Meet Liana Douillet Guzmán, whose company Folx Health is a digital health care service provider for the LGBTQIA+ community

[ad_1]

One of the most common questions that Liana Douillet Guzmán, the CEO of Folx Health, a telehealth health care company focused on the LGBTQIA+ community, gets asked is whether trans and queer people truly have different health care needs compared with the rest of the population. 

“The answer is a resounding yes,” says Douillet Guzmán, who is herself a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. “We exist within a model that was not built for us, and more often than not it is openly discriminatory. We are more likely to suffer from heart disease; we are more likely to have mental health issues; the way we start our families is different.”

Douillet Guzmán was the CMO of the online learning platform Skillshare when she was approached about the top job at Folx Health. It was 2021 and A.G. Breitenstein, the company’s founder and then-CEO, was looking for someone to take over the day-to-day running of the business. “We started from a first principles approach,” says Guzmán of her first few months in the job. If LGBTQIA+ health care could look like anything, “what would we want it to look like?” The answer involved a diverse network of queer and trans specialized clinicians covering everything from primary care, to family planning, to hormone replacement therapy for trans patients.

What drew you to the CEO role at Folx Health?

Folx isn’t just a place that is affirming for our community. We look at what is already out there [in terms of health care resources for LGBTQIA+ people] and build expertise around that. The challenge faced by our community is often that you’re in a place that does expert care but the wait-lists are very long. Or you live in a care desert where you don’t actually have access to anyone. We’ve found clinicians who have been caring for this community for 10, 20, 30 years, and we allow them to do this work remotely. Our average wait times for longer-term needs are anywhere from two to five days. The national average [wait time] for gender-affirming hormone therapy, for example, is six months. 

What is your biggest current challenge?

We live in a deeply divided world where one political party in particular has decided that trans issues are going to be a wedge issue for them. Florida, for example, just passed a law that prevents [trans] folks from getting care. We have that startup mindset of, “How do we stay nimble enough that we can be quickly responsive to this shifting legislative landscape while also making sure that we continue to invest in long-term growth?”

What don’t people know about you?

I’m not somebody who wanted to be a CEO. I have two little kids, and they are my North Star. It wasn’t in my plan for this to happen!

The Fortune Founders Forum is a community of entrepreneurs chosen by Fortune’s editorial team to participate at the annual Brainstorm Tech conference, which took place in Deer Valley, Utah, in July. Our inaugural cohort was selected based on a variety of factors, including the potential impact of their companies, and reflected a diversity of geographies, sectors, and demographics.

Subscribe to Well Adjusted, our newsletter full of simple strategies to work smarter and live better, from the Fortune Well team. Sign up today.

[ad_2]

Source link

Trending Topics

Features

Download and distribute powerful vaccination QI resources for your community.

Sign up now to support health equity and sustainable health outcomes in your community.

MCED tests use a simple blood draw to screen for many kinds of cancer at once.

FYHN is a bridge connecting health information providers to BIPOC communities in a trusted environment.

Discover an honest look at our Medicare system.

ARC was launched to create a network of community clinicians to diversify and bring clinical trials to communities of color and other communities that have been underrepresented.

The single most important purpose of our healthcare system is to reduce patient risk for an acute event.

Related Posts
Gary, Indiana Tap Water Raises Health and Environmental Justice Concerns
Summer COVID Surge Builds Across U.S. as Cases Rise Again
FDA Gives Egg Recall Highest-Risk Class I Designation Over Salmonella Outbreak
Scroll to Top
Featured Articles
Gary, Indiana Tap Water Raises Health and Environmental Justice Concerns
Gary, Indiana Tap Water Raises Health and Environmental Justice Concerns
Summer COVID Surge Builds Across U.S. Fyh.news
Summer COVID Surge Builds Across U.S. as Cases Rise Again
Class I Salmonella Egg Recall What to Know Fyh.news
FDA Gives Egg Recall Highest-Risk Class I Designation Over Salmonella Outbreak
Lucy Davis Breast Cancer: Stage 4 Diagnosis Revealed | Fyh.news
Lucy Davis Reveals Incurable Stage 4 Breast Cancer, Urges Women Not to Ignore...
September Cancer Awareness: NMQF’s Role in Cancer Education and Health Access
September Cancer Awareness: NMQF’s Role in Cancer Education and Health Access
New Federal Rule on Gender-Affirming Care Raises Health Access Concerns for Transgender Youth
New Federal Rule on Gender-Affirming Care Raises Health Access Concerns for T...
Categories
AI
ATTR-CM
BIPOC News
Cancer
Clinical Trials
Covid19
Diseases of the Body
Environment
Health Data
Health Equity Events
Health Policy
Health Tips
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our latest news​
All Stories
Gary, Indiana Tap Water Raises Health and Environmental Justice Concerns
Gary, Indiana Tap Water Raises Health and Environmental Justice Concerns
Summer COVID Surge Builds Across U.S. Fyh.news
Summer COVID Surge Builds Across U.S. as Cases Rise Again
Class I Salmonella Egg Recall What to Know Fyh.news
FDA Gives Egg Recall Highest-Risk Class I Designation Over Salmonella Outbreak
BIPOC News
Gary, Indiana Tap Water Raises Health and Environmental Justice Concerns
Gary, Indiana Tap Water Raises Health and Environmental Justice Concerns
September Cancer Awareness: NMQF’s Role in Cancer Education and Health Access
September Cancer Awareness: NMQF’s Role in Cancer Education and Health Access
Historic Cancer Leadership Milestone Highlights the Importance of Early Detection and Community Outreach
Historic Cancer Leadership Milestone Highlights the Importance of Early Detec...
Environment
Gary, Indiana Tap Water Raises Health and Environmental Justice Concerns
Gary, Indiana Tap Water Raises Health and Environmental Justice Concerns
UV Safety Awareness Month Raises Urgency on Skin Cancer Prevention and Sun Protection Equity
UV Safety Awareness Month Raises Urgency on Skin Cancer Prevention and Sun Pr...
Extreme Heat Safety Tips 5 Ways to Protect Your Health This Summer fyh.news
5 Heat Safety Tips That Could Protect Your Health This Summer
Work Force
A multigenerational Black and Hispanic family sitting together in a park, showing how Social Security helps support older adults, people with disabilities, and families across generations.
Millions of Older Americans Could Face Smaller Social Security Checks by 2032...
dreamstime_s_243253251
The Caregiver Journey: The Hidden Backbone of American Healthcare
Families gather at a Bronx community festival with live music, kids’ activities, and health booths sharing SOMOS social care resources and free screenings.
Celebrating Hispanic heritage while learning about health care

[xyz-ips snippet=”Output-Source-Name”]

Clinical Trials
Historic Cancer Leadership Milestone Highlights the Importance of Early Detection and Community Outreach
Historic Cancer Leadership Milestone Highlights the Importance of Early Detec...
House Advances Bipartisan EARLY Act Reauthorization, Renewing Focus on Early Breast Cancer Detection for Young Women
House Advances Bipartisan EARLY Act Reauthorization, Renewing Focus on Early ...
Early Cancer Detection Is Entering a New Era. Flint Is Helping Lead the Way.
Early Cancer Detection Is Entering a New Era. Flint Is Helping Lead the Way.
Vaccines and Outbreaks
Summer COVID Surge Builds Across U.S. Fyh.news
Summer COVID Surge Builds Across U.S. as Cases Rise Again
Class I Salmonella Egg Recall What to Know Fyh.news
FDA Gives Egg Recall Highest-Risk Class I Designation Over Salmonella Outbreak
Taylor Farms Recalls Jalapeño-Containing Foods as Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 345 Across 27 States
Taylor Farms Recalls Jalapeño-Containing Foods as Salmonella Outbreak Sickens...
Other Categories
AI
Read the latest AI News stories trending around the world
ATTR-CM
Cancer
Read the latest Cancer stories trending around the world
Covid19
Diseases of the Body
Read about the latest Diseases of the Body trending around the world
Friday Webinars
Every Friday, we bring you insightful webinars covering critical topics in healthcare, data equity, and policy reform.
Health Data
Read the latest Health Data stories trending around the world
Health Equity Events
Read the best Health Equity Events around the country.
Health Policy
Read the latest Health Policy stories trending around the world
Health Tips
Heart Health
Read the latest on Heart Health News, Stories and Tips.
kidney Health
Read more trending News about Kidney Health, Stories and Tips.