Thermography Business Helps Promote Women's Wellness

An area native has returned to Pittsburgh to run her own business in the area of women’s wellness. HE@T, located in Bethel Park near South Hills Village, has been up and running since April and is spiking to success in an age where healthy living is hot.

Bethany Narey, a 2006 Peters Township High School graduate, operates the health-enhancing thermography company that has serious potential to save lives.

HE@T offers thermal imaging services on a self-referral and physician-referral basis, and provides the opportunity for early detection of dysfunction in any area of the body.

Narey graduated in 2010 from Ohio University with a degree in international business and marketing, and she relocated to Cincinnati to work as an engineering recruiter.

“I wanted something more fulfilling,” she said. “I knew I wanted to work in the realm of women’s wellness and this kind of landed in my lap.”

Although the technology has been around since 1974, Narey said it is just now gaining steam. Her target audience is typically women ages 23 to 60, but she also sees clients that include men, children and infants.

“It’s a clinical tool to detect disease and illness early on before it needs captured,” she said. “Especially in women, it gives women a choice—you only start getting mammograms at 40. More early detection can save lives.”

Narey said her business is one of two clinics in the Pittsburgh area and the only in the South Hills. She operates the facility with two women who, she said, complete the team effort: Michelle Garlitz and Erin Booth.

“I have a good team behind me,” Narey said. “We share successes, we share failures, we’re essentially partners, and every day, it’s rewarding.”

Narey said thermography can detect disease, on average, seven to eight years before another diagnostic tool can. The company partners with local physicians who scan the images for cell change patterns.

“It’s painless,” she said. “There is no contact with your body. You’re in and out in 15 minutes, and if you can’t come to our office, we’re mobile.”

Insurance does not cover the procedure, but Narey said Pennsylvania legislators are working on it. The procedure is covered in California and Connecticut. HE@T does provide insurance reimbursement forms for specific situations.

Appointments start at $155, which includes five images, and Narey’s team reports back to the patient within 72 hours.

“The cost of a purse could equal the cost of a life. Prevention,” she said.

Narey said her biggest inspiration for the business was her father, William, who owns General Anesthetic Services Inc.

“At the end of the day, this process gives you peace of mind,” she said.

For more information, visit heat-images.com. Check out HE@T’s updates on Facebook and Twitter, too. You can also call 1-855-254-HEAT (4328) or email bethany@heat-images.com with questions or to set up an appointment.