Healthcare workforce management is transforming rapidly. Definity, a vendor-neutral healthcare workforce platform, has announced a $7 million Series A investment led by Accrete Health Partners — the digital venture arm of Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH). This funding marks a pivotal step toward modernizing how hospitals manage their most expensive and complex operational challenge: labor.
Overview of the $7M Series A Investment
A Strategic Bet on Workforce Technology
Accrete Health Partners led the $7 million Series A round, with participation from additional investors. The capital will help Definity scale its platform and grow its team. Moreover, the deal reflects a shared commitment to building workforce technology that gives health systems greater visibility, flexibility, and control over both internal staff and contingent labor.
Accrete Health Partners serves as the strategic digital venture arm of Bon Secours Mercy Health. Its mission centers on accelerating change through partnerships with leading-edge technology companies. Consequently, this investment aligns with Accrete’s established model of co-developing solutions that deliver measurable impact across health system operations.
What Is Definity and What Does It Do?
A Vendor-Neutral Platform Built for Healthcare
Definity is a healthcare-first workforce management platform. Unlike generic HR tools retrofitted from other industries, Definity was built by healthcare leaders and co-designed alongside major health systems. As a result, it addresses the specific staffing challenges that hospitals face every day.
Key Platform Capabilities
The platform combines several critical workforce management functions into one unified solution:
- Applicant tracking to streamline recruitment and internal mobility
- Real-time analytics to provide data-driven staffing insights
- Vendor management to oversee contingent labor relationships
- Gig workforce solutions to enable smarter, more flexible staffing strategies
Together, these features help hospitals optimize both internal and external labor. Health system leaders gain the transparency and control they need to manage their workforce more strategically.
Why Bon Secours Mercy Health Is Betting on Workforce Tech
A Health System with Scale and Purpose
Bon Secours Mercy Health is one of the 20 largest health systems in the United States and the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the country. It employs nearly 60,000 associates across Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia, as well as Ireland and the Philippines. Additionally, it operates more than 1,200 care sites, including 47 hospitals, and delivers care nearly 14 million times annually.
Leadership Voice on the Investment
Allan Calonge, Chief People Officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health, emphasized the value of Definity’s capabilities. He noted that the platform can provide the transparency and flexibility BSMH needs to manage its workforce more strategically. Specifically, the investment supports BSMH’s goal of building a data-driven, flexible labor strategy for its contingent workforce.
Furthermore, BSMH Chief Digital Officer Jason Szczuka has emphasized that Accrete only invests in companies with a clear path to becoming meaningful clients. This philosophy ensures that every investment translates directly into operational value across the health system.
Strategic Partnership Details and Board Appointment
More Than a Financial Investment
The deal goes beyond capital. It also includes a strategic partnership between Definity and BSMH. Under this agreement, BSMH will leverage Definity’s platform to better manage its contingent workforce and develop a more agile labor strategy.
Allan Calonge Joins Definity’s Board
As part of the arrangement, Allan Calonge will join Definity’s board of directors. This appointment strengthens alignment between platform development and real-world health system needs. By having a health system CPO on the board, Definity gains direct insight into the priorities and pain points of large-scale hospital operations.
Kris Cannon, President of Definity, highlighted the importance of building technology alongside the health systems that use it. He stressed that this investment allows Definity to continue innovating with partners like BSMH, expand its team, and deliver real-time insight over healthcare’s most complex operational challenge — labor.
The Bigger Picture: Healthcare Labor Crisis
Why Workforce Technology Matters Now
Healthcare labor costs continue to rise sharply across the U.S. Hospitals face persistent shortages of nurses, allied health workers, and support staff. Meanwhile, rising reliance on contract and gig labor has made workforce management more complex and costly than ever before.
Technology as the Solution
Traditional staffing approaches no longer meet the demands of modern healthcare delivery. Health systems need platforms that offer real-time data, flexible labor pools, and seamless vendor management. Definity addresses exactly these gaps. Therefore, investment in workforce technology is no longer optional — it is a strategic necessity for health systems aiming to sustain quality care while controlling costs.
What This Means for Health Systems Nationwide
A Model Worth Watching
The BSMH-Definity partnership offers a replicable model for health systems across the country. By investing in workforce technology built specifically for healthcare, large health systems can reduce dependence on expensive agency labor, improve staffing efficiency, and build more resilient workforces.
Accrete’s Growing Portfolio
This investment is part of Accrete Health Partners’ broader strategy. In 2025 alone, the venture arm completed four deals — in agentic AI, virtual care, pricing data, and workforce solutions — entering commercial agreements with all of them. Accrete’s 10 portfolio companies now touch every operating team at Bon Secours Mercy Health, underscoring the depth of its technology integration.
Conclusion
The $7 million Series A investment in Definity, led by Bon Secours Mercy Health’s Accrete Health Partners, signals a major shift in how large health systems approach workforce management. By combining strategic capital, a platform-level partnership, and board-level alignment, this deal sets a new standard for healthcare workforce innovation. As labor costs and staffing shortages continue to challenge hospitals nationwide, technology-driven solutions like Definity are becoming essential tools for sustainable, high-quality care delivery.
