Faculty Feature: Dr. Dr. Tamatha Fenster and Dr. Marc Schiffman

For this newsletter’s Faculty Feature, Yangjingyi Ruan (SVG Social Media/Event Planning Leader), Yanyang Chen (Club Newsletter Leader), and Nick Bartelo (SVG President) had the opportunity to sit down with Tamatha Fenster and Marc Schiffman. Dr. Fenster received her MD degree from The State University of New York (SUNY) Health Science Center at Syracuse and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Beth Israel Medical Center. She is now an Assistant Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell. Dr. Schiffman received his MD degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse and completed his radiology residency training in Diagnostic Radiology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is now an Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiology at Weill Cornell. Dr. Fenster and Dr. Schiffman are co-founders of VoiceLove, a company built on improving patient outcomes through keeping patients connected to their family and friends. Dr. Fenster and Dr. Schiffman are revolutionizing the healthcare industry by providing efficient communication between patients and their families, demonstrating how the power of socialization can positively benefit patient outcomes.

SVG: How did you two meet and how was VoiceLove developed? 

Dr. Fenster: We met at medical school many years ago and have been collaborating since my first day at Weill. Fast forward to April of COVID, hospitals were overrun with patients and needed more healthcare workers. I noticed there was no practical means of communication between patients and their families and wanted to create a group to tell patients’ families how they were. Marc was the first person I called and he immediately agreed to join. As we spoke with families, everyone kept saying “please just let us talk to them.” This was the problem we knew we had to solve.
Dr. Schiffman: As Tamatha said, hospital communication is inefficient. One night I went to Target and bought a few speakers that connect to an app so families could talk. Everyone was grateful and meaningful messages were able to be sent. We reached out to the toy company and they agreed to donate for all of NY Presbyterian's ventilated patients. After some press, we had families around the country reach out to us, and we donated the toys to them. We examined every type of ward from babies to elderly to learn their needs. Unfortunately, in the Christmas of 2020, my mother was infected with covid and passed after a long ICU stay. My family could not be there and it was incredibly challenging. This is when Tamatha and I decided we needed to lead the change.
 

SVG: VoiceLove not only connects Patients and Families, but also Doctors and Proxies, Healthcare Staff and Families, Doctors and Healthcare Staff, and Patients and Clergy. How did you discover that these additional functions could be served using VoiceLove?
 
Dr. Fenster and Dr. Schiffman: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a critical gap in hospital systems: the absence of spiritual and emotional support for patients. Collaboration with clergy at Cornell highlighted an inability to offer crucial spiritual guidance and prayers to the dying. VoiceLove therefore extends beyond individuals, attempting to unite entire congregations.

As we deployed VoiceLove, we moved beyond NYC and discovered under-resourced and remote communities were severely lacking spiritual connection and communication. VoiceLove delivers emotional, spiritual, and even health benefits. Patients' responsiveness improved dramatically when they heard messages from their families, even in cases of coma. We received a $3 million grant from the NIA and are hopeful to get another grant soon. VoiceLove fulfills our mission as healthcare providers by offering vital connections during patients' most challenging moments.

SVG: What is the business model behind VoiceLove? 

Dr. Fenster and Dr. Schiffman: Working with hospitals, we have come far from the original design. We've learned that getting hardware into a hospital is an extremely difficult thing. On top of hardware, we needed to develop an app that can be downloaded and can be widely available to anyone. Almost all people have access to a smartphone, so we wanted to make an equitable solution. We then partnered with AT&T, and they sourced phones for us.

We have developed software with a secure system for HIPAA regulations. As the hospital would purchase the software with a license fee, there's an additional small charge for the number of channels. All the phones come with an AT&T 5G cellular subscription to avoid reception interruption or WI-FI problems. The phone for an ICU bed could be reused multiple times. We also have a proprietary biodegradable case which could be disposed between patients. Hospitals can give patients a channel to talk to their families, friends, church, and etc.

SVG: What advice would you have for graduate students and postdocs who are interested in creating a company?

Dr. Fenster: It's very important to not get discouraged by no's or failure. Take the failure and the criticism, and grow from it. Try to get as much as you can out of the negative, as well as the positive. To be successful, you can't give up. But that said, you can't be myopic and close-minded to feedback. 
Dr. Schiffman: Use your resources. Cornell is developing a very robust bioventure program with links to people that can help you learn about IP, patents, funding, etc. we have very limited exposure to. If you try to do things on your own, you may make crucial mistakes early on. Take advantage of the expertise at Cornell for making your business plans, developing your cap tables, and other financial necessities. They will help you grow and succeed!