“I was devastated when I found out I was 100 pounds overweight,” Pike Market Medical Clinic patient Tracey Brown recalls about her first visit to the clinic. Not prone to crying, Tracey broke down when she realized she had been terribly neglecting her health.

 

On her next visit to the Clinic, Tracey was diagnosed with diabetes, and her hemoglobin and cholesterol levels showed that her diabetes was not “well controlled.” Her doctor, Britt Anderson, connected her with registered nurse, Martha Moreno, and health educator, Shannon Bailey, to develop a plan of action to better manage her health. “Tracey had a choice,” Martha remembers. “She could bury her head in the sand, or she could take control. Fortunately, there was a fire in Tracey to make changes in her life.”

 

And that’s what Tracey did. Collaborating with Martha and Shannon, she came to the clinic one to two times a week to get her levels checked; joined a weight management group organized by the Clinic’s staff; changed her eating habits; and began exercising.

 

Motivated by the game plan developed with her provider team, Tracey saw a flyer for training to participate in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s November 2010 26.2 mile marathon. She decided to do the training, and then supplemented her weekly training clinics by walking wherever and whenever she can. Before her training, Tracey used to avoid walking up the steep hill to reach her home because she had to stop halfway up to catch her breath. “Now I can easily get to the top, no big deal.”

 

Throughout Neighborcare Health medical clinics, registered nurses and health educators work with providers and their patients to tailor plans to address chronic disease, with a focus on prevention and fitness to help every patient live at their best. And often, just as Tracey did, our patients find that with a little support it’s never too late.

 

Tracey’s newfound dedication to being proactive in her health has had other positive effects in her life. She’s happier, no longer in pain from bearing so much weight, and working again. “The downward spiral I was in has gone by and is now going upward.” She credits this to her Neighborcare Health provider team, as well as to the care and support she receives every time she walks in the Clinic’s doors.