New Centers Target 7-Year Wait for Endometriosis Diagnosis and Care

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – March 04, 2026 – A national healthcare provider is launching a major expansion aimed at slashing the debilitating, multi-year wait that millions of women endure for an endometriosis diagnosis and treatment. Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM), a practice focused on pelvic pain, today announced the opening of new Endometriosis Centers of Excellence in San Antonio, TX; Nashville, TN; and Baltimore, MD. The move is designed to confront a crisis in women's health where a condition as common as diabetes remains profoundly misunderstood and undertreated.

For the more than 6.5 million women in the U.S. affected by endometriosis, the journey to relief is often a frustrating odyssey of dismissed symptoms and fragmented care. This expansion represents a significant new front in the battle to change that narrative, promising an integrated, lifetime approach to a disease that has for too long been shrouded in silence and medical neglect.

A Decade of Pain: The Endometriosis Diagnosis Gap

Endometriosis affects approximately one in eight women and those assigned female at birth, yet the path to a diagnosis is a grueling marathon. Authoritative sources, including the World Health Organization and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), confirm that patients wait an average of seven to ten years for a correct diagnosis. During this time, many are told their debilitating pain is simply “normal” menstrual discomfort or a psychological issue, leading them through a revolving door of specialists without answers.

This diagnostic delay has devastating consequences. Endometriosis is a systemic inflammatory condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, causing chronic pain, inflammation, and scarring. It is not merely “bad cramps.” The disease can impact the bladder, bowels, and nerves, leading to fertility challenges, musculoskeletal disorders, and a significant decline in quality of life. Repeated cycles of ineffective treatments and surgeries often fail to address the root cause, leaving patients in a cycle of pain and despair.

PRM’s model is built to directly address this gap by combining surgical intervention with long-term, non-operative management, a crucial element for a chronic inflammatory disease.

A New Standard of Lifetime Care

In a departure from the traditionally fragmented approach to endometriosis, PRM is implementing a comprehensive, three-phase model designed to manage the condition for life, not just treat it as a single surgical event.

This integrated care pathway includes:

• Pre-Habilitation: Before any surgical intervention, patients work with specialists to reduce pelvic inflammation, improve pelvic floor function, and address related conditions like bladder and bowel pain. This phase prepares the body for surgery, aiming to optimize outcomes and recovery.

• Excision Surgery: Widely recognized by specialists as the gold standard for surgical treatment, excision surgery is performed by fellowship-trained surgeons. Unlike ablation, which burns the surface of lesions, excision aims to completely remove the diseased tissue, offering a more thorough and lasting treatment.

• Post-Habilitation & Lifetime Management: Perhaps the most critical and often-overlooked phase, this involves ongoing, non-operative care. It focuses on preventing symptom recurrence, managing inflammation, and supporting long-term pelvic health through a multi-disciplinary approach that can include physical therapy and pain management protocols.

This model is a core part of PRM’s mission to validate the experiences of patients who have been suffering for years. “The pain women experience from endometriosis and other pelvic conditions has been historically minimized,” said Dr. Allyson Shrikhande, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of PRM. “At PRM, we are committed to acknowledging that pain, advocating for our patients, and delivering comprehensive care that changes lives. Endometriosis is not a one-time event — it’s a lifelong inflammatory condition that requires coordinated, specialized care. The pattern of fragmented care ends at PRM.”

Challenging a Culture of Dismissal

The expansion coincides with PRM’s national brand campaign, “End the pattern with PRM,” an initiative that goes beyond medical treatment to tackle the cultural normalization of women’s pain. The campaign taps into a broader cultural reckoning with how the medical establishment has historically handled women's health, often leading to what is now known as the “gender pain gap.”

For decades, women reporting severe pain have been more likely than men to have their symptoms attributed to emotional or psychological distress rather than a physical cause. This bias is a key contributor to the extreme diagnostic delays seen in endometriosis. By centering its message on validating pain and providing evidence-based care, PRM’s initiative is part of a growing movement among advocates, patients, and forward-thinking clinicians to demand a new standard where women are heard, believed, and treated effectively.

Strategic Expansion into High-Need Markets

The choice of San Antonio, Nashville, and Baltimore brings this specialized care model to regions with significant patient populations and growing healthcare ecosystems. While these cities are not devoid of endometriosis care—Baltimore, for instance, is home to the respected Endometriosis Center at Mercy Medical Center—PRM's model introduces a standardized, multi-state network with a distinct, protocol-driven approach to lifetime management.

Rather than simply competing, PRM aims to “complete the circle of care” by collaborating with the existing network of local providers. This includes OB-GYNs, fertility specialists, urologists, gastroenterologists, and pelvic floor physical therapists who are often the first point of contact for patients. By integrating its specialized surgical and non-surgical expertise with these community providers, the company seeks to create a more seamless and effective treatment pathway for complex pelvic pain patients, many of whom have exhausted traditional options without finding lasting relief.