Bunkerhill Health named to Fast Company's list of the World's Most Innovative Companies of 2026. SAN FRANCISCO - Mar. 24, 2026 - Bunkerhill Health is proud to announce it has been named to Fast Company's prestigious list of the World's Most Innovative Companies of 2026, recognizing organizations that are redefining industries through bold ideas and real-world impact. The recognition highlights Bunkerhill's work building Carebricks, healthcare's system of action, a platform that enables health systems to design and deploy AI agents that reason across their data and take real-world action across clinical and operational workflows. Bunkerhill's approach represents a departure from traditional healthcare technology. Rather than delivering predefined solutions or narrow point tools, the company works directly with health systems to identify their most pressing challenges and rapidly build AI-powered workflows tailored to those needs. This allows organizations to move from idea to live deployment in days, not months, and to expand from a single workflow to enterprise-wide adoption. Across leading institutions, Carebricks is already being used to operationalize agentic AI workflows across dozens of use cases, enabling teams to turn ideas into real-world action across clinical and operational domains. Rather than stopping at insight, these workflows are designed to carry work through to completion, automating next steps so execution happens automatically and manual work is reduced. "Innovation in healthcare isn't about introducing another tool, it's about changing how problems get solved," said Nishith Khandwala, co-founder and CEO of Bunkerhill Health. "We've taken a different approach. Instead of starting with a predefined solution, we start with each health system's priorities and build together from there. Carebricks gives teams the ability to create AI agents around their exact workflows and constraints, so they can move quickly, iterate freely, and see real impact in practice." "Our list of the Most Innovative Companies spotlights organizations that are shaping the future of business," said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "This year's honorees are setting new standards for innovation and impact across industries." The full list of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies honorees can be found at fastcompany.com and will be available on newsstands beginning March 31, 2026. About Bunkerhill Health Bunkerhill Health works alongside health systems and hospitals to help them operationalize their ideas with unmatched speed and flexibility. Its AI-powered platform, Carebricks, serves as healthcare's system of action, enabling clinical and operational teams across the enterprise to design, test, and deploy AI agents in days, not months or years. These agents reason across health system data, make contextual decisions, and take appropriate real-world actions to reduce manual work and improve patient care. By driving the cost of experimentation and iteration toward zero, Carebricks enables health systems to expand what they can imagine, build, and sustain. About Fast Company Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc. For more information, please visit fastcompany.com.

McLaren Health care launches AI program to screen for heart disease. MICHIGAN - McLaren Health care has partnered with technology company Bunker Hill to launch a new artificial intelligence program designed to screen more than 40,000 patients annually for heart disease. The initiative uses FDA-cleared algorithms to identify early signs of cardiovascular risk by reviewing CT scans performed for unrelated medical reasons. The program aims to address heart disease, which remains the leading cause of death in the United States. By analyzing existing imaging for incidental findings like calcium buildup in arteries and valves, the technology helps clinicians identify "orphaned" patients who are at risk but have not yet seen a cardiologist. Dr. Justin Klamaris serves as the executive vice president and chief clinical officer for McLaren Health care. He noted that while heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, many cases are preventable through early detection. "But we see so many patients across the state of Michigan who are impacted by cardiovascular disease," Klamaris said. "And what we know is much of cardiovascular disease is preventable if we could recognize patients who have symptoms or have evidence of disease earlier." The program utilizes FDA-cleared algorithms to review imaging studies. Klamaris described the initiative as an extension of existing medical teams. "This project and what we are launching with Bunker Hill... is to use artificial intelligence and use the abilities that we have to extend our clinical care teams beyond the nurses and doctors who are taking care of you when you seek care in our facilities," Klamaris said. Nish Kandawala is the CEO and co-founder of Bunker Hill. He explained that the AI model, which was developed at Stanford University, identifies blockages in patients who visit the hospital for unrelated issues like pneumonia or car accidents. "And so what he and his team built was this AI model that can look at scans that are being done on patients for non-cardiovascular reasons and then actually drive them to get preventive cardiology care so that they have better outcomes," Kandawala said. Kandawala shared an example from a partnering hospital involving a patient who sought emergency care for a turkey bone stuck in their throat. A CT scan for the bone led the AI to identify a high risk for heart disease. "This program was able to identify that this patient actually had a very high risk for heart disease, for heart attack," Kandawala said. The patient eventually underwent bypass surgery after the AI finding prompted a visit to a cardiologist. The health system expects the technology to process a high volume of data. "We are expecting to screen more than 40,000 patients every year," Kandawala said. "And we project that we will be hopefully finding thousands of patients and driving them to better care." Officials estimate that 8% to 10% of patients undergoing chest CT scans will be identified as having previously unknown risk factors. Dr. Sam Kezia, the chief medical director for the McLaren Heart and Vascular Institute, said the AI specifically looks for coronary calcium and aortic valve calcification. "But the ability of AI now to be able to calculate your calcium score automatically and provide this number to your primary care physician would be very, very valuable," Kezia said. He noted the system creates a "red flag" for patients who may not even know they have a problem. Once the AI identifies a high-risk patient, McLaren will initiate a notification workflow. This includes sending a traditional letter to the patient and electronic notifications to their primary care physician. If a patient does not have a designated cardiologist, the system will help coordinate care with available providers. Dr. Kezia emphasized that the goal is to be proactive. "So AI is going to be able to identify our citizens, our community patients who are having tests in the system ahead of time and alert them that something needs to be checked out and become proactive to take care of that for them short and long term," Kezia said. The initiative also includes a retrospective review of the past year of medical records to find patients with existing risks in the system's archives. Klamaris noted that McLaren already uses AI in other areas, such as its stroke program to identify blood vessel abnormalities and "ambient AI" for medical documentation during doctor visits. McLaren Health care plans to launch the program within the next two weeks. The system will initially process a retrospective lookback of imaging from the past year before moving into real-time prospective screening for all patients at McLaren facilities.