HERHealthEQ, Women's Health Equity

HERHealthEQ has created a mechanism to assist non-urban health facilities and/or entrepreneurs to introduce critical new services focused on women's health to their health portfolio.  With a focus on non-communicable diseases in developing countries, it includes cervical cancer screening, breast cancer screening, and treatment and early detection of abnormalities during pregnancy. We leverage high quality unused medical equipment and match it to health centers with demonstrated readiness, reducing medical waste and providing cost effective health services.  If scaled globally, this would provide a lower cost method to obtain high quality medical equipment for women around the world, while also providing support throughout the life of the equipment through service and installation assistance.  This would allow us the ability to further for scaled implementation, to reach a larger population and substantially impact families through the prevention and treatment of conditions affecting women. 

$765 Billion of medical equipment is thrown away each year, in the USA alone.  At least 40%+ of that equipment is durable medical equipment that is fully functional and has been thrown away to make room in a warehouse or because of a marketing change (logo, color, etc).  If just 10% of that equipment was repurposed, millions of lives could be saved.

HERHealthEQ is filling the gap between usable / functioning medical equipment that is planned to be disposed of and the healthcare centers / countries that need the equipment.  We partner with medical device manufacturers to obtain their equipment and we partner with governments, organizations, and healthcare providers in developing countries to ensure the equipment is put to good use, focused on women's health.

There are 2 ways in which we achieve that:

1. Create programs with our partners to develop systems to screen and treat women with the specified medical issue we tackle (varies per program from cervical cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer, maternal health, diabetes, heart disease).
2. Provide equipment at a lower cost than a distributor while also providing multi-year service, installation, and training.

Developed World hospitals and healthcare centers often return gently used high quality medical equipment after several years, to obtain discounts on new models.  These previously owned medical devices are refurbished and often resold.  There is a gap in the amount returned and the amount resold.  That gap is often thrown away, even though there is still a 10-20+ year usable life on the medical equipment, or just because there is a color change, or a scratch.

By partnering with medical device companies (and possibly hospitals) in developed counties, we would deploy that "gap" of used medical equipment that has been certified and help women around the world have access to quality medical equipment to solve women's health issues such as cervical cancer, breast cancer, diabetes, and maternal health.  This equipment could be both preventative, diagnostic, and treatment, as applicable.  Examples include Ultrasound, Mammography, Cryotherapy, Laboratory Equipment, a ECG equipment.

Using existing and approved technologies, and deploying them to the developing world it allows countries to strengthen their healthcare systems in a low-cost but ownership model.

HERHealthEQ's solution serves women in developing countries who have been affected by non-communicable diseases or women of childbearing years.  These women are mothers (or aspiring mothers), daughters, sisters, wives, and parts of the community.  Almost all of these women contribute to their community and family through jobs or other value-added work and all of them are working to ensure their family is safe, fed, educated, and secure.  

But without their health, they are not able to do any of the above.

HERHealthEQ partners with LOCAL organizations to understand their needs, their medical concerns, and what medical issues could be solved for if they had the proper equipment.  We ask THEM what they need, and work with them to find a solution.  Additionally, they eventually own the equipment and have to manage it's use.  HERHealthEQ does not put teams in the field to perform the work, we train, empower, and assist the local healthcare workers.  By having high quality medical equipment, these healthcare workers are able to do the job they have been trained to do and are able to help their community and the women that live in it.

In order for a woman to provide for her family, her community, and herself she must have her health.  This is important for several health issues that affect a women's maternal health and her overall health, and all of them affect her economic stability.  By ensuring that she has access to quality and functional healthcare equipment, she is able to maintain her health which allows her to provide for her family so that they can succeed in the future.  Equipment provide Equity.

Innovation isn't only a new invention.  Innovation can also be a change in business model and an application of an old technology in a new way.  That is what HERHealthEQ is doing.  We are re-purposing un-used medical equipment in a new directed way.  That itself is not new.... the way we do it is.

Our competitors collect un-used medical equipment from hospitals and without certifying it's quality, fill a container of equipment and ship it to another country.  There is no oversight if that is what they need/wanted, there is oftentimes no one at the receiving sit who knows how to repair the equipment, and oftentimes no use for it.  So within 1 year of a medical equipment donation, 70% of that equipment is in a dumpster.... which just perpetuates the cycle of waste.  The donor feels happy to have donated, but no one is better off because of it.

HERHealthEQ utilizes a targeted approach that works specifically with the receiving sites and ONLY sends what they have asked for.  Additionally, we provide service of the equipment for at least 2 years, we provide training, and we provide installation support for ALL equipment either online, through ourselves, or through our partners who are on the ground in each location.

Additionally, HERHealthEQ monitors all equipment to ensure it is functional and collects impact metrics every quarter to ensure it's being used, ensuring it's functionality.  

We are innovative through our model and changing the way of traditional philanthropy into ownership.

In order to scale and achieve impact goals (and financial goals), we need technology that can track our equipment and can create an interface between the patients in developing countries and the need for screening, diagnostic, or treatment equipment.

We have started to pilot a program with Wayu Health in India related to breast cancer detection.  Their software, which already has 100,000 users will be expanded to include breast cancer detection.  It starts with instructing the women how to perform a breast self exam at home and the importance of breast health.  Through the app, if they feel something abnormal, it is reported through the app, collected by location, and when a critical mass of women in a geographic region has been reached, a mobile van will be deployed to the area to perform an ultrasound or screening breast exam by a trained technician, which would be utilizing equipment provided by HERHealthEQ.  The women would know where to go, at what time, and what date via a notification on the app and all data collected during the visit is saved in their patient record.  If the screening exam is positive, they are referred to a regional hub hospital who could preform a biopsy and their data/info/clinical exam info is transmitted as well.  That allows the hospitals to service people who are in need, without being inundated with people who are undiagnosed.  It alleviates the woman to travel only if she has a positive exam thus saving money, time, and effort.

Distribution of medical devices is an existing and proven solution, though it is costly for developing countries.

Non-profit programming and healthcare delivery is an existing and proven solution, though it is inefficient and does not foster ownership.

A mix of the two ideas is what HERHealthEQ does.  Private/Public partnerships are the key to success for developing countries to develop their healthcare systems.  This is less of a technology, but more of a new way of doing business that is both worthwhile for the developing country and for the company.

In order to ensure the largest impact, the developing world healthcare systems need to own and manage their equipment to ensure it's best and highest use.  They need to have the power to use it and allocate it as appropriate to ensure the most amount of people are helped.  Oftentimes non-profit restrictive management does not allow that.  Additionally, distributors do not provide service, training, or installation assistance.

HERHealthEQ merges both models together to create a supportive, ownership model for these developing countries healthcare systems.

HERHealthEQ's solution is already and will continue to positively impact the lives of women throughout the developing world.  With their health, women have the ability to send their children to school, to work either outside the house or for their own household, and they are able to contribute to their community.  Without their health, they are unable to do all of that.  Without their health, girls are disproportionately removed from school thus eliminating a chance to break the cycle of poverty.

Additionally, strong healthcare systems are able to provide care to their community, thus enabling a stronger economic growth (link here).

An example Theory of Change document we have created (example of cervical cancer can be applied to all non-communicable disease HERHealthEQ works with) is linked here.  

Current number of women served = 4,160

Number of women served in 1 year = 54,000

Number of women served in 5 years (end of 2024) = 1.048 Million

Through replication of scale and distribution of medical equipment in more countries, we plan to have dispersed over 200 pieces of equipment (at minimum) and have positively impacted the health and the lives of over 1 Million women in developing countries.  Through strategic partnerships with medical device manufacturers, partner organizations and governments, and innovative entrepreneurs, our impact can be multiplied even further.

Our impact goals are to ensure women have their health.  If 1 Million have the ability to have their health, the economic impact to each country and region would be astronomical.  The impact could also transform governments, add new technology to the world, and empower a new generation.

Our model is simple, distribute more equipment to solve non-communicable diseases in developing countries which are easily detectable, prevented, or treated.  These are women who are dying simply because of where they live.  These are treatable diseases and are oftentimes diseases that are forgotten about as they affect middle income countries.  But these middle income countries don't currently have robust healthcare systems to solve for these problems.  HERHealthEQ plans to get them the medical equipment they need to strengthen their systems which strengthens their country.

Scale of the inbound and outbound distribution and support model are the current barriers to growth and scale.

• Integrating into the medical device manufacturer's distribution cycle for products they are planning to destroy ensures that we have a continuous of low to no cost equipment available to re-sell.
• Sustainability of HERHealthEQ operations (overhead and salaries)
• Continue to find quality medical systems in developing countries that are focused on improving women's health
• Development of further partnership for service, financing of equipment in each region/country, and implementation partners
• Capital to deploy innovative technologies to where they need to go

N/A

1 full-time staff 

1 part-time staff (60-75% dedicated time)

5 interns

2 contractors (accountant and grant writer)

8-10 "working" and engaged Board members

As Medical Device and Healthcare executives in both the for-profit and non-profit industries this team is uniquely positioned to revolutionize how quality medical equipment is delivered to developing countries.

Marissa Fayer is a 20-year medtech executive who has spent 15 years in significant Engineering and Operational roles in medical device manufacturers all throughout the world.  She worked on the development and commercialization of the 3D-mammography, worked on 15+ healthcare acquisitions, and has helped companies grow.  The last 5 years she has built a successful consulting/advisory firm dedicated to developing and growing healthcare companies while also founding and leading HERHealthEQ.

Michelle Skaer-Therrien is an 18-year non-profit executive with a particular focus on women's health in 3rd world countries.  Having spend several years living in Haiti administering maternal health programs, and working extensively in Africa she understands how organization need to partner and work together to develop women's health solutions.

Our Board of Directors and Board of Advisors are a mix of Medical Device and other corporate functions, and are all working members of the board.

• Jhpiego (Implementation partner)
• CureCervicalCancer (Implementation partner)
• Engineering World Health (Service and Installation partner)
• Wayu Health (Tech partner in India for Breast Cancer program)
• Fundacion Kimi (Burkina Faso)
• Henry Schein (Medical Equipment)
• Boston Scientific (Medical Equipment)
• MedGyn (Medical Equipment)
• Lutech (Medical Equipment)
• Esaote (Medical Equipment)

Partners ebb and flow depending on the project/program and partnership agreements are established.

HERHealthEQ is a hybrid model.  We are a 501c3 revenue generating non-profit, with for-profit "arm" that enables the investment of impact investor capital.  It is a quasi-equity model that allows us to perform all our work as a non-profit while having the ability to scale using impact capital.

HERHealthEQ is revenue generating through 2 preferred avenues:

1. Sale of equipment
2. Lease of equipment

Service, installation, and training is all provided as well, in partnership with HERHealthEQ partners, oftentimes non-profits who have established networks and infrastructure in the region we are working in.

HERHealthEQ is able to charge below traditional distributor prices because we either obtain equipment:

1. At no-cost, through a donation of equipment
2. At an at-cost price, utilizing our non-profit status and ability to assist the company we purchase from by creating exposure, goodwill, and PR.

HERHealthEQ is able to partner with organizations who are looking to further their mission, with entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses, and with public or public healthcare centers to strengthen their healthcare capacity.

HERHealthEQ is on a path to becoming financially stable.  We have plans in place and are currently acting upon them to ensure our stability.  They include:

• Obtain revenue through the sale/lease of the equipment we provide (main source of future sustainability)
• Grants
• Corporate donations in support of specific programs
• Corporate donations in support of our organization generally
• Corporate equipment donations
• Partnership with other NGO's who have funding to deploy to programs
• Individual donations through virtual/on-line and (when able) in person fundraising events
• Impact investments
• Strategic networking for high-net worth individuals to donate/support
• Board contributions 

In the future, we expect to have support from corporations, impact investment capital, and in the next 3-5 years be sustained through the revenue generated by the sale/lease of the equipment we provide.

Solve will enable HERHealthEQ to partner with the organizations, people, companies, and thought leaders who could further propel our work and our vision.  Additionally, the mentorship of incredible individuals who can, alongside us, better prepare our organization for the significant growth we are planning to go through.  We have an easily adaptable solution to a huge world issue, but we need to be supported (not just financially) with the best people around us to achieve these goals.  Industry leaders, thought leaders, peers, and change-makers are who we need to be around.  Solve pulls all those amazing people together in one program.

Partnership with organizations is the way HERHealthEQ has built scale into our model.  It is also the most collaborative and cost effective way to achieve impact.

Partnerships of service distribution will help create larger scale of the  equipment we obtain to reach the most amount of people.  Having not run a distribution company before, partners who have networks and understanding of this model would be valuable in helping HERHealthEQ scale.

Funding related to corporate partnerships and impact investments will allow HERHealthEQ's equipment reach more women in developing countries, fostering greater impact and health.

Amazing Board members and Advisors to the organization will continue our growth through guidance and outreach.  It will also personally help me learn further and enable HERHealthEQ's growth.

Marketing and Media is crucial to further strategic and corporate partnerships to impact the most amount of women globally. 

Without her health, a woman's voice cannot be hear nor celebrated.  In order for a woman to provide for her family, her community, and herself she must have her health.  This is important for several health issues that affect a women's maternal health and her overall health, and all of them affect her economic stability.  

HERHealthEQ provides a solution through previously owned refurbished medical equipment to ensure she has access to quality and functional healthcare equipment.  She is then able to maintain her health which allows her to provide for her family so that they can succeed in the future.  Equipment provides Equity.

By re-purposing medical equipment in a directed and programmatic way, healthcare systems in developing countries, especially in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia can grow and strengthen so that they can provide treatment for non-communicable diseases affecting women in these countries.  Over 90% of non-communicable diseases can be treated when detected early, and almost all of the preventable non-communicable diseases that affect women are in developing countries.  Medical Equipment has the power to change that statistic, and HERHealthEQ is the organization to do that.  

We have programs deployed in Costa Rica, Vietnam, Tanzania, and Jamaica with expansion plans to multiple Latin American countries, India, Kenya, and others.  We would love your partnership to expand our company and programs to provide access to equipment that would dramatically improve a woman's life, and the lives of her family and her community.

Over 70% of the global healthcare workforce are women, if not closer to 90% in developing countries.  Without her own health, she is not able to provide care to others.

HERHealthEQ provides a solution through previously owned refurbished medical equipment to ensure she has access to quality and functional healthcare equipment.  She is then able to maintain her health which allows her to provide for her family so that they can succeed in the future.  Equipment provides Equity.

HERHealthEQ also provides training, installation, service, and program monitoring of our deployed equipment.  We prefer to train local teams to provide that work, and almost always train women.  Providing economic opportunity for women is critical for our success.  We are women, for women.

By re-purposing medical equipment in a directed and programmatic way, healthcare systems in developing countries can grow and strengthen so that they can provide treatment for non-communicable diseases affecting women in these countries.  Over 90% of non-communicable diseases can be treated when detected early, and almost all of the preventable non-communicable diseases that affect women are in developing countries.  Medical Equipment has the power to change that statistic, and HERHealthEQ is the organization to do that.  

We would love your partnership to expand our company and programs to provide access to equipment that would dramatically improve a woman's life, and the lives of her family and her community.  We train and support healthcare workers in equipment use and provide job opportunities through these critical healthcare delivery solutions.

Without her health, a woman's voice cannot be hear nor celebrated.  In order for a woman to provide for her family, her community, and herself she must have her health.  In order for a woman to send her children to school (especially girls), she must have her health.  This is important for several health issues that affect a women's maternal health and her overall health, and all of them affect her economic stability.  

HERHealthEQ provides a solution through previously owned refurbished medical equipment to ensure she has access to quality and functional healthcare equipment.  She is then able to maintain her health which allows her to provide for her family so that they can succeed in the future.  Equipment provides Equity.

By re-purposing medical equipment in a directed and programmatic way, healthcare systems in developing countries, especially in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia can grow and strengthen so that they can provide treatment for non-communicable diseases affecting women in these countries.  Over 90% of non-communicable diseases can be treated when detected early, and almost all of the preventable non-communicable diseases that affect women are in developing countries.  Medical Equipment has the power to change that statistic, and HERHealthEQ is the organization to do that.  

We have programs deployed in Costa Rica, Vietnam, Tanzania, and Jamaica with expansion plans to multiple Latin American countries, India, Kenya, and others.  Our program in Jamaica specifically focuses on maternal health monitoring, allowing a woman and her doctor to understand the health of the baby and ensure she has a safe delivery.  We would love your partnership to expand our company and programs to provide access to equipment that would dramatically improve a woman's life, and the lives of her family and her community.