HEALTH MATTERS: Orlando Health Horizon West offering free health improvement programs

Making improvements to one’s health and overall quality of life can be a challenging task to undertake, but the Orlando Health Medical Pavilion in Horizon West offers a number of resources that can help.

The Orlando Health Center for Health Improvement is located within the medical pavilion in Horizon West, and it offers an array of services for individuals committed to making positive changes related to their health. Services include identifying potentials for health risks, as well as custom health plans that use proven, evidence-based strategies. Much of the services offered are free of charge.

“The Center for Health Improvement is a personalized, health improvement center,” said Lee O’Donnell, corporate manager of prevention and wellness at the Orlando Health Medical Pavilion in Horizon West. “We offer personalized health services for individuals who are committed to making positive lifestyle changes.”

A team of health experts led by physicians provide consultations, workshops, education and health coaching in areas such as heart health, diabetes prevention, cancer prevention, stress management, weight management, nutrition and plant-based diets. The services are available to anyone in the community that is driven to make positive, healthy changes to their lifestyle. 

“You do not have to have an illness or a disease in order to have an interest in improving your health,” O’Donnell said. “This (center) is focused on any individual interested in doing that regardless of their current health status.”

The Center for Health Improvement offers three different levels of programming. The first is the premier package, which includes two visits for participants interested in personalized health recommendations but not in enrolling in an extended program. 

“(The visits) depends on their schedule,” O’Donnell said of the package. “(In) the first visit, they come in and go through a variety of assessments and surveys, and then the second visit they come back for the results and their plan. They receive an individualized nutrition plan, exercise plan and work with a health coach on that second visit.”

The second level is the premier plus package, a six-week lifestyle modification program designed to help someone meet their personalized health objectives. Additionally, this package includes everything offered in the premier package. The third level, called the prestige package, is a 12-week lifestyle modification program also designed to help participants meet their personalized health goals, and this package includes everything offered in the previous two package levels.

“The longer they’re in the program, the more intense the program is,” O’Donnell said. “The personnel at the facility are a registered dietitian and an exercise physiologist/health coach. They (go) through their assessments, which are biomarker assessments (and) physical assessments like body-fat analysis. We (also) do food assessments. … The programs are designed to meet the individual where they are and to work with them on their personal goals. Meeting them where they are often relates to their own personal time management, so our programs can be offered in-person or virtually or digitally — meaning texts, email support (and) things of that nature.”

In addition to the three programs, the Center for Health Improvement also offers a selection of classes and workshops that are open to the public. Those programs include cooking classes for children, yoga classes and workshops on plant-based eating.

“We offer a variety of classes that are open and offered complimentary to the community,” O’Donnell said. “We offer heart-health education series. Some of the other topics we’ve offered have been kids cook — that’s wildly popular. … We conduct grocery store tours with small groups (and we offer) early heart attack care and hands-only CPR (classes).”