We're Celebrating an Amazing Year at Origin

2024 has been a whirlwind, but there’s one thing I can say for sure: our team at Origin has never been more proud to be increasing access to essential women’s and pelvic health care, or more determined to continue improving, expanding, and innovating. In fact, we’re already laying the groundwork for bigger and even better things in 2025.

Before we leap hearts-first into next year, I want to take a moment to celebrate some truly applause-worthy highlights from 2024 and explain why they mean so much to all of us here at Origin.

What We're Celebrating from 2024

Supporting 100,000 Visits

First, let’s ground in the most important aspect of what we do: patient care. With 83% of women experiencing pelvic health symptoms and only 4% getting diagnosed and treated, we know that there are major barriers to getting the highly specialized care you need. This is true for women and people of all genders. And it can be life-changing to get affirming, expert care – after all, Origin was founded in 2020 because my fellow co-founder Nona Farahnik and I both experienced the magic firsthand. 

Support comes in the form of countless small interactions every day, from our online booking, to benefits verification (so covered patients know their estimated costs upfront), to the folks checking in patients at front desks, to the PTs who are defying expectations by making virtual physical therapy just as effective as in-person.

Every person who completes a treatment plan at Origin will leave with a deeper understanding of their unique anatomy and a personalized set of strategies for feeling good in their bodies, now and for years to come. This, above all, is worth celebrating!

Extending In-Network care to 50,000,000 People

“Fifty million covered lives” has become our new power mantra at Origin. Increasing access to evidence-based, compassionate physical therapy for women and all people with vaginal anatomy is what we set out to do, and, wow, is it happening! 

Thanks to the tireless work of our team and a growing number of women’s health advocates within insurance companies, more people than ever before have pelvic floor PT as a covered benefit. Some of our biggest insurance wins this year include going in-network with Kaiser in Los Angeles and San Diego, and offering covered care to HealthPartners members in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Releasing the Groundbreaking 2024 Pelvic Health Study

It’s well documented (though sadly still not well-known) that the health research gender gap is costing women their lives and robbing them of their quality of life. Which is why Origin, like other mission-driven women’s health startups, are compelled to do their own validated research.

Thanks to funding organized by Rise Together Ventures, Origin was able to partner with Ipsos and publish our 2024 Pelvic Health Study this past March, revealing the truth about women’s pelvic health in this country. A staggering 75% of women ages 18-59 reporting 2 or more pelvic health symptoms, within the past year, yet 96% haven’t been diagnosed with a related medical condition. As reported in Vogue, this is a hidden pelvic health epidemic that continues to be systematically ignored.

Beyond raising public awareness, the stats from this study have helped us highlight the need for pelvic floor PT to medical providers, investors, and insurance companies, moving us closer to the day when women’s health PT is part of the standard of care for women.

Winning a Digital Health Award

It may be surprising to hear that a company with brick-and-mortar clinics (not just virtual care) was the recipient of a “Rising Star” Digital Health Award from the Digital Health Hub Foundation. But when your goal is to help as many women as possible benefit from the specialized expertise provided by pelvic floor PTs, leveraging technology is essential.

Origin’s tech platform empowers our PTs to spend less time on admin work and more time providing high-quality, HIPAA-compliant care. It also empowers our patients to schedule faster,  understand their insurance benefits, and work toward their PT goals between visits with our proprietary home exercise program. 

Launching Our Very Own Visual Art Gallery

At Origin, we believe body-centric, empowering art can help us reconnect with our bodies and create new possibilities for healing. And based on the enthusiastic response to the art we share on our Instagram feed, we know our community feels the same. 

So this past Valentine’s Day, we launched the Visual Art Gallery, aka The VAG, starting with six inspirational artists, whose work ranged from a documentary film about vestibulodynia to a sculptor who makes a powerful statement about the objectification of women’s bodies by sculpting vulvas out of pie crust.

The VAG — as well as the art displayed in all of our clinics — is also a response to a health care system that is so focused on doing no harm that it can prevent us from feeling good. Most medical environments have sterilized emotion and beauty right along with the germs. But we know that aesthetics can impact patient outcomes and that art can make a meaningful difference.

Creating Our First On-Demand Digital Program

All women can benefit from pelvic floor and whole body PT, delivered by highly-trained experts, but many are still unable or reluctant to access it. In addition to insurance coverage, embarrassment around symptoms can prevent women from seeking care and lack of time can make coming in for weekly visits feel impossible.

That means to help more women, we need to provide more options outside of traditional care. Which prompted our first on-demand digital health program. One of many to come, Essential Exercises for Pregnancy is designed by Origin PTs to support pregnant women in safely building strength, flexibility, and mobility throughout every trimester. 

Partnering with Major Health Care Systems

Our healthcare system was not designed to support the unique needs of women across the lifespan. Changing that will take an enormous amount of collaboration at every level. We’re proud to have launched six health system partnerships this year to help hospitals ensure their patients get timely access to pelvic floor therapy — for postpartum recovery, to avoid surgical intervention, and everything in between. 

With most hospitals seeing 4-6 month waitlists, we are thrilled to be able to help folks get accessible care, when they need it.

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To our team, our partners and investors, our patients and the broader community, thank you for all your support and advocacy in 2024. We definitely would not be here without you, nor would it be nearly as fun.

Happy New Year!