As we’re all aware, women and men have significantly different health care needs. And for women, sometimes those needs take a backseat to those of their loved ones.
So, it’s great that there are awareness events like National Women’s Health and Fitness Day, which takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 25, and stresses the importance of women taking a proactive approach to their well-being, from eating better to exercising regularly to staying on top of their health care issues.
In keeping with this special theme, here are some goals women might consider taking on, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration:
• Make a commitment to a regular fitness routine, be it weightlifting, walking, running, yoga, etc.
• Conduct a health inventory to see where you’re at and what needs changing — a check-up with your primary care provider will put you on the right path.
• Attain your health and fitness goals by making them as realistic as possible, and setting short- and long-term goals that are specific but also allow for the occasional setback.
• Enlist a good support system to help you stay on track with your health and fitness goals — it could be anyone from family members and friends to a personal trainer or a running group.
• Continually revisit your goals to monitor your progress and adjust as needed — and don’t be afraid to reward good progress!
Here at the Wright Center for Community Health, we offer a multitude of services that allow female patients to balance their own wellness with their many daily responsibilities. Our local primary and preventive care practices provide integrated health care that gives patients the convenience of going to a single location to access all their physical, dental, and behavioral care needs. That’s why our patients are encouraged to make us their “medical home.”
Our female patients can access such health services as regular gynecological checkups, pelvic and breast exams, cervical cancer screenings, well-woman visits, bone density testing, age-appropriate immunizations, Pap smears and HPV testing, STI testing and treatment, and hormonal testing.
And to spare women — and really all patients — from the needless suffering associated with preventable illness and many of today’s leading causes of death (heart attack, stroke and certain cancers among them), we are increasingly focused on preventive care through our Lifestyle Medicine and Obesity Medicine programs. Our dedicated team of dieticians, counselors, and other professionals can help patients adopt a personalized care plan to manage — or outright avoid — chronic diseases.
Lifestyle Medicine aims to enhance the health and overall quality of life of patients and their families by encouraging the adoption of sustainable lifestyle changes. These include quitting tobacco use, improving diet, incorporating stress relief techniques, increasing physical activity, fostering strong personal relationships and connections, and adjusting sleep habits to achieve better, more restorative rest.
Our team is trained in both conventional medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, and we work closely with patients to create a personalized lifestyle self-care plan that’s not only easily implementable but sustainable. These modifications can go a long way toward preventing or managing chronic diseases like high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes (type 2), high blood pressure, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease, cancers that are lifestyle-associated (prostate and breast), osteoarthritis, chronic pain, chronic autoimmune diseases and chronic psychological stress.
Women are a priority here at the Wright Center for Community Health, and we’ll continue doing our part to help them prioritize their health and fitness.
Erin McFadden, M.D., board-certified in internal medicine, serves as deputy chief medical officer and medical director of the Wright Center for Community Health’s primary care community health center in Scranton and the Scranton Counseling Center. She is also an internal medicine physician faculty member, co-regional director of medical education for A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, and dean and director for undergraduate medical and interprofessional education.
