Dr. Ellamarie Russo-DeMara of Gifford Medical Center has earned special certification from The North American Menopause Society as a menopause practitioner.
Dr. Russo-DeMara, an obstetrician/gynecologist and associate medical director of Gifford Ob/Gyn and Midwifery, is the first health care provider in Vermont to earn the certification.
The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) is the leading nonprofit scientific organization devoted to promoting women’s health and quality of life through an understanding of menopause, according to the organization’s Web site, www.menopause.org.
The NAMS certified menopause practitioner credential is indicative of Dr. Russo-DeMara’s expertise in menopause and menopausal care to women.
Dr. Russo-DeMara took a credentialing examination in May to earn the certification and must stay abreast of continuing education requirements to maintain the credential.
Dr. Russo-DeMara notes that menopause affects every woman, and as the baby-boom generation reaches midlife and beyond, an unprecedented number of women are now postmenopausal.
According to NAMS, an estimated 6,000 U.S. women reach menopause every day, for a total of 2 million women reaching menopause each year. In addition, a woman’s life expectancy has increased to where she may live a good portion of her life after menopause.
This period of a woman’s life is an ideal opportunity to change and improve health practices and enhance her quality of life, says Dr. Russo-DeMara.
“Menopause can impact a woman’s life both negatively as well as positively,” Dr. Russo-DeMara says. “Because there can be many short-term and long-term health issues surrounding the menopause years, women can benefit from a woman’s health professional who has the time to advise as well as embrace the issue, not rush past it in the course of a routine exam.”
Dr. Russo-DeMara has been an obstetrician/gynecologist for nearly 20 years and has headed Gifford Ob/Gyn and Midwifery since 2004. She is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a graduate of New York College of Osteopathic Medicine.