Toivoa’s CEO Laura Randa’s aim to break down mental healthcare barriers for disabled patients – PharmaVoice
Toivoa CEO – Laura Randa
Laura Randa calls her 20-year-old daughter, Lauren, a “rock star,” and rattles off Lauren’s many accomplishments without much prompting: She’s been a nationally competitive figure skater, was a National Merit finalist and is a student at University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
But something unexpected put a hitch in Lauren’s upward trajectory.
“COVID hit,” Randa says plainly. And because of the pandemic, face masks emerged everywhere.
Mandatory face coverings were a minor inconvenience for some and a political flashpoint for others. But for people like Lauren, who has hearing loss and reads lips, it hampered her ability to communicate.
“The stress was challenging to her,” Randa says. “And the clear masks never made it to the classroom.”
Stress and the pandemic have gone hand in hand since March 2020. Rates of depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions have skyrocketed over the course of two-plus years, and demand for mental health professionals has never been higher.
But for people with disabilities the need is even more profound: According to the CDC, adults with disabilities say they experience frequent mental distress almost five times as often as those without disabilities.
That’s why, in 2021, Randa founded Toivoa, a platform company that aims to provide evidence-based mental health therapy in a way that’s accessible for people with disabilities.