Raising the Bar for Women’s Healthcare: The Badass Women of Iron Health || EP. 142

Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw

Laurie McGraw is speaking with the Inspiring Women co-founders of Iron Health at HLTH 2023: Stephanie Winans, CEO, Kristina Furlan, Chief Product Officer, and Susanna Wiborg, Chief of Staff.

This is the finale episode of this Inspiring Women collaboration highlighting several of the extraordinary women leaders in the Redesign family.

Each of these founders came to Iron Health to improve equity, access, and outcomes across women’s health. And to raise the bar. In the US, women have worse outcomes than in any other developed country. Primary care is part of the issue. Only half of US-based women see a primary care physician regularly. Growing mental health issues also play a factor as are the severe shortage of healthcare professionals in these areas.

The bright spot (and opportunity) is that most women see their OBGYN for an annual checkup. These specialists are now becoming the go to resource for women to handle their broader primary care needs. Additionally, they are handling mental health issues. 84% of OBGYNs are now prescribing psychiatric medications.

Enter Iron Health, the virtual practice extension of an OBGYN. This company came out of stealth in March of 2023 and in just six months is working with over 50 OBGYNs across four states. Early feedback is positive for both patients and providers.

Stephanie, Kristina, and Susanna also talk about what it means to build a purposeful leadership team, mostly women, who have not worked together before. Energy; excitement; leading by example; not having to compete for the one available seat at the table were some of the comments from this “Badass” team.

Their closing advice? Ask for the informational interview. Surround yourself with allies. And this call to action: If we are going to close the gender gap in leadership, Stephanie asks all women leaders to find a woman and mentor her.

Guest Bios:

Stephanie Winans, CEO

Stephanie Winans is a seasoned healthcare entrepreneur passionate about applying creative problem solving to deliver better outcomes for patients and providers. She possesses diverse experience spanning both B2C and enterprise healthcare, media, and technology. Prior to Iron Health, Stephanie was the Chief Growth Officer at BioDigital, and led two successful healthcare exits at The Wellness Network (acquired by WebMD) and Bundoo, a maternal and infant health startup (acquired by Wafra Partners). Stephanie received her MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and holds a B.S. in Marketing and Psychology from Spring Hill College.

Kristina Furlan, Chief Product Officer

Kristina Furlan is a driven business leader with over 16 years of experience developing and commercializing digital health solutions. Prior to Iron Health, Kristina led two successful internal startups at Philips and held product leadership roles at Stryker and St. Jude Medical. Kristina has a Masters in Science and Bachelors in Science from Texas A&M University.

Susanna Wiborg, RN, MBA, Chief of Staff

Susanna Wiborg is an innovative leader with a diverse background having worked as a nurse, hospital administrator, consultant, and in data/tech. Prior experience includes leadership positions at Penn Medicine, Lumere, Sg2, and Northwestern Medicine. Susanna received her MBA from Kellogg School of Management and holds a BSN and BSE from the University of Pennsylvania.