HERHealthEQ, Women's Health Equity

Marissa Fayer is a 20-year medtech executive, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She is the CEO/Founder of non-profit social-enterprise HERHealthEQ and president of advisory firm Fayer Consulting LLC. Her mission is to move innovation and the health of women forward throughout the world.   

Marissa has previously served as an executive at Hologic, Olympus (formerly ACMI), Maquet-Getting (formerly Atrium Medical), Providien Medical, and Accumed Innovative Technologies.  Her consulting clients include several of the Top 500 companies in the world and innovative start-ups.   Marissa sits on the board’s of medtech companies Welwaze Medical and DeepLook focused on improving the diagnosis of breast cancer.

 Marissa is a TEDx Speaker (2019 at TEDxLugano), and has been listed as one of the Top 100 Women in Medtech in 2018, a Top Woman Activist to Watch, awarded the 2018/9 Africa Development Award, a Wonder Women in Medtech in 2017.  Marissa leads the #wealththroughhealth and #healthequityforwomen movements.

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, diabetes, heart disease, 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.  We have identified and are working towards a goal of over 1 Million women directly impacted by the end of 2024, which would elevate humanity around the world, especially women, their family, and their community.  

$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, Dailysis 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 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.  This is a huge world problem and needs many people and solutions to solve it.  We have one solution...  Equipment provides Equity.

It all started in a bar in Costa Rica, while I was working and living there, about 10 years ago.  A friend mentioned that women in one region were dying of breast cancer at a staggering rate as compared to the rest of the country and that her organization discovered it was because the only mammography system in the region broke down several years ago so women stopped getting screened for breast cancer.  Being a naive 30-year old American, I thought that was ridiculous. I was working at a company who made mammography equipment, and knew that they always had units returned and traded in for upgraded or newer units.  I also knew oftentimes this equipment sat in a warehouse and were sometimes thrown away.  Again, a 30-year old naivety.  So, I approached my company and suggested we repurposed a piece of equipment to support them women if the community, especially because we have a large manufacturing facility in the country.  They did, we installed it, and it's still in use today, having impacted over 25,000 women's lives.  That started the idea behind HERHealthEQ.  After several years, having left the corporate world, I launched HERHealthEQ in 2016 officially.

As a fortunate New York woman, I always had access to high-quality medical care, no matter what.  I also battle a back condition which oftentimes requires advanced medical care.   I won't die from it, but it limits my quality of life sometimes.  To think that women around the world don't have access to basic medical care while I have access to the best advanced care doesn't make sense to me.  

To imagine that women die from basic diseases that are 100% detectable and treatable is insane to me.  Regardless of where they live, they should have access... especially while there is excess equipment that is available.  I have worked in the industry for 20 years, I have thrown equipment in a dumpster, simply to make room in a warehouse.

Additionally, I know that girls are the solution to many of today's problems.  But if they can't go to school because their mother, sister, aunt, or grandmother is sick, then they can't obtain the education they need.  Women need to be healthy, so that girls can go to school.  

No one else has had my exact experiences or has been able to piece together a specific solution.  I have.   

As a Medical Device and Healthcare executive in both the for-profit and non-profit industries myself, and my team is uniquely positioned to revolutionize how quality medical equipment is delivered to developing countries.

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

I know the industry, the people who should be involved, the developing world dynamics having lived, worked, and traveled extensively, and understand the problem and it's solution.  I am fearless in making this happen, but also recognize it can't only be me nor can it be forced upon anyone.  This is my life's mission and I won't stop until we achieve it.

Our Executive Director, Michelle Skaer-Therrien is an 18-year non-profit executive with a particular focus on women's health in 3rd world countries.  

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

During the initial 4 years of HERHealthEQ's development, we have bootstrapped and have had to chose projects wisely, while not pursuing others that are incredibly worthwhile.  I recognized that being a traditional non-profit was not going to work for me personally, for our company, nor was it the business model of the future.

I made a difficult discussion to utilize the majority of our funds to create a more sustainable future business model for our organization.  Transforming from a traditional non-profit to a revenue generating hybrid-model is not very common but it is the best solution for HERHealthEQ.  We have continued to bootstrap into this year so that we can prove out our model, our business, and our ingenuity while still impacting lives.  

We are about to launch a 30-site program for breast cancer detection in India, which in only 1.3 years will impact the lives of 100,000 women.  We continue to push forward and will continue to work for women's health globally no matter what.  

I have built HERHealthEQ with my own blood, sweat, and tears.  We have bootstrapped for 4 years based mainly on my own personal contributions and connections for most of that.  And we have already directly impacted the lives of over 14,000 women with projects in several countries.  

I have been able to hire a team with deferred compensation, manage a team of interns, and have recruited a board of several heavy-hitters all from my passion and my leadership.  I am continuing to lead this organization as the CEO, the public face, and our biggest advocate.  I am leading by example and modeling what I would like our growth organization to look like.  I continue to directly be involved in our existing projects, our new programs, and visioning the future business model and plans for our organization.  I do this while advising and consulting with for-profit clients under my consulting firm and work nights, weekend, free time, etc on HERHealthEQ to continue our growth and most importantly our impact.

If given the opportunity, this company will flourish under my leadership, while maintaining that I always have room for growth and development.

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.

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 = 14,160

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

• 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 2-3 years be sustained through the revenue generated by the sale/lease of the equipment we provide.

All activities so far have non-revenue-generating

For the past 12 months, funding sources are:

1. Corporate donations = $5,000 (Centerview Partners, Feb 2020)
2. Individual donations = $26,337 (throughout the past 12 months)
3. Grants = $50,000 (a private Family Foundation, November 2019)
4. Equipment grant = $29, 850 (Henry Schien (Nov 2019), MedGyn (Jan 2020))

In the next 2-3 years, HERHealthEQ seeks to raise $2-3M.

That capital is a mix between the following 3 buckets:

• Quasi-Equity impact investments
• Debt from lease receivables
• Grant / Corporate donations

The goal is to raise a minimum of $400,000 by the end of 2020 and the rest by end of 2021, depending on the programs and ability to scale our solution.

If required to purchase equipment (not fully donated), 2020 budget is approximately $205,000.

If a portion of equipment is donated and some purchase, 2020 budget is approximately $145,000

Certain items can be reduced from the budget if strategic partners contribute their efforts to service, installation, logistics support, transportation, etc.

The Elevate Prize 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.