Wellness & Garden Report: Late Summer 2016

Seed to Supper

Alliance Medical Ministry hosted its 5-week spring Seed to Supper course from March 30th to May 4th, where about 15 community members and patients gained valuable information and hands-on experience with gardening basics.  Alliance partners with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and NC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners to educate patients and community members on the process of creating and growing their own gardens. Upon completion of the course, all graduates received basic tools, organic fertilizer, seeds, seedlings, compost, and continued support.

Our summer/fall Seed to Supper course is currently underway!

Participants of the summer/fall course are scheduled to graduate on September 13th. Here's breakdown of the curriculum:

Week 1: Learning about soil, soil testing, building healthy soil, improving soil, composting, how to "double dig"

Week 2: Planning a garden: making a planting plan and map, crop rotation by plant family

Week 3: Planting a garden: preparing the soil, direct seeding, transplanting, seeding vs. transplanting, protecting young plants, vertical gardening

Week 4: Caring for the growing garden: watering, fertilizing, weeding, pest identification and management

Week 5: Harvesting and using your bounty: gardening for your health, crop-by-crop guide to harvesting and storing, nutrition, and cooking from your garden

If you're interested in taking the 2017 spring course, please contact Ashley Toscano at (919) 250-3320 x436 or garden@alliancemedicalministry.org.

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Cooking Matters

Cooking Matters is a cooking and nutrition course that helps families plan, shop, and cook healthy, nutritious, affordable, and delicious meals.  Alliance Medical Ministry is a site for this free, six-week program, coordinated with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

The spring "Cooking Matters @ Alliance" course saw a total of 20 participants, not including family members who tagged along for the experience!  This year, the course is a bit different.  While still following the Cooking Matters curriculum, we've gone plant-based!  Some of the meals we prepared include a Creamy African Peanut Stew, Lentil Bolognese, Oatmeal & Quinoa Cookies, Spiralized Zucchini (zoodles) with  a Thai Peanut Sauce, Potato Bake, Black Rice and Vegetable Salad, Infused Water, Green Smoothies, and more!

Thank you, volunteers!

Alliance would like to give a special thank you to all the volunteers who made this course possible! We had various volunteers who led the class, helped with setup and cleanup, assisted participants, and translated for Spanish-speaking patients.

One of our amazing volunteers was Kim Campbell, a celebrity of the plant-based nutrition world! She taught the first class of the 6-week spring course, and will be teaching the first class again this fall.

Kim Campbell (second from the left) discussing plant-based nutrition with Cooking Matters participants.

Kim works at PlantPure Nation promoting a plant-based diet, teaching culinary skills to jumpstart participants, and developing recipes for their jumpstart program. Kim's experience at PlantPure Nation has allowed her to hone her culinary skills, particularly in understanding how to create flavors, textures, and presentations that appeal to mainstream consumers experiencing a plant-based diet of the first time.  Kim is also the author of the PlantPure Nation Cookbook. For more information and access to free PlantPure recipes, click here.

Interested in learning more about plant-based nutrition from leading experts in the field? Check out the free and online PlantPure Summit 2016 that begins September 7th.

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Patient Spotlight

Cooking Matters Grad & Chair Yoga Regular: 
Maria Martinez

Maria joined Alliance Medical Ministry's practice about five years ago, and is a regular patient of Dr. Sheryl Joyner.  Maria has arthritis, which over the years has gotten progressively worse.  At its worst, Maria often woke up twice a night in pain.  About two years ago, she started participating in yoga at Alliance with instructor Elise Dorsett.  She has attended over 25 classes in this year alone!  "The yoga has helped me so much!  I feel better.  It helps me deal with stress, helps with circulation, and the pain is better." She does yoga and stretches at home in the morning to help with her arthritis.  "Elise could pinpoint exactly what was wrong with my shoulder. She identified a yoga exercise and stretch that helps with my fingers, neck and ankles."

This spring, Maria joined the Cooking Matters @ Alliance class.  This was the first plant-based Cooking Matters class offered to patients.  "I loved it!  I learned about some of the issues that dairy can cause for certain people, and have been eating more vegetables and grains."  Since taking the class, Maria has lost 20 pounds as a result of changes she has made in her diet.  "My health is better and my weight has improved."  

Maria's favorite recipe from Cooking Matters?  The Creamy African Stew:

Creamy African Stew

Serves:  6         Prep Time: 15 minutes      Cooking Time: 35 minutes   

Ingredients          

 2 onions, sliced into half rings

 1 carrot, diced

 3 celery stalks, diced

 2 teaspoons minced garlic

 2 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

 1 cup low sodium vegetable stock

 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes

 1 tablespoon curry powder

 1 teaspoon sea salt

 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 1/3 cup natural peanut butter (100% peanuts)

 1 cup lite coconut milk

 1-15 ounces can chick peas, rinsed and drained

 2 cups chopped frozen spinach

 Instructions       

1.     Add all the ingredients to a pot and cook over high heat until bubbly, 10-15 minutes. 

2.    Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender. 

3.    Kim's hints:  I like to throw everything into a slow cooker and allow it to cook over medium heat for 2-3 hours.  Turn the heat to low cooking until you are ready to serve.  Serve as a stew or over brown rice. The flavors are perfect after they have cooked for the day.   

Inspired by Maria's journey?
Join us for our fall Cooking Matters course!

Cooking Matters is set to begin on Tuesday, October 4th at Alliance. If you are already registered, please arrive by 5:30 p.m. in order to fill out paperwork. The class will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The following five sessions will take place each Tuesday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., with the last class ending on Tuesday, November 8th. 

Spots are limited, and the class is filling up quickly! Contact Ashley Toscano at (919) 250-3320 x436 or atoscano@alliancemedicalministry.org to register.

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Chair Yoga

Do you have aches and pains? Do you need to de-stress?

We've got the class for you!

Chair yoga continues every Thursday evening from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Alliance. Patients have had great success in taking a step towards bettering both their physical and mental well-being. The class is taught in English and Spanish.

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Walk with a Doc

Walk with a Doc is a great way to get up and get moving while engaging with Alliance's providers and getting to know other community members. Join us every fourth Thursday from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. at Alliance. The walk is just over 1 mile. Water and snacks are always provided!

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SalsaFit

SalsaFit is a new program that was implemented this past July. Nearly 20 participants attended the 4-week Latin dance course taught by a volunteer and member of the Triangle Salsa Meetup, Allen Chavis.

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What's the dirt on Alliance's garden?

We've been busy bees this summer! Alliance has harvested roughly 1,600 pounds of produce since February of this year!

Summer crops and flowers: Tomato, pepper, and eggplant varieties, okra, herbs (such as cilantro, parsley, lemon thyme, German thyme, sweet basil & Thai basil), cucumbers, yellow squash, patty pan squash, sugar baby watermelons, naranjilla, sunflowers, wild flowers, and zinnias

Our fall and winter garden is in the works!  Here's what we'll be planting:  Carrots, radishes, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, kohlrabi, kale lettuce varieties, spinach, broccoli and/or cauliflower, cabbage varieties, and more!

Garden Volunteers

Our volunteers this summer have poured a lot of sweat into the garden with the hot days we've been having! Thank you for all your hard work! We've weeded, created support for tomatoes and cucumbers, harvested, watered, mulched, removed old plants, prepared the soil, planted transplants, sowed seeds, and have even done some litter pickup around Alliance.

A special thank you to Dana Comber! She's been such a huge help in the garden! With her nutrition background, she also hopes to get involved with our upcoming Cooking Matters course.

Alliance has had individual volunteers who come out to support us on scheduled garden work days, but we've also partnered with various youth groups, churches, and companies. From June to August we've had the pleasure of working with the following groups and organizations:

Activate Good
Volunteermatch
Cisco
Crossroads Fellowship
Lulu
LOL (Living Out Loud)
Wake AHEC Summer Camp
Highland Youth
Our Lady of Lourdes

A new report: Reducing Health Disparities by Poverty Status

Friends --

A new report has been published by the Institute for Research on Poverty that I wanted to share with you.  While the findings are not surprising to those in healthcare, they are no less compelling, and indicate why supporting comprehensive healthcare organizations like Alliance is critical to the health of our community:

• Poor individuals are more than four times more likely to delay or forgo needed medical care due to cost than those with middle or high incomes (21.8% vs. 5.1%) (Data from the National Health Interview Survey)
• The poor were more than nine times more likely than those in middle and high income ranges to forgo needed prescription drugs due to cost (18.3% v 2.85) (National Center for Health Statistics)
• Proximity of a healthcare facility to their neighborhood is a challenge for the poor
• A limited supply of health care providers presents further impediments to access for many low-income urban and rural poor persons

Read the full report here, as well as the author's proposals for evidence-based solutions, including promoting and expanding Community Health Centers, training more nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Friends, Alliance is caring for the uninsured with comprehensive health care in a way that has produced proven results and improved health outcomes -- weight loss, decreased A1c sugar levels, decreased blood pressure, and fewer ER visits:

Results of a summer 2015 patient survey conducted by Alliance and FGI Research, Inc.

With our team-based approach to medicine and focus on preventative health with our Wellness Program, we are addressing the health disparities and improving the health of those with the greatest needs in Wake County.  

We need your help to continue doing so!  Have you made a gift to our Love Thy Neighbor campaign?  Or bought a pie through Share the Pie?  As the end of year approaches, I encourage you to think about Alliance in advance of the holiday frenzy with a gift today.

DONATE NOW

Meet Alliance Patient Michelle Turner

“Dr. Joyner changed my life.”  While these are words we often hear at Alliance, the stories associated with them always inspire us.

Meet Michelle Turner, an Alliance patient of almost 10 years who regularly sees Dr. Sheryl Joyner.  Michelle works as a CNA with senior adults, and has no health insurance.  In late 2014, Michelle’s A1c hemoglobin was 6.3, borderline diabetic. The news hit Michelle hard, as her father is a Type 2 diabetic who needs a lot of care and support. “I knew if I didn’t do anything, I would end up like my dad, having to take insulin, being unable to work, being sick.  I didn’t want that to happen.”  

Michelle Turner preparing a meal during a Cooking Matters class in early 2015.

At Dr. Joyner’s recommendation, Michelle signed up for Cooking Matters, a six-week cooking and nutrition program at Alliance taught by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle staff.  Michelle learned what foods to avoid and what foods to eat. “I don’t do a lot of fat, and I cut most sugars out. I look at all the food labels now to see how much sugar is in there.  If it’s not naturally in the product, I don’t eat it. I always have vegetables.  Before Cooking Matters, I was snacking on chips, basically anything I could get into my mouth. Now, I snack on fruits. I’ve changed my whole lifestyle.” 

Michelle's health transformation didn't stop there. She signed up for the Diabetes Prevention Program, a year-long YMCA program taught at Alliance. The class taught Michelle not only how to eat well, but also the importance of exercise, offering participants a free pass to the Y for six months.  "It's not a diet.  It's a lifestyle.  If I want to have a hamburger, I shouldn't deprive myself, but I need to know that I'm going to have to work it off.  I've always been a yo-yo dieter.  Now I know that if I'm craving something, I should just eat it, exercise it off, and not feel bad about it." 

Amy Ward, YMCA program instructor, said Michelle fully embraced the class.  “She jumped in 110%, took advantage of the exercise opportunities, sometimes multiple times a day.  We encourage the participants to find what motivates them internally, whether it’s family, friends, or your health, because at the end of the day, the coaches aren’t with you.  Michelle knew off the bat what goal she wanted to accomplish.  Absolutely nothing got in her way!” 

“Before the class, I never exercised.  Now, I’m exercising six days out of seven.  I’m doing the elliptical, I’m running, I’m dancing. I have more energy. I don’t rest as much as I did before. I feel like I can take on the clients I have.  You’re a better caregiver when you take care of yourself.”

Dr. Joyner calls Michelle her ‘star student’. “I love being able to provide support to my patients that enable them to see real, positive outcomes. Michelle changed her own life; I was just able to give her the tools to enable her to do it.”

Patient Michelle Turner (middle) with Alliance’s Leanne Ritter, MA and Dr. Sheryl Joyner.

With changed eating habits and exercise, Michelle has lost 30 pounds, and her A1C sugar levels are normal!  

Friends, with your help, we can continue to provide chronic disease management and health educational opportunities to give our patients the tools to improve their health and sustain their improved health.  With your support, our patients are getting healthier; they are better parents, spouses, and employees.   

Every dollar you contribute helps us meet our annual fundraising goal of $1.1 million and helps Alliance continue to provide quality, comprehensive and holistic care to change the lives of patients like Michelle.  Will you make a gift today?

Yes, I'll support Alliance!

Have Garden, DID Party!

A Farm to Table Dinner recap, by Kathryn Holding

All photos by Emily Ballard Photography.

The gloom lifted, the grey skies turned blue, and the sun shone as 300 Alliance friends and supporters joined us in our Community Garden for our second Farm to Table Dinner!  

The evening promised creative custom cocktails, locally-brewed beer and a locally-sourced and delicious family-style meal; our event partners delivered!  

We began the evening with a cocktail hour in the garden and clinic tours.  Marshall Davis and the team from Gallo Pelon Mezcaleria created two of the most delicious cocktails you've ever tasted:  "The Doctor's Orders" and "The Prescription", with spirits from Troy & Sons:

Raleigh favorite Trophy Brewing Company and David Meeker brought Trophy's delicious summer saison for the beer aficionados at the party.

During cocktail hour, all those - whether new or familiar with Alliance - were invited into the clinic for tours from our physicians and medical staff.  

Small bites were passed by Irregardless Cafe staff, and party-goers played a "game of chance" at our Wine Wall.

Our garden and wellness programs were celebrated throughout the evening.  Our garden is in full bloom, and we were excited to include radishes in the spring salad prepared for the dinner!

We welcomed two of our live auction package donors, Hillsborough craftsman Elia Bizzarri and live artist Dan Nelson to showcase their talents!

Thanks to Maria Gunn, Beth Murphy, Emily McNair and all those who donated roses from their gardens, our tent was a floral wonderland!

A fun cocktail hour was had by all!

The sun began to set...

...and we headed under the tent for a family-style meal of fresh and local ingredients prepared by Irregardless Cafe.

A highlight of the evening was an announcement by Alliance Executive Director Megg Rader about a $500,000 gift given by the Helton Family!  This transformative gift by such a special family has allowed us to pay off our mortgage.  With this gift, more of the funds we raised goes directly to our clinic, patients and programs!  Many, many thanks to Dr. Charles and Barbara Helton and their family for playing such an instrumental role in the past, present and future of Alliance!

The evening concluded with our live auction of "unique experiences", including a 7-night stay at Pear Tree Cottage in the Cotswolds, a chef dinner at Bida Manda and fine art experience at Adam Cave Gallery, dinner for eight at Raleigh's newest restaurant/grocery Standard Foods, and a dinner for six at the award-winning Chef and the Farmer.

We could not have made the event what it was without the help of our fabulous co-chairs, Dianne Davidian, Margaret Douglas, and Jennie Hayman!

Many thanks to ALL who supported us at this event.  With your help, we raised over $150,000 for

Alliance Medical Ministry!

Interested in learning how to contribute to our mission?  

Contact our Development Office by email, development@alliancemedicalministry.org, or by phone, (919) 250-9254.  We'd love to have you join our family!

"Test me", a homily by Christa Levesque, Pastoral Care & Counseling Intern

I love the psalms. I always remember loving the psalms, probably because in the church I grew up in we chanted the psalm every Sunday, and I love to chant! The tone would get stuck in my head, and my sister and I would chant back and forth to each other throughout the week… “Jenna, would you get me water?” “No, sissy, I will not!” But I think there was more to me liking the psalms than a catchy tune. As I grew older I loved reading the psalms because they were filled with emotion. One moment the writer is happy, the next moment sad. One moment praising God for all God’s glory, the next asking why there is such tribulation in life. The psalms are works of art, and artful prayer.

I now love that psalms are ways to meditate and pray. They are sacred words, God’s word that can be spoken back to God in a form of prayer. Out of all 150 of them, Psalm 139 has to be one of my favorites because something new catches me every time. This time when I read it, what stuck out was the second to last verse: “Search me out, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my restless thoughts.” Try me, Lord. Test me, God.

I don’t know that I would always pray to God to test me. I think I most often want to pray to God “Keep me comfortable!” “I’m happy Lord, no need to try me right now!” or “I’m being tried enough in every area of my life, please don’t try me any more.”

You better believe that when I first received my assignment to come to Alliance, I was scared. I had restless thoughts. Anxious thoughts. What was I getting myself into? Sure, I asked for an agency placement. Sure, I said I wanted to learn and grow and be stretched, especially in the area of pastoral care. But I’m more likely to pick safe over new. I’m more likely to feel confident in a church, not a medical clinic. I truly believe that God knew my heart. God knew that it was time for me to step out of the comfort zone of the Episcopal Church and into a brand new experience.

Test me, Lord. Know how nervous I am. Try me, know my anxiety, and quell it. The beginning of this psalm says it all: “Lord, you have searched me out and known me… Indeed there is not a word on my lips, but you, O Lord, know it all together… Where can I go then from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Lord, you are always with me.

I have so profoundly felt God’s Spirit moving here, through my interactions with patients, with staff, and with Toby. While I may have been like a deer in the headlights when I first got here, God has worked in me and helped me to become a more confident pastoral counselor than I ever believed I could be. God took my restless thoughts, and made them holy. God worked through the anxiety and fear, and made it into a gift and blessing.

God is working like this in all of our lives right now. We are all stressed about something; and God knows that. God hears those anxious thoughts, those fears that we have. And God will never leave us. The last words of this psalm pray to God- “lead me in the way that is everlasting.”

As I leave here, I move into another time of transition. Graduating, being ordained, moving, starting a new job, and preparing for marriage. I think the only way I will make it through this time is to pray to God and remind myself that God know these thoughts. God is trying me- God is calling, and I am following the call as anxiety-inducing as it is. As much as I want to pray for the comfortable, the happy, the non-anxiety-producing, I know that God knows my heart. God knows that following the call means being restless, and feeling tried and tested. And this is true for all of us- following God is not always easy, happy, and calm. But we know: we can never flee from God’s presence; the Spirit is never far from us. God listens when we pray: “Search me out, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my restless thoughts. Look well whether there be any wickedness in me and lead me in the way that is everlasting.” Amen. 

3-2-1...Blast Off! The 2015 launch of Alliance's Community Garden

By: Kelsey Riggs, Garden Coordinator

Last Saturday was Alliance’s Garden Launch and...mission accomplished! It was a great workday. We had volunteers from Service Raleigh, Edenton Street United Methodist Church, Activate Good, and the Raleigh Fellows Program. The garden was filled with extra hands ready to work, and those hands were such a blessing. We weeded the garden and mulched where we weeded in hopes that the weeds do not come back; for those of you growing your own vegetable gardens, know this is a very important task to do in early spring!

Garden volunteers prepared more land for tilling by removing the grass and adding leaf mulch and compost to add nutrients to the soil. Our last group sanded and spray painted donated bamboo; later this week, I will construct a large bamboo teepee upon which to grow pole beans. We're looking forward to this creative project, and hope once it is finished that children will be able to explore inside the teepee and see the plants growing!  

Although it was too cold to plant our seedlings, the ground is ready for them when the temperatures warm up! At the end of the workday, we had all the volunteers gather together and our Director of Pastoral Care, Toby Bonar, dedicated the garden to our patients and neighbors, and asked that the Lord bless our garden and make it fruitful:  

Many thanks to all who came to this special event and help "make our garden grow"!  If you'd like to get involved in our Community Garden, we hope you'll join us at one of our two monthly garden workdays: the fourth Saturday of the month from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm, or the second Wednesday of the month from 5 to 6:30 pm.  Contact me with questions, garden@alliancemedicalministry.org.

"Eternally grateful"

By: Dr. Tara Burnett-Lewis, Medical Director

"Relationship".  When most people hear the word or see it in print, visions of romantic evenings or walks along the beach may come to mind.  Over the last several months, I’ve used this word frequently when explaining my thoughts about medicine. Simply put:  when you have good relationships, you have good medicine.

Being able to walk in a room and know when something is different about a person based on the long relationship you've had with them is invaluable as a physician. Body language tells me what the person may be too frightened to say with his or her mouth.  As a doctor at this practice, I am able to walk with my patients as they journey through the trials of their lives.  

Each day, I'm reminded of how important these relationships are, and why the work I do here is so special.  Today was extra special.

Just before lunch today, a patient came in with her daughter and two granddaughters with a basket of donuts in hand and a card.

While an act of kindness like this is not unusual at Alliance, I was struck by the relationship of the individuals. Standing before me were three generations of women who, thanks to my relationship with our patient, were expressing their gratitude to me. Gratitude for helping their matriarch, their nana. Gratitude for helping her to be more active and available to them thanks to her knee replacement. Gratitude for encouraging her to have more energy to make AMAZING donuts, homemade because her chronic health conditions are under control.

To all of our supporters:  thank you for allowing us to form strong and meaningful relationships with our patients. Thank you for allowing us to provide the comprehensive and holistic care to allow our patients to take back their health and become healthier parents, spouses, and citizens.  We're not just thankful; we're eternally grateful!