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Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice Enters the Institutional Market, Debuts at Premier Breakthroughs 2026

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Homestyle Direct introduces a new standard in institutional foodservice: individually plated, medically tailored meals built for rapid deployment at scale. The launch marks a meaningful new chapter for Homestyle Direct, and a fundamentally different model for institutional operators who have identified opportunities that extend beyond the traditional bulk food delivery model. Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice delivers fully prepared, individually plated meals that can be reheated and served without on-site kitchen preparation. The company’s initial launch menu provides 16 meal options, all of them medically tailored to address the complex dietary needs of the patients, residents, and community members that institutional operators serve.

TWIN FALLS, Idaho, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Homestyle Direct today announced the launch of its specialty foodservice division, making its industry debut at Premier’s Breakthroughs 2026 Conference October 6 – 8 in National Harbor, MD (Booth 348, Hall A-E, Prince George’s Exhibition Center). The launch marks a meaningful new chapter for Homestyle Direct, and a fundamentally different model for institutional operators who have identified opportunities that extend beyond the traditional bulk food delivery model.

“The importance of providing medically tailored meal options in institutional settings is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s an imperative,” says Jeff Barteau, Chief Executive Officer of Homestyle Direct.

Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice delivers fully prepared, individually plated meals that can be reheated and served without on-site kitchen preparation. The company’s initial launch menu provides 16 meal options, all of them medically tailored to address the complex dietary needs of the patients, residents, and community members that institutional operators serve. It’s a model built not just for quality, but for scale, with the company structured to launch large-scale programs quickly across the contiguous United States, giving health system operators, senior care providers, and campus food programs a faster path from contract to first service.

“The importance of providing medically tailored meal options in institutional settings is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s an imperative,” said Jeff Barteau, Chief Executive Officer of Homestyle Direct. “Too often, the people in our hospitals, nursing facilities, and senior centers are limited in their choices. We built Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice to change that, and to do it in a way that actually works at the scale these operators require.”

Purpose-Built for Key Institutional Segments

Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice launches with purpose-built solutions for the institutional settings where medically appropriate nutrition matters most:

Large Acute Hospitals: High-volume environments demanding dietary compliance alongside operational efficiency at scale.Small, Critical Access Hospitals (Under 25 Beds): Smaller facilities where limited staffing makes a ready-to-serve, individually plated model especially valuable.Senior and Adult Day Services: Settings where consistent, medically appropriate nutrition directly impacts health outcomes and quality of life.Small Inpatient Facilities: Including Skilled Nursing, Assisted Living, Behavioral Health, and Residential settings, where long-term meal programs must be both scalable and nutritionally precise.College and University Campuses: Including C-Store and grab-and-go environments, where demand for convenient, nutritionally conscious options continues to grow.

Across all five segments, Homestyle Direct’s individually plated format reduces the labor burden of on-site preparation, simplifies service workflows, and delivers consistent portion control and presentation, without compromising the medical tailoring these populations require.

Three Pillars: Plated. Tailored. Scalable.

Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice is differentiated by three core commitments. Every meal arrives individually plated and fully prepared, ready to reheat and serve, eliminating bulk portioning, reducing kitchen dependency, and ensuring consistent quality at the point of service. Every item on the launch menu is medically tailored, curated by a registered dietitian for acute and post-acute care, senior living, behavioral health, and campus dining environments. And the entire model is engineered for rapid scale. Homestyle Direct can bring a program online quickly and cost-effectively for institutional partners across the lower 48 states, compressing the timeline from agreement to service delivery.

“We’re looking forward to meeting customers and like-minded partners at Breakthroughs 2026, where our plated meal solution can help them deliver high-quality, nutritious meals in a variety of settings and outlets,” said Barteau. “Premier brings together exactly the kind of forward-thinking health system leaders and operators we’re eager to work alongside; people who understand that healthy food makes a difference, and that delivering it well at scale is not just possible, it’s necessary.”

Visit Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice at Breakthroughs 2026

Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice will be exhibiting at Premier’s Breakthroughs 2026 conference in Booth 348, Hall A-E, Prince George’s Exhibition Center. Attendees are invited to visit the booth to explore the full launch menu, review segment-specific solutions, and meet the Homestyle Direct senior leadership team and lead dietitian to discuss partnership opportunities.

For more information, visit homestyledirect-SF.com or contact foodservice@homestyledirect.com / 833-680-3737.

About Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice

Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice delivers medically tailored, individually plated meals to institutional operators across the United States. With 16 menu options, solutions purpose-built for institutional settings, and the operational infrastructure to scale rapidly across the lower 48 states, Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice is redefining what institutional foodservice can be.

Homestyle Direct Specialty Foodservice. Medically Tailored Meals. At Scale.

Media Contact

Mark Tinsey, Homestyle Direct, LLC, 1 833-680-3737, foodservice@homestyledirect.com, https://info.homestyledirect.com/hsd-specialty-foods

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SOURCE Homestyle Direct, LLC

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Verana Health Introduces Significant Data and AI Enhancements to Support Ophthalmologic Research and Treatment Optimization

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Coinciding with AAO 2026, the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual meeting, the company debuts AI Agents for research and datasets for exclusive real-world insights from 90 million+ de-identified patients

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Verana Health®, a digital health company dedicated to revolutionizing patient care and clinical research through real-world data (RWD), revealed several new enhancements to data and software solutions designed to enhance real-world insights and expedite treatment options in ophthalmology.

The announcements come ahead of AAO 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 9-12. Verana Health is the exclusive data curation and analytics partner of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight), the largest specialty society clinical data registry in all of medicine.

“At Verana Health, we are relentless in our dedication to providing innovative technology and data-driven solutions for advancing ophthalmic research and patient care,” said Sujay Jadhav, CEO of Verana Health. “Our latest advances give clinicians and life science companies the precise tools they need to accelerate discoveries and elevate patient outcomes.”

New Verana Health product and service enhancements include:

Collaboration with Bitfount Simplifies Prescreening for Ophthalmic Clinical Trials: Multimodal approach combining ophthalmic imaging and EHR data improves speed and accuracy of identifying eligible patients for studies.

Under the collaboration, patients at participating sites can be evaluated for clinical trial eligibility based on integrated patient imaging and EHR data compared to the study’s protocol inclusion and exclusion criteria. Bitfount contributes an imaging eligibility flag (generated via AI analysis of OCT or fundus scans) alongside EHR-derived criteria. The combined prescreening results, viewable in the HIPAA-compliant Verana Trial Connect and within Bitfount’s on-premise application, improve ophthalmic study efficiency and expedite enrollment by providing a pre-validated patient pipeline.

New datasets and variables for Qdata: As part of its Ophthalmology Qdata collection— fit-for-purpose modules that utilize RWD from the IRIS Registry to provide a comprehensive view of the patient journey—Verana Health has launched two datasets: Retinal Vein Occlusion and Stargardt Disease and new variables: visual field for Glaucoma, and other variables developed and validated that are available on request including; macular telangiectasia (MacTel) and atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC).

Agent Claire for Life Sciences: Provides conversational access that ranges in sophistication to real-world patient data for disease-specific datasets (e.g., nAMD, Diabetic retinopathy), without needing programming skills or analyst assistance.

Beyond time-saving benefits, Agent Claire enables transparency and ensures scientific rigor because it is built on high-quality, robust datasets and every answer includes the underlying query logic. This gives teams the confidence to act on results and share them internally.

For research organizations where real-world evidence increasingly drives commercial strategy, medical planning, and launch decisions, greater access means more people can ask better questions, faster.

Advancing Ophthalmic Imaging: Verana Health continues to advance its ophthalmic imaging initiative through the Imaging Consortium, progressing the infrastructure needed to securely integrate imaging with the rich clinical data of the IRIS Registry. Building on its collaboration with leading academic medical centers, Verana is also exploring opportunities to broaden image contributions across community-based ophthalmology practices, laying the foundation for a more diverse and scalable multimodal data resource.

Verana Health at AAO 2026

Verana Health will present a range of new enhanced products, services, and research during AAO 2026, the Academy’s annual meeting in New Orleans, October 9-12:

An overview of MIPS Advisory Services will be available to ophthalmologists and their teams

Joint Verana Health and Amgen research will be available on demand: “Treatment Patterns in Thyroid Eye Disease before and after Teprotumumab: Findings from Linked KOMODO Claims and IRIS Registry” examines real-world TED treatment patterns before and after teprotumumab availability.

“How AI is Streamlining Everyday Clinical Operations,” – Saturday, October 10, 9:30 a.m. in the Academy Theater (located in booth #2437, the Academy Hub). This presentation showcases how AI represents a shift away from task-based automation. For MIPS, keeping current requires more than access to information; it requires the ability to apply it quickly and consistently. Participating in the IRIS Registry can help clinicians free more time for patient care, while still meeting MIPS requirements.

To learn more, visit veranahealth.com or the Verana Health Booth 2301. To schedule a meeting in advance of the event, click here.

About Verana Health 

Verana Health, Inc.® is a digital health company revolutionizing patient care and clinical research by utilizing physician expertise and artificial intelligence to unlock the true potential of real-world data. With exclusive access to the world’s largest patient data sources in ophthalmology, urology, and neurology. Verana Health is powering real-world evidence generation. Clinicians utilize these insights to improve the quality of care and quality of life for patients, and life sciences companies rely on the insights to accelerate the development of new therapies. For more information, visit www.veranahealth.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/verana-health-introduces-significant-data-and-ai-enhancements-to-support-ophthalmologic-research-and-treatment-optimization-302894993.html

SOURCE Verana Health

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PadSplit expands into San Francisco, New York Metro, and Chicago, bringing shared housing to three of the nation’s most expensive housing markets

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Company seeks property owners to list available rooms, with San Francisco expansion supported by the City’s Housing Accelerator Fund

ATLANTA, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — PadSplit, the country’s largest coliving marketplace, today announced its expansion into three of the nation’s most supply-constrained housing markets: the San Francisco Bay Area, the New York metropolitan area, and Chicago. As the company launches in these new markets, it’s actively seeking property owners with available bedrooms, owner-occupied homes, and underutilized rental properties to join its marketplace and help expand the supply of affordable housing.

“As housing costs continue to outpace wages in many cities, more workers are finding that renting a room isn’t just the most affordable option, it’s often the only attainable one.” — Atticus LeBlanc, PadSplit Founder & CEO

Property owners who list with PadSplit gain access to a comprehensive platform that streamlines resident screening, rent collection, payments, maintenance coordination, and ongoing support. They also benefit from HostGuard, PadSplit’s new protection program designed for shared housing, offering support for property damage, zoning issues, general liability, and resident removals. Together, these tools make it easier for property owners to generate income from available rooms while expanding the supply of workforce housing.

“These are some of the most challenging housing markets in America, but they also represent some of the greatest opportunities for shared housing,” said Atticus LeBlanc, Founder and CEO of PadSplit. “As housing costs continue to outpace wages in many cities, more workers are finding that renting a room isn’t just the most affordable option, it’s often the only attainable one. We’re excited to bring a proven model that expands housing supply, while generating income for property owners.”

The San Francisco Bay Area presents a particularly compelling opportunity for shared housing. As homeowners grapple with some of the nation’s highest housing costs, many are looking for new ways to generate income from unused bedrooms. PadSplit’s expansion into San Francisco is supported by the City’s Housing Accelerator Fund, which is helping encourage property owners to bring additional shared housing inventory online through the marketplace.

“As rents climb and vacancies fall to their lowest rates in decades, the HAF is working to address the housing crisis from every angle, from financing the production of new homes to preserving existing affordable housing in our communities,” said Rebecca Foster, CEO of the Housing Accelerator Fund. “Our partnership with PadSplit is an exciting opportunity to activate underutilized units and bring more affordable housing options online.”

In the New York metropolitan area and Chicago, growing affordability pressures, low vacancy rates, and increasing demand for flexible housing continue to create opportunities for shared housing. Across all three markets, PadSplit is already seeing strong interest from both prospective residents and property owners.

Founded in 2017, PadSplit operates in 40+ markets, offering 39,000+ furnished rooms and having housed 90,000+ people nationwide with a median income of $32,500. Every PadSplit home includes a private furnished bedroom, shared common areas, utilities, and Wi-Fi, enabling residents to budget for their primary living expenses through one predictable weekly payment aligned with their pay schedule. Unlike traditional apartments, PadSplit does not require a minimum credit score or long-term lease, making it easier for workers to quickly access housing.

PadSplit is structured as a public benefit corporation. For more information, visit PadSplit.com.

About PadSplit

PadSplit is the country’s largest coliving marketplace. As a public benefit corporation, PadSplit is intentional about doing well and doing good, focusing on increasing housing supply and reducing barriers to access so the workers who serve our communities also have the opportunity to live in them. Our award-winning model allows individuals to find a flexible, long-term rental option that includes furniture, utilities, and access to public transit, all without a minimum credit score. PadSplit’s technology platform enables personalized rent payments that facilitate easier budgeting and allow residents to improve their financial health. A fully remote company, PadSplit offers more than 39,000 shared housing rooms nationwide. Apply to become a resident or a property owner at PadSplit.com.

Media Contact

Hela Sheth, PadSplit, 1 6789381318, hela@katalystcomms.com, padsplit.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/padsplit-expands-into-san-francisco-new-york-metro-and-chicago-bringing-shared-housing-to-three-of-the-nations-most-expensive-housing-markets-302895813.html

SOURCE PadSplit

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Glintt Life Wins Silver in Best in Biz Awards 2026 International with TechSee

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Healthcare innovation award recognizes real-time visual support that helps pharmacy teams resolve technical issues remotely and maintain operational continuity

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — TechSee, a global leader in visual AI for customer service, today announced that its customer, Glintt Life, has been named a Silver winner in the Most Innovative Product of the Year – Healthcare category in Best in Biz Awards 2026 International. The award recognizes Glintt Life’s integration of TechSee’s real-time visual support into its healthcare service model.

Glintt Life operates at the core of healthcare delivery, supporting pharmacy networks across Iberia where daily operations directly impact patient access to medication and care. As these environments become more digital, automated, and interconnected, the complexity of maintaining their operations has increased significantly.

Traditionally, support has relied on verbal descriptions and assumptions. Technicians interpret what users describe, often without visibility into the actual issue. This slows down resolution and frequently leads to unnecessary on-site interventions.

With TechSee, technicians can now see the issue in real time, understand the environment, and guide pharmacy staff step by step toward resolution. Users no longer need to explain complex issues; they simply show them through their smartphone camera.

This capability is embedded into day-to-day service operations, supporting a wide range of healthcare-critical scenarios, including diagnosing issues across pharmacy management systems, payment and dispensing workflows, connected devices such as barcode scanners, and automated and robotic pharmacy units. In environments where a lack of visibility traditionally requires physical intervention, visual support enables remote resolution with confidence.

Glintt Life has improved first contact resolution, reduced repeat interactions, and minimized the need for on-site intervention. In a recent customer survey, the visual support service achieved a 4.92/5 average rating and 98.3% satisfaction score.

“Operational continuity is essential to ensuring consistent and reliable healthcare services,” said Sérgio Cruz, Customer Support Director at Glintt Life. “Visual support removes the distance between technician and user, creating a collaborative interaction where issues are understood and resolved together. With TechSee, we can support pharmacists and staff in real time, allowing them to focus on patient care. This recognition reflects the value of that approach.”

As pharmacy environments evolve toward automation, including robotic dispensing systems, visual support enables Glintt Life to support these advanced environments with precision and reliability. The approach also helps the company scale its healthcare services as operational complexity increases.

“We’re proud to see Glintt Life recognized for bringing visual AI into the daily operations of pharmacies,” said Eitan Cohen, CEO of TechSee. “By removing the blind spot between what pharmacy staff experience and what remote technicians can understand, Glintt Life has created a more efficient, reliable, and scalable support model. Their work demonstrates how innovation in healthcare systems can be matched by equally advanced, human-centered support.”

Now in its 14th year, Best in Biz Awards International recognizes businesses across industries and countries, with entries evaluated by an independent panel of editors, reporters, and other members of the press from around the world. For the complete list of winners in Best in Biz Awards 2026 International, visit bestinbizawards.com/intl-2026-winners.

About TechSee

TechSee is the leading Visual AI-powered platform harnessing vision to transform customer service. By enabling businesses to see the problem and solve it effectively, TechSee eliminates friction, reduces costs, and enhances customer satisfaction. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders in telecom, home security, and smart home, our platform delivers seamless, intelligent service experiences at scale. For more information, visit: www.techsee.com.  

About Glintt Life

Glintt Life is an Iberian healthcare technology provider with more than 30 years of experience. It develops digital solutions for pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics, helping healthcare professionals deliver care and connect systems across the healthcare ecosystem. Glintt Life’s work combines technology and healthcare expertise to support more efficient services and better patient care. Learn more at glinttlife.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/glintt-life-wins-silver-in-best-in-biz-awards-2026-international-with-techsee-302896046.html

SOURCE TechSee

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