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Specialties

Lifestyle Medicine

St. Luke's recognizes that good health can be more than fixing problems after they appear. Quality of health often begins with the choices we make every day for ourselves, our families, and our communities. Those choices are at the center of lifestyle medicine, an emerging specialty focused on preventing, treating, managing or even reversing many of the most common chronic diseases in today's world.

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 80% of non-communicable conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and stroke are preventable when we make better choices in these key areas:

  • Increasing consumption of whole, plant-based foods
  • Increasing aerobic activity
  • Getting enough sleep
  • Decreasing use of tobacco, alcohol, and other unhealthy substances
  • Maintaining healthy relationships
  • Managing stress

At St. Luke's, we'll work with you to achieve optimal health through lifestyle changes that are right for you. We not only provide information and tools you need, we also help you build a system of support and resources to achieve and maintain your best health.


Highlights & Resources

Featured Programs

Providers

  • Charmin R. Aschenbrener, RD

    Nutritional Counseling for Adults

    Biography

    Charmin Aschenbrener, RD earned her bachelor's degree from Oregon State University and completed her dietetic internship at Idaho State University. She is a facilitator for both the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP), a lifestyle improvement course; and Cooking Matters, classes on healthy eating and cooking.

  • Amanda S. Helsley, LCSW

    Amanda S. Helsley, LCSW

    Mental Health

    Biography

    Amanda (Mandy) Helsley, LCSW offers supportive counseling to assist with psychological needs related to financial needs and creating a stable environment. In addition, she can assist patients in building coping skills to help lower stress and improve day-to-day life.

    Mandy earned her bachelor's degree in social work from Boise State University with a certification in dispute resolution. She earned a master's degree in social work from Northwest Nazarene University, specializing in clinical practice and administration.

  • Jennifer T. Shalz, MD

    Lifestyle Medicine

    Biography

    Jennifer Shalz, MD is an internal medicine physician who serves as the medical director of St. Luke’s lifestyle medicine department. She develops and directs programs that use lifestyle interventions to help prevent, treat, and reverse chronic disease.

    Dr. Shalz is passionate about helping people not only live more years, but put more life in their years. Current programs under her management include cardiac, peripheral vascular disease, and pulmonary rehabilitation (referral required); nicotine dependence treatment; care transitions; the St. Luke’s Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP); and the St. Luke’s Center for Lifestyle Medicine at the South Meridian YMCA. 

    Dr. Shalz is a diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. She earned her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency at David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base. She practiced at three different VA medical centers after separating as a major from the US Air Force. She was most recently a hospice medical director and worked in supportive oncology at a cancer center prior to joining St. Luke’s.

  • Nancy N. Taylor, NP

Related Specialties

Take a Lifestyle Medicine Class and Improve Your Health

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Picture Your Health.

How do you define health? Physical? Mental? Social? Health goes beyond medical care. It's how we take care of ourselves, how we interact with our communities, how we take care of each other.

Let St. Luke's support your health, however you define it.

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