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Heather C.
Guidone has served as a Consultant to
the clinical and consumer health industries for nearly two decades as a
women's
health professional with a dedicated interest in female reproductive
disorders;
specifically endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain pathologies. A widely recognized gynecologic and women’s
health advocate, Ms. Guidone is the Surgical Program Director of the
internationally acclaimed Center for Endometriosis Care, a prestigious
Laparoendoscopic
center in Atlanta, GA that treats women and girls from around the globe.
Ms. Guidone was
elected to the Executive Board of
Directors of the Endometriosis Research Center (ERC), an international
501(c)3
non-profit foundation for awareness, education, research facilitation
and
advocacy, in 1997 and maintains her voting seat to date.
As an ERC Director, she is responsible for
the organization’s operations and oversees all clinical and lay
research and
awareness activities. She also heads an ERC initiative for the global
establishment of multiple ‘Centers of Excellence’ for the research and
treatment of endometriosis, and has a committed interest in early
intervention
among the adolescent pelvic pain population. Ms.
Guidone also holds a Consultancy with the
Endometriosis Foundation
of America (EFA), a prestigious non-profit organization founded in 2009
by
celebrity Padma Lakshmi and renowned advanced gynecologic surgeon Tamer
Seckin,
MD. She also serves the EFA in the
capacity
of Foundation Liaison to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) Center
for Gynepathology Research, the first research center of its kind with
an
emphasis on biological engineering. In
early
2010, as a Scientific Program Coordinator, she helped the EFA plan,
secure
sponsorship and develop materials for, and successfully execute
"Advancing
the Art & Science of Endometriosis: Stems Cells to Radical Excision
Surgery", an innovatory academic event featuring global leaders from
the
molecular science, research and surgical arenas. “Advancing the
Art &
Science of Endometriosis” was the first and only showcase academic
conference to
date originating in the United States specifically
focused on the disease. Ms. Guidone is
also an active member of
various Special Interest Groups (SIGs) on endometriosis and female
reproductive
health issues, including the American Society of Reproductive
Medicine’s (ASRM)
SIGs for Contraception, Endometriosis, the Environment &
Reproduction,
Imaging in Reproductive Medicine, Menopause, Pediatric & Adolescent
Gynecology, Female Sexuality, and the ASRM Women's Council.
Her diverse works
involve authorship of extensive health
materials on subjects ranging from continuing medical education (CME)
clinical and
surgical manuals to effective disease management for practitioners, to
lay-oriented
educational monographs and fact sheets for patients; she also maintains
routine
attendance in the CEC’s operating room; provides health coaching to
potential
and existing patients; engages in extensive interaction with patient,
physician, surgeon, professional and media networks; liaises with
industry
representatives on various activities and opportunities including
grants,
funding, education, research and lobbying efforts; provides operations
consulting; and much more. She also attends and reports on various
global
medical symposia, including the World Congresses on Endometriosis, the
annual
Congress of Minimally Invasive Gynecology (AAGL), the International
Symposium
on GnRH Analogues and others; networks with medical, biopharmaceutical,
medicolegal and related industry professionals to establish research
projects,
product focus studies and clinical trials; and presents frequently as a
guest
speaker to advocacy groups, health professionals and students.
Previously, she
was also among the nominees for appointment to the United States Food
&
Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation & Research
(CDER)
Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Board.
Ms. Guidone
continues her professional efforts on
behalf of and in conjunction with many of the world's leading surgeons
and
healthcare practitioners, foundations, biotech, medical device and
technology,
clinical research, women's reproductive health and healthcare marketing
firms,
developing original content on a myriad of topics including
presentations, CME and
health practitioner edification materials, slide kits and speaker
content,
marketing materials, newsletters, website content, substantive edits,
proof of
concept efforts, book reviews and critiques, sales sheets, press
releases,
branding development, monographs, white papers, training materials,
investigational case studies, and much more. She is the author of
countless endometriosis, reproductive and general women’s health
education
materials in both the consumer-oriented and professional sectors of the
healthcare
industry. Ms. Guidone is often sought after by various media
sources and
advocacy groups for her expertise in reproductive health, endometriosis
and
chronic pelvic pain conditions, and has contributed various content,
jacket
quotes and forewords to several prominent books and publications on
related
health and advanced gynecologic topics.
As a Consultant
to those specializing in
next-generation gynecologic surgery techniques and reproductive
healthcare, she
also provides a number of comprehensive services ranging from
management
planning to patient relationship optimization. Areas of focus
include
patient satisfaction measurement and improvement response; development,
expansion and enhancement of women’s health programs and services;
authoring of
original, targeted clinical care materials; implementation and
administration
of comprehensive, novel programs designed to improve delivery of care
and
provide education to both patients and professionals; planning and
oversight of
industry symposia and fundraising events; new business assessments and
development; and much more. As a Health
Educator, she holds various medical and professional Certifications,
including
those issued by the professional oversight body, the Association of
PeriOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), including PeriOperative
Standards &
Recommended Practices, Operating Room Protocols (a certification given
only to
those industry professionals who pass rigorous exam requirements);
Exposure to
Bloodbourne Pathogens Standards (OSHA); as well as in Med-Surg, Anatomy
&
Physiology, Journalism for Business, Healthcare Management, Patient
Exam
Techniques, and more from such respected institutions as Rutgers
University
School of Adult Continuing Education, Sacramento State College of
Continuing
Education and Columbia University School of Professional Continuing
Education.
She is a member
of the American Society for
Reproductive Medicine, the Association of Reproductive Health
Professionals,
the International PAX Society, the American Medical Writers
Association, the
World Endometriosis Society and the World Endometriosis Research
Foundation,
among many other leading professional organizations.
Resources with whom she has worked include
the Association of Professors of Gynecology & Obstetrics (APGO),
Valeo
Medical, Jespersen Associates, Juneau Bioscience and its predecessor
Emergen
Corporation, the national Women with Disabilities Task Force, Covidien
Corporation, the National Examiner, Cytyc Corporation, PortaScience,
MammoSite,
the Endometriosis Research Center, the Endometriosis Foundation of
America, America
Online, Comcast Media, Thrive@Health, Health Frontier, New South Wales
Endometriosis Association, the National Women's Health Information
Center,
Menses United Kingdom, Equus Sanctuary, Season Magazine, RedBook
Magazine,
Cosmopolitan Magazine, Pregnancy Today, Nurses World, What the
Health
magazine and countless others. Ms. Guidone was also a guest
editor and
co-author of the foreword in "Coping with Endometriosis" by Glenda
Motta, RN, MPH and Robert Phillips, Ph.D. (Avery Publishing) and is the
author
of the foreword and a profiled subject in the best seller "Living Well
with
Endometriosis" (Harper-Collins) by Kerry-Ann Morris, in which her own
works are extensively cited. She also contributed to the best-selling
book by
leading endometriosis expert surgeon, David B. Redwine, MD,
"Endometriosis: 100 Questions & Answers" (Jones & Bartlett)
and Dr. Susan Evans’ popular book “Endometriosis & Other Chronic
Pelvic
Pain” (Lothian Publishing). Her
"Letter from Survivors," a poignant insight into the life of the
endometriosis
patient, has received international acclaim from over 910,000
individual readers
to date, and the Letter been extensively reprinted by innumerable
resources both
online and off, presented on the steps of the Lincoln Monument in
Washington,
DC at the country’s first national EndoWalk Event, and used by advocacy
groups
around the world in their awareness efforts. Additionally, she is
a
profiled subject in "Real People, Real Stories: How the Internet is
Touching Lives" for her extensive works in healthcare on the Internet.
Ms. Guidone has
also worked with select non-medical
clientele to develop marketing materials and fulfill various
communication
needs, including reports, grant requests, proposals, business plans,
corporate
and real estate documentation, corporate start-up materials, and much
more. She is also a former Corporate Finance Unit Coordinator and
the
Executive Assistant to the Worldwide Head of Retail Markets at the
world’s
leading investment bank, Morgan Stanley. Ms.
Guidone has been included in the 20th edition of
"Who’s Who
among American Women" and is a former member of OBGYN.net's Women &
Patients Advisory Board, as well as the previous Coordinating Editor of
OBGYN.net's
EndoZONE and Endometriosis Pavilion sites. She has also served as a
nine-term
judge by invitation for the National Health Information Resource
Centers
celebrated "World Wide Web Health Awards" Program. Ms. Guidone
continues to be a featured source for articles and interviews about
endometriosis,
including in such publications as the New York Times. Recently,
she was a
featured guest in multiple segments on endometriosis for a popular
national
radio health program. She has also served as a Clinical Coordinator in
conjunction with groundbreaking disease research and proprietary
studies with
leading industry partners, as well as with professional organizations
including
the Association of Reproductive Toxicologists. She continues her
active
involvement in, and fostering of, ongoing research efforts ranging from
recruitment for clinical trials on proprietary new treatments to
coordinating
genetic research studies.
Ms. Guidone’s
testimony concerning dioxin exposure
as it relates to endometriosis was read before the California State
Legislature
at the invitation of the general Assembly in support of AB2820, a
consequential
bill calling for the independent investigation of toxins in feminine
hygiene
products. In addition, she co-authored the text contained in
various endometriosis
legislative Awareness Resolutions passed by local and national
lawmakers,
including House Concurrent Resolution No. 291, a groundbreaking
national endometriosis
awareness Resolution. The Resolution was unanimously passed by the
107th
Congress of the United States,
and is the first and only such national legislation ever to pass in the
United
States
concerning endometriosis to date. Since that time, New York, Utah, New
Mexico,
Colorado, Florida, Michigan, California, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and
others have
also passed one or more subsequent statewide Resolutions.
She remains very active in patient advocacy
and lobbying efforts.
Ms. Guidone
travels frequently to meet the domestic
and international demands of the endometriosis and women’s health
communities,
and continues her efforts in the global sector, collaborating with and
contributing
to like-minded initiatives and endeavors, in order to promote advances
in the “art
and science” of women’s reproductive healthcare.
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