Most people think that the expression "optimal health" refers to being in peak physical condition. In a way, nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, optimal health is not a fixed condition, rather it is about realizing a potential that is equally available to all of us, regardless of physical and mental capabilities, or emotional temperament. That is, someone who does not have legs, is just as capable of experiencing optimal health as an athlete who just ran a marathon.

Optimal health depends upon how we live in the bodies we have and how we use our minds and emotions as we live our lives. Do we care for them well? Do we eat healthy foods? Do we control chemical abuses such as alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs? Do we get medical care when we need it? Do we get enough sleep? Do we exercise in accordance with our physical capabilities? Do we think positive thoughts? Do we allow ourselves to feel the feelings that we have? Do we find ways to relax and soothe our minds when things happen to us that cause us to experience feelings of stress? Do we celebrate ourselves and others? Do we contribute something to the well-being of others and the planet? Do we have mutually supportive relationships with others? Do we honor our true nature and spend time outdoors, experiencing the wind, the sun, the seasons, the land, the flora and fauna that inhabit it? Do we take care of our living and work spaces? Do we nurture our children? Basically, do we make the most of what we have and cherish ourselves and others?

The body is an biological organism which changes in response to the environment in which it is situated. In addition, its needs evolve naturally over time as it ages. This means that not only do our needs change from moment to moment depending upon where we are, what we are doing, what we are eating and thinking, they also vary at a deeper level at different stages in our lives.

The body engages in two types of metabolic activities simultaneously. Anabolic processes are constructive, building new tissues, creating new cells, repairing injury and producing products that the organism needs to reproduce and grow. Catabolic processes are destructive, breaking tissue down, taking old cells apart and recycling their constituent parts, breaking down complex molecules to create simpler ones to create energy to be used for anabolic processes.

Until the age of 40, anabolic processes exceed catabolic ones. The younger we are, the more our anabolic processes exceed our catabolic ones. As we age, the balance begins to shift, and after the age of 40, and catabolic processes overtake anabolic ones. This is why systems starting wearing out in the body, rather than continuing to grow. We are designed to age, and this is how it happens metabolically.

At HeartSong, the treatment plan that you develop with your physician is based not only upon considerations related to your medical condition(s), your lifestyle (environment), and your personal health goals, but also upon the stage of life you are in.

Medical Home

A "medical home" is not a place. It is a person-centered approach to primary care that involves a partnership between you, your physician, your family members, and other professionals. Your personal physician is qualified to diagnose and treat a wide range of health care needs. When necessary, your doctor contacts appropriate specialists on your behalf and collaborates with them to ensure continuity and consistency of care. The ultimate goal of a medical home is to promote wellness and utilize resources as effectively as possible to care for the whole person.

For an animation about medical homes in general, go to:
www.emmisolutions.com/medicalhome/transformed/

HeartSong's medical home model for case management and health care delivery expands upon principles mutually agreed upon by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Physicians (ACP), American Osteopathic Association (AOA). We offer you…

A Personal Primary Caring Physician who

• offers you first contact, continuous, comprehensive and compassionate care;
• has an ongoing relationship with you;
• provides for all your health care needs or arranges appropriate care with other qualified professionals, and coordinates the care you receive from them;
• integrates your care across all elements of the health care system (e.g. specialty care, hospitals, home health agencies, nursing homes) and the community (e.g., family, public and private community-based services);
• communicates with you in a manner that is socioculturally appropriate and linguistically accessible;
• advocates for your attainment of optimal health outcomes defined by a care planning process which relies upon a respectful and robust partnership with you and your family;
• encourages you to actively participate in decision-making;
• answers all your questions and invites you to inquire more;
• appreciates your input and supports your decisions;
• educates you about risk factors, treatment options, and prognosis;
• seeks feedback to ensure that your expectations are being met;
• engages voluntarily in performance evaluation and improvement;
• prepares you to take better care of yourself with self-care tools, health education, & counseling;
• offers nontoxic treatments for you medical conditions first;

Health care that

• is suitable for all stages of your life and all your health care needs – acute care, chronic care, preventive services, and end of life care;
• is easily accessible to you, and equally accessible to others, with focused attention on reaching people at risk for disparities in health care – people of color, children, differently-abled people, women, and the elderly;
• utilizes information technology appropriately to support optimal patient care, performance measurement, patient education, and enhanced communication;
• relies upon evidence-based medical research and clinical decision-support tools to guide decision making;
• allows you to participate in quality improvement activities at the practice level.

From the Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home February 2007. Prepared by: American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Physicians (ACP), American Osteopathic Association (AOA)

For more information on HeartSong as an NCQA-compliant patient-centered medical home, please see NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home policy statement.

Biological empowerment

Your body is designed to maintain a state of perfect health, often referred to as "homeostasis" in conventional western medicine. In reality, it is a state of homeodyanamic balance, where the system is constantly changing and adjusting to function optimally in a constantly changing environment. For example, your body needs to do different things to maintain balance on a cold winter day than it does on a warm summer evening.

Your body has multiple systems for restoring balance homeodynamically. For example, your autonomic nervous system is divided into two halves, one that allows you to breath, digest food, grow and reproduce. The other half steps in when you are in danger, to optimize your chances of survival. These two together help maintain a state of balance between growing (physiologically mentally, emotionally) and surviving things that threaten your existence. Likewise, the immune system has another set of checks and balances to protect you from things that pass through your body's border (the skin) and then to restore you to health after things have managed to get through the protective mechanisms. To some extent, these processes are beyond your conscious control.

The reality is that you can empower your body to maintain homeodynamic balance more effectively by making healthful choices about how you live and what you ingest. This is called biological empowerment and it is one focus of primary care at HeartSong. The naturopathic principles of tolle causam (underlying cause) and vis medicatrix naturae (the healing power of nature) both speak to this inherent capacity that we have to self-regulate. At HeartSong, we strive to identify the underlying causes for symptoms being reported and then, once identified, provide natural therapies empower your body to do what it already knows how to do – heal itself.

Personal empowerment

Personal empowerment is another focus of primary care at HeartSong. The principle of docere (teacher) speaks directly to the role of the physician to educate people about health and how to live in ways that promote it, while avoiding behaviors which hinder the body's ability to restore balance (health).

At HeartSong, health education is a key component of primary care because knowledge is power. When you truly understand and acknowledge how your actions and your thoughts impact your experience of health, you are personally empowered to make the right choices at the right time and to do so in an ongoing manner, thus redefining not only your own future health but also that of your children, and their children.

Institutional empowerment

Last but not least, there is institutional empowerment -- the ability to use social institutions and the services that they provide in ways that will help you to achieve the health outcomes that you choose for yourself. The naturopathic principle of primum non nocere (first do no harm) speaks to this responsibility. In many schools of medicine, the principle of "first do no harm" is typically used to refer to the actions of physicians. However, since you are a self-healing biological system, the ultimate responsibility for ensuring your safety ultimately rests in your hands. Again, education is key in learning to navigate successfully (avoiding harm) in a complex health care system where a multitude of different treatment options exist.

HeartSong's approach to primary care strives to empower you to find health care services which effectively address your health concerns. We teach you about your rights within the health care system, and inform you of the services available to you and assisting you to gain access to them, helping you find alternatives to care which you do not experience as harmful. Above all, you are encouraged to remember that it is you, and no one else, who possesses the capacity to heal and to flourish. Therefore, it is you who must made the final decision about the care that you will receive. In health care, you always have the power to say "no" or "yes". No one can take that power away.