Keva Health Wins COVID-19 Connect Tech Innovation Challenge

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WESTBOROUGH, Mass. — On Friday, April 9th, 2021, a panel of  judges declared Keva Health of Lexington the winner of the Massachusetts COVID-19 Connect Tech Innovation Challenge, a competition focused on entrepreneurs and startups working on innovative solutions to enhance resiliency and guard against potential future disruptions in industries like ecommerce, manufacturing, digital health, FinTech, and EdTech.
 
Keva Health, developers of a remote monitoring platform to help physicians treating asthma patients and an app for patients to better manage their condition, was awarded $40,000 to continue developing their business. Thrive Community of Boston, developers of software to help family caregivers stay better connected with their loved ones, was selected as the runner-up and will receive the $10,000 second place prize.
 
"We learned a lot from the organizers and our fellow participants in the COVID-19 Connect Tech Challenge, so to come out of this competition as the winner is a great honor to us and our company," said Jyotsna Mehta of Keva Health. "This award sets us up to better help those managing respiratory conditions, not just in Massachusetts, but across the country and world."
 
Keva Health is also a participant in the Massachusetts Digital Health Sandbox program, aimed at helping Massachusetts healthcare technology startups test and validate their products. Keva has worked with the TechSpring innovation center at Baystate Health in Springfield, where they are piloting a project with asthma patients in the Baystate system. 
 
The winning companies were announced by Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, highlighting the importance of innovation as Massachusetts recovers from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health crisis.
 
"In the year since the launch of the COVID-19 Challenge series, we've been overwhelmed by the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that make Massachusetts a global leader in innovation and technology," said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Kennealy. "The Baker-Polito Administration has been a proud supporter of the Challenge series, and we applaud all of the participants and winners who are illustrative of the strength and dynamism of the Commonwealth's science and technology sectors."
 
Launched in June 2020, the Challenge series builds on the successes of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT), which was tasked with supporting the Commonwealth's manufacturers as they pivoted their operations to produce PPE and other critical items in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. The Challenge series competitions are managed by Lever, a North Adams-based startup accelerator and innovation network, and are funded through a $250,000 grant from the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the state agency that also manages the MERT.
 
"Programs like the COVID-19 Challenge series are a key part of MassTech's mission to support tech and innovation in Massachusetts," said Carolyn Kirk, executive director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. "The MERT was a direct response in the early days of the pandemic, which led to the launch of the Challenge program as a way to get more homegrown companies producing innovative, solution-focused products."
 
"I was thoroughly impressed by our finalists throughout Lever's accelerated program, and their pitches reflect the incredibly innovative work they're doing," said Lever Executive Director Jeffrey Thomas. "The Lever team has enjoyed working with so many innovators since we began working with MassTech on the COVID-19 Challenge series in 2020. We're already seeing some of their products and services getting strong traction in the market."
 
Profiles of the six finalists can be found on Lever's website.
 
In addition to Keva Health and Thrive Community, the four other finalists included:
 
Omnistrat, Concord;
Edgi Learning, Stockbridge;
Outside Interactive, Hopkinton; and
Polis, Cambridge.
 

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Berkshire Museum presents 120th: Building the Museum

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Museum announced the second installment of its 120th-anniversary celebration, an exhibition that takes visitors on a journey through the history of the Museum and the world during the 1940s, '50s, '60s, and '70s. 
 
Titled 120th: Building the Museum – 1939-1978, this exhibition is set to be on display from Oct. 7, 2023, through Jan. 7, 2024. 
 
Focused on the leadership of Stuart Henry – whose tenure as Director of the Berkshire Museum spanned a total of 39 years. This exhibition offers an opportunity to step back in time and explore the Berkshire Museum through the headlines, stories, and cultural phenomena that shaped an era. 
 
Under Henry's visionary guidance, the Museum not only weathered the challenges of wartime but also thrived, becoming a cultural hub for the community. 
 
From the formation of the Junior Naturalist Club in 1945 to the growth of the Museum's Camera Club and the filming of the 1968 NBC Children's Theater adaptation of "The Enormous Egg" by Oliver Butterworth, this exhibition captures the essence of an era marked by innovation and cultural exploration. Notably, the exhibition showcases four triceratops models designed by the renowned Louis Paul Jonas Studio, creators of the Berkshire Museum's beloved "World in Miniature" dioramas. 
 
A significant portion of the exhibition features artworks and objects donated to the Museum between 1939 and 1978. These contributions include pieces from A.E. Gallatin's collection of abstract art, the Spalding collection of Asian art, and the Hahn Silver Collection. By highlighting these donations, the exhibition sheds light on the enduring support and enthusiasm of the Museum's dedicated patrons. 
 
In addition to exploring the Museum's evolution, 120th: Building the Museum – 1939-1978 delves into the rapid growth of General Electric in Pittsfield during this period. This local industrial giant left an indelible mark on the region's population and economy, a story told through the exhibition's immersive displays and engaging narratives. 
 
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