SYNERGISTIC APPROACH TO HEALTH AND

WELLNESS

Dolores Van Bourgondien, ARNP-BC, RN,MSN, BA, MA

Bio• Dolores Van Bourgondien is a board certified advanced registered nurse practitioner

who’s goal in life is to make a difference in the health and wellness of all those she meets. She has worked as an emergency department and trauma nurse at Broward

• While working in the emergence department she became more and more concerned and frustrated with the constant visits of those patients with complaints that could have been either avoided or treated more early in the process with education in diet, exercise and overall health and wellness. It was then that she decided to return to school to obtain an advanced practice degree concentrating on adult health, women’s health and holistic preventative health and wellness.

• Dolores’ focus is on Health, Wellness, Prevention and Maintenance. Her Master’s Thesis concentrated on the development of a nursing model using Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners in the workplace and outpatient setting to ensure compliance with routine preventive screening which would eventually decrease future medical problems for employees. This model utilized other specialties such as dieticians, personal trainers and fitness professionals, chiropractors, and mind-body specialists who provide yoga and meditation for stress relief and general improvements in health and wellbeing. Her thesis demonstrates that a synergistic approach to health and wellbeing will be the future model for healthcare and prevention.

What is Synergy

• Synergy is defined as working together, combining efforts with others to enhance an effect. So by working synergistically, we can all benefit.

• The same is true with health and wellness. It is obvious that up to this point we are not doing a good job living in balance – Stress has increased as have health problems obesity rates and death.

What is a Synergistic Approach to Health and Wellness

What is a Synergistic Approach to Health and Wellness• Combining all disciplines to work together– Health – Fitness– Nutritional Services– Mind Body Disciplines

Synergy

Up to this point the approach to an individuals Health and Wellness has been fractured or splintered• Little collaboration between

medical and other disciplines• Little collaboration between

Fitness entities and other disciplines

• Little collaboration between mind/body practices and other disciplines

• Little integration of all disciplines

Where have prior approaches gotten us ?

• More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) and approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese. CDC 2013

• Percent of non-institutionalized adults ages 20 and over with hypertension: 31.9% (2009-2010) CDC 2012

• Number of visits to physician offices with essential hypertension as primary diagnosis: 38.9 million CDC 2012

• It has been estimated by the World Cancer Research Fund that one-quarter to one-third of the cancers that occur in high- income countries like the US are due to poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and excess weight, and thus could be prevented.

Where have prior approaches gotten us ?

Obesity Epidemic What Epidemic

Where have prior approaches gotten us ?

• Overweight and Obesity controbuted to between 14% - 20 % of all cancer related mortality.

75% Health Care Costs spent on Treatable Diseases

75% Health Care Costs spent on Treatable Diseases• Over 9 in 10 ED visits were related to acute conditions. Half

of these visits also involved chronic conditions. Injuries and abdominal pain were among the most frequent acute conditions seen

• in the ED, while cardiac conditions and diabetes were among the most frequent chronic conditions seen in the ED.

• Four out of five ED visits for adults were "treat-and- release" in which the patient was released from the ED rather than being admitted to that hospital for further care

So what can we do - • All evidence points towards a synergitic integrated approach

to health and wellness• Annals of Internal Med (2013) Combining behaviours such

as exercise, diet, smoking cessation, and reducing stress helped particpants reduce blood sugar levels

• Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention reported that brisk walking, diet and stress reduction reduced Breast Cancer 14% Post Menopausal

• Lancet Oncology (2013) Plant based diet, Stress Management and lifestyle changes reduced prostate Cance

Synergy & IntegrationDr. David Katz. Katz is the director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and author of the new book Disease Proof: The Remarkable Truth About What Makes Us Well. “If you think about the issues that prevail today, they are related to eating too much of all the wrong foods, getting far too little physical activity, toxins we’ve invented like tobacco, inadequate sleep and strained social bonds,” he says.

HealthNutritionFitnessMind-Body

Synergy Health & Wellness

Preventative Medicine• The most important part of

preventive health care is maintaining good health habits. This includes:

• Daily exercise• Weight Control• Proper nutrition• Avoidance of smoking and drug

abuse• Abstinence from, or moderation of

alcohol• Proper control of any diseases or

disorders, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol

Synergy Health & Wellness

Preventative Medicine• 1. Periodic screening of adults for specific

problems is important and recommended:

• Pap smear Breast self-examination Mammography• Testicular self-examination• PSA test• Cholesterol screening• Colon cancer screening• CT scan to screen smokers for lung cancer• Abdominal aortic ultrasound• Blood pressure

Synergy Health & Wellness

Preventative Medicine• Height• Weight• BMI• Fat %• Waist Circumference• Blood Glucose Level• HGBA1C• Cholesterol

• Total• LDL• HDL• Triglycerides

Synergy Fitness

Synergy Fitness

Synergy Fitness

Synergy Fitness

Synergy Nutrition

Synergy Nutrition

Synergy Nutrition

Synergy Nutrition

Diet• You are what you

eat !• Choose Fresh Foods• Eat 5 Small Meals

throughout the day• Hydrate• Brown Bag Lunch

Foods that fight Stress

• Asparagus – Folic Acid• Beef – B Vitamins, Iron, Zine• Milk – Vitamin D, Calcium• Cottage Cheese – Protein stabilizes blood sugar• Almonds – Vitamin B2, E, Magnesium Zinc• Blueberries - Antioxidant• Tuna – B6, B12

Mind-Body

Mind-Body

Mind-Body

Synergy & Integration for Health and Wellness

• Diet Alone does not work• Exercise Alone does not work• Mind-Body Alone does not work• Medicine Alone does not work

• We must combine all elements into a Synergistic Plan to create optimal health and wellness

QUESTIONS?