Hole Health 2024

HOLE Health

February 21, 2024 A special supplement to the

The art of

therapy

MORGAN TIMMS / NEWS&GUIDE

Art therapy is not new, but locals are discovering the therapeutic, and communal benefits.

See page 10.

More inside: Acupuncture

Finding healing

The Big C

The eastern practice of acupuncture is gaining ground as a Western therapy.

See page 3.

A doctor’s widow become an advocate for mental health care.

See page 6.

A virtual clinic for cancer survivors looks at caring for the whole person.

See page 8.

2 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Located inside Kilter PT at JH Indoors 3580 S Park Dr, Jackson

From the editor

Or downtown Alpine at 100 US 89 Building just east of the Post O ce

W

PAUL LANGEVIN DO DiMM Osteopathic Manipulation is a hands on treatment that helps alleviate pain, improve movement and performance.

Over 27 years of training and experience.

Visit StarvalleyOMM.com for more information and to book an appointment online.

elcome to my first Hole Health.

While thinking through this year’s special section, a simple and powerful theme emerged. As the health care industry and how we think about our own health care continues to grow and expand, practices that once might have been considered “too out there” or “too different” are receiving more mainstream attention.

I’m excited for you to read Kate Ready’s piece about acupuncture, as the Eastern practice is gaining a healthy reputation in the West.

“I think every specialization will find some use for acupuncture, and it’s more and more widely accepted,” acupuncturist Brenda Loew said on page 3. “The increase in research on acupuncture has been stunning to witness.”

Head farther into the section to find the masterful Tanya Mark, who talks to us about how our bodies grow and change with age and why we should mindfully practice loving the skin we’re in.

And as we continue to emerge from a world touched by a global pandemic, new studies are helping us work to better understand the toll that time has taken on not only ourselves, but to those serving us on the frontline: health care workers.

Our cover story was such a delight to explore as staff photographer Morgan Timms attended a host of workshops at Sage Living. She and I explored how art works as therapeutic care for our brains, our bodies and our social needs.

Here’s to a new year of discovery in the name of heathy living.

— Jeannette Boner, Hole Health editor

PUBLISHER: Adam Meyer EDITOR IN CHIEF: Johanna Love MANAGING EDITOR: Rebecca Huntington SECTION EDITOR: Jeannette Boner 424894

PHOTOGRAPHERS Bradly J. Boner, Kathryn Ziesig, Morgan Timms EDITORIAL DESIGN: Andy Edwards CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kate Ready, Rich Anderson, Kyle Leverone, Tibby Plasse, Jasmine Hall, Tanya Mark COPY EDITORS: Jennifer Dorsey, Cherise Forno CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Sarah Wilson ADVERTISING DESIGN Lydia Redzich, Luis Ortiz, Chelsea Robinson DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING: Karen Brennan DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND SALES: Tom Hall SENIOR MULTIMEDIA SALES MANAGER: Megan LaTorre MULTIMEDIA SALES MANAGER: Tim Walker DIGITAL CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Tatum Mentzer PRODUCTION MANAGER: Dale Fjeldsted

424635

PREPRESS SUPERVISOR: Lewis Haddock PRESS SUPERVISOR: Steve Livingston PRESS OPERATORS: Robert Heward, Gunner Heller, Cody Carlisle CUSTOMER SERVICE: Lucia Perez, Rodolfo Perez CIRCULATION MANAGER: Jayann Carlisle CIRCULATION: Oscar Garcia-Perez, Rulinda Roice ©2024 Teton Media Works ALL RIGHTS RE­SERVED Jackson Hole News&Guide P.O. Box 7445, 1225 Maple Way Jackson, Wyoming 83002-7445 a

publication

Kevin B. Olson, CEO kevin@tetonmediaworks.com

HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 3

Acupuncture pokes boundaries of Western medicine

People in the valley turn to acupuncture for treatment as the practice becomes more widespread.

By Kate Ready

A

cupuncture is gaining recognition for its holistic approach to health care, empowering individuals to take control of their well-being and incorporate it as a complement to Western medicine. Doctors across the valley highlighted its effectiveness in treating pain, injuries and fertility issues while emphasizing the importance of raising awareness about acupuncture’s benefits, so more people can make informed decisions about their health care.

Vita Picchi, 35, owns Jackson’s Arnica Acupuncture & Wellness. While studying at Reed College, she discovered acupuncture through free sessions offered at the university’s health center.

She found it beneficial for her own wellbeing and trained for four years, eventually landing in Jackson where she’s practiced locally for the last four years.

Picchi said residents commonly seek out the one-hour sessions for fertility issues or to manage pain following an injury. A traditional Chinese method, BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE acupuncture involves penetrating the Erin Borbet applies acupuncture treatments to a client in January at her office in Victor. Borbet has been doing acupuncture for more than skin with thin needles.

15 years and has worked with clients with a variety of ailments.

“There’s a lot more neck stuff than I expected because patients are sitting Loew is also seeing research emerge at a computer so getting those tension into how acupuncture can reduce pain patterns released and reset is pretty and anxiety in emergency departments common,” Picchi said. and for palliative care patients. Other “It’s definitely growing in popularity. studies have found that acupuncture I’m seeing more and more men too. It can be beneficial during labor to ease used to be kind of just women where childbirth delivery pain. now men are starting to realize how it “I think every specialization will find can help.” some use for acupuncture, and it’s more Brenda Loew received a doctorate and more widely accepted,” Loew said. in acupuncture and works part-time as “The increase in research on acupunca teaching associate at the University ture has been stunning to witness.” of Washington’s Department of FamOne paper available via the National ily Medicine, nestled under the School Library of Medicine reported that acuof Medicine, where point stimulation is a she’s involved with “promising interventhe clinic, specializing tion” for those struggling with symptoms in pediatric acupuncof long COVID such ture, research and as palpitations, cognieducation. tive impairment, anxAcupuncture neeiety and depression. dling can affect “vir“I’ve definitely tually every function” seen my fair share of in your body, Loew that in practice,” Erin said, stimulating Borbet said. neurotransmitters, Borbet, 43, opened releasing endorphins, a clinical practice natural opioids and in in 2018 in Victor, peptides, which have an analgesic and an — Brenda Loew Idaho, where she ofanti-inflammatory effers adult and pediUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON fect. atric sessions. She TEACHING ASSOCIATE “But it does more also performs house than that. It dilates calls and has previand vasoconstricts ously worked in luxthe circulatory system, so it affects the ury spas. Her specialty is in women’s circulation and blood flow,” Loew said. health, treating menopausal or peri“It augments immunity. It affects your menopausal symptoms as well as fertility or menstrual health issues. breathing and the vagal system.”

“We’re working with circulation to Robin Hansen, 36, of Driggs-based Teton Valley Acupuncture described the pituitary gland and to the hypoacupuncture’s benefits in terms of re- thalamus and to the ovaries in women to bring oxygenated fresh blood flow to leasing what’s pent up.

“Pain is stagnation in Eastern medi- these areas to have them function more cine,” Hansen said. “Things aren’t mov- optimally,” Borbet said. “It kind of ignites the body’s self-healing response.” ing, aren’t flowing.”

Borbet has expanded her practice Loew cited the Seattle Children’s Hospital as an example of traditional into pain management, ski injuries, medicine effectively embracing acu- chronic pain issues, digestive distress, anxiety, mood disorders and sleep ispuncture.

The Seattle Hospital stated that the sues.

Physical therapists incorporate dry practice of applying needles, magnets or manual pressure (called acupres- needling for pain and mobility issues, sure) to specific points throughout the Borbet said, another example of acuBRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE body stimulates those areas to help re- puncture’s growing acceptance.

Acupuncture originated in China around 3,500 years ago and remains one of the oldest, Acupuncturists have to pass a na- most commonly used systems of healing in the world. It heals by balancing energy within the lieve pain, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, depression and more.

See ACUPUNCTURE on 17 body — using “points” located along various energetic pathways called “meridians.”

“I think every specialization will find some use for acupuncture, and it’s more and more widely accepted.”

4 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Boxing boosts brain’s ability to rewire Vigorous exercise is a key to fighting Parkinson’s disease.

By Rich Anderson

D

own on South Park Drive one recent Friday in Jackson Hole Indoor, a sports facility, four men and one woman — all in their 50s and 60s or so — stretched on the matted floor and against the walls.

Then they ran an obstacle course set up around the perimeter. They hopped or high-stepped over bars and pads, shuffled side to side between orange cones, wove in and out of the gym’s four heavy bags hanging on the south wall of the space, then ran the final leg — and quickly decelerated — back to the start to do it again, as fast as they could, for a full five minutes.

“Get a little water, a little rest,” trainer Wendy Guido, whose sweatshirt reads “Fight Back,” called out. “Nice work!”

Then it was time to glove up and start the boxing portion of the workout. They performed a couple of sequences (jab-cross-hook-block-hook-crossjab); striking a small blue ball, about the size of a grapefruit, attached to a floor-to-ceiling elastic cord; seeing how many times they can land blows on the heavy bag in 90 seconds.

It’s a rigorous workout for the body. But for these five, all of whom have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, it’s also an important exercise for the brain.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes certain neurons in the brain to deteriorate. At its earlier stages, it can pass undetected, but eventually patients experience tremors, slowing of movement, stiffness in the limbs and problems with gait and balance.

In addition, the Parkinson’s Foundation states on its website, Parkinsons.org, people with the disease can experience depression, anxiety, apathy, hallucinations, sleep disorders and various cognitive impairments.

“The cause remains largely unknown. Scientists believe a combination of genetic and environmental factors are the cause,” reads the site.

While there is no cure, medication, surgery and lifestyle adjustments can slow the disease’s progression and help alleviate symptoms.

One such lifestyle adjustment is vigorous exercise.

Guido, who works at Teton Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, got her doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Utah. She got involved in the field after working in adaptive sports in Breckenridge, Colorado, helping people with physical challenges (whether from injuries or congenital conditions) get outside and engage or reengage with athletics.

“From that job, I knew that that group of individuals were my people that I wanted to keep serving,” Guido told the News&Guide. “It’s hard to have a bad day at work when someone shows up and works hard to accomplish something like that.”

She said she saw physical therapy as a way to better support this population, and today she says the most important part of her work is helping clients transition from physical therapy to adaptive sports.

She moved to the Tetons in 2019 to work with adults and children with neurological, developmental and physical conditions. At that time, she said, there was no other physical therapist specializing in neurological disorders. In 2022 she received her board certification to be a neurologic clinical specialist.

“Being in a remote area, I just want to know that I’m giving these folks the best level of care,” she said. “Going through the studying and the exam and sitting for that board exam verifies I’m up-to-date in all the latest and greatest possible therapies.”

One of the therapies she learned about was a program called Rock Steady Boxing.

Rock Steady Boxing’s first client was also one of its founders: Scott Newman. A prosecuting attorney in Indiana, he began to notice signs of Parkinson’s in 1999. He completed his third term as prosecutor, then holed up at his home, continuing to work as an attorney, but shying away from the public.

But a friend, Vince Perez, a fellow attorney and a former Golden Gloves boxer, wouldn’t allow Newman to disappear. The two started working out together, boxing in Newman’s basement gym. Within months, Newman noticed positive improvements.

He invited members of his Parkinson’s support group over to give it a try, and they also experienced positive results.

MORGAN TIMMS / NEWS&GUIDE

With assistance from caregiver David Dean, Dick Poduska, of Victor, shadowboxes through a circuit led by Neuro Physical Therapist Wendy Guido on Wednesday, Jan. 24, during boxing class at Jackson Hole Indoor. A subsidiary of the nationallyrecognized organization, Rock Steady Boxing Tetons teaches community members an intense, circuit-based fitness curriculum to fight the progression of motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

In 2006, Newman and Perez, along with Kristy Rose Follmar, a three-time world champion lightweight fighter, opened their first Rock Steady gym. Several others in Indiana followed, and then spread to nearby states.

“The medical community in 2006 didn’t really want to get involved with Rock Steady,” Chris Timberlake, director of training and education at Rock Steady HQ, said in a phone call. “We weren’t clinicians, there was no research about exercise for people with Parkinson’s.

“We knew it was fun,” she said. “We knew people were coming back.”

And soon neurologists began to see improvements in their patients. The only thing that was different was the fact that their patients were exercising.

One of those neurologists, Stephanie Miller, a professor of physical therapy at the University of Indiana, heard about Rock Steady from one of her patients and she decided to pay a visit.

“She was the very first clinician to step foot in our facility,” Timberlake said.

Since then, a ton of research has confirmed that 150 minutes of vigorous exercise each week can indeed improve Parkinson’s patients’ strength, balance, agility, flexibility and mental acuity.

“Some of the big studies were done with cycling,” said Guido, who for the past six months has been setting up her Rock Steady Boxing operation under the name of Tributary Wellness. “Parkinson’s patients were teamed up on a tandem bike with a professional cyclist whose cadence naturally was much faster and stronger than the patient’s. That was some of the start of the research.”

There’s something about boxing, however, that seems particularly effective for Parkinson’s.

“The easiest component to grasp is what we have learned about the brain and its ability to make changes,” Guido said. “Neuroplasticity, the ability to rewire our brain, is required any time we’re trying to learn a new skill or to recover a function that’s been lost.”

Boxing isn’t something that most people have tried, so it stimulates that remapping, tapping into the brain’s neuroplasticity.

The Rock Steady model sometimes uses complicated sequences of punches and a bit of fancy footwork, too, which can be cognitively demanding.

“The sequencing of named and numbered punches and combinations are really a novel task,” Guido said. “When we do something that’s out of our daily routine and regimen, it makes our brain work harder, so it’s neuroprotective, too.”

And then there’s the social component. Getting out and interacting with others is therapeutic but also working out with others can provide the motivation to work harder than one might otherwise.

Both Timberlake and Guido have seen incredible results from the Rock Steady program.

Timberlake was a care partner for someone diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s in 2000.

Aside from a medicine commonly prescribed for the disease, he had had no other therapies or interventions.

“His brain was reconditioned,” she said. “His motor and non-motor conditions were very severe.”

Once he got involved in boxing, however, “I saw him completely turn his life around and he started participating in life again. … He’s still driving, still lives independently. I credit this organization, not only the exercise but the connectedness of the people involved and the resources that they have. They have this community of like-minded individuals, fighting for a better quality of life and finding the resources to manage.”

Guido has similar stories.

“Just through the first five months, there’s been visible progress,” she said. “It’s truly wild.

One gentleman who uses a walker, it had probably been 10 years since he had considered going down to the floor — it was a big deal for him to get on the floor to stretch, and now he’s up and down with no assistance on his own.”

Others were moving slower, more tentatively.

But then they started learning the punches, “and now they’re leaping over hurdles and sprinting in class. … I have to even tell folks to tone it down.

“I have a gentleman who has a form of Parkinson’s that does impact his memory and cognitive function — it’s sad to see that side of it, and to see his family working through it — but there are moments of light when he’s in boxing class.

He has memorized, without verbal cues, a sevenpunch combination. He didn’t know a jab from a cross, and now he knows all six punches and is able to perform new combos every time.”

Rock Steady Boxing is approved specifically for people who have received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, but Guido’s Friday afternoon group is designed for people with any kind of neurological condition, including strokes or brain injuries.

And because boxing provides not only a vigorous cardio workout, but also has shown to be neuro-protective, a lot of gyms and trainers in the Jackson area now offer it to their members and clients. [Disclaimer: Each session involves about 15 or 20 minutes of boxing; it is by far the most difficult part of the hour, but it is a blast.]

After their Friday session — which also included many, many burpees and holding planks and bridges and other such poses for a full minute — Guido’s clients seemed alive and refreshed.

“It definitely makes me work harder than I would otherwise,” the woman in the group said.

In November 2015, CBS aired a piece about Rock Steady. The next day the Indianapolis office was inundated with so many inquires their website and phones crashed.

To date, Rock Steady Boxing has trained 850 people who operate in 17 countries, serving an estimated 65,000 clients.

But, Timberlake says, to compare those numbers to the estimated 100 million people diagnosed with Parkinson’s worldwide, Rock Steady’s 65,000 is “a drop in the bucket. … We’re not terribly impressed by those numbers.”

Contact Jeannette Boner at 307-732-5901 or schools@jhnewsandguide.com.

HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 5

Get moving: Active agers pursue fitness ‘If we sit down we will never get moving,’ Senior Center instructor says.

By Kyle Leverone

N

ine students spread out throughout the workout space in the Senior Center of Jackson Hole. Each one had grabbed a mat and a pair of weights from the glass cabinets in the back of the room and, after getting everything in order, stared ahead at Jo Warden.

“If we sit down we will never get moving,” Warden told the class.

And so they got moving.

Recent reporting on the budgeting challenges at St. John’s Health shows a large payer mix migrating to Medicare, which is health insurance for anyone over the age of 65. As the reflected aging population in Teton County only gets older, the big question in this active mountain town is how one remains fit.

Look no further than Wednesday morning’s Yoga for Strength class with Warden.

The focus of the hourlong session is to “strengthen and stabilize.” Warden is an independent exercise specialist and teaches five classes a week in addition to individual training at the senior center.

She lives in Driggs, Idaho, but she commutes Teton Pass each day to help this aging population maintain a healthy and thriving lifestyle.

“Every time we come to the mat it’s a different experience,” Warden said, addressing the class.

“We’re a week older. The weather is all over the map this year, so all that daily wear and tear does accumulate and takes its toll.”

Her theory behind her class is that the nervous system loves a strong, stable body, so as one goes through a workout session such as her Wednesday yoga class, the nervous system senses the body moving into optimal alignment, thus creating stability.

Throughout the hour, Warden went through poses and stretches, along with difficult calisthenic and body-weight holds that, quite honestly, were not for the weak.

“Does everybody feel that?” Warden asked her class during tricep pushups, to which the group responded with a murmur of mm-hmms and whews.

MORGAN TIMMS / NEWS&GUIDE

Karen Terra, of Jackson, pushes through a set of weighted lunges in Janurary during Functional Fitness, one of the exercise classes held at the Senior Center of Jackson Hole. The schedule has a range of classes for all athletic levels.

keeps you out of a facility.”

So what are the keys to staying fit as one ages?

Personal trainer and creator of P90X Tony Horton, who spends his winters here in Jackson, offers three pieces of advice to get going. If you have been out of an exercise routine for a while and are interested in getting back into whatever it is — skiing, mountain biking, running, martial arts, boxing, rock climbing — first, go see your doctor and get a physical. Second, visit a physical therapist to make sure all of the parts are working. Horton says this part is important, and people should know that

It’s OK if a class like this has become too difficult, because the Senior Center offers a range of classes for all levels of athletic ability, taught by eight to ten instructors Monday through Friday.

There are boxing classes, chair yoga for those who are no longer able to get up and down off the floor, tai chi for balance, pilates for core strength, classic fitness and strength and conditioning classes, the latter being the most popular, taught by Charlie Shinkle.

“Being fit, staying social, staying active gives you a purpose,” Senior Center Executive Director Rebecca Erskine said. “It extends your life, but it also

See GET MOVING on 19

A place where people age 60+ workout, socialize, take a class or enjoy a meal.

We do everything but live here!

Full gym & personal trainers available

Taking a soak in Astoria Hot Springs

Float on the Snake

Exercise classes daily

Complimentary Blood Pressure checks

We look forward to seeing YOU around the Center!

Christmas Brunch

Learning about a participant’s trip to Africa

Mon-Thur 8-4 and Fri 8-3 | 307-733-7300 | seniorcenterjh.org

424864

6 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Bereaved turn their loss into awareness Physicians face higher risk of suicide.‌

By Jasmine Hall

T

ammy Brown fell in love with a small-town kid from Sugar City, Idaho, almost 25 years ago.

Maurice “Mo” Brown, the former Teton Valley (Idaho) Hospital chief of orthopedics, was curious, painfully honest, witty, sensitive and driven.

His wife loved his “incredibly blue eyes and great voice.”

“My husband was an orthopedic surgeon — really super strong,” she said. “I mean, all orthopods are kind of that way – big personalities and fight through things.

Dr. Brown died on Aug. 22, 2022, from injuries related to suicide. He was 62.

“Never in a million years would I have ever thought he’d take his own life,” Tammy Brown said.

“And he did.”

In the last few weeks of his life, Brown said, her husband spiraled into a depression and his anxiety reached a kind of tipping point. Yet he refused to seek help.

A popular doctor on the west side of Teton Pass, he had a gregarious public personality. He feared judgment from his colleagues and the community, his wife said of his struggles with mental health.

He also feared that his vulnerability would put his reputation and job at risk.

Dr. Brown was not the only health care professional to feel this way, nor will he be the last.

High risk of suicide More than one physician in the U.S. dies by suicide every day from a critically high degree of burnout and stress, according to the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting health care workers.

“My sister had answered the call for her city and for her country,” Breen’s sister Jennifer Feist wrote in a commentary by the National Academy of Medicine after Breen’s suicide death. “And when she became so overworked and despondent that she was unable to move, her biggest fear? Her job.”

According to the latest research released by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, American health care workers are at a 32% greater risk of suicide compared with professionals in other fields.

“Our results extend earlier research from outside the United States that health care workers compared with non-health care workers have greater risks for mental health problems and long-term work absences due to mental disorders,” said Mark Olfson, professor of epidemiology at Columbia Public Health and professor of psychiatry at Vagelos College. “The importance of increased suicide risk of health care support workers is underscored by their growth from nearly 4 million in 2008 to 6.6 million in 2021.”

Stigmas and paperwork “At the time, I thought Lorna’s fears were unfounded,” wrote Feist, who co-founded the foundation with Corey Feist. “What I learned after her death is that medical licensing boards throughout the country require physicians to disclose current or past mental health care (in some cases at any level); hospitals require disclosure for credentialing; and seeking mental health is considered a sign of weakness among many medical professionals.”

These were the same concerns Brown heard from her husband, Mo. She said he never wanted to lie,

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE

In the wake of her husband’s suicide, Tammy Brown is raising awareness of physicians’ risk.

so he didn’t seek treatment in order to leave the box blank if it ever came up.

But the rural nature of the hospital and community also came into play. Not only were there limited mental health resources in the community, someone might see him access them.

“If there’s five doctors in your hospital and you’re well known — people knew who he was — there was no anonymity,” Brown said. “He didn’t feel like he would be able to be anonymous in any kind of treatment, which is probably not true. But that was his feeling.”

Mo Brown said he was afraid to get help until the very end, even though he knew he needed it. She was urging him to get treatment, and even called the Idaho State Board of Medicine for a facility referral that left her confused about the options.

She had worked in the health care field, though, and she knew what the rules were. She thought it was unfair that he would have to declare if he had therapy or any kind of treatment.

“I knew what the rules were, so I sort of accepted it,” she said. “And then after he died, the absurdity of it struck me.”

Becoming an advocate Brown has spent the year and a half since her husband died trying to put a spotlight on the contradiction. The night he took his own life he had left hundreds of voice messages to patients telling them how they should follow up with care. Some messages were to her and his kids saying much he loved them.

“The one thing he said to me is, ‘Maybe you can do something to help doctors,’” Brown said of one of the voicemails. “And that sort of triggered me, that I should do something and make sure his death is not just for nothing.”

In addition to receiving support from Corey Feist and the foundation, Brown connected with her local state representatives, medical societies, the Idaho Board of Physicians and more stakeholders.

Everything culminated as a workshop at the St. Luke’s Health System’s Anderson Center in Boise, Idaho, last June. Brown and Corey Feist shared their stories with more than 30 health care representatives.

Changes already made Ada County (Idaho) Medical Society Executive Director Steve Reames had already been working on the issue for years. He knew physicians were

leaving the state for care or refusing to get a mental health diagnosis out of fear of repercussions.

A report by the Mayo Clinic released in 2017 showed that 40% of the nearly 6,000 physicians it surveyed would be reluctant to seek formal medical care or treatment for a mental health condition because of these concerns. In 2023, a survey by the Physicians Foundation found 8 in 10 physicians, residents and medical students believed there was a stigma around getting mental health care.

“They’ve seen other peers that end up losing jobs, end up having to come out and bring out all their dirty laundry in front of a committee or be subjected to monitoring,” Reames said. “There is that legitimate fear there, that is baked into the industry that doctors have seen.

“But in addition to that, even if that fear didn’t exist, physicians are a particular breed of person who, through medical training, and inculturation in the profession, have learned to stuff their own needs and put patient care first.”

He said oftentimes this ends up with them not caring for themselves.

Over the next few years, resolutions were passed at the state level and changes were made around what and how questions are formulated to protect doctors and their mental health.

This issue is continually being worked on.

“It was hard for me to hear Tammy’s story, because the changes had already been made that would have supported Mo getting help,” Reames said. “Part of the challenge, that is no fault to the Board of Medicine, but communicating changes is part of the work.”

Sharing Tammy and Mo Brown’s story was a wake-up call for the board to get the message out there.

“If there’s anything redemptive out of the loss of Dr. Brown’s life,” Reames said, “it’s the fact that there are changes that are being made, perhaps at a quicker pace and a deeper level because of the impact of his story.”

He said there also needs to be an honest conversation about the medical community culture, whether that be addressing high burnout rates or not putting profit before human connection.

The cowboy way States across the nation are forming solutions with the support of groups like the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, including Wyoming.

The foundation successfully passed federal legislation in 2022 that funded $103 million across 44 organizations “to implement evidence-informed strategies that reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, mental health conditions and substance use disorders.”

In the Cowboy State, the state Board of Medicine overhauled and amended the license application a few years ago. The goal for 2025 is to change the order of the questions in the renewal application, because it was mixed in with questions that were “wildly egregious” and focused on criminal acts.

“The very next question was ‘Also, do you have a mental health condition that made you leave or even miss a day of work together?’” Wyoming Medical Society Executive Director Sheila Bush said.

“They were grouped together, and that’s awful.

Even the ordering makes it seem as though we’ve put seeking mental health care in the same line as committing a felony.”

She said this was never the intention of the See AWARENESS on 7

Dr. Lisa Brady Grant Chiropractor

Visceral Manipulation is a manual therapy that aims to restore mechanical, vascular and neurologic function.

Visceral Manipulation requires the practitioner to have excellent palpation skills and a continuous quest for anatomical knowledge / understanding.

Got surgery?

• Medical weight loss + discreet nursing care = success!

• take the stress out of surgery

• Semaglutide is safe and effective • Average person lost 15% of their body weight

424815

www.skidancer.com • 307-739-0553

Weight loss?

• post-surgery discreet nursing care • from hospital to home

307.413.2906 | locals caring for locals

424939

INTERNATIONAL TEACHER BARRAL INSTITUTE

HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 7 Continued from 6

board, but it did have a ripple effect.

Outside of licensing questions, there have been other solutions to high suicide rates among health care professionals. There are state programs like the Wyoming Professional Assistance Program that ensure confidential mental health care, as well as the Physician Leadership Program started by the society to build avenues of support.

“Even halfway through the first year, we realized that what we had done is build a burnout and mental health program,” Bush said. “We never changed the name. We never did anything to alter the program, because physicians aren’t going to sign up for a wellness program.”

But it was amazing to see the community that came together. She said physicians are desperate to find a group of peers who have walked in their shoes to unpack with.

Locally, St. John’s Health has built in a framework to fortify mental health care for its employees. While the community medical center has made strides in recent years to ensure metal health care is covered in employees’ overall health insurance, the St. John’s Foundation has also worked to keep mental health care financially accessible.

With the fund the foundation will cover the financial costs of mental health care for any of its employees foundation President Anna Olson said.

Working with Lindsay Love, the executive director of St. John’s Health physician services, the mental health program is advertised regularly to staff.

Can’t afford it Sen. Fred Baldwin, a physician assistant in Kemmerer and the co-chair of the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, has seen this stigma in his own career.

“If I go into the local mental health

system here at Kemmerer or in Evanston, people will certainly see me do that,” he said. “And that’s a statement.”

Baldwin said it’s why there needs to be more telehealth options, but even more importantly, open communication. He’s worked on improving access to mental health care in one of the states that lead the nation in suicide rates per capita. Up until recently, Wyoming was No. 1.

“We live in Wyoming, we’re tough,” he said. “We need to pull up by our bootstraps and tough it out. And I think it’s an overriding mentality in Wyoming. We’re not good at joining and talking about very hard feelings, and that’s what needs to happen. It needs to be out in the open.”

He said it comes down to education, because mental health is an issue that affects everyone. Leaving the topic of depression, anxiety, substance abuse or suicide to fester in the dark isn’t the answer.

And ultimately, he said, a lack of treatment affects patients too. People are leaving the medical field in rural communities that might only have one doctor or physician’s assistant.

“We can’t afford it,” Baldwin said.

“We have the most expensive health care in the nation. And we have the highest attrition of health care workers going out of state and going to other places.”

And it costs families their loved ones.

“The secondary losses are just huge,” Brown said, talking about the path to healing for herself and the couple’s daughter. “You just don’t even know. Not only is that person gone, but the way it affects your life and your own mental health.

“On that day her dad died, she kind of lost both her parents, because I was not the same. I’ll never be the same.”

Contact Jasmine Hall at 307-7327063 or state@jhnewsandguide.com.

teton.crediblemind.com

Taking Appointments in Alpine & Jackson Wyoming Helping women with annual well-woman exams, menopause, contraception, common health issues and much more.

Brittany Quinn is a board-certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) with an advanced degree and specialized training in Women’s Health from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is also a NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP), awarded by the North American Menopause Society, a certification demonstrating expertise in the field of menopause. She provides holistic, client-centered primary Brittany Quinn care for women of all ages.

(307)654-2026 | ferrypeakwomenshealth.com

424919

AWARENESS

YOUR

BE KIND TO mind Free Mental Health Assessments and Resources

424893

8 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Big C stands for care, not just cancer Survivor creates virtual clinic to offer support after oncology care.

By Tibby Plasse

J

ohn Librett was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma of the thyroid in 1998 while pursuing his doctorate and Master of Public Administration in epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Utah.

In his early 30s at the time, Librett was a superathlete and a triathlon competitor used to working with a team.

“I was already studying medical science, so I guess I am going to start studying mine,” he said, recalling the moment he began developing a standard plan for cancer care that goes beyond oncology.

His personal care plan became a national standard and is now fully executed through his virtual clinic, Survivor Healthcare.

Librett recognized immediately that cancer care does not end with a diagnosis and oncology care. By today’s standards, cancer is considered a complex chronic disease — and support for cancer survivors can last a lifetime.

“Individuals are getting diagnosed younger, and treatments have gotten so good that people are living longer, but there are things you have to do for the rest of your life,” Librett said.

“But treatments are also causing other diseases — and the rate of those diseases is profound — endocrine disorders, strokes, heart attacks, sexual dysfunction, peripheral neuropathies — all the who’s who of comorbidities.”

Survivor Healthcare meets a cancer survivor — a term that becomes warranted from the point of diagnosis throughout the remainder of the cancer patient’s life — where his or her needs are, building standards of care for mental health, looping in registered dietitians, occupational therapists and more who are all trained in cancer survivorship treatment. And because the clinic is virtual, Librett said, the team can significantly increase access to care.

“Rural, urban, frontier, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

“Referrals can come from oncologists, primary care providers, subspecialty clinics like cardiology, gastroenterology, surgery and endocrine, or they can be self-referrals from online or friends and family.

BRADLY J. BONER / NEWS&GUIDE

John Librett founded Survivor Healthcare after seeing and experiencing gaps in his own care as a cancer survivor.

Librett began his research in 2017 with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and published his findings through 2020 before officially opening the clinic in 2021.

“In less than 50 years there’s been a 71% increase in early onset cancer,” he said. “Idaho has 83,000 cancer survivors, Wyoming has 29,000 cancer survivors, and Montana has 61,000 survivors.

These are huge populations that are living with untreated and undetected problems caused by cancer

treatment, and the suffering is profound,” he said.

Librett said the struggles with finances and social connectivity are real strains in addition to the health problems.

Librett describes Survivor Healthcare clinic as a translational research center and health care learning organization that helps patients take on the parallel battles that come with a cancer diagnosis.

“We’re doing a great job of treating cancer, but See CANCER CARE on 16

Accepting New Patients Meno Clinic

Are Your Hormones in Balance?

Bioidentical Hormone Therapy for Men & Women

Hair Loss? Low Energy?

Finally Fix Your Thyroid!

Could it be Your Thyroid or Adrenals?

Low Sex Drive or Mood Swings?

Trouble Losing Weight?

Testosterone Therapy for Men & Women

Certified Weight Loss Program that Works!

Leaky Gut?

How Healthy is Your Heart?

Reduce Inflammation, Soothe Autoimmunity

Advanced Cardiac Testing to Reduce Your Risk

Sleep Problems?

Feeling Forgetful?

Proven Programs to Improve Your Sleep

2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Reversing Memory Loss Program

Internationally Recognized Expert Best Selling Author Heart Solution for Women Dr. Mark Menolascino, MD, MS, ABIHM, ABAARM, IFMCP

1325 US-89 #105 Jackson, WY • (307) 732-1039 • menoclinic.com

424890

Tired of Being Tired?

HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 9

414492

10 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

The art of

therapy At Sage Living, music and hands-on classes keep brains active and help people connect.

MORGAN TIMMS / NEWS&GUIDE

Music therapist Hilary Camino instructs students on when to inhale and exhale during a harmonica class at Sage Living.

Story by Jeannette Boner Photos by Morgan Timms

D

own the hallway and around the corner, a waft of tone and tenor moves through Sage Living.

“That was kind of hard,” Hilary Camino says to the seated group inside the music room at the memory care neighborhood and skilled nursing neighborhood on the medical campus at St. John’s Health.

“Yes!” confirms the group, laughing and nodding with smiles.

For some, this is the first time they were picking up a harmonica, while others are here to refine their basic skills. Camino is working on finding everyone “vibrato,” while always incorporating the basic tenets of therapy through the practice of art.

“Let’s experiment with rhythm and try adding the vibrato,” Camino says of teaching the group how to pulse their breath through the harmonica.

“When in doubt, breathe.”

It’s a good reminder for all of us: Just breathe.

Camino is a neurologic music therapist whose work has flourished on the campus overlooking the National Elk Refuge on the east side of Jackson.

The music therapy program was piloted in 2016 through the community medical facility’s nonprofit arm, the St. John’s Foundation. After that first year the hospital rolled the program into its operating budget, and three years ago Camino was hired as fulltime music therapist.

In January, St. John’s Health introduced two new workshops that are made possible through contributions through the foundation, Sage Living and through a grant from the Wyoming Department of Health Aging Division and the Wyoming Arts Council.

These workshops were open to Sage residents as well as the general community.

Camino is leading the community workshop on music, and Leann Dzemske, a Jackson-based licensed art

Music therapist Hilary Camino engages Sage Living residents and members of the wider Jackson Hole community with harmonica lessons at Sage Living. Thanks to a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, the eight-week harmonica course is open to anyone age 65 and older and culminates with a group concert.

Sage L solutio for thi contro

At that time, “doctors began to notice that people with a mental illness frequently enunciate themselves through drawings and other artworks.

This inspired many to consider using art as a technique to heal. It also had a high level of patient acceptance. The scope of kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic communication motivates the uncommon receptive and expressive communication modes that can function beyond language’s limitations.”

And Camino doesn’t have to verbally explain how the therapy is working. It’s tangible as the group is encouraged to take the time to listen

a yea “It’ joy of ske sa brain thera neura skills In veiled yet: p “Oh ible,” variet gethe tion. “ Th

MORGAN TIMMS / NEWS&GUIDE

therapist, is leading the second workshop at Sage Living. She is hosting art workshops using a variety of mediums – from clay to inks, paint and poetry.

Dzemske is one of two licensed art therapists in Wyoming and the only one in Teton County. She is also the only licensed art therapist in Idaho.

“Art intersects with healing,” Camino said.

Art as therapy has enjoyed growing recognition as a viable and important piece of the bigger picture of health care. According to the National Library of Medicine, a formalized curriculum for art therapy was established in 1940.

Simply Health

Limited Time Offer Feb.

Your Local Wellness Center

All Therapie

C O L L E C T I V E

to sounds they are making with the instrument, to breathe, to use core muscles to control their breath, and simply, and perhaps most profoundly, share in a social setting where connections are made with other people.

“This group is designed to form connections in the community,” Camino said at the start of the program in early January. “We want to always be learning at all stages of life. When we are playing music we are activating the brain, and that’s really good for your health.”

Dzemske has been working formally with Sage Living folks in group settings using art as therapy for over

21st - Feb. 28th

20% OFF s

Simply Health provides a wide range of innovative therapies featuring: Ozone Sauna, Lymphatic Support Machine, Massage Bed, Detox Footbath and frequency therapies helping the human body to detox, reset, relax and boost the immune system. Or if you are just in a need of the highest quality supplements and homeopathic remedies, we have a great selection.

Call us at 307-732-0540 to make your appointment today !

Simply Health Collective / 1325 S Hwy 89 , # 113 / Jackson / WY (Smith’s Plaza) www.simplyhealthcollective.com

424897

424898

HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 11

MORGAN TIMMS / NEWS&GUIDE

Elaine Luton paints her glazed ceramic bowl earlier this month at Sage Living during a weekly art workshop with art therapist Leann Dzemske.

MORGAN TIMMS / NEWS&GUIDE

Living volunteer Mads Holland and resident Nancy Steeper react as Holland pulls out Steeper’s artwork from a basin of liquid on to reveal a vibrant pattern of ink swirls on the page during a workshop in January. “You’ve really got to release expectations is,” art therapist Leann Dzemske said as she helped students submerge their artwork into the solution. “I gave up on trying to ol it,” a student said of her creation. “Ah, such is life!” Dzemske replied.

ar. ’s pretty profound work and a f working with them,” Dzemaid. “They are flexing different n pathways. That is part of the apeutic benefits: growing our al pathways by learning new s.” late January, Dzemske und her most ambitious lesson paper marbling with ink. hhh, this is absolutely incredsaid a student watching the ty of inks spread and mix toer in a prepared basin of solu“I think this is fabulous.” he pieces of work were hung to

dry on a laundry-like line around the group as they continued to dip wet paper into the inks.

Later, when the art dried, they were going to take poetry by Ralph Waldo Emerson, arranging the words of their choice on the ink artwork. While the exercise is fun in this workshop, Dzemske explained that using “found” poetry is a therapeutic exercise that can be used to extrapolate feeling, emotion and insights.

“People who attend these workshops want to learn new techniques and skill sets for their own creative expression,” she said.

“The group is in itself a healing, supportive place where we can be together, as it is about bringing community members together with new ways to express themselves.”

The community is invited to an afternoon of music and art showcasing these two workshops’ efforts over the past few weeks. The event is open to the public at Sage Living and will begin at 2 p.m.

Sunday afternoon.

Contact Jeannette Boner by calling 307-732-5901 or emailing schools@ jhnewsandguide.com.

A CLEARER PATH TO OPTIMAL HEALTH! Lorrie Lee F.N.T.P “Nutritional Therapy“ Practitioner

A TECHNIQUE that detects HIDDEN DEFICIENCIES and designs SPECIFIC protocols for YOU because EVERY BODY is different.

Health is affordable

424867

Call 307-690-3650 290 West Kelly, Jackson 83001

MORGAN TIMMS / NEWS&GUIDE

“This is a party on a page if I ever saw one,” Leann Dzemske said of Barbara Simms’ paper marbling artwork at Sage Living. Dzemske said the class was one of her most ambitious yet.

Boost Immunity?

YES! A Healthy Diet & Supplements are Powerful Tools Therese Lowe Metherell, RD Registered Dietitian Nutrition Consultant

PEAK NUTRITION INDIVIDUALIZED

TELEPHONE + EMEDICINE APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE 733 -5344 • peaknutrition6 8@gmail.com

NUTRITION

COUNSELING

999999-999

12 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Healthy Notes Mental Health Campaign Teton County Health Department introduced a yearlong Seasonal Mental Health Campaign utilizing the bilingual web-based platform, CredibleMind.

The Winter Mental Health campaign highlights various tools and resources on CredibleMind, while focusing on the unique challenges that winter can pose to mental well-being.

Any community member who takes a CredibleMind self-assessment will be eligible to enter a monthly raffle for local prizes throughout the winter months.

This programming has been made possible through funding from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole’s Behavioral Health Initiatives Grant.

To be eligible for the drawing, individuals will need to make a site profile with contact information. Monthly winners will be drawn by CredibleMind’s management team to ensure confidentiality.

CredibleMind provides free and confidential access to the largest online library of mental health and wellbeing resources. The platform’s tools include podcasts, apps, articles and videos on topics such as depression, anxiety, burnout, meditation and selfcare. There are also fully anonymous, evidence-based clinical self-assessments available that help you understand your own mental health.

Go to Teton.CredibleMind.com for more information.

New CHOW hours at the library

Online classes for older adults As the Wyoming Department of Health continues to partner with the largest online learning platform designed specifically for older adults, a wide range of free classes remain available to older Wyoming adults.

The “GetSetUp” digital education site is an opportunity for older adults to bridge the digital divide, increase activity and boost wellness.

The collaboration brings an array of classes aimed at promoting lifelong learning, empowerment and social engagement among Wyoming’s older adults, especially during the challenging winter months. Some offerings are live sessions; others are recorded and available at any time.

General subjects available range from how to achieve health and wellness through exercise and cooking to how to effectively use digital technology.

GetSetUp helps address aging health by assuring older adults stay connected to the technical tools they need. Classes are available in Spanish, with some presented in other languages as well.

Wyoming’s older adults can safely and easily connect with a worldwide community by visiting GetSetUp.io/ partner/wyoming.

Because of the Wyoming Department of Health’s partnership with GetSetUp, the classes are free for state residents.

To avoid fees, residents should use the code “Wyoming” while booking classes.

— Compiled by Jeannette Boner

424913

425011

There are new drop-in hours for the Teton County Health Department’s CHOW program at Teton County Library. The CHOW team — CHOW stands for Community Health Outreach Worker — will be at the library from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays.

“A Community Health Worker serves as a liaison between community mem-

bers and resources available in our community,” the Health Department said in a press release. “They can help you find medical and behavioral health professionals, navigate the Medicaid insurance system, assist with health insurance enrollment, and locate other vital resources available in the community.”

The assistance is offered for free in English or Spanish.

Teton Youth & Family Services is here for you. Any Day. Any Time.

Offering case management and therapeutic support for young children navigating trauma to residential and wilderness-based opportunities for teenagers facing an array of challenges.

Helping children and families find their way. Reach us at 307.733.6440 or visit TYFS.ORG

HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 13

424696

14 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Normalize bodies to obtain overall health

THE ART OF

MOVEMENT

T

here’s no “right” way to have a if we believe that our bodies aren’t human body. supposed to change.

Yet “we’ve reached a point in Many of us believe that self-care history where nearly every person means engaging in the latest food is in some way affected by society’s plan or exercise craze. Yet what’s heightened focus on beauty, health, perceived as normal “health” beand weight,” says co-founder of The haviors, may be disordered and lead Body Positive, Connie Sobczak. to dangerous eating disorders that The “emphasis on how we look affect people of all sizes, ages and and what we weigh has influenced genders. Women “diet” or “eat clean” the way most people perceive and while men “bio-hack,” diet culture’s care for their bodies.” masculine equivalent.

Girls as young as 3 In the New York Times years old report body disopinion piece, “Welcome satisfaction, thin-ideal to the bro-y world of exinternalization and selftreme dieting. Or is it objectification.

Teens disordered eating?” auworry about natural body thor Thomas Stackpole weight increases during describes how he ate alpuberty, while parents most nothing but lean struggle to feed them in a ground turkey and broc“healthy” way. coli over greens for two Body image experts months as part of a Youand authors of “More Tube bodybuilder’s plan Than a Body” Lindsay and cycled through wellKite and Lexie Kite gave ness trends like ingestTanya Mark up competitive swiming metabolism-boosting ming, a beloved piece of mushrooms. their childhood identity, when they And midlife women, be aware. observed their bodies didn’t fit a Diet culture is taking advantage swimmer’s body “ideal.” of the “lucrative menopause marConsider how many women prior ket” targeting perimenopausal and to their weddings stress over every menopausal women for any and all morsel of food and exercise obses- signs of aging such as weight gain sively to fit into a dress size smaller and body fat redistribution. Of than their actual body. Or maybe course, “diets” are the solution. you’re attending a 25-year high The belief that there’s a “right” school reunion and you’re worried way to have a body may burden us about how others will judge you. for a lifetime. Grandma refuses a And how about the pressure that homemade brownie from her grandpost-partum women feel to get their daughter choosing a pleasureless pre-baby body back or men being low-fat, sugar-free, 100-calorie mocked for having “dad bods.”

Weight Watchers bar instead.

See WELLNESS on 15 A changing body is only a problem

Reclaiming Wellness

424932

Dance | Pilates | Yoga | Wellness Adult Wellness classes and workshops create daily opportunities for inspirational and restorative movement that engage your creativity from the inside out from.

Beauty & wellness at Grand Aesthetics

Boutique Med Spa LIST OF SERVICES •

NEUROTOXINS

•

FILLERS

•

SKIN CARE CONSULTATIONS

•

IV THERAPY

•

EAR PIERCING

•

LASER SERVICES

IPL, HAIR REMOVAL, TATTOO REMOVAL, SKIN RESURFACING, CLEAR LIFT COLLAGEN STIMULATOR

988 S HWY 89 suite 1 • Jackson, WY 307-413-0230 • WWW.GRANDAESTHETICSJH.COM

424816

Learn more and sign up at DWJH.ORG/adultclasses 307.733.6398

HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 15

Those human experiences not only break my heart, but they’re also not making us mentally nor physically healthier.

We must come together, in community, as teachers, coaches, peers, parents and health care professionals to change the conversation around bodies, weight, health and self-worth.

We weren’t born hating our bodies. It’s learned. Those three-year-old girls likely observed their mothers being dissatisfied with their own bodies. And if you’re a parent struggling to feed your kids “healthfully,” author, Virginia Sole-Smith shares advice in her book, “Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture.”

“We’re programming kids to grow up and turn to diets. They need to learn how to trust themselves, intuitively,” Sole-Smith says on Dan Harris’ Ten Percent Happier podcast episode “How to Stop Obsessing Over Your Body and Eat Sanely in a Toxic Culture.”

One way to start untangling from diet culture, says Sole-Smith, is to explore “Intuitive Eating,” a selfcare eating framework developed by dietitians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. We’re recognizing the critical need to redevelop eating as a skill.

We were born knowing how to eat, but over time, we lose it, living in our “there’s a right way to have a body” culture.

Dan Harris fell prey to the male version of diet culture like Stackpole. He entered calories and macros into MyFitnessPal, wore the ring to track his sleep and ate no carbs or sugars. But he “dropped all that other stuff ” after a life-changing interview with Tribole about Intuitive Eating.

“Why are you torturing yourself trying to get a body you had in your

Undiet your mind.

Whole health coaching without the diet culture B.S.

Tanya Mark , NBC-HWC

• National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach • Nutrition Therapy Practitioner • Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor • Licensed Be Body Positive Facilitator • Sleep, Stress Management & Recovery Coach

See WELLNESS on 17

www.tanyamark.com • 3076906076 • tanya@tanyamark.com

424636

Continued from 14

thirties or for some aesthetic ideal?

There’s no correlation between the ideal body and actual underlying health and why are you giving these messages to your son about some foods being sinful like carbs and sugar,” says Tribole.

“And I was like, yeah. Yes. I was a hard-core, idiot,” says Harris.

Yet, initially, Harris was skeptical about Tribole’s non-diet approach to nutrition and health. Harris describes himself as judgmental and dismissive, something he says as a mindfulness practitioner, he’s working on. If this perspective on nutrition seems radical, I recommend listening to “The Anti-Diet” episode.

More than four years later, Harris admits he’s still a work in progress.

Freeing ourselves from culture’s harmful messages about food and our bodies takes time and commitment. It takes far more than reading the Intuitive Eating book and briefly exploring the exercises. It requires examining deeply ingrained beliefs with critical thinking.

I suggest reading “Anti-Diet” by registered dietitian Christy Harrison. Harrison unpacks the history of the BMI (body mass index) and diet culture, which she calls “the life thief,” and explains why obsessing over what you eat is bad for your health.

And if you’ve ever been told “You Just Need To Lose Weight,” consider reading Aubrey Gordon’s book with this same title. Gordon tackles, with in-depth research, 19 ingrained myths about weight. Or for something lighter (and funnier), listen to her podcast, Maintenance Phase, where she and co-host Michael Hobbes debunk the junk science behind health and wellness fads.

Liberate yourself from the false and disempowering belief that there’s a right way to have a body.

Explore your relationship with

424888

WELLNESS

Savor Your Luxury Wellness Experience At Grand View Spa • Facials

• Halotherapy Lounge

• Massages

• Infrared Sauna

• Retail Boutique

• Body Treatments

• Memberships

• Outdoor Deck & Hot Tub

Open daily 10:00AM to 6:00PM | 307.732.9393 | www.grandviewspa.com

FREE* Skin Cancer Screenings for New Patients With Jenny Fritch, PA-C

ONE in FIVE people will get skin cancer.

Could you or someone you care about be the “ONE”?

Jenny Fritch, PA-C

Schedule Your Appointment or Consultation Today

*Must mention Free Skin Cancer Screening when booking appointment. This location only. Availability is limited. This preventive screening is not tied to the provision of any additional services or purchase of goods. Valid through 6/30/24

Now Offering • SkinPen® Microneedling (smoother skin, neck wrinkles, acne scarring) • Photodynamic Therapy (pre-cancerous and superficial skin cancer treatment)

307-734-5864 Afton Chavez Cobb, MD, FAAD, FACMS

15% Off New Microneedling Appointments with Jenny

62 S Redmond St, Jackson, WY 83001 Offices also in Afton, Dubois, & Pinedale

Jackson location only. Cannot be combined with other offers. Valid through 6/30/24.

Zero-Fee Payment Options: Debit card, HSA, FSA, check, gift card, cash, Care Credit Credit card surcharge fees vary up to 3%

AdvancedDerm.com 424918

ADCS-350-Jackson-WWD-Hole-Health-clr-ad-10.167x7.833-0224-R4.indd 1

2/14/24 3:03 PM

16 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

CANCER CARE

More help

Continued from 8

Your mouth is the gateway to the rest of your body.

Taking care of your oral health can help create a healthier you!

Dr. Tyler Bergien and Dr. Lisa Anderson along with their team at Alpine Dentistry take a comprehensive approach to oral care.

They can help you with all of your oral healthcare needs from routine teeth cleanings and exams to cosmetic smile makeovers and TMD (jaw joint pain) appliances.

424911

Dial (307) 734-5200 to schedule your appointment New patients are welcome

945 W BROADWAY, ST 201 | JACKSON WY | ALPINEDENTISTRYJH.COM

not the collateral damage,” he said.

“There’s a big gap in care, nutrition, sleep, mental health. There are high rates of anxiety, depression, chronic gut disorders. ... there are millions of cancer survivors that are dealing with undetected and untreated diseases.”

The clinic’s approach is seeing success. Librett cited a 30-year-old female with cervical cancer. “[She] connected with us for chemo brain,” he said. “Just prior to the beginning of our treatment, she was laid off from her job. With good support she was able to start back to work a few months later with confidence she could manage well,” he said.

Another patient, a 23-year-old male who had gastric cancer and a history of a feeding tube was feeling a significant emotional burden with his cancer relapse and was experiencing continued weight loss.

“We got him in with our counselors, and he and our dietitian worked very closely together to keep him eating enough at home, delaying the need for a feeding tube,” he shared.

Librett shared statistics that support what he is seeing at his clinic: “The fastest-growing cancer population is less than 50 years of age, with a 79.1% increase in early onset cancer (40-49), 110% increase in early onset diagnosis (2009-2030), and a 33% decrease in cancer death rates as of 2023.”

Librett said young adult cancer survivors are now expected to live an average of 50 years post-diagnosis. For all the struggles of the big C, there’s a lot of optimism to be found in his work.

Librett now calls Teton Valley, Idaho, home after 40 years in Salt Lake City. His clinic is working with patients throughout the Intermountain West and is expanding into Texas and Arizona. Survivor Healthcare is free of charge to patients and is billable to insurance.

Cancer: Thriving and Surviving Virtual workshop on Mondays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Feb. 12-March 18 Cancer: Thriving and Surviving is a free six-week workshop for anyone affected by a cancer diagnosis through the University of Wyoming’s Healthy U program. The class is open to survivors of any type of cancer and their loved ones. Join and learn tools to take control of your condition and get support from others.

Topics include problem solving, making decisions about treatment and therapies, changes in body image, healthy eating, action planning, dealing with negative emotions and fear of recurrence, and effective communication with family friends and health care professionals.

For information or to register go to UWyo.edu/HealthyU, email healthyu@ uwyo.edu or call 307-766-2765.

Pilates Rehab A six-week Pilates Rehab group for cancer survivors meets in Jackson and Victor, Idaho.

Pilates Rehab offers a small-group experience for people recovering from cancer and its treatment. It offers a safe space to get back into exercise with an oncology occupational therapist and Pilates instructor, Emma Williams.

In Jackson it will be offered Fridays, April 12 through May 17, at Rolling Reformer. Times vary.

In Victor it will be offered Thursdays, April 11 through May 16, at Studio Core Teton Valley. Times vary.

Advance registration is required.

Contact St. John’s Health Cancer Survivorship Program Coordinator, Katelyn Webb at 307-739-7482 or kwebb@stjohns.health to sign up by March 25.

Contact Tibby Plasse via 307-732-5901 or schools@jhnewsandguide.com.

Specialized Care For Your Ears, Nose, and Throat Dr. Affleck treats adults and children in Afton, Alpine, and Bridger Valley. To schedule an appointment, or to learn more about our ENT services for children and adults, call 307-885-5042.

Pain and discomfort in your head or neck can make it difficult to manage even the most basic of everyday tasks – but restoration is possible.

Dr. Brian Affleck, our ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, diagnoses and treats an array of conditions, including: • • •

Difficulties with balance Dizziness Hearing loss

• •

Sleep apnea Thyroid conditions

Dr. Affleck is a board-certified otolaryngologist with over 30 years of experience in his field, including six years as an Air Force flight surgeon.

In addition to his broad scope of services, Dr. Affleck also specializes in facial reconstructive surgery. Whether you’re recovering from skin cancer or a car accident, Dr. Affleck’s skill and expertise can help restore your appearance and facial functions.

901 Adams Street | Afton, WY 83110

StarValleyHealth.org

“I’ve seen lives change in my practice of medicine over the past 32 years. I’ve seen patients live more productive lives, have less pain, be cured from cancer, breathe, sleep and hear better,” says Dr. Affleck.

“There are so many facets to my specialty, and I practice all of them.”

424740

HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 17

ACUPUNCTURE Continued from 3

tional exam and the vast majority of states, including Wyoming and Idaho, require national certification through the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

One industry that has yet to embrace acupuncture fully, however, is insurance companies. Some are cutting reimbursement rates to acupuncturists, Loew said, but every state is different.

“What I hear from my colleagues is that [insurers] are trying to pay acupuncturists less and less,” Loew said.

“It’s a difficult thing to talk about, and the data is difficult to access. It’s considered corporate private information.”

Picchi and Borbet said that most of their clients pay for sessions out of pocket. Both women give patients a “super bill” that the patient can then submit to their insurance provider to see if they’ll reimburse some or all of the session.

“Some people do get fully reimbursed, others put it toward their deductible,” Picchi said.

Hansen said that Flexible Spending Account benefits can be hit or miss on covering acupuncture.

WELLNESS Continued from 15

food and your body and take a gentle approach to nutrition.

Shift from striving to achieve an aesthetic or “normal” BMI to moving your body because it feels good, supports your mental and metabolic health and your functionality.

Value your sleep, social connections and mental fitness skills as equally important.

Explore who you are, what you want, your values and priorities and what makes life meaningful to you.

Be a part of an empowered generation that speaks kind and lov-

First responders in Idaho have free acupuncture sessions available through the Idaho Independent Intergovernmental Authority through their network of licensed acupuncturists.

“We added this benefit in 2019,” Executive Director Amy Manning said.

“The goal is to provide our members with a resource to deal with pain and other health issues rather than overusing medications that may have longterm negative consequences. Members are allowed 52 visits annually, and the visits are covered at 100% up to $80.”

Half of III-A’s members are first responders, Manning said. The other members are experiencing benefits too.

“This has become a very popular program for our entire population,” Manning said. “Certainly, the first responders are using it, but we have public employees in every department excited about the results they are experiencing from acupuncture. We receive a wide range of comments including members no longer using sleep medications, narcotic pain killers, help with hormone regulation, assistance with migraines and anxiety.”

Contact Kate Ready at 307-732-7076 or kready@jhnewsandguide.com. ing things about your body in front of your 3-year-old and that one day happily accepts the homemade brownie from your grandchild.

For however long we’re on this planet, our bodies are where we live.

Feeling connected to and at peace with them is crucial to your health, happiness and well-being.

Tanya Mark is a national boardcertified health and wellness coach, nutrition therapy practitioner, certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and licensed Be Body Positive Facilitator.

She takes a weight-neutral and pleasure-focused approach to your health and well-being. See TanyaMark.com.

424960

0. Zero drinks if you are under the age of 21 e driving - 0 DUIs 0. Zero drinks if you are driving - 0 DUIs with water in between nks per event, 1. One drink per hour with water in between Noare more thanthe 3 drinks per21 event, 0. Zero drinks 3. if you under age of

e under the age of 21

night out, occasion...

0. Zero drinks if you are driving - 0 DUIs 1. One drink per hour with water in between

424288

18 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

PLEASE JOIN US! Join Dr. Devra Davis, founder of Environmental Health Trust, for a book signing of her new, updated, and expanded edition of Disconnect.

Meet world-renowned scientist Dr. Devra Davis and support the 2024 release of Disconnect: A Scientist’s Solution for Safer Technology.

Davis shows us simple safety measures we can take to protect our bodies, our families, and nature from the effects of wireless radiation.

Now is the time to implement safer technology — before it’s too late.

Disconnect: A Scientist’s Solution for Safer Technology is now available on Amazon.

“Disconnect... is just as courageous and groundbreaking as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. It could save even more lives.”

— Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, Green America

Thursday, March 14 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Aspen Nook at Cloudveil Hotel 112 Center St. Jackson, WY 83001 Free sips and appetizers!

Learn more at ehtrust.org/disconnect 424926

HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024 - 19

MORGAN TIMMS / NEWS&GUIDE

Exercise specialist Jo Warden leads a group of about a dozen community members through a series of bicep curls in January during Functional Fitness class at the Senior Center of Jackson Hole. Fitness experts says exercise improves one’s quality of life.

GET MOVING Continued from 5

you don’t have to be injured to go to rehab. Third, consult a nutritionist or change your diet to focus on antiinflammatory foods.

“Diet is about your health,” Horton said, “Exercise is about giving your body the ability to go out and live and see things and do things.”

And that’s the main idea here: quality of life.

Debbie Cotton, 76, moved to Jackson about 20 years ago and has been attending Senior Center classes for the past 12 years since she moved into Pioneer Homestead. About five years ago she suffered several injuries requiring two back surgeries and a knee replacement. Cotton said she’s always been into exercise and working out, but since her injuries, these classes have become even more crucial for her.

“I don’t want to end up back in the hospital again,” Cotton said.

Every time she shows up for a class, she feels so much better the rest of the

day, she said.

And for someone like Cotton, just showing up is half the battle. Sometimes she’ll go to a step class and not use a step. During Wednesday’s yoga class, she placed a chair next to her mat for emergency stability. It doesn’t matter; she’s remaining active.

Horton explains that rest and recovery is essential too, which might include using a sauna, cold plunge, Theragun, foam rolling, breath work, meditation or massage.

So go see the doctor, participate in classes that strengthen and stabilize.

Focus on what your specific body needs and then recover appropriately. Eat right. All of these things will keep an aging population healthy and happy in this place that we all love to explore.

“It should not be about your aesthetic appearance. ... the scale or the dress size or the belt size,” Horton said. “It’s about quality of life.”

Contact Kyle Leverone at 307-7327065 or sports@jhnewsandguide.com.

424472

Over 25 years serving Jackson and surrounding communities Every Day Giving Excellence!

Our expert team offers personalized care, ensuring your well-being is our top priority. Explore our range of services and let us guide you on the path to a healthier, more vibrant life.

· Orthopedics · Gastroenterology

· Pain Management · Spine Surgery

· Endoscopy · Gynecology

· Cosmetic Surgery · Urology

Learn more about each of our outpatient services:

424971

TETONOPS.COM • (307) 733-8677 • 150 Buffalo Way • Jackson, WY 83001

· Ophthalmology

20 • HOLE HEALTH - JACKSON HOLE NEWS&GUIDE, Wednesday, February 21, 2024

413873