Health & Wellness Northern Michigan 2023

Michael Wnek

Cara McDonald

Elizabeth Edwards

Emily Tyra

Carly Simpson

Allison Jarrell

Rachel Soulliere

Elizabeth Aseritis

Caroline Dahlquist

Tim Hussey

Theresa Burau-Baehr

Rachel Watson

Julie Parker

Erin VanFossen

Mike Alfaro

Ann Gatrell

Julie James

Meg Lau

Kirk Small

Erin Lutke

Ashlyn Korienek

Nichole Earle

Beth Putz

CONTENTS

6

WILD SWIMMING FOR THE SOUL

Finding wellness in water can be as simple as drinking a glass or running through a sprinkler. For Ashlea Walter, it’s open-water swimming in Lake Michigan—where she finds a release from gravity and worries that seem to only live on land. No matter how you choose to immerse, you’ll be rewarded with an instant mood boost.

16

FEEDING A HEALTHY COMMUNITY

Culinary medicine—connecting patients and providers with healthy locally grown food—has long been the goal of Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities. Now, they’ve opened a first-of-its-kind teaching kitchen in Traverse City to further that mission.

26

LIVING WITH LYME DISEASE

Prevention is important, but for those battling Lyme disease, a swift and accurate diagnosis can be a life-changing step toward wellness.

34

MENTAL HEALTH HELP FOR UP NORTH KIDS

Roughly 22 percent of American kids will face a severe mental health issue. But getting support and treatment for the under-18 set and their families is limited and infinitely complicated. Thankfully, Northern Michigan families can lean on the Grand Traverse affiliate of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

42

WHERE THE BETTER ANGELS WORK

Hospice volunteers guide patients and loved ones through one of the most emotional, challenging and beautiful parts of life.

ON

Open-Water Swimmer Ashlea Walter

Photo by Andy Wakeman

photo by Dave Weidner

SO HAPPY YOU’RE HERE!

For this inaugural issue of Health & Wellness our writers and editors met several Northern neighbors willing to show their own paths to better health and true wellness.

Writer Shea Petaja talks with a fellow local living with Lyme disease who reveals how she discovered and faced that diagnosis and, most important, the ways she is beginning to heal.

Artist, activist and elected official Ashlea Walter shares why she is a “wild swimmer”—dedicated to waking early to swim the bays and lakes surrounding her downtown Traverse City home. (Hint: She says the healing quality of water helps her harness deeper calm and mindfulness.)

Readers will get a first peek inside Groundwork’s teaching kitchen at Traverse City’s new co-op community center, Commongrounds. In the coming days, chef instructors and dietitians will gather around those state-of-the-art stoves to share nutrition science with medical providers. In turn, doctors and nurses can pass on this knowledge of culinary medicine to their patients.

From Manistee to Northport, you’ll hear the stories of comfort, courage and, yes, love from those who volunteer in hospice care or who have welcomed hospice support.

We’re also shining a light on a new mental health navigator on the block, who is helping one Northern Michigan family at a time receive care and treatment, especially kids.

This is just the beginning. We hope these pages inspire personal wellness, and treating our collective health with the greatest of care. -

The Editors

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SWIMMING FOR THE WILD

Whatever the issue of the hour, water is the solution. I like to think that water is my secret superpower when it comes to parenting, including parenting myself. Instant mood changer: drink a glass of water, take a bath, run through the sprinkler, jump in the lake, get in some laps. As powerfully renewing as it is, we never regret being immersed in water, do we? Maybe it’s because the human body is said to be made up of 60 percent water

that I always feel at home in it. But it’s also more than that; more than returning to the womb. Whenever I jump into a pool or “Mama Lake,” as we affectionately refer to Lake Michigan, I feel like I’m 8 years old again: immediate smile, freedom, a release from gravity and worries that only seem to live on the land.

When some friends invited me to start open-water swimming with them several years ago as we trained for Swim for Grand Traverse Bay, an event that benefits The Watershed

SOUL

Finding wellness in the water.

by ASHLEA WALTER photo by ANDY WAKEMAN

Center, I had no idea what limitless joy I would find. I guess I thought that by the time I reached middle age, I would’ve already tried most things and known what my outdoor passions were. I knew I liked mountain biking, running, hiking, snowboarding and casually jumping in any body of water to cool off, but open-water swimming? Hmmm. How wrong I was, when at 40-something, I found a new true love. Looking back, I don’t remember ever not knowing how to swim. The family story my parents love to tell is that my mom

threw me in a pool in Portugal after my older brother was thrown in, right before she remembered that I couldn’t swim. I was 3. I was precocious, but still, 3. Sink or swim, the adage goes. Swim I did, as I came to the surface and never looked back. When I was a kid, I was the first one in a pool and the last one out, sporting shriveled fingers and toes, maybe even a pair of blue lips over Memorial Day weekend in a friend’s just-filled pool. I was on a few swim teams through early high school, but racing was never really my thing; I just loved to be in the water.

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Water makes us feel alive and while swimming is exercise, it’s mostly play. And what adults need more of is just that—play.

I’m not quite crazy enough to swim outside year-round in Northern Michigan, but I want to be someday; I know people who are. Sometimes I overhear their excited chatter in the locker room after logging our weekly swimming pool laps. They talk about the water temperature (40 degrees!) and ponder that they might need a couple more weeks till they jump in. I think, when I’m 75, I want to be like them.

DIP A TOE IN WITH A GOOD READ

Wild swimmer Ashlea Walter loves these two authors’ perspective on swimming— and on human behavior itself.

Why We Swim

By Bonnie Tsui, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

“To live deliberately as a swimmer means you are a seeker…” Tsui writes. New York Times contributor and lifelong swimmer Bonnie Tsui dives into the deep, from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea, investigating what it is about water that seduces us, and why we come back to it again and again.

The Joy of Swimming: A Celebration of Our Love for Getting in the Water

By Lisa Congdon, Chronicle Books

Congdon, bestselling author of “Whatever You Are, Be a Good One,” inspires readers to get in the water with real people’s personal stories, illustrated collections of vintage swimming objects and an emphasis on swimming as a way of life.

I’m a wee bit wimpier and usually start to swim outside again with friends in May, sometimes June if we’ve had a real Up North winter. We start out swimming in the inland lakes, usually Cedar Lake near Traverse City because it warms up faster than Mama Lake. Northern Michigan’s inland lakes are mostly predictable, and you barely have to glance at a weather report if heading out early in the morning before the boats wake up. The only other people we ever see are the occasional solo rowers and the adventurous water skiers. It takes a special breed of humans to head out into the water before the sun comes up. I’ve met the coolest people during these early morning encounters before the day gets away from you, and your time is not your own anymore. The lists begin and the day marches on, but you’ve got solitude, quiet adventure and a form of meditation as you leave shore and begin to make your way through the water.

When I was a kid, I was told over and over to “never swim alone,” and “never swim right after eating,” and while I’m not here to debunk important rules of mothers, these familiar phrases have taken on new meaning. Surely you don’t want to swim alone because of safety reasons. The real reason I don’t swim alone, however, is

because some of the most magical times I’ve experienced as an adult have involved stopping to rest on a swim buoy 500 yards or so out from shore and chatting with girlfriends while the sun rises. We talk of the beauty in the day, politics, health, family—no topic is off the table. And whatever is shared out in the water stays in the water. We leave it behind while stroking it out over and over, occasionally spotting some point on shore to stay on track.

By the end of June, swimming in the inland lakes has become placid and calm, bordering on easy and predictable, almost dull. That’s when, as our sea legs slip back on, we rediscover our courage for cold and the uncertainty of conditions as we venture into Grand Traverse Bay.

Things quickly get more interesting. Meditation turns into concentration as waves, wind and quickly changing conditions come into play. You’ve got to be on your game, and we are reminded of why we spent all those hours swimming to nowhere in the pool over the winter. When you’re not worried about your fitness, your heart opens to adventure in the open water. It’s not that we choose the waves exactly, but sometimes the waves choose us; the rollers catch you off guard, coming seemingly out of nowhere. Some days I swallow a lot of water and, even hours later, feel the pressure of the crest of the waves in my ears. We’ve had a few harrowing moments when the waves are beating against us and we lose track of each other. One time I thought dramatically for a moment, “This is how people die,” as I was being pummeled relentlessly and couldn’t find my swim partner, but then I realized the waves had pushed me back in and I could stand. I felt alive, I chuckled and sighed.

Spending time immersed in the azure crests and troughs of our Great Lakes has given me a deep respect and passion for this incredibly precious freshwater gift; I invite you to come on in, the water’s fine.

Ashlea Walter is a passionate open-water swimmer. She lives in downtown Traverse City with her family and serves on the Grand Traverse County board of commissioners.

Andy Wakeman is a Northern Michigan-based photographer inspired by the characters and scenic views of his hometown.

From the Inside Out

In an inviting, spa-like space, a community of like-minded practitioners are bringing together holistic health, beauty and well-being for a one-of-a-kind wellness experience.

by CARA MCDONALD

The idea came to Dr. Heather Rassel when she was meditating, something she does almost every day—not just an idea, actually; more like a complete download, a vision with all the parts and pieces. A plan for more than a chiropractic wellness center— a way to create a community of like-minded health, wellness and beauty practitioners who are independent yet delightfully complementary. And above all, in a space that was as welcoming and healing as those who practiced within it.

Rassel, a chiropractor, was raised in a very holistic household. She was born at home; her parents valued and trusted the inherent knowledge and recuperative healing powers of the human body. Both of Rassel’s parents were also chiropractors (there are 30 total in her family, and her mother built The Chiropractic Well-Being Center in Okemos in the early ’90s). While chiropractic practice focuses on the role of the spine and

nervous system affecting overall health and body function, it generally assumes that well-being is affected by everything in an individual’s environment and lifestyle.

“I had a more traditional chiropractic practice for seventeen years and was very content, but it was always at the back of my mind to create a collaborative wellness space to more completely serve the patients I cared for,” Rassel says.

The result of that moment of zen is JOVIA Wellness, a beautiful, high-vibe energetic space for personal growth, healing and clearer expression of one’s inner vitality. Rassel opened JOVIA Wellness in June 2018, and currently, seven separate businesses are practicing within it:

1. Pure Chiropractic, Dr. Heather Rassel, DC

2. Amazon Blonde, Wendy Schaub, hair stylist

3. Cana’s Beauty & Wellness, Cana Guernsey, skin care specialist

4. Dr. Carley Fardell, DC, chiropractor

5. Traverse City Total Care, Dr. Robert Rees, DO, with a focus on bioidentical hormone therapy replacement

6. Keep In Touch, Eileen Byrne, licensed massage therapist

7. Better Balance Wellness, Sarah Orth, exercise physiologist/holistic health coach

From the moment you step into the cozy reception area, you’re wrapped in calming shades of violet and blue. The front desk curves like a wave—what Rassel calls a feminine flow of energy—under 20-foot ceilings with skylights. Here, clients will wait before or after services, cuddling with a blanket and a cup of organic peppermint tea. There are Japanese-designed massage chairs and a stash of noise-canceling headphones for those needing to tune out. Rassel created a blend of 12 essential oils to invoke a sense of peace, grounding and happiness, diffusing it throughout the space.

“I’ll come and find people sitting back in the massage chairs and reading a book,” she admits. “They say, ‘Take your time, Dr. Rassel, I’m here a little early…’”

Her practice doesn’t take appointments—it’s walk-in only, with an as-you-need-it, spontaneous feel (other practitioners at JOVIA have their own booking systems and business models). It’s a unique model, but one that lands with her patients. “There are plenty of ‘back doctors’ out there, and I’m more of a nervous system, family wellness provider helping your body function at a higher level. People may have ailments initially, but I like to guide them to not only feel better but also help them to express more of the vitality they were created with.”

JOVIA is a living, breathing entity, a dynamic community whose feel shifts as its practitioners do, with an initial spiritual and meditation emphasis when it opened in 2018, to what Rassel now describes as having a strong element of inner and therefore outer beauty that is safe, natural and holistically aligned.

“Above all,” she says, “we want our clients to walk out saying, ‘I feel better in my body and my life.’”

photo courtesy of Jovia Wellness

SERENE AWAITS

Spa Amira is different. It’s far away from the world, yet nestled nearby. The dazzling colors of nature, majesty of Lake Michigan, and serenity of the National Lakeshore inspire treatments and melt troubles.

Come. Listen to the birds. Watch the sun sizzle into Sleeping Bear Bay. Be serene. Relax and recharge by yourself or…with your daughters or best friends. Serenity packages available. For reservations, 231-334-5100.

What kind of woman doesn’t bring her family to a well-appointed lakeside resort stocked with all the essentials of a good old-fashioned vacation—think: classic Beach Club, clay tennis courts, a par 3 golf course, ski hills and opportunity for memorymaking galore, from playing with clay and kayaking to swimming, stargazing, snowshoeing, fishing, biking and hiking?

The wise kind. The kind who, in my case, is a 48-year-old working mom of an 8-year-old girl, 6-year-old boy, and, perhaps somewhat less wisely, new puppy.

In short, the kind of woman who needs a break. And no, a 20-minute bubble bath during which small humans and canines whine outside the door does not count, nor (dads, take note) will it ever.

For two blissful, affordable offseason days, I’m trading caretaking for self-care. My destination: The Homestead, a historic resort on the northwest edge of Lower Michigan’s fabled Leelanau Peninsula.

A petite pocket of pools, ponds and vacation rentals of all kinds tucked into hillsides, The Homestead sits between the sparkling blue of Sleeping Bear Bay and the sandy swales and deep woods of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The moment I enter my lamp-lit room at The Inn, a classic yet cozy hotel that hails back to The Homestead’s origins as a 1920’s-era wilderness camp, I gasp.

From my window, I can sit by the fire and watch seagulls battling the wind blowing off Lake Michigan’s white-capped waves. But I resist. Something even more relaxing awaits: a one-hour massage at the resort’s Spa Amira.

Twenty minutes later, my massage therapist, Brenda Albrecht, lays a warm wrap over my shoulders and says the words every mother of young kids longs to hear: “We can talk if you like, but

A Prescription for the Weary Woman

if you’d prefer to enjoy the quiet, that’s okay, too.”

For the next 50 minutes, she silently untangles the warp and weft of my body’s muscle fibers, her fingers taking on the telltale crunch of stubborn knots until they puddle. After she hands me a cup of post-massage turmeric tea, I slip into the serenity room, just off the spa lobby.

Like so much of The Homestead, Spa Amira and its summer pool and tranquil gardens are perched atop a bluff. I level my gaze at the drifting clouds, trembling treetops and infinite pool of Lake Michigan. I’m present. I’m grateful.

I’m also starving. So I stroll down to the resort’s Mountain Village, hub of fine and casual dining options and fun- and wellness-enhancing spots like Rocky’s sport shop, New Leaf Fitness Center and Lilyjade Salon.

With a big salad, homemade chili and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups from Cavanaugh’s market in hand, I return to my room to savor each bite by the fire slowly, serenely and without interruption.

Though having two days and a flatscreen TV to myself feels like a miracle, I resist the temptation and set out to enjoy something else I haven’t in years: a long, aimless walk. Alone.

With no goal heart rate in mind or productivity podcast prattling on in my ears, I ascend the Bay View Trail, which wends into the heart of Sleeping Bear’s northern forests. I meander, poking at pockets of snow and mud, wondering when spring’s leeks will sprout.

Later, I’ll return to Cavanaugh’s to indulge in a very self-caring dinner of pizza and Prosecco, maybe do some fireside yoga before reading in bed. In the morning, I’ll walk the beach, get a pedicure at Lilyjade, see if Brenda has room for a facial.

And this summer, I promise myself, when Sleeping Bear Bay is warm and the property’s pools and Beach Club are packed, I’ll bring the kids, and my husband, too. But only after I book another couple of days for myself.

Self-care, fresh air, pizza, Prosecco and pedicures—a solo escape to The Homestead.

by LYNDA WHEATLEY

I level my gaze at the drifting clouds, trembling treetops and infinite pool of Lake Michigan. I’m present. I’m grateful.

Nutrition That’s Delish

To enhance every meal, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar make a fine splash.

by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS

The Mediterranean diet—around for more than 5,000 years and considered one of the world’s healthiest—has been extensively studied for its nutritional benefits since the 1950s. It’s packed with fruits, nuts, legumes, vegetables, fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and uses little or no red meat, sweets, sugary drinks or butter.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) takes a starring role. EVOO can do wonders for our health, according to the Mayo Clinic, Harvard Medical School and leading health and nutrition experts around the world. EVOO provides monounsaturated fat, which lowers total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (“bad” LDL) and raises high-density lipoprotein (“good” HDL). It also supports brain health, combats inflammation and high blood sugar levels, and contains antioxidants that protect against heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

A lesser-known component of the Mediterranean diet is aged balsamic vinegar, an acetic acid that also boasts amazing powers: It’s been shown to lower cholesterol, stabilize blood pressure and keep glucose levels stable in diabetics. Some research suggests it can also work as an appetite suppressant, and it contains strains of probiotic bacteria that are good for your gut.

Understanding that these ingredients were more than just a flash in the pan, Jim Milligan took a leap in 2008 from the international corporate world and opened a shop on East Front Street in Traverse City called Fustini’s Oils and Vinegars. He envisioned a niche market for his oil-and-vinegar emporium in the emerging foodie region of northwestern Michigan, and despite the Great Recession, it became an immediate hit.

Today townies and travelers flock to Fustini’s to sample the artfully labeled bottles filled with fragrant oils and vinegars. Tasters not only enjoy mouthwatering flavors but also learn how to use each product to enhance their meals. Special events, a cooking school, accessories, cookbooks and foodstuffs are part of the experience. Fustini’s features four to five SELECT extra virgin olive oils, 20 infused olive oils, two specialty oils, 35 balsamic and five non-balsamic vinegars.

Fustini’s Denise Walburg explains what sets real-deal extra virgin olive oils apart: “What makes EVOO a true EVOO is no heat or chemicals used in extraction, and no damage in the olive handling—sitting on the ground, getting wet, taking too long from harvest to milling, adding refined olive oil.”

She adds that because there is no governing body to verify authenticity and quality from adulterated and fraudulent products, “Fustini’s relies on taste as well as a chemical profile to ensure the highest quality olive oil.”

Walburg says Fustini’s SELECT EVOO is harvested on average three weeks earlier than most olives. “Three times the number of olives is needed for the same yield because they are still green, but the result is vastly superior olive oil with higher polyphenols and a longer shelf life.”

Fustini’s 18 Year traditional dark balsamic, from Modena, Italy, is made with Lambrusco, Sangiovese and Trebbiano grapes. The first mention of this thick sweet-sour vinegar dates to the 11th century. In early days it was used as a disinfectant and a cure-all; today it’s a divine ingredient for everything from apps to desserts.

TO YOUR HEALTH

For salads, use two parts oil to one part balsamic. Pair brighter balsamics with sweeter lettuces. For stronger flavored leaves, like arugula, pair Gremolata olive oil with Citrus Oregano balsamic, or Persian Lime with Pomegranate balsamic.

For a healthful Mediterranean-inspired appetizer, try Greek yogurt blended with Fustini’s citrus oregano balsamic, Fustini’s Delicate SELECT olive oil and za’atar seasoning. Serve the yogurt alongside pita chips, cherry tomatoes, mixed Greek olives and cucumber slices.

Because Fustini’s oils and vinegars are preservative-free, mix just before using when making dressings, marinades and sauces.

For hands-on fun, sign up for one of Fustini’s virtual smallgroup classes at fustinis.com.

photo courtesy of Fustini's

Feeding a Healthy Community

by LYNDA

Local farms grow healthy food, which grows healthy locals. And locals who buy healthy local foods make for healthier local farms. This all makes for a healthier local economy.

For nearly 30 years, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, formerly known as Michigan Land Use Institute, has been putting the healthy local food + people + farms equation into action, expanding the region’s food economy far beyond farmers markets and into Northwest Lower Michigan’s schools, food pantries, restaurants and grocery stores.

But until recently, there was one field where Groundwork hadn’t fully sowed its local food love: the region’s healthcare system. As it turns out, it was fertile ground, and physicians—and their patients—were hungry for help.

See, despite the massive role proper nutrition plays in preventing disease and promoting longer, healthier lives, most physicians can’t do more than recommend their patients eat “better.”

With the average patient-provider visit clocking in at 20 minutes, few providers have the time or bandwidth to explain what “better” means, let alone create meal plans or show patients how to

select and prepare the variety of fresh foods a healthy diet should include. Providers are busy enough managing the conditions and chronic diseases poor diets cause—high blood pressure, diabetes, certain forms of cancers and cardiovascular disease, the latter of which caused more American deaths (800,000) in 2020 than even Covid-19.

“It’s unfortunate the way our healthcare system is set up. [Doctors] get reimbursed for what they do; they don’t get reimbursed for prevention,” says Groundwork Community Nutrition Specialist Paula Martin.

WHEATLEY photos by DAVE WEIDNER

A first-of-its-kind teaching kitchen opens in Traverse City.

Truth be told, doctors don’t get much education on prevention either. Despite four years of medical school, most physicians-tobe spend less than 20 hours on nutritional training.

While Groundwork’s changemaking mojo hasn’t targeted medical school curriculums or Medicare’s fee-for-service reimbursement approach (yet!), the organization launched a Culinary Medicine initiative that’s planted many a seed in the last decade to support local providers and patients through food grown and raised here at home.

Since 2014, Groundwork’s been creating opportunities for healthcare providers not only to learn more about local food access and nutrition at its Farms, Food and Health conferences but also to earn some of the continuing medical education credits they need to maintain their license and board certifications.

In 2019, Groundwork successfully secured a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment to support a Prescription for Produce program with McLaren Northern Michigan Foundation in Petoskey. And in 2020, despite the pandemic, Groundwork designed and ran “Dinner With Your Doctor,” a pilot program of six healthy-cooking classes for at-risk patients, held in the lobby of Munson Family Practice Center in Traverse City.

This January, you might say Groundwork’s Culinary Medicine seeds went full bloom: Groundwork teamed up with Commongrounds real estate cooperative to open a first-of-its-kind teaching kitchen—intended for use by local medical providers and eventually for other mission-aligned groups—in the co-op’s new four-story building on Eighth Street in Traverse City.

“The vast majority of teaching kitchens like this are owned by an institution,” Martin says. “Like a university or a health care system.”

In this case, the Esperance Community Teaching Kitchen is a part of a community-led, communityowned property. It’s owned and managed by the 800-plus members of Commongrounds Cooperative (of which Groundwork is a tenant/owner), alongside a steering committee of community health and wellness leaders. Groundwork oversees the kitchen’s programming.

And in line with that neighborly model (and the communal vibe-making that sharing good food tends to foster), the 600-square-foot facility, though state of the art, is specifically designed to look and feel cozy and unimposing—a lot like a home kitchen, says Jeff Smith, Groundwork’s communications director. It’s primarily meant to hold intimate classes of 15 or fewer, but thanks to a retractable wall, can easily double in size to accommodate larger classes.

So far, Groundwork has developed approved CME/CE courses for physicians, dietitians and nurses, but, Martin explains, the pool of professionals who require continuing education credits runs deep—to physical therapists, social workers, pharmacists and other allied healthcare providers, whom they’ll target next.

Groundwork’s continuing education programming is in partnership with Munson Healthcare and the Great Lakes Culinary Institute. A chef instructor and a dietitian will team up to lead each education session, so providers will get the nutrition science and culinary skill-building simultaneously.

“Then eventually, we’ll be opening up to anybody whose mission is aligned with ours,” Martin says. “If you’re working with schools,

if you’re working with kids, or part of another healthcare entity, like Addiction Treatment Services, we’re inviting those folks to come into and rent [the kitchen], and we can provide consultation and help them develop a program if they don’t already have one.”

Also on the horizon: developing worksite wellness programs with Commonplace, the co-working space within the Commongrounds building; CSA drop-offs and cooking classes for subscribers; livestreamed cooking demos; and before the year is out at least two events for the community at large.

GET COOKIN’ WITH CULINARY MEDICINE

Mark your calendar for Groundwork’s upcoming Farms, Food and Health Conference happening Sept. 22–24, 2023. Can’t make it? Find culinary medicine presentations from the 2019 conference on Groundwork’s YouTube channel: @GroundworkCenter.

“You know, Groundwork’s mission in our food and farming programs is to make sure that we have markets for local farms, right? To sustain farms, we need to make sure people are buying and using and knowing how to use the local product,” Martin says. “The overarching goal of the kitchen is to get people more used to cooking with local foods.

“If we can get more and more people in the community turning to locally grown food,” Martin adds, “we strengthen our local food economy, we strengthen farmer income, we preserve farmland, and by doing that, we strengthen the overall community. Our farms are stronger economically, and our people are healthier.”

Interested in learning more about the Esperance Community Teaching Kitchen, Groundwork’s initiatives or how to bring basic principles of culinary medicine cooking into your home kitchen? Visit groundworkcenter.org.

Lynda Wheatley is an award-winning writer specializing in stories that showcase Michigan travel and recreation, history, and the passionate folks who make this place so extraordinary. ltwriter.com

Dave Weidner is an editorial photographer and videographer based in Northern Michigan. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook @dzwphoto.

Parkinson’s Network North

Groundwork’s Easy Pantry Stir-Fry

Serves 8

1 ½ cups brown rice

4 Tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1 cup onion, julienned

1 cup carrot, julienned

1 cup celery, julienned

½ cup red cabbage, julienned

1 cup Michigan Farm to Freezer organic sweet pepper mix, frozen

1 cup Michigan Farm to Freezer organic broccoli, frozen

3 Tablespoons tamari lite, 50% less sodium

2 Tablespoons peanuts, unsalted

1 large egg

½ to 1 cup water

3 to 4 Tablespoons microgreens

1. Cook rice according to packaging, set aside.

2. Heat wok or large skillet over medium heat, then coat with oil. Sauté garlic, ginger and onion until fragrant. Set aside.

3. Coat wok or large skillet with oil once again. Cook each vegetable (carrots, celery, cabbage, peppers, broccoli) over high heat in small batches until crisp and tender. Use a small amount of tamari to season each vegetable.

4. Add water, a few Tablespoons at a time, to help deglaze the pan as needed between batches.

5. When the last batch of vegetables is done, add all the vegetables back into the wok/skillet. Add the rest of the tamari and stir.

6. Cook and stir for a couple minutes, then push vegetables to the sides, creating a well in the middle of the wok/skillet. Scramble the egg in the well, then continue mixing and cooking until everything is crisp.

7. Serve over the rice and garnish with microgreens and peanuts.

Cooking tips:

Julienne the vegetables in uniform sizes to ensure the best cooking results.

Add frozen products to your skillet while they are still frozen, no need to defrost first.

Not ready for all brown rice? Consider preparing half white and half brown rice and mixing them together to transition to using more whole grains.

Storage crops—like local onions, celery, cabbage, carrots and garlic—are available year-round. We used Lakeview Hill microgreens, which are also available year-round.

photo by Dave Weidner

What Does Successful Aging In Place Look Like?

by COURTNEY JEROME

As people age, most want to live in their homes for as long as they can, rather than move to a new and unfamiliar living environment. In fact, a national U-M poll recently discovered 88 percent of people between the ages of 50 and 80 find it important to live in their homes as long as possible.

However, in order to accomplish that, plans need to be prepared. “More Americans are choosing to age in place. That is, they opt to stay in their homes rather than move to alternative retirement settings,” says Leslie Knopp, co-owner of Comfort Keepers. The franchise organization she runs alongside her husband Russ Knopp has served Northwest Lower Michigan for more than 18 years. Their teams provide in-home care and other services that assist seniors in maintaining their independence.

“Aging in place has many benefits,” Knopp says. “Seniors who remain in their own homes as they age enjoy the consistency of belonging to communities where they may have lived for many years surrounded by friends and families. This offers both emotional and social benefits, as they have an already established support network.”

Knopp describes that the overall quality of life is better for seniors when they are as independent as possible, including participating in their communities in a meaningful way.

“Remaining in the home also avoids the stress of relocation and acclimating to new environments, and, even more compelling: aging in place can be cost-effective,” she says.

Comfort Keepers has locations both in Traverse City and Petoskey, allowing them to serve seniors from Manistee to the Mackinac Bridge. About 200 Comfort Keepers employees are passionate about the care they provide clients and their families throughout the area.

“Many families today are unaware of the many options available to assist seniors in their homes,” Knopp explains. “When loved ones begin to demonstrate difficulty with certain daily tasks, family members may automatically believe that it is time for assisted living or a nursing home. However, these are not necessarily the best options. Today, the senior care industry and new technologies make it possible for older adults to continue to live in their own homes safely and with assistance.”

Services with Comfort Keepers include: meal delivery, household maintenance, safety checks, emergency response assistance, transportation, medical needs, personal care, nutrition and health care coordination. With new technology tools being developed all the time, they are, “Staying on top of it so we can offer that kind of alternative to people who do want to stay in their homes all the way to the end of life—it’s possible,” says Knopp.

Part of their process is to meet with seniors and/or their family members to collaborate on a comprehensive, custom and curated plan that’s individualized to their needs.

“When someone is serious in exploring options, we meet with people in their homes and start a conversation to learn what the issues are, what their pain is, what their concerns and worries are, and to start developing a solution with them that addresses their needs within their budget,” Knopp says.

“There’s no single-one answer to how we can help,” she adds, explaining they partner with a strong network of senior-serving area organizations to provide care, inclusive of the Commission on Aging, Bay Area Senior Advocates and many medical providers and hospice organizations. “It’s a process of communication, learning, and constantly making sure the solution we originally developed is still meeting all the needs.”

Today, the senior care industry and new technologies make it possible for older adults to continue to live in their own homes safely and with assistance.

Lean on Comfort Keepers for friendly support, wisdom

and care.

STROKE & BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP

For support group times and locations please scan the QR code or visit us online at mclaren.org/NorthernStroke

Smoothing the Bumpy Road to Parenthood

Declining maternity services in small-town America is an ongoing struggle. McLaren Northern Michigan is creating a comfortable birthing experience that’s closer to home.

by LISA BLAKE

Pregnant women in rural America are facing more barriers than the last generation of expectant mothers. Rural hospitals are closing at an alarming rate, many shutting down obstetric (OB) units first, while the post-pandemic shortage of health professionals continues to surge.

A 2021 Harvard Medical School study linked the rise of maternity care deserts—or geographic areas where access to safe maternity care is hundreds of miles away—to a substantial increase in maternal and infant mortality rates. Since 2005, the study states, there have been 170 rural hospital closures, with even more rural hospitals operating at a deficit.

McLaren Northern Michigan is working to change that narrative. The 202-bed regional hospital in Petoskey serves 22 counties across northern Lower Michigan and the eastern Upper Peninsula. In 2022, the hospital’s Family BirthPlace welcomed more than 400 babies with a monthly high of 50 babies born at McLaren in December alone.

McLaren Northern Michigan Director of Marketing & Business Development Joe Miles says he’s seeing mentalities shift from families feeling the need to drive two hours south for NICU access—to cover any possible complications—to more and more mothers confidently staying local for the entire birthing journey.

“What we’re proving is that not only can we handle births, but we also have surgeons available and can handle anything from a C-section standpoint,” Miles says. “You can stay close to home, have your support system with you and be able to have that child locally the way you’d like to.”

The birthing team at McLaren Northern Michigan provides compassionate care, welcoming mothers to hotel-like birthing rooms—think cozy sleeper sofas, birthing balls, hydrotherapeutic Jacuzzis, WiFi and blanket warmers. After baby arrives, families stay together in one of 10 postpartum rooms where the same nurse cares for mother and baby. A lactation consultant makes rounds to nursing mothers to help support all nursing efforts and to help troubleshoot any feeding issues that may arise.

“We have great nurse-to-mother coverage, and we have beautiful private rooms overlooking the lake,” Miles says. “It’s a very nice place to be able to have a baby.”

The Family BirthPlace at McLaren Northern Michigan recently elevated the birthing experience with the addition of two nitrous oxide units as a pain management option. Nitrous oxide is combined with oxygen in a fixed 50/50 blend and is self-administered through a bedside system. The light blend wears off right away and helps mothers cope with anxiety and discomfort during labor. Family BirthPlace began offering this option in December and has received lots of positive feedback from mothers about their experience.

“Birthing centers in Europe have been using nitrous oxide since the 1960s,” Miles says. “Now it’s catching on in America, as more and more mothers are looking toward natural birth. Instead of injections and being knocked out of the experience through an epidural, they’re using nitrous oxide to ease the discomfort.”

Once families return home with their newborn, they’re welcome to call Family BirthPlace nurses anytime during those first few weeks to ask important questions. Follow-up calls from a lactation consultant extend the breastfeeding support for as long as is needed.

McLaren Health Care encompasses 11 Michigan-based hospitals, including the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, and is leading the fight against breast cancer with McLaren Breast Center’s state-of-the-art mammography systems.

Learn more about McLaren Health Care at mclaren.org and listen in on McLaren’s weekly “In Good Health” podcast for intel on leading a healthier life.

Your relationship with money is very personal. And complicated. Easy access to credit cards, lingering college debts, rising inflation costs and volatile markets can eat away at your emotional, physical and fiscal health.

Harmful behaviors can often show up as focusing on regret— regret of not starting to save sooner, of a bad purchase or investment decision and shoddy financial relationships. That pit of regret may leave you frozen and unable to make decisions and move forward. When financial stress starts to disrupt your ability to enjoy life and causes anxiety, depression or even headaches and stomachaches, it’s time to talk to a financial professional.

“Often financial stress comes from the shame of thinking you ‘should’ be better off or further along, regretting decisions you made or debt you’ve accumulated,” says hemming& Wealth Management certified financial planner Autumn Chalker Soltysiak.

In addition to mental anguish, money-related stress can begin to manifest in the body as physical ailments and self-harming habits. Overeating or stress eating, insomnia, weakened immune systems and unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and drug use can crop up when stress about money elevates to an unmanageable level.

HOW TO COPE?

Finding a holistic-minded financial expert allows you to start with understanding your current situation and finding out what’s important to you.

Takeaway Tip: The first step is to track your spending and outline a spending plan—one you’ll actually follow.

After that, building an emergency fund will put you in control of your finances. “If you’re in a relationship, this is also a time where open communication between partners and an understanding about a strategy for the future is necessary,” Soltysiak says.

To build financial confidence, hemming& uses a three-step

Is Money Stressing You Out?

by

process: embrace, educate, empower. This progression helps clients learn how to think about money, communicate about money with the right people, and to feel confident in their financial plan.

“How you spend your money is intrinsic and affects your health, your experiences and your relationships,” Soltysiak says. “We are intentional in developing a comprehensive plan for every family we serve.”

Takeaway Tip: Experts recommend spending money on healthy activities or experiences, versus purchases that leave you wanting the next big thing.

Financial planning isn’t about accumulating a magic dollar amount, Soltysiak says. How much you should save and for how long is different for everyone.

As a certified financial planner, she has seen young families in well-paying high-stress jobs save aggressively and live modestly to have the ability to retire early and live simply. At the same time, she sees aging couples with a desire to make their money last beyond their years, taking care of their children and grandchildren.

“Their investment and saving strategies look very different,” she says.

New clients preparing for retirement will often joke, asking, “Where were you twenty years ago?” There is a cost to waiting to take control of financial stress, Soltysiak adds. The anxiety can cause desperation and a lack of focus on long-term goals.

Takeaway Tip: By addressing the issue that brings you the most stress and building a team of support to guide and educate, the burden can be lifted.

“With our financial guidance, we encourage clients to go after the things that will make them happy, now and later in life,” Soltysiak says. “Money is a resource or a tool to obtain fulfillment and joy in all phases of life—it’s not the end goal.”

How you spend your money is intrinsic and affects your health, your experiences and your relationships.

Here’s how to tackle financial planning and keep your mental health in check.

LISA BLAKE

LivingLymewithDisease

Rich spends his summer days at the family cottage on Crystal Lake. The extended relatives gather in droves to enjoy everything it has to offer— boating during the day, bonfires at night and nonstop meal-prep. Uncle Rich is the instigator of all things fun, and “can’t stop won’t stop” is the unspoken agreement.

But this summer was different. For weeks, a strange fever would come and go. His newfound insomnia at night became intolerable. Even at work, he admits, “I had to put my feet up on the desk and close my eyes every day. I couldn’t rally one hundred percent no matter what I did.” It wasn’t until his wife started to google symptoms that they suspected Lyme disease. Was it that tiny red bump on his leg a few weeks ago that started all of this? Maybe.

Jenny likes to golf, walk the dog and garden at her farm. When an onslaught of bizarre symptoms showed up, she was mystified. Extreme exhaustion, body pain, lead-weight arms, chest pain. Every step she took sent pounding pain to the top of her head. A low-grade fever, exhaustion and profound sweating at night. Edema started in her legs, then gout and finally pink eye. Emergency room tests revealed nothing. Then, allergic reactions to medications she had previously tolerated. Looking back, was it that little rash she noticed while golfing a month ago?

Anne is the consummate tomboy and has been since childhood, her brothers hard pressed to keep up with her boundless energy. She and her husband have worked side-by-side building houses together while raising five children (all homeschooled) and keeping up with grandchildren. About 20 years ago she got the flu and just when she thought it was over, it would come back. Extreme exhaustion, inability to lift her legs, terrible headaches and a cataract in her early 40s.

by SHEA PETAJA photo

by DAVE WEIDNER

Prevention is important, but for those battling Lyme disease, a swift and accurate diagnosis can be a life-changing step toward wellness.

Lyme disease awareness advocate Anne Fielstra

Anne pushed through and ignored the pain as a temporary setback. Her daughter noticed the changes and insisted (several times) that she pursue answers. Eventually she did, but the truth is, she waited too long.

Rich, Jenny and Anne all have something in common: they are hardwired to push through pain and none of them suspected Lyme disease.

With more than 300 symptoms that manifest differently in different people, Lyme is very hard to detect. In fact, 75 percent of Lyme patients have no memory of a tick bite. Most patients are diagnosed with chronic fatigue, autoimmune disorders or completely dismissed. If not diagnosed immediately, patients like Anne are faced with chronic Lyme disease. Without treatment they will learn to manage the pain but very rarely be cured of it. Lyme disease is like a puzzle without a picture. The pieces fit together but it’s up to you and medical professionals to interpret the image.

Dr. Aaron Heindl, a family doctor in Traverse City, diagnosed Rich almost immediately. “It can be a very complicated diagnosis,” he says, “but if you have a combination of fever, joint pain, flu-like symptoms and remember a bite or classic rash, it’s good to get tested.

“Historically, Michigan has not been listed as a high-risk area so it wasn’t on many practitioners’ minds, including my own, until recently. Different patients will have a variety of manifestations of the disease,” Heindl explains. “The type of symptoms a patient is having, and the timing of them, can make a big difference in how your practitioner will choose to evaluate you.”

LIVING WITH CHRONIC LYME

Anne Fielstra of Traverse City waited too long to seek a diagnosis and treatment. This can be common since many do not suspect Lyme disease at the start, but the longer the disease goes undiagnosed, the tougher it can be to treat.

Anne explains she became a “human library,” an expert on Lyme. But it took over her life. “It’s easy to become self-absorbed in the pain,” she admits. At some point she realized that if it wasn’t going to kill her, she had to learn to live with it. Anne wakes early in the morning to give her body time to become mobile. Daily stretching, walks, a strict vitamin regime, breath work and clean eating keep her thriving. If she can’t sleep, she gets up and does something so as not to lie in bed with frustration. She enjoys her life by hiking, swimming, biking and staying active. She says, “Awareness is your friend, but obsession will work against you.”

Dr. Jeffrey Wulfman, M.D., has spent most of his 30-year career in Vermont. He never set out to be an expert on Lyme disease; it started with one patient who had a mysterious illness that started teaching him what he didn’t know about Lyme, which was a lot. Soon he realized he was in the middle of a silent epidemic of a hidden, potentially devastating illness exacerbated by a lack of knowledge. The reality was, most of what he was taught in school was inadequate. He quickly saw

how complex the situation was and to become proficient in the world of tick-borne diseases, it would require extensive self-study and rewriting his belief systems. There were many unknowns, but the need was great.

He learned that Lyme disease is a great imitator and there is no single way it presents, or single way to diagnose and treat it. Lyme disease also can’t be ruled out with labs because the accuracy of tests are very poor. During the first month of onset of symptoms, lab tests are maybe 50 percent accurate—a coin flip. Also, there is no test that can “prove” cure. Antibodies produced to fight off the bacteria that cause Lyme disease can persist— and show up in blood tests—long after the infection is gone.

Additionally, due to the weakening of the body’s systems in the chronic forms, the longer someone has been ill the more a cascade of other problems can develop such as immune dysfunction, hormone issues, neuro-psychiatric issues and parasites. It can become very complex over time.

Chronic late-stage symptoms are much less responsive to treatments, so it’s very important for patients to advocate for themselves quickly. If suspicious of acute (recent onset) Lyme, Dr. Wulfman is an advocate of antibiotics immediately, because, “At the early stage they can be curative and prevent, with very little risk, the development of a potentially life-altering illness.” The chronic condition, by contrast, usually requires a much more comprehensive approach.

WORDS OF HOPE

People are incredibly resilient, and Dr. Wulfman has seen the sickest of the sick get a lot better. His message? Prioritize self-care. The best prevention is to have a vital and healthy baseline in case of infection. Lyme disease or any chronic illness is relentless, making you come to terms with your life and lifestyle, and to choose healing and, equally important, a healing mindset.

Lastly, remember to be your own best advocate, and trust your own knowing that something is not right. Advocate for your health at all times and continue to make your immune system strong so that you can enjoy all the adventures life holds.

OTHER RESOURCES:

• International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, ilads.org

• “Bite Me” by Ally Hilfiger

• lymedisease.org

• Dr. Wulfman is not currently taking patients; however, he is involved in a new group model for people to have better access to addressing chronic complex illnesses including tick borne disease; learn more at functionalmedicineconsultinggroup.com.

Shea Petaja is a Traverse City-based speaker, writer and certified life coach, who also performs improv and is a regular guest on NewsTalk 580. She is an advocate for those suffering with chronic illnesses and the medical practices that champion patients’ healing. sheapetaja.com

Big Fixes for Little Teeth

by GREG TASKER

When most of us think of children with braces, we tend to imagine middle or high school students with a mouth full of metal brackets. These days, however, more and more young children— those between the ages of 7 and 12—are benefitting from early intervention in orthodontic treatment.

“Seeing children earlier has become more of an emphasis in orthodontics,” says Dr. Madelyn Stumpos, who owns and runs Traverse City Orthodontics and works with children of all ages. “It is beneficial to see kids early so we can evaluate if they need any early intervention treatment. Early treatment, which occurs while some baby teeth are still present, can guide the growth of facial and jaw bones into a better growth pattern and provide more space for the adult teeth. This can provide for a better long-term outcome.”

In fact, the American Association of Orthodontists and the American Dental Association recommend all kids be evaluated for orthodontics by age 7. By this age, the orthodontist can detect problems with jaw growth and emerging teeth. Most kids begin active treatment between ages 9 and 14.

“Things go a lot easier when we have early intervention,” says Dr. Maddy, as her patients call her. “More and more research shows that we can find a better treatment plan when we start at a younger age.”

She recently moved to Traverse City last summer after practicing in the Denver, Colorado, area. A native of Lansing, Stumpos earned her doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Her philosophy? A visit to the orthodontist at an earlier age doesn’t necessarily mean braces. “It can simply mean working with children before their adult teeth

are established to address any issues of concern,” she says.

Those concerns can range from crooked and crowded teeth to problems with jaw growth to bite malocclusions, such as crossbites, overbites and underbites. Early treatment can correct or improve conditions in young, growing children. Intervention at a young age can also turn a severe problem that could require jaw surgery into a moderate problem that can be treated with braces at a later age.

“A lot of times early treatment is to help the jaws fit together,” says Stumpos. “It doesn’t mean you need braces at the time. We want to be efficient with our treatment plans.”

Those braces options include clear and metal braces that are made of the latest technology in high-grade stainless steel. Stumpos also offers clear aligner therapy such as Invisalign or Spark and in-house clear aligners. Braces and retainers come in a variety of colors.

“It’s nice to say, ‘We don’t need to do anything right now; we just want to watch you grow,’” she says. “It’s a bummer when someone comes in who is done growing and there are issues. It makes it more complicated. It’s harder in terms of treatment options.”

In addition to a welcoming environment full of toys and patients’ colored pictures brightening the walls, Stumpos and her team also make each patient feel like they’re the most important person in the place, she says. “We give them a lot of attention and make kids feel important to help the process go a lot smoother,” she explains. That attention also extends to moments of anxiousness or minor discomfort. “We tell them gently, ‘We’ll give you a break when it’s safe,’” Stumpos says. “We give them all the time they need.”

New-in-town orthodontist Dr. Maddy Stumpos carries on a beloved practice with a knack for helping kids.

More and more research shows that we can find a better treatment plan when we start at a younger age.

A Welcoming Approach

by CARLY SIMPSON

When the team at Prout Financial Design in Traverse City began searching for a new office, their primary goal was to find a spot with enough space for a classroom. They wanted a place where they could welcome the community. This dream is part of a larger staff mission to invest in education—not just continuing education for advisors or informing clients about the latest investment strategies, but also answering questions and offering resources to the community at large.

Another goal? Create a relaxed atmosphere. Thanks to a steadily growing staff and 700-plus clients, Prout Financial’s original headquarters on Front Street was starting to feel “cramped.” Walking into the lobby at their new Eighth Street home is anything but—it feels more like a friend’s living room, with a crackling fire, comfy couches, coffee mugs at the ready.

Now settled in after their big move in November 2022, Prout Financial is ready to invite guests over, and this spring 2023, the team is hosting the first of many Lunch & Learns. The free hour-long events will cover a variety of topics—some financial and some just plain ol’ fun—from Roth IRAs and 529 plans to travel, gardening and cooking classes. Prout Financial will also bring in experts on subjects like Medicare, Social Security and life insurance. The classroom has a full kitchen—with an oven, refrigerator, two dishwashers and counter space for prep work—along with a separate restroom, two big-screen TVs, a high-tech sound system and rolling tables that can be easily rearranged. Outside groups can also rent the room and host their own events.

“Locally, I don’t know of anyone else who has a learning center like this,” says Financial Advisor and Managing Director Heidi Cartwright. “Other people do hold classes for clients to introduce products, but our monthly program that’s open to the public is a little different.

“People who come in our door may have some fear or anxiety about financial planning,” Cartwright adds. “They might not know how to get started or are worried about making a mistake. We want to give people tools to navigate these topics, which can feel like tangled webs.”

For those who want one-on-one time with an advisor, Prout Financial also offers an hour-long complimentary consultation. It’s an opportunity to ask questions and learn about different services. “I’ve had people with a couple thousand dollars who are just starting out and who want to know what to do first, to people who have substantial portfolios,” Cartwright says. “But that hour is available to anyone. We try to give you as much information as possible and a list of action items. We want you to leave having the confidence of knowing what to do next.” Consultations are available with Cartwright and Nathan Prout, son of Prout Financial Founder Dennis Prout, who has joined the advisor team. Nathan recently passed his Series 65, allowing him to give clients investment advice and analysis, and he also specializes in life insurance, annuities and financial plans.

Lunch & Learn dates and topics will be announced online (proutfinancialdesign.com) and on-air during WTCM’s “New Retirement Radio” program, featuring Cartwright and Prout. Space is limited; call to save your spot.

Securities offered through Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory Services offered through Capital Asset Advisory Services, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor.

Financial planning can be overwhelming. This local team of experts invites you to ease into it.

photo courtesy of Prout Financial

It was an ordinary follow-up email from a patient, but with an extraordinary attachment. When Dr. Rebecca Zipser Hoffman’s staff clicked on the image, up popped a photo of a woman posing with a pair of her big old sweatpants. She was standing in one leg of them, her smile glowing, the picture of pride and health.

Even better? Her newly healthy and slimmed-down husband, inspired by his wife’s success, was standing in the other leg.

This reinvigorated, half-of-themselves duo was the perfect testimony to the outcomes Hoffman and her team are seeing at Cherry Bend Health & Wellness. The new medical spa, focused on skin care and weight loss, is the sister business to her longestablished Traverse City practice, Cherry Bend Family Care.

As a Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.), Hoffman has always embraced holistic wellness but was frustrated by traditional care models that only allow for a few minutes of patient interaction and often leave people with more questions than answers. Add to that the impact Covid-19 had on her staff and the people in her care—as the first clinic in the area to have rapid Covid testing, they found themselves taking care of the community at large, not just their own patients.

Battling burnout, Hoffman took stock: “I was thinking, well, I’m a middle-aged woman, some of my staff are in the same situation, what do I want? What can we offer? I wanted to do something that I enjoy, that gives me new knowledge, something fun in medicine. I decided to address the things people have asked me about over the years; the ‘I can’t lose weight. What do I do with brown spots from all the sun?’ questions and the issues that keep us from feeling our best as we age.”

She’d also noticed troubling health trends exacerbated by the pandemic—spiking anxiety, alcohol abuse, poor health habits. How could she wrap her arms around all of her patients’ needs?

Then Hoffman’s landlord retired and offered to sell her the other half of the building where her practice was, and she knew she had the space to expand into something new and exciting.

You, Only Better

by CARA MCDONALD

The result is a practice where patients can receive weight loss, skin and body care services that help them lean into their health and wellbeing in a way that helps them feel inspired and at home in their bodies—and most important, done in a sound, medically informed way.

The clinic now offers medically supported weight loss that starts with a habit and diet reboot. “What you put into your body makes such a difference—it will impact your skin, your joint pain,” Hoffman explains. “So we start people out on a super clean diet for a very short period of time, but people can’t believe how good they feel.”

That super clean diet? It starts with three weeks of real, whole food. “It’s very spelled out,” says Hoffman. “We’ve found it helps people a lot to know exactly what to do for success.”

The other secret to success is the accountability the weekly appointments and check-ins provide. “When you have accountability, when you’re investing in something, you’re less inclined to cheat,” she adds.

In addition, the team offers skin care that’s tightly curated—instead of a laundry list of treatments, they’ve narrowed it down to the most impactful and least-invasive options that don’t change how you look (so no lifts and fillers), but improve and enhance.

Similar to the weight loss model, her team helps patients come up with a highly individualized plan, which can range from simply switching to new products, to facials, chemical peels, Botox and microneedling and microdermabrasion. (Her personal fave? Virtue Microneedling. “I can tell it’s made a difference in a very short period of time without making me look like a different person.”)

The result is a care model where people who have experienced frustration or hesitancy to tackle personal improvements can feel supported and guided in the best way possible. “We don’t go with the, ‘What don’t you like about yourself?’” Hoffman says. “We help you choose what’s going to make you feel good about yourself.”

I wanted to do something that I enjoy, that gives me new knowledge, something fun in medicine.

In a warm and caring environment, a family practice doc helps patients look and feel like the best versions of themselves.

Before Jessica Perez became a NAMI navigator, she urgently needed one.

Her daughter Ava—normally an active, outgoing 12-year-old with a busy school, sports and social calendar—had become increasingly withdrawn during the pandemic.

No longer able to attend school in person, play on the three sports teams she loved or build and brainstorm alongside her robotics team, Ava went from feeling hopeful for a return to normal life to feeling hopeless. She became anxious. What initially seemed like sadness about the situation began showing itself through worsening signs of anxiety and depression.

“In our family, we treat mental health issues as we do a broken bone or other serious medical condition, so we took her to the emergency room at Munson [Medical Center in Traverse City],” Perez explains.

Mental Health Help for Kids

In terms of mental health care in Northern Michigan, she says, “We lack everything. We’ve seen adults and kids stuck in the emergency department for weeks or sometimes a month.”

The region isn’t alone, of course. For kids and adults across the nation, there’s a huge chasm between the need for and availability of mental health services, not only for inpatient psych beds and crisis stabilization units but also basic community clinics, intensive outpatient programs, respite services and therapy.

Although Michigan isn’t the worst, this year Mental Health America named Michigan among the nation’s lowest-ranked states in terms of access to care for both kids and adults.

Yet even Perez, who has 20 years of experience navigating state and local social services thanks to a degree and career in social work, was unprepared for the difficulties her family would face in getting local crisis care and follow-up support for Ava. “We as a family are well-versed in mental health,” she says. “But we were still surprised with the lack of resources here in Grand Traverse County and [the surrounding region].”

Roughly 22 percent of American kids will face a severe mental health issue. But getting support and treatment for the under-18 set and their families in Michigan—and Up North, in particular— is not only limited but also infinitely complicated. What’s an overwhelmed parent to do? Lean on the Grand Traverse affiliate of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

by LYNDA WHEATLEY

The clinicians recommended Ava get treatment in a residential/inpatient program, but Munson couldn’t admit her. Nor could any other facility in the area. Northern Lower Michigan has only 32 inpatient mental health beds—not nearly enough supply for demand—and not one accepts kids under 18.

With nowhere to go but unable to leave while awaiting transfer, Ava and her parents stayed in a small windowless room in the emergency department, hoping a youth inpatient bed would open up somewhere, anywhere, in Michigan. Five nights later, one finally did at Pine Rest in Grand Rapids, three hours south.

Ava’s experience isn’t uncommon, says Kate Dahlstrom, a longtime mental health advocate based in Traverse City and NAMI board member.

As with residential crisis and inpatient programs, there are a few partial hospitalization/ out patient programs and mental health services available in Northern Lower Michigan but, again, limitations abound: Some are for adults only. Other services, like most offered through Northern Lakes Community Mental Health—just one of five member Community Mental Health Services Programs covering 21 counties in Northern Lower Michigan—are accessible only to those with Medicaid. Others can be prohibitively expensive, even for folks with insurance.

Coverage, cost or age of the patient notwithstanding, long waiting lists for programs, services and psychiatrists—the only kind of mental health specialist able to prescribe medication, often critical in managing certain conditions and behaviors—are the norm, Dahlstrom says.

While Ava’s parents were ultimately able to get their daughter the help she needed at the time of her crisis and afterward, Perez acknowledges, “That’s not the case for all families.”

In hopes of helping others navigate their own mental health and treatment odyssey, Ava and Perez shared their experience with a local paper. Many Northerners struggling with their or their children’s mental illnesses began reaching out to Perez for advice, guidance or simply to share their story, too.

Not long after, Perez joined NAMI Grand Traverse to guide families in an official capacity: as a NAMI navigator.

Founded around a kitchen table by a group of Colorado moms struggling to find help for their kids in 1979, NAMI is a nationwide organization with affiliates in every state and 1,100-plus local communities across the country. Its mission: to improve the lives of both kids and adults, as well as their families, who are living with mental illness—through support, education and advocacy.

Except for one affiliate in the Upper Peninsula, NAMI Alger/Marquette, NAMI Grand Traverse is the only NAMI affiliate north of Midland. As NAMI Grand Traverse’s sole navigator, Perez works by phone and in person to help people find the right mental health care for themselves or someone they love—during a crisis, in conjunction with treatment and afterward.

“I listen and provide empathy and direction,” she says, from guiding people to next steps when a mentally ill family member has been arrested to connecting them to resources like treatment programs, support groups or therapists.

She also strives to help people develop what she calls “their mental health toolkit.”

“You can’t be at therapy every day, so what can you do in the meantime? I help people think outside of the box so that they can find something to do each day to support their mental wellness,” Perez says.

To that end, NAMI offers some services of its own—all free:

• For people living with mental illness, there’s NAMI Connection, a weekly Zoom meeting where attendees can talk openly about their struggles and receive respect, understanding, encouragement and hope. It’s led by a trained individual who is in recovery. Note: NAMI Connection is intended in conjunction with treatment, not as an alternative.

• For adult family members, caregivers and others who love someone living with mental illness, NAMI’s Family Support Group offers a structured way to gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar circumstances. It’s led by a trained peer support specialist who also has a family member living with a mental illness.

• For family caregivers of individuals with severe mental illnesses, NAMI offers a Family-to-Family Education Program, a free, 12-week course (and national program) taught by trained family members. It covers the latest research, evidence-based treatments and medication for major disorders like schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder and more. It also offers strategies for communication techniques, handling crises and relapse, and—especially important—helping the caregiver cope with worry, stress and emotional overload.

A BETTER TOMORROW

Although Northwest Lower Michigan has a long way to go in meeting the outsized demand for mental health care, NAMI and others are giving families and people living with mental illness more reasons for hope.

Recently, NAMI Grand Traverse started working with local high school students to help them better understand their own

and others’ mental health: recognizing warning signs of struggle or suicide, identifying triggers, learning coping skills, how to seek help, and reducing the stigma of mental illness—a key tenet of NAMI’s education efforts.

McLaren Hospital in Cheboygan has broken ground on an 18-bed behavioral health unit for adults, but a planned second phase would add 12 beds, expand its partial hospitalization program and include a crisis stabilization unit.

In Grand Traverse County, NAMI and other partners’ advocacy efforts have resulted in $5 million in ARPA funds earmarked for “mental health infrastructure.” While details are still unfolding, a crisis wellness center, projected to offer several levels of mental health services for adults, adolescents and their families, is in the works. In addition to that future center, a “Crisis Welcome Center” already exists in TC, offered by Northern Lakes Community Mental Health. The center has group sessions, support and crisis interventions seven days a week. It’s open to anyone, regardless of age or coverage.

Lynda Wheatley is an award-winning writer specializing in stories that showcase Michigan travel and recreation, history, and the passionate folks who make this place so extraordinary. ltwriter.com

A 2022 report by Mental Health America found that nearly 60 percent of Michigan’s youth with major depression, roughly 74,000 kids, didn’t receive any treatment.

AESTHETIC SKIN CARE

We have the latest in minimally invasive treatments and products available to help even skin tone and texture, restoring your youthful glow and boosting your confidence.

LASER TREATMENTS

We are proud to offer Northern Michigan’s most advanced cosmetic laser skin therapies, performed efficiently and effectively with often little or no recovery time.

BODY TREATMENTS

Whether you want to get rid of exerciseresistant fat, improve the contours of your body, or restore confidence, we have a variety of minimally invasive procedures for you.

SKIN CARE PRODUCTS

We offer an exclusive line of professional skin care products, including cleansers, moisturizers, serums and sunscreens to help restore, protect and maintain your healthy, youthful glow.

Christopher C. Jeffries, MD, FACS Ryan S. Burke, MD Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Your largest organ should be as fit and healthy as you are. But when it comes to caring for your skin, the Instagram pop-ups and slick magazine ads slinging celebrity endorsements and buzzwords—retinol, Vitamin C serums, hyaluronic acid, oh my!— can be a bit daunting.

“I like to think about skin health as a house,” says Brooke Blanchard, a medical spa nurse at The Center for Plastic Surgery and Copper Aesthetics. “If we buy a house and want to update it, are we just going to paint the walls and replace cabinet pulls? Or is it worth it to tear down to the studs and rebuild? Your skin is worth the rebuild.”

The Center for Plastic Surgery and Copper Aesthetics invites clients to see beyond the ads and fads. The expertly educated Traverse City and Petoskey teams focus on meeting skincare goals with individualized treatment plans.

Client goals tend to hover around evening out skin tone and complexion; remedying sun damage, aging spots and lines; and more focused issues such as teenage or adult acne. Oftentimes clients are overwhelmed with choosing the right products for their skin type and rely on word of mouth or packaging that jumps out from store shelves.

Healthy Skin without the Confusion

How to create a personalized skin treatment plan.

by LISA BLAKE

tools like advanced aging simulation and an injectables simulation to see what skin would look like post-treatment.

5 Products Your Skin Needs

Aestheticians and laser specialists use the snapshots to make personalized product and treatment recommendations based on a client’s goals and budget. An injection specialist can discuss Botox and dermal fillers.

Center for Plastic Surgery and Copper Aesthetics medical spa nurse and injection specialist Brooke Blanchard, RN, BSN shares her top product picks for 2023.

1. ZO Skin Health Smart Tone SPF 50

If you only pick one thing, it should be sunscreen. I like this one because it matches all skin types and contains a complex providing time-released protection over 12 hours.

2. Neocutis Eye Cream

This eye cream is the gold standard in our medspa. It helps thicken the skin under the eyes and helps with hydration as well as tightening and brightening. The best eye cream on the market. Period.

3. Copper Aesthetics C-Stem

Goodbye dullness. This soothing Vitamin C serum is made with lilac stem cells and algae extracts that help brighten overall complexion as well as promote elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid production.

4. Copper Aesthetics Ultra Benefits

This is for the person just looking to add a moisturizer to their routine. It hydrates, promotes healthy skin barrier functions and brightens uneven skin tone.

5. ZO Skin Health Anti-Aging Kit

A skin treatment plan can look like custom medical-grade skincare products, Botox or laser treatments. It all begins with a complimentary Visia Skin Analysis where in-depth photos analyze eight below-thesurface categories: spots, wrinkles, texture, pores, UV spots, brown spots, red areas and porphyrins. The software also comes with fun

For patients looking for a place to start with a solid skin care routine, this is the go-to. It provides five amazing products in one kit: a cleanser, toner, exfoliating polish plus a moisturizer and growth factor serum.

“Why spend hours in the skincare aisle at Target when you can spend 30 minutes talking to one of our specialists and walk out with exactly what you need now and in the future?” says practice manager Ashley Tucker.

Educated discussions help clients shape a personalized skin treatment strategy from a toolbox of medical-grade products, Hydrafacials, chemical peels, laser treatments or even injectables. Board-certified plastic surgeons are available for surgical interventions as well, if desired.

“You don’t have to walk out with anything other than information,” Tucker says. “Our goal is to make it easy to keep your skin in shape so that you feel confident and comfortable in it.”

Copper Aesthetics opened a downtown Petoskey location in 2022, making it easier for walk-in appointments and pop-in product shopping. A new Copper Academy educational series in both Traverse City and Petoskey provides a zero-pressure venue for small groups to learn about rotating topics like lasers, injectables, skincare and surgery in engaging one-hour sessions. Check thecenterforyou.com for upcoming programs.

A Hidden Gem for Healing

by CHASE EDWARDS

What if you were told there was one treatment that helps the healing of almost every injury and illness? Too good to be true? Not anymore. Meet hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Used since the 1940s to treat scuba divers for decompression sickness, HBOT has been found to promote healing for those with burns, strokes, headaches, athletic injuries, even Alzheimer’s.

What sounds almost incomprehensible is actually as simple as oxygen: HBOT heals by carrying O2 to the parts of the body that need it the most. Oxygen is vital in numerous biological processes including cell proliferation, angiogenesis and protein synthesis, which are required for restoration of tissue function and integrity.

“Oxygen helps everybody,” says Dr. Tony Aboudib, who regularly treats people using HBOT at his practice, the Michigan Health & Wellness Center in Traverse City. In the seven years since Aboudib has used HBOT he’s seen astounding results, from the post-stroke patient whose numbness went away after only a few sessions, allowing him to walk without a cane, to the Covid-19 long-hauler who found relief from both pain and fatigue.

Aboudib describes HBOT as a supplemental treatment. “Patients typically use it in conjunction with other treatments and therapies,” he says. For example, a cancer patient would use HBOT along with chemo and radiation to enhance the effectiveness of those treatments.

During therapy sessions, patients are placed in a pressurized chamber where oxygen is compressed, and the increased air pressure in the chamber helps the lungs collect more oxygen. Oxygen is then carried in the person’s plasma to red blood cells. The pressure in the chamber stimulates blood flow and increases the circulation of oxygen throughout the body.

For patients with burns and soft tissue wounds, this increase in oxygen decreases swelling caused damaged blood vessels. The increase in oxygen to the burn area also decreases pain while promoting the healing of the injury. Dr. Aboudib worked with one burn patient who saw a decrease in burn size after every visit.

HBOT works wonders for athletic injuries in much the same way, and it also enhances recovery so athletes can get back to training more quickly.

The healing process is similar for patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries, headaches and strokes where an increase in oxygen is carried to the brain, and healing is promoted. For one patient with trigeminal neuralgia and severe facial pain, the pain was reduced 50 percent after the first visit. This same patient also had swelling in his feet, and after two or three visits the swelling in his ankles was gone.

Additionally, HBOT boosts the immune system by increasing both the quantity and quality of white blood cells while increasing blood flow, which helps detoxify the body. And because it also increases collagen production, patients not only feel better but look better, too.

At Michigan Health and Wellness, the number of HBOT sessions prescribed depends on your personalized treatment plan. Most cancer patients will receive 40 sessions, whereas a typical stroke patient or a patient with a brain injury may receive 30 sessions. Sessions last from an hour to 90 minutes.

To prepare for treatment, clients are asked to wear comfortable cotton clothes and to take off shoes and empty their pockets. Once the door is closed, oxygen begins flowing through the chamber. The level of compression is adjusted according to the patient’s treatment plan and the ailment being treated. Patients can then relax inside the pressurized chamber by reading, watching videos or napping.

“It feels like being in an airplane,” Aboudib says. “You feel a little pressure in your ears and then it equalizes.”

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the supplemental treatment you’ve been looking for.

photo courtesy of Michigan Health & Wellness Center

Solutions for Neuropathy Pain Symptoms

by COURTNEY JEROME

Tingling, aching and numbness in your hands and feet is a pain that’s hard to ignore. In fact, when you experience it, the feeling can be overwhelming and all-consuming when accomplishing even daily tasks.

“Neuropathy pain can vary from person to person, but it could feel like burning, stabbing, aching, tingling or numbness,” says Kyle Konas, D.C., founder of Shift Health Center who treats the condition along with his chiropractor colleagues, Dr. Peter Kelly and Dr. Damian Mendoza. “At Shift Health Center, we use a plethora of treatment modalities depending on each specific case.”

Patients from throughout Northern Michigan travel to Traverse City’s Shift Health Center, seeking a solution. The chiropractic office says the pain is most commonly experienced by both male and female patients 50 years of age and older.

Common causes of neuropathy pain include diabetes, prescription medication side effects (especially statins), autoimmune diseases, alcohol use, spinal injuries and chemotherapy side effects.

“However, about forty percent of cases are called idiopathic, which means we don’t know why they started,” Konas says.

Whether idiopathic, or the cause is known, the team at Shift cares about finding a solution that doesn’t include surgery or medication.

“I’ve always been into natural means—a holistic lifestyle has always resonated with me,” Konas says. “I was so sick of seeing all these options that are only band-aids for people’s problems‚ just trying to mask the symptoms. It’s a big problem. And it’s propagated by some patients who just want to take a pill.”

Dr. Konas believes their team’s passion for Shift’s treatment modalities stems from the desire to see people get well and stay well, instead of using a pain killer that will cause other negative symptoms.

“The nice thing is that much of this therapy we can give our patients to do at home, so they do not need to come to our office

every day,” continues Dr. Konas. “Our goal is not necessarily to ‘cure’ neuropathy, but to reverse the symptoms that you are experiencing.” Their six treatment modalities include:

LOW-LEVEL LIGHT THERAPY

This treatment is designed to hit mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell), giving it energy to heal the tissues and the nerves around the area of focus.

NERVE STIMULATION

To re-educate the nerves, nerve stimulation is another option. As nerves may be firing in improper frequencies, they need to be re-educated back into a normal rhythm.

LASER THERAPY

Working similarly to low-level light therapy in terms of targeting the mitochondria of cells, laser therapy also has a pain-reduction effect, in addition to pushing fluids through the area.

SPINAL CARE

The nerves that exit the spine feed down to the feet and hands, so it’s crucial to screen the spine and those areas to make sure none of a patient’s symptoms are coming from the spine.

DIET MODIFICATION AND SUPPLEMENTATION

Goals for most of Shift’s neuropathy patients include lowering systemic inflammation so the body has the ability to heal, and improving circulation, which can be achieved by modifying diet and adding supplements.

SHOCKWAVE THERAPY

This therapy works by recycling old and damaged cells, turning on the stem cell mechanism in the body to produce new cells. It also brings blood flow to the area and moves fluids through the tissues to reduce pain levels.

Exploring drug-free and non-surgical treatment approaches at Traverse City’s Shift Health Center.

I’ve always been into natural means—a holistic lifestyle has always resonated with me.

Where the Better Angels Work

How area hospice volunteers guide patients and loved ones through one of the most emotional, challenging and beautiful parts of life.

by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS

When my mother was in the last stages of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, hospice came to the rescue. Not just to usher our beloved mom into the great hereafter, but also to help her and our family members accept the weighty inevitability of her death.

Mom was of the generation that only whispered about dying. But after she read the breakthrough 1969 book, “On Death and Dying” by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a co-founder of the hospice movement who outlined the five stages of grief before and after death, my mother’s thoughts began to evolve.

Hospice care services include doctors, nurses, social workers, spiritual counselors, home health aides, bereavement counselors and trained volunteers. The idea is to offer comfort, dignity and quality of life to patients whose diseases don’t respond to curative treatment.

My family witnessed firsthand the selflessness, caring and keen wisdom of Darlene, our hospice worker. She came to my parents’ home several times a week and made us all feel comfortable at the saddest time of our lives. Each time she visited, my mom felt more and more at ease. Just before Mom died, Darlene let us know that it was time for my large family to assemble. My brother played a Simon and Garfunkel tune on his guitar as she took her last breath.

A LOVE STORY

Anyone who knows Denny and Monterey Wheeler knows the great story of how they met. They were both divorced, and even though they both went to the same high school, they didn’t know each other until Monterey’s best friend introduced the two at a party in Onekama. Not long after, on their first date, she says, “We knew.”

Their love story began in May 2000, and the couple married soon after, enjoying more than two decades of love, laughter and a mutual adoration of good food and rock ’n’ roll. In 2022, Denny was diagnosed with ALS. As his condition began to deteriorate, Monterey contacted a social worker at their insurance provider, Priority Health, to get the ball rolling. Two days later, they began receiving hospice care through Munson Hospital Cadillac at their Manistee home.

“It was a wise decision. They have been wonderful, with a team much like the ALS Clinic in Grand Rapids, except they come to us,” says Monterey. “No more trips to GR. And they do everything we need. Someone from their team comes nearly every day.”

Hospice has provided all of the equipment Denny needs— an online app for voice recognition with large print, a ventilator and suction machine and, the biggest hit so far, the visit from a retired pastor, who brought his guitar and played Bob Seger and Neil Diamond. “Denny just beamed,” Monterey says, noting that Christmas was more meaningful in 2022 because of “the gift of having Denny, and the time we’ve been given to continue writing our love story.” She wants people to know that, “Hospice doesn’t mean death is imminent. We just go one day at a time, and try to do something different every day.”

A LONG-TIME VOLUNTEER

Traverse City resident Jan Chapman witnessed her mom and, more recently, her boyfriend, go through hospice. And over two decades, she’s experienced many passings as a volunteer. But before that, at only 34 years old, she watched her husband die without hospice. It was a lesson.

“After that, I felt I had to help people who were dying,” Chapman says. “People can die peacefully and it’s not scary. It’s the most natural thing, and it can give you peace to be with a loved one and take care of that person. It’s beautiful.”

Chapman lauds clinical social worker Mary Raymer for starting the hospice program in Traverse City with the intent to help people live their last days of life as fully as possible. Chapman shares, “People think once you call hospice, it’s the end—and what is wrong with that? Hospice allows you to die at home, helps you with living in the here and now, and teaches you so much—to be happy every day you wake up.”

She says hospice offers the most tranquil way to die, for patients and families alike. “It can be peaceful if you know how to navigate the storm,” she says. “None of us like that our loved one is dying, so we say, ‘How can we make it as peaceful as possible.’”

She recalls volunteer work with an especially crabby hospice patient who was in a lot of pain. “I told him, ‘You can be as crabby as you want, but if you will let me, I will make you as comfortable as possible. I’m here because I love you and want to help you.’

“About an hour later, he told me, ‘I’ve never felt this comfortable in my entire life.’ He died in the middle of the night. Everybody’s death can be a lesson to somebody that this can be beautiful,” Chapman adds. “Nobody teaches us how to ask for help. We don’t know what to say. That’s where hospice can help.”

ANOTHER LESSON

Like Chapman, Northport writer and village trustee Susan Ager went through elaborate training as a hospice volunteer. She remembers her patients well.

“One client was a woman from Slovakia,” Ager says. “I saw her for a year. We would sit side by side and I would hold her hand and watch TV.”

What she learned was that families need respite from their sorrow as their loved ones move through the process of dying, and hospice volunteers provide that help, such as holding hands, massaging them, taking patients to the bathroom and doing bereavement calls after the patient has died.

“All of my experiences have been with families who signed up early—something that truly helps patients understand what is happening and what will happen next. Hospice is there to solve problems.”

Ager’s mother called hospice and made her own arrangements, to which the facility told Ager: “We wish we got more people like your mom.”

Patty LaNoue Stearns is a longtime Michigan journalist and author.

If you or someone you know suffers from dizziness, inbalance, or chronic pain, keep in mind that intervention is key. There are steps you can take to improve your balance, decrease chances of falling, and manage your pain.

If you or someone you know sufferes from dizziness, imbalance, or chronic pain, keep in mind that intervention is key. There are steps you can take to improve your balance, decrease chances of falling, and manage your pain.

If you or someone you know sufferes from dizziness, imbalance, or chronic pain, keep in mind that intervention is key. There are steps you can take to improve your balance, decrease chances of falling, and manage your pain.

Whether you head North for vacation or a day trip. Start planning your next adventure on MyNorth.com