Transcription
0:00:00
8:22, 9.3-WZBG. We grab a Wednesday during the month and we talk health with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We want to welcome back a guest we’ve had on in the past. She rejoins us. It’s Dr. Natalie Merge. Good morning, doctor. Good morning. Appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for joining us on’s Dr. Natalie March good morning doctor. Good morning. Appreciate your time this morning thanks for joining us on the show. Thank you for inviting us and thanks for the opportunity to talk about our whole health center in Waterbury.
0:00:34
We’ve had a commercial running about the whole health center and this is a great opportunity to flesh that out a little bit about what that means. I understand this is a fairly recent addition in Waterbury for McCall BHN.
0:00:50
Yes, that’s correct and it opened in November of 2024 where we’re promoting our primary care services there as well as the child and adolescent outpatient services for mental health.
0:01:05
So when we’re talking about whole health, can you explain what that means as a concept for us?
0:01:15
Sure, so you know when you talk about treating from a whole health perspective, you’re looking at treating the whole person, so not just a specific symptom or condition. If you think about it, you know, the body is a unit, so everything connects. So if you have chronic pain from a back injury, that could not only impact you physically, but also mentally.
0:01:38
So we want to look at the full picture. So if the person has other medical conditions that are present, that could worsen because they’re not able to function at their baseline, we have to look at that. You know, having such a chronic pain injury could cause your mood to be low, so we have to look at what you are you eating, are you sleeping well.
0:01:58
If those things are affected, then we have to make sure are you maintaining a healthy weight, because then that could also worsen the injury and then worsen your pain. So nutrition, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, those things would need to be addressed. So it’s a patient-centered approach that follows an integrated care model where we’re just looking at everything to make people feel more physically, mentally, and emotionally healthier. It seems a bit of a reverse on tradition.
0:02:30
You know most of us you go to a caregiver for a specific situation, a specific condition, a specific ailment and they look at that ailment and they treat it. This sounds like you’re not only looking, you know, at the ailment specifically what might be bothering the patient, but getting to the deeper cause of what may be, you know, cause and effect of what’s bringing it about in the first place.
0:02:56
Yes, that’s true and, you know, even though our doctors visits these days are very brief. They’re still trying to encompass making sure that people are looking at everything holistically. So, this is a new approach, but more people are interested in this kind of treatment. So, this is what people are starting to look for. They’re looking for healthier ways to live their lives and you know maintain a healthier lifestyle. So when you were talking about Whole Health, you listed a number of different approaches to you know assessing the health of the whole patient.
0:03:36
To flesh that out, what kind of services are provided then down at the Whole Health Center?
0:03:40
So we have primary care services, so you can get annual physicals, routine streams, you know, even if you have an acute illness or if you’re doing chronic disease management. We also provide mental health support. We have substance use treatment as well, which McCall is well known for. We also have the child and adolescent outpatient psychiatric services you know that can also include not just meeting with a psychiatric provider but individual group family therapy and we also have a pharmacy on site so that makes everything very convenient.
0:04:14
Do you think are people surprised by this very, very comprehensive approach? You know, say somebody comes in, like you said, for back pain. Are they surprised to find psychological services that might somehow integrate with their care plan? I think that might be a surprise for some people because they’re going in probably expecting a prescription but knowing that there are other supports that can be available to them because yes something like chronic pain that’s going to definitely affect your mood.
0:04:48
But we also have some other treatments, some holistic approaches that are utilized. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with acupuncture but that’s one of the things that’s provided there. It’s called AcuDetox because it can also be used for help with addiction treatment, for withdrawal symptoms and cravings, but it can help just reduce stress, give a sense of calm, inner peace and quietness.
0:05:26
You know, it helps you be more receptive to counseling. So, that’s one holistic treatment that’s offered. And another is Reiki. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Reiki, but it’s a Japanese practice, a healing technique where they use gentle hand movements to guide the flow of energy through the body to reduce stress and promote healing. So those things people might not expect but we do offer that.
0:05:56
I would think that also when a patient comes to you there there needs to be a period of assessment figure out which service is the one that’s going to
0:06:04
do the best for them right? Yes Yes, that’s correct. So, I mean, when they, they can call and ask for what they need. So, even if they didn’t know that we offer primary care, they’re calling for behavioral health, they might come in for a behavioral health appointment. When they get there, you know, part of the assessment is going to be looking at their physical health.
0:06:30
So, that’s an opportunity for them to get embedded in those kinds of services there. Dr. Natalie March is our guest this morning. She’s with the McCall Behavioral Health Network. We’re talking about the Whole Health Center in Waterbury, a comprehensive approach to the whole health of a given person. Dr. March, for folks who want to find out about this, what’s the best way for them to get started?
0:06:52
So they can call. They can call the Whole Health Center at mccallbhn.org, and there’s a link for the whole health center there. You know, we’re also doing outreach programs. We are reaching out to our referral bases, hospitals. We’re sending them emails and brochures.
0:07:23
We’re doing social media ads. We have a fall campaign that we’re working on for vaccinations, you know, especially as kids get ready to go back to school. You know, we’ll be able to offer free health education sessions also in the future. Wow. So, you know, there’s a lot of attempts to reach out to the community so they can know more about the Whole Health Center.
0:07:45
Wow, all right, sounds like some great outreach. Dr. March, we sure appreciate your time and of course we’ve got some reference material here we can share if folks only got part of the interview and want to find out more about the Whole Health Center and Waterbury, but thank you for letting us know about services available and have yourself a great day and thanks for being part of our show. Thank you so much for having me. Enjoy the day. Thank you,
0:08:10
Dr. March. All right, take care. Once a month we check in with the folks from the McCall Behavioral Health Network and this one all about the whole health approach, a relatively recent facility Health Network and this one all about the whole health approach, a relatively recent facility down in Waterbury.