CHARLESTOWN, N.H. – Charlestown Health Center is proud to announce the board certification of Nurse Practitioner Grace St. Pierre in the specialty of Lifestyle Medicine. Grace earned her Masters of Science in Nursing from Simmons College Boston in 2017 and Family Nurse Practitioner Certification from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (FNP-C) in 2016. Her recent board certification in Lifestyle Medicine strengthens the field of primary care and enhances the services provided to area residents.
Medical practitioners with advanced training in Lifestyle Medicine apply their knowledge of nutrition, sleep hygiene, exercise physiology, and stress management techniques to help patients develop healthful lifestyle habits that serve to prevent, treat, and in some cases reverse, lifestyle-related chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression.
As patients, our primary care practitioner is our first line of defense to staying healthy and well. They help prevent and manage common chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and many others. Primary care providers are our first contact for most non-emergency health care needs. Lifestyle Medicine practitioners work in collaboration with primary care providers. In other instances, primary care practitioners, such as Grace St. Pierre, are board certified in Lifestyle Medicine.
Studies have shown that 80% of chronic diseases are prevented by adhering to four healthy lifestyle factors: never smoking, maintaining normal body weight, a physically active lifestyle, and adhering to a healthy diet consisting in large part of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Numerous peer-reviewed studies show the efficacy of the Lifestyle Medicine approach.
Charlestown Health Center, a federally qualified health center and part of a network of health centers throughout southeast Vermont and New Hampshire, provides primary care services to tens of thousands of area residents each year. Expanding primary care services to include Lifestyle Medicine provides area residents with an additional effective approach to disease prevention. We are pleased and proud, and congratulate Grace St. Pierre in her accomplishments and in the high quality of care she provides to her patients.
A virtual information session regarding the Lifestyle Medicine approach will be held Jan. 19 at 2:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Registration is required. Please call the Charlestown Health Center at 603-826-5711 to attend.