SimpliFed Appoints Gemma Wenstrom as Chief Operations Officer
Maternal Health Company Continues to Expand C-Suite with COO role, as well as Hiring Dr. Melissa Walsh as Medical
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ITHACA, NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SimpliFed, the best in class maternal healthcare leader in providing virtual breastfeeding and baby feeding support for new parents, announced today that it has welcomed Gemma Wenstrom as the company’s new Chief Operations Officer. In addition, earlier this year, the company added Dr. Melissa Walsh, OBGYN, to the team as Medical Director. SimpliFed continues to expand its footprint across the US and continue its role as a best in class healthcare company supporting patients, providers, and health plans through more connected maternal healthcare delivery.
Wenstrom comes from Kaia Health, where she also served as COO, and drove commercial delivery, new business development, and product strategy through a transformative growth period. She joins SimpliFed to oversee operational strategy, clinical and service operations, team performance, and cross-functional alignment to build the infrastructure needed for SimpliFed’s next phase of growth. In her role as COO, she will play a critical role in translating vision into action, creating the systems, accountability, and operational foundation required to support sustainable growth, strong clinical outcomes, and an exceptional experience for families, providers, and partners.
“Gemma has a proven track record of executing in ambitious, high-growth environments and building mission-driven teams,” said Andrea Ippolito, Founder and CEO of SimpliFed. “Her combination of operations and commercial leadership will be invaluable as we scale our platform and deepen value for customers.”
“SimpliFed has built an incredibly strong foundation centered around improving access, continuity, and support for families during pregnancy and postpartum,” said Wenstrom. “I look forward to helping scale the operational infrastructure, systems, and team needed to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care while supporting the company’s continued expansion and impact..”
Dr. Walsh is a board-certified OB/GYN and nationally recognized leader in virtual women’s healthcare, with more than 16 years of experience spanning clinical care, academic medicine, digital health innovation, and maternal health equity. She previously served as National Medical Director of OB/GYN at Pomelo Care, where she helped lead a national virtual maternity care program across 44+ states supporting Medicaid and commercial populations.
“Melissa brings an exceptional combination of clinical excellence, operational expertise, and vision for the future of maternal healthcare,” said Ippolito. “Her leadership will help us continue building innovative models that improve continuity of care, expand access, and better support families during one of the most important periods of their lives.”
“Families often have feeding questions and other concerns come up between scheduled visits in the days and weeks after birth,” said Dr. Walsh. “We have an opportunity to make it easier for families to get evidence-based support from lactation and maternal health professionals when they need it, and to connect that support with the care they already receive from their OB and pediatric teams.”
At SimpliFed, Dr. Walsh will lead clinical strategy and care model development, including virtual OB workflows, clinical protocols, maternal mental health screening integration, clinical quality and safety, reimbursement infrastructure, and partnerships with health systems and provider organizations. Her expertise will support SimpliFed’s mission to extend access to continuous, evidence-based maternal healthcare throughout pregnancy and postpartum.
SimpliFed is the leading virtual maternal health platform focused on baby feeding and maternal support. The proprietary platform connects families with International Board Certified Lactation Consultants and other maternal health providers through secure telehealth visits, providing feeding support, maternal mental health screenings, and care navigation from pregnancy through the first and second years postpartum.
SimpliFed is in network with most major commercial health plans nationally, as well as Medicaid health plans across several states. Already, the company is on track to serve 5% of all US births in 2026. The funds raised in this Series A round will support the continued growth of SimpliFed’s proprietary Maternal Health Operating System, and activate contracted partnerships with health systems, OBGYN clinics and other strategic relationships. SimpliFed also plans to deepen their partnerships through the use of EMR interoperability standards and APIs that allow for seamless collaboration with care providers through secure capture of patient information, performing automated eligibility verification, and easy self-scheduling options for patients seeking care.
For more information about SimpliFed, please visit: www.SimpliFed.com.
ABOUT SIMPLIFED
SimpliFed is a virtual maternal health leader providing comprehensive care from pregnancy through postpartum, with a strong focus on breastfeeding and baby feeding support. The company offers judgment-free, virtual support to parents throughout their feeding journeys while also addressing broader maternal health needs during the prenatal and postpartum periods. Parents connect with SimpliFed’s network of baby feeding experts and maternal health specialists from the comfort and safety of home through the company’s secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform. SimpliFed’s proprietary Maternal Health Operating System (Maternal Health OS) is designed for seamless collaboration with healthcare partners. Through interoperable infrastructure and API-driven technology, the platform integrates easily with health plans, providers, partners, and health systems enabling secure data exchange, streamlined workflows and more. SimpliFed’s mission is to build a new model for maternal and infant health by supporting families across the full continuum of care, strengthening trusted relationships with parents, partnering with healthcare payers and providers, all while advancing policy, practice, and narratives that promote health and economic equity. More information about SimpliFed can be found at: https://www.simplifed.com/.
Attachments
- Gemma Wenstrom joins SimpliFed as Chief Operations Officer
- Dr. Melissa Walsh joins SimpliFed as Medical Director
Carson Quinn at ZindseyMEDIA on behalf of SimpliFed SimpliFed 3123399779 carson@zindsey.com
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