CHICAGO – The consumer health access and engagement platform higi said on Thursday that it had formed a cross-functional team dedicated to advancing the strategic goals of its partners and clients.

The move comes on the heels last month’s announcement that Darren Singer is joining the company as group vice president of Network Alliances. Singer’s deep experience with consumers, retailers and their shoppers, and patients will enable higi to develop this ecosystem across retail, payer, provider, and employer organizations with consumers at the center, the company said.

The new cross-functional team will be led by Vicki Harter, higi’s newly appointed vice president of client success. Harter brings a deep history in population health to her role and is an established leader known in the industry for building client success organizations, according to higi.

“Our unique strength is in our established network of smart health stations in retailers and points of trust in communities across the country,” chief executive officer Jeff Bennett said, “and in the strategic relationships we have with each of our retail partners. By creating a more fully integrated team, led by Harter with Singer’s added expertise, we bring together the voices of customers across the ecosystem. Together we will collaborate to advance all of our strategic goals while providing critical access to healthcare programs and services on behalf of consumers.”

Higi says that its network of more than 10,000 smart health stations — located in pharmacy, grocery and mass merchant retailers nationwide — represents a critical point of care access for consumers, directing them to the appropriate resources that best meet their specific health needs. One example of this network is in Florida, where higi partners with Publix Supermarkets to offer a free health screening and program to its shoppers.

“Higi acts as a strategic healthcare partner for our pharmacy business,” says Dain Rusk, vice president of pharmacy at Publix. “In collaboration with higi, we can better leverage on-site clinical resources to connect patients to care and fill needed prescriptions in our pharmacies. We’ve also been able to allow our pharmacists to support the health of a new set of patients.”

As healthcare organizations explore how to best reach out to and engage with consumers, higi’s software platform and smart health station network provide both a physical and digital means to deliver more targeted and actionable healthcare education and services, the company said.