At One, LLC , Stefanie C.F. Toise, PhD, MPH, E-RYT 500
I was honored to be the recipient of the United States Small Business Administration's 2018 Connecticut Microenterprise of the Year Award. I was also a Connecticut Technology Council finalist in the Women of Innovation, Research Innovation, and Leadership category for 2018.
I spent my career as a healthcare leader with a strong background in successful program development, management, and evaluation in research, and mind-body medicine across the community and hospital settings. My published research helped establish the clinical efficacy of yoga therapy in improving clinical outcomes and long-term health behaviors. In addition, I developed specific expertise by working with patients on improving their quality of life. As I worked with them, I gained insight into the needs of clinicians and hospitals.
My research was designed in response to the gap I saw between patients and clinicians and the new technological treatments available. The healthcare system has not kept pace with the rapid advances in medical technology and is ill-equipped to provide patients and clinicians with important tools to improve and adapt these treatments. I also found that hospitals and manufacturers of medical devices need expertise in understanding the patient experience and translating that into future device designs.
Here was a niche to be filled, a better way to empower all stakeholders in addressing present and future healthcare needs. I want to be a leader in making a difference.
What We Do
At One LLC designs and implements solutions based on cutting-edge behavioral science, including adapted yoga therapy for device patients, clinicians, hospitals, and healthcare organizations. We work with hospitals to improve clinical care, reduce clinician burnout, and reduce patient readmissions. We help clients manage chronic and acute conditions such as pain, stress, reduced mobility, sleep disorders, and addiction recovery, both individually and in groups. We are at the forefront of evidence-based treatments for those with cardiac conditions, especially those with medical devices. We continually seek to instill sustainable health behavioral change for patients and clients and work with manufacturers of medical devices to that end.
My expertise and education are in healthcare, not business. I had ideas, a clear vision, expertise, and evidence of how psychological health research and yoga therapy can provide better medical outcomes for patients. What my ideas didn’t have was a "home" where they could be put into action, so people could benefit.
I engaged with Score and the help was invaluable in meeting the many challenges of starting a business. I also have received SBA assistance through counseling and technical support using resource partners, SBDC, and the Women's Business Center. SCORE was a valuable resource in forming my business.
I saw value in numerous ways, but there was one attribute I found to be the most valuable: SCORE mentors have extensive real-life practical experience. That was of immense benefit to someone like me who had never started a business before. When starting up, I spent a great deal of time on tasks with which I was unfamiliar, so it was tremendously valuable to consult and be mentored by people who had an extensive business background that I didn’t. They helped guide me to sort tasks by importance and determine how best to spend my time performing those tasks.