One of Newton’s basic laws says that to every action there is an equal, opposite reaction. But what if, when it came to your personal health, you didn’t wait to focus on the reaction? What if, instead, you took the preventative approach and focused on your actions?
For a long time, the model of professional healthcare focused on reacting to a patient’s illness, or disease, seldom intervening until there was an obvious need. But more recently, many in the healthcare industry are recognizing the vital role of preventative, proactive measures that can actually reduce the need for traditional healthcare treatments by avoiding serious health problems in the first place.
It’s a concept known as Lifestyle Medicine, and it’s something Nicole Fellows, a physician assistant with the Intermountain LiVe Well Center in St. George, is excited to be offering within her practice.
The method focuses on six pillars outlined by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine including nutrition, physical activity, stress management and emotional well-being, sleep, social connection, and avoiding risky substances. Fellows uses her initial visits with a patient to discuss what they are doing in each of these areas and then set goals and discuss ways to implement changes.
“A lot of our focus is behavioral change,” Fellows said. “At the end of the day, it’s not the recommendations that are difficult. It’s how do we truly help patients make those changes and what are the realistic barriers in their life?”
One example for many of Fellows’ patients is the barriers they have in relation to the suggestion of exercise.
“They may say that their knees hurt, or they’re afraid of falling,” Fellows said. “In those cases, we will focus on building strength to support balance in a safe manner and go from there. Once you piece it all together and help them understand, it’s more likely they’ll be on board with it.”
Within the Lifestyle Medicine emphasis at the LiVe Well Center, Fellows works with a team of professionals who can assist patients with a wide variety of preventative and lifestyle-related issues. For example, if a patient needs help with diet or exercise, she can refer them to an in-house dietician or exercise physiologist.
Some of Fellows’ patients are part of her primary care practice, while the majority come in for lifestyle medicine consults and some are part of the Select Health Medicare Advantage pilot program that offers free access to these Lifestyle Medicine services. In all cases, Fellows said it is important to focus on evidence-based medicine and the comprehensive care of patients.
“That’s why I came here to the LiVe Well Center, to implement real change for people and help them lead their healthiest lives possible,” she said. “As a nation, people are getting more and more sick with chronic disease. We need to focus on prevention.”
To find out more about Lifestyle Medicine, contact the LiVe Well Center in St. George at 435-251-3793.
This Live Wellcolumn represents collaboration between healthcare professionals from the medical staffs of our not-for-profit Intermountain Health hospitals and The Spectrum & Daily News.
