Dr. Heather Quaile DNP, WHNP-BC, CSC, IF (She/Her/Hers) is a clinical and academic leader and entrepreneur. A double board certified, women’s health nurse practitioner and advanced forensic nurse specializing in human trafficking and female sexual health, she created and implemented a medical program, the first of its kind emergency stabilization for commercial sexual exploitation of youth in Georgia. Dr. Quaile is also trained and certified as an AASECT sex counselor and sexual assault nurse examiner providing sexual health education, trauma-informed care, and information to patients of all ages. Dr. Quaile has been working in all aspects of women’s healthcare for over 21 years caring for women of all ages across the health-illness continuum. Her expertise includes peri/menopausal concerns, pelvic floor dysfunction, urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, low libido in women, interstitial cystitis, effects of cancer and cancer treatments on sexuality, pregnancy/postpartum sexuality, female sexual health, trauma-informed care, and human trafficking. She is well known for her practice implementation, legislative advocacy, service, and teaching.
She earned her undergraduate degrees in Psychology from Loyola University in Maryland and second Bachelors in Nursing from the University of Central Oklahoma, Master of Science in Nursing with Honors, with a specialty in Women’s Health from Vanderbilt University and Doctor of Nursing Practice from Chatham University.
Dr. Quaile recognized the lack of sexual health awareness not just in her community but in its providers as well and founded, developed, and implemented The Sexual Health Optimization and Wellness (SHOW) Center. She is passionate about health and wellness and provides a range of services, addressing the biopsychosocial aspects of health, wellness, optimization, and sexuality. Her combined training as a women’s health nurse practitioner and a sex counselor enables her to help patients with every aspect of their concerns as well as using a trauma-informed care framework. She is passionate about changing the systems and beliefs that have stigmatized women’s health and female sexuality through a non-judgmental empathic approach grounded in evidence-based research.
She also is the medical lead for her “passion project” that involved creating and implementing a medical program in a first of its kind human trafficking residential facility/center for emergency stabilization for teenage male, female, and transgender youth (12-17 years old) in Georgia. The Receiving Hope Center is operated through the nonprofit Wellspring Living.
Dr. Quaile is the co-founder for the Sexual Health Medical Certificate Program with The Buehler Institute and maintains an adjunct faculty position at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She has been a member of The International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH) since 2008. She gained designation as a Fellow of ISSWSH and is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Sexual Medicine. She has been awarded the AANP 2021 Excellence in State Practice for Georgia, 2020 Vanderbilt University Clinician of the year, 2021 liveSAFE Woman of the Year award and was appointed to the GA Governor’s Human Trafficking Task Force. She is Treasurer of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health. She also serves as a planning committee co-chair for the annual NPWH/ISSWSH Sexual Health and Vulvoscopy Course for Nurse Practitioners. She is widely published in the field of women’s health and regularly lectures to local and national audiences and is also heavily involved in legislation and lobbying at the Georgia Capitol on issues affecting advanced nursing practice, human trafficking, and sexual assault.
