Creating personal health/wellness plans

Dr. Lemole emphasizes integrating traditional and alternative therapies

Gerald M. Lemole, M.D., is the newly appointed medical director for Christiana Care's Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute. As a part of his new role, he is developing an integrative medicine program that will be headquartered at the Greenville campus.

The author of 'The Healing Diet, A Total Health Program to Purify Your Lymph System and Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease, Arthritis, and Cancer,' Dr. Lemole has been a life-long champion of blending traditional and alternative medicine to create better outcomes for his patients. The new integrative medicine program is the first of its kind in our community.

We interviewed Dr. Lemole to gain some insights into this visionary new system-wide program.

Q. What new program are you developing at the Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute?
A. Our goal is to integrate traditional medicine with a holistic approach to health and wellness - seeing the whole picture and taking an overview of a person's total health needs. These needs will be addressed by integrating different therapies when appropriate to help maintain good health, improve quality of life and promote graceful aging.

Q. Who will benefit?
A. Healthy individuals can benefi t from the program as much as those who want to improve chronic health problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, weight or other issues. We want to give people what they want, but also to help them determine what they need to feel better, do better and be more involved in their own health care.

Q. Who is on your staff?
A. In addition to me as medical director, our clinical team includes a nurse practitioner, a life coach and a second physician with integrative medicine experience.

Q. How do I become a client or patient in the program?
A. Individuals might be referred by their physician or they might call directly for a consultation appointment. In either case, our objective is to complement the individual's doctor's medical regimen by looking more broadly at ways to improve each patient's overall health. This might include necessary lifestyle changes in nutrition, exercise habits or stress management, for example.

Q. What kinds of alternative therapies are available?
A. Acupuncture, aromatherapy, meditation, massage and therapeutic touch, Reiki/energy medicine, guided imagery, relaxation techniques are a few good examples. We are planning now to open an integrative therapy wing at the Greenville site as a place where patients who are interested in alternative approaches to wellness and longevity can go for help and education.

Q. Why do this now?
A. Health-conscious consumers in increasing numbers, including aging baby boomers, want to take a proactive role in their health care. To succeed they need guidance, education and support from their health care professionals. The idea of an integrated approach to wellness and longevity is increasingly popular in hospitals and medical centers all across the nation. Our community wants and deserves such a program. Senior leadership at Christiana Care shares the vision; and we have the support of an advisory panel that consists of a number of dedicated community leaders - who are themselves health consumers and medical professionals who recognize the benefits of an integrated approach to aging gracefully and improving total health.

Q. How will you measure success?
A. Our focus is on results. Besides tracking the numbers of people who participate, we want to know how people are feeling as a result of our interventions and whether we have helped them improve their quality of life. To that end, we are working closely with Bill Weintraub, M.D., director of Christiana Care's Center for Outcomes Research, to develop the tools we need to evaluate the benefits of different therapies, subjectively and objectively. We also anticipate future research and collaboration with the University of Delaware and other institutions.

For more information about the integrative medicine program, call 302-661-3477.