My friends, we have a LOT going on at Progressive Health in October! Here is a rundown.

Functional Assessments and Personalized Exercise Plan!

Worried about getting weaker? Fall risk? Bone density? We are eager to introduce you to our newest employee, Frank Vera. Frank is a clinical exercise physiologist and certified corrective exercise specialist. He is ideally suited to do a meaningful assessment of your strength and endurance. You can sign up for a 45-minute appointment with Frank, in which he will measure hand grip strength, sitting rising test, sit to stand test, and many more. He will provide you with a customized exercise plan, tailored to your weakness, needs and desires. He will track your results over time, to make sure you are reversing age-related muscle loss and injuries. All this is generally covered by insurance, with normal copays and deductibles.

To schedule with Frank, call our office 302-543-5454.

Plant Based “Unity Dinner” Sunday October 8

Join Dr. Zarek and Dr. Donohue on Sunday October 8 at 5:30 pm at the First Unitarian Church of Wilmington.

Sign up here to either bring a soup to share or come join a free meal!

Be Well Meeting - Blue Zones! Forming a Nonprofit?

Tuesday October 3, 2023 - 6pm to 7pm - Our free monthly meeting of Be Well! We will discuss Blue Zones, Moai, and explore the idea of directing these Be Well meetings to forming and running a nonprofit dedicated to health & education reform. In the process we could organize into teams of 5 or 6. Why teams of 5-6? Because (1) research shows that these are the most effective team sizes to get things done, and (2) because Okinawa “moai” are groups of 5-6 people who help support one another and find community. Thus, in forming a nonprofit dedicated to health education, we would have an answer for social isolation.

To join our Be Well session on Zoom, click here.

Vaccines!

Vaccines in general tend to be our most effective medicines. A single dose can protect you for years to come, with minimal risk of side effects. If only daily medicines were that effective!

Flu Our Drive Thru Flu Clinic will continue throughout the month of October. Tuesdays 10-11am. Thursdays 2-3pm. If it's raining, the clinic will not occur.

COVID We did order the new Moderna COVID 19 vaccine as well. Once they arrive, we will plan a date for a COVID 19 drive through clinic. Watch for more information coming soon. We ordered 100 doses, so we do have a limited supply. Our office plans to order more if needed.

RSV If you are over age 60, we do recommend that you get the RSV vaccine at the pharmacy. We have been recommending to get this vaccine by itself, ideally no vaccines 2 weeks before or after. This is not mandatory, but our office has seen more side effects with this vaccine given in combination with other vaccines.

Group Fast

Our previous group fast in July 2023 was a lot of fun! If it is safe for you to do so, Dr. Zarek and I invite you to do the modified Fasting Mimicking Diet with them from October 16-20. For more background on this fast, see this post. If you want to participate, we recommend you obtain your 5-day fasting kit now so it has arrived by October 16. You can order a 5-day fasting kit here.

For the group fast, we will have 3 free meetings via Zoom:

• Monday October 16 from 12pm to 1pm

• Wednesday October 18 from 12pm to 1pm

• Friday October 20 from 12pm to 1pm

To attend our group sessions on those dates, join our Zoom here.

Successful Aging Launches November 8!

We are proud to announce the launch of Successful Aging on November 8 at noon and November 27 at 5pm.

We are not aware of a program like this anywhere else!

This is a group medical program which includes the monthly education sessions. It is open to any patient of Progressive Health who is starting to experience diseases of aging. Dr. Donohue will share fascinating science about how our body ages and how to slow it down. You will be encouraged to make real changes in your own life, to take advantage of that science. Outside of the sessions you will be encouraged to participate in a host of services that we offer, most of which are covered by insurance:

• functional assessment by Frank Vera, our Clinical Exercise Physiologist

• personalized fitness coaching to ensure we are getting results

• advanced lab testing to identify the threats to your long-term health

• advanced cognitive testing to learn if you have begun the path to dementia

• advanced cognitive training to help slow brain aging

• evidence-based use of supplements and modified fasting, to extend lifespan and slow cellular aging

• evidence-based use of breathing techniques, saunas, and other modalities to reduce stress and heal blood vessels

• (coming soon) organ-specific age assessments, to identify how the organs of your body are aging

• (coming soon) DEXA body composition scanning to track your body fat, muscle, and bone density

• (coming soon) medical fitness, supervised by Exercise Physiologists, with a new approach to strength and fitness training

The monthly meetings are designed to share the science relevant to living longer and better. The monthly meetings are held twice most months, on the second Wednesday at noon to 1pm, and again on the last Monday at 5-6pm). You are invited to attend either of these sessions each month.

Have a healthy month of October!

– Dave Donohue, MS, MD, FACP, FACLM