr. Alana Arnold
Stage: Pre-seed (Zero-to-One)
Focus Area: Sustainable Health & Economic Development in Rural Communities

The Challenge

Dr. Alana Arnold saw what others overlooked: a critical gap in rural pediatric emergency care. Her vision was clear : every child deserves exceptional care, delivered right where they live but she needed to translate her clinical expertise into a viable product that would attract both hospital clients and investor interest. Without a technical co-founder or product background, she needed a partner who could build a foundation while she focused on clinical validation and customer development.

Our Approach

We structured a phased engagement combining strategic consulting with hands-on product development. Starting with a 6 month retainer for ongoing product management support, we quickly moved into building PEMPal's MVP - a digital platform equipping hospitals, ERs, and urgent care centers with pediatric care protocols they often lack. Rather than building everything at once, we focused on high-impact use cases: asthma, bronchiolitis, and fever work-up procedural questionnaires that could demonstrate immediate clinical value to immediate customers, partners and funders.

What We Delivered

Product Foundation (14 Day Sprint)

• Zero-to-One MVP development with clinical workflow integration

• Website design and development for provider and parent-facing experiences per brief

• User acquisition funnel automation to drive early adoption and drive sales

Strategic Roadmap

• 12-18 month thematic, metric, and feature-based product roadmap

• Prioritized feature set aligned with hospital client needs and investment milestones

• Product analytics dashboard tracking key metrics for traction and growth

Ongoing Product Management (6 Month Retainer)

• Weekly check-ins to iterate based on user feedback and market validation

• Product strategy refinement as the business evolved

• Ongoing support for investor conversations and partnership development

The Impact

PEMPal isn't just operating - it's thriving. Dr. Arnold has successfully positioned PEMPal as a critical solution for rural pediatric care, securing hospital partnerships and garnering media attention. She's been on a media tour sharing PEMPal's impact, elevating the conversation around equitable access to pediatric emergency care in underserved communities. From concept to market-ready platform, PEMPal has now been named part of the 2026 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts MassChallenge Health Equity Business Accelerator!