While most college students are insured, many fail to access healthcare and mental health services because student health centers are inaccessible and often ill-equipped to handle the varying needs of today’s college students. For women students, the problem is more acute. College is supposed to be a time for discovery and growth but 75% of students with anxiety and depression never seek treatment leading to outcomes like dropping out, poor academic performance, and substance abuse, culminating in poor overall health. Caraway is an integrated digital health clinic for women in college that makes healthcare (mental, physical, and reproductive) accessible via its app. The platform provides 24/7 on-demand access to clinicians to assist students without the need to wait for days or weeks often found in the overburdened university health system that is typically not well suited to handle a range of concerns. Follow-ups with physicians and nurse practitioners are available as is access to educational resources, self-guided programs, referrals, and at-home testing and treatment options. University student health centers tend to be largely staffed with residents with limited experience; Caraway offers a team of gynecologists, psychiatrists, adolescent medicine specialists, nurses, therapists, and coaches to offer a holistic experience. The company, which was founded earlier this year, recently emerged from stealth and plans to launch this upcoming academic year.
AlleyWatch caught up with Caraway CEO and Cofounder Lori Evans Bernstein to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent round of funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Our $10.5M Seed round was led by 7wireVentures and OMERS Ventures, with participation from Hopelab Ventures and key angel investors, including Trevor Price, Oxeon Investments, Elliot Cohen, Cofounder of PillPack, Brian Regan, Deena Shakir, Partner at Lux Capital, Missy Krasner, Aike Ho, Partner at ACME, Doug Hirsch, CEO of GoodRx, Kate Ryder, CEO of Maven Clinic, and prominent angel investor Leslie Schrock.
Tell us about the product or service that Caraway offers.
Built with students for students, Caraway provides college women+ with the first integrated healthcare services solution that prioritizes the needs and concerns that present during this key developmental-age window.
Caraway’s app, available in both the Apple App store and Google Play store, will provide 24/7 access to virtual mental health, reproductive health, and physical healthcare for members, enabling them to:
- Chat with a care team clinician for any type of healthcare concern
- Schedule a telemedicine appointment with a doctor or nurse practitioner
- Connect to in-person care by actively assisting students with care referrals, coordination, and follow-up.
- Learn about and access personalized content most relevant to college women+ and the healthcare interactions they are experiencing
- Engage in our self-guided care programs and therapy visits
- Access test kits at “home” for UTIs and STI diagnosis and treatment
What inspired the start of Caraway?
There is a societal and medical imperative to provide care for college women+. We recognize that there was an unmet for college women+ and that there are inadequate care options. We have all been reading the tragic headlines about the student health crisis and listening as family, friends, and colleagues recount their own struggles.
Fortune recently reported, “60% of college students are living with mental health disorders, and schools are woefully unprepared.” And now the mental and physical healthcare challenges many women in college face have been further worsened with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Women’s bodily autonomy and health are no longer their decision and choice. Furthermore, unplanned pregnancy is one of the leading reasons female students drop out of college.
At the heart of Caraway’s plan is to fundamentally change how college women experience the healthcare system. Today, based on hundreds of interviews we have conducted, college women often don’t know where to turn when they have a problem, have trouble getting appointments for routine health needs, spend countless hours waiting for an appointment at student health or urgent care and experience deep frustration and risk because they can’t get the care they need.
These are hard times in health care, especially for women+. Even before the overturning of Roe, there were persistent barriers and inequities in women’s+ health. As we begin Caraway’s journey, my most sincere hope is we will become a trusted and treasured port in the storm for many of the over 10 million college women we hope to support.
How is Caraway different?
The heart of Caraway’s plan is to change fundamentally the way college women+ experience the healthcare system. Women are historically underserved when it comes to their healthcare needs.
Though there are many women’s digital healthcare companies, Caraway is a women’s healthcare provider squarely focused on college women+, providing them with integrated mental, reproductive and physical healthcare.
Caraway provides college women+ with the first healthcare solution that prioritizes the needs and concerns that present during this developmental-age window.
Built with students for students, Caraway’s care services are evidence-based and delivered 24/7, so women+ of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, and sexual orientations can feel supported and educated in their healthcare decision-making.
What market does Caraway target and how big is it?
We are tackling college women’s+ healthcare. On-campus college healthcare services do not meet the demand for the U.S. population of approximately 10 million college women+. Caraway’s TAM is expected to be $7.3B by 2026.
What’s your business model?
Our business model is B2C2B. At launch, we will be marketing directly to college women+. We will also be directly working with universities and health plans.
How are you preparing for a potential recession?
We are very mindful of the downturn in the economy. Given the situation for women, especially with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, there are persistent barriers to care that need to be addressed.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
There is a societal and medical imperative to provide care to college women+. We recognize that there was an unmet for college women+ and that there are inadequate care options.
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in an endemic of depression and anxiety, and a frightening escalation in suicide ideation, and suicide. A 2021 Healthy Minds Network study of college student mental health found that 34 percent of respondents had anxiety disorder and 41 percent reported depression. For students who have considered dropping out, a new report shows that 71% cited emotional stress as being a key factor.
Even before the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, there were barriers and persistent inequities in women’s+ health and a need to ensure greater availability of care to college women+. The new reality facing women in many states makes the need all the more critical. Reproductive health and mental health go hand in hand, with the end of Roe worsening the campus mental health crisis. And, it cannot be ignored that unplanned pregnancy is the most common reason for dropping out of college.
The need for robust health services for college women+ that provide high-quality clinical care has intensified and has never been more clear. We’ve known for a long time that physical health affects mental health and vice versa, and that the best care addresses these needs simultaneously. Now more than ever, we need healthcare solutions that uncover early diagnoses and set the course for lifelong healthcare habits and overall well-being.
The need for robust health services for college women+ that provide high-quality clinical care has intensified and has never been more clear. We’ve known for a long time that physical health affects mental health and vice versa, and that the best care addresses these needs simultaneously. Now more than ever, we need healthcare solutions that uncover early diagnoses and set the course for lifelong healthcare habits and overall well-being.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We are launching on college campuses this fall at the start of the 22/23 academic year.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Consider raising debt to extend your runway.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We are launching on college campuses this fall at the start of the 22/23 academic year. We are initially launching in New York, California, North Carolina, and Ohio, and will care for as many women+ as possible.
What’s your favorite outdoor dining restaurant in NYC?
12 Chairs Cafe.
