Memorial Hospital director of health promotion elected co-chair for lifestyle medicine group

CARTHAGE, Ill. — Kara Andrew, Memorial Hospital director of health promotion, has been elected to serve a three-year term as co-chair in the fitness and medicine member interest group for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM).

This appointment recognizes Andrew’s commitment to advancing the principles of lifestyle medicine and fostering collaboration between medical and fitness professionals.

Andrew’s journey to co-chair began with her service as a connect ambassador, a role in which she was actively engaged in lifestyle medicine forums. During a pivotal Zoom call for connect ambassadors, the topic of co-chair elections arose, prompting Andrew to throw her name into the ring. This initiative resulted in a successful election.

The fitness and medicine group, which serves roughly 1,600 members worldwide, promotes the integration of lifestyle medicine principles into healthcare practices. Andrew will work closely with Dr. Andrew Mock from Loma Linda University in southern California and Melyssa Allen, a well-coach for “Melyssa with a WHY, LLC” in Orlando, Fla., to enhance physicians and fitness professionals across all levels. Dr. Mock is leading efforts to develop comprehensive strength training protocols for patient care, furthering the group’s mission to promote holistic wellness.

Andrew’s focus as co-chair will be to facilitate referral processes, optimize reimbursement practices and spearhead initiatives to promote awareness of lifestyle medicine’s transformative impact.

Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle changes to treat and often reverse such conditions when used intensively.

The ACLM is the medical professional society for physicians and other professionals dedicated to clinical and worksite practice as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable healthcare system. To learn more about the ACLM, visit lifestylemedicine.org.