Center for Living opens at Prairie Heart Institute

Contact: Brian Reardon (217) 544-6464, ext. 44306

SPRINGFIELD - Continuing to be a national leader in healthcare issues, Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital is now one of a handful of hospitals across the country offering complementary mind-body approaches to medicine for patients and the general public through the new Center for Living. The 11,200 square foot Center for Living is located on the first floor of Prairie Heart Institute.
The Center for Living offers a variety of unique services to enhance health and reduce cardiovascular risk. The Center brings together a variety of services under one roof: a healing arts studio for yoga, tai chi and meditation, classrooms, acupuncture and massage rooms, a fitness facility and a healing garden. A community open house will be held on November 1, 2005.

“Our services are not substitutions for good medical advice, but are meant to coincide with and enhance your doctor’s orders,” said Center for Living Program Director Linda Murphy. “We help individuals take control of their health and manage the cardiovascular disease risk factors they have control over like inactivity, stress, smoking and hypertension.”

The Center is a one-of-a-kind entity in the Midwest. Only 15% of hospitals nationwide have mind-body programs similar to the Center for Living. “The Center offers a holistic, complementary approach to medicine,” explains Stephen Jennison, MD, Medical Director of the Center for Living. “Research shows outcomes are more favorable when we treat the entire person – mind, body and spirit.”

Offerings are broken down into six categories: mind body medicine, nutrition and weight loss, fitness, screenings, stop smoking and CPR/first aid. “Mind-body medicine can lower blood pressure and heart rates, thereby lowering a person’s risk for cardiovascular disease,” Dr. Jennison noted.

A community grand opening will be held free to the public on Tuesday, November 1 from 4:30 – 8:00 pm at the Center for Living at Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital. Screenings, tours, massages, heart healthy cooking demonstrations and refreshments will be offered. Also at the grand opening will be:
5:00 – 5:30 Yoga class demonstration
5:45 – 6:15 Tai chi class demonstration
6:30 – 7:00 Stephen Jennison, MD, seminar on Prescription for preventing cardiovascular disease
7:15 – 7:45 Heart Check Plus demonstration

Included in the Center for Living is a healing garden, free blood pressure screenings, massage, acupuncture, biofeedback, CPR, AED and first aid classes, a variety of health screenings, several meditation classes, and courses in yoga, tai chi, pilates, weight loss and nutrition, fitness, and a Stop Smoking, Start Living program.

For more information people can visit prairieheart.com or call 544-LIVE.