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COURI CENTER
for Gynecology and Integrative Womens Health

Discovering the Value of Integrative Health Care

By Sara Browning

Every opinion matters: The Couri Center team at morning report.

he Couri Center for Gynecology and Integrative Womens Health has brought an innovative health care program to the area, offering individualized care restoring true health to womens health care. Central Illinois is benefiting from a unique type of health care program thanks to Dr. Michele Couri, MD, FACOG, ABIHM, whose vision for the future of womens health care extends beyond traditional gynecological practice, providing women access to a multidisciplinary team geared to expanding patients health care from focusing only
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on the disease to focusing on the entire person: body, mind, and spirit. This philosophy of integrative medicine combines conventional Western medicine with complementary treatments such as nutritional counseling; stress reduction techniques, such as yoga and massage; and programs focusing on healthy weight loss, just to name a few. Integrative medicine has become more and more appealing, bearing the values of added patient attention, greater time for patient care, and a broader approach to patient healing compared to tradi-

tional medicine alone. And at the Couri Center, integrative medicine means providing health care that is comprehensive, researched, and evidence-based. Staying up to date with current health care trends helps the Couri Center provide a best-practice approach to delivering remarkable care. The Couri Centers goal is to provide a cutting-edge, individualized approach for women to ensure optimal health and wellness for a woman, at any age of her life, from adolescence into her senior years, says Dr. Couri. We partner with our patients to develop a specific, individualized plan of care tailored just for her. Addressing Womens Health Dr. Couri has been practicing medicine since 2001, transforming her practice in 2011 by adding integrative medicine to her established OB/GYN practice. At her office, patients have access to traditional gynecologic services, including well-woman exams, menopause care, and hormone balancing/replacement, management of menstrual disorders, treatment of uterine abnormalities including fibroids/polyps, family planning counseling/contraception services, and treatment of pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence. Dr. Couri is a skilled gynecologic surgeon as well providing minimally invasive surgical options including advanced laparoscopic surgery and DaVinci robotic hysterectomies, myomectomies, and correction of pelvic organ prolapse. Because of its many benefits, robotic surgery is a very desirable option for gynecological surgery. Robotic surgeries offer less pain, fewer complications, less blood loss, a shorter hospital stay, and a quicker recovery and return to normal activities. Endometrial ablation is another procedure that she does quite frequently that is very effective at treating heavy and painful periods. As a gynecologist, I have always enjoyed my time spent in the operating room. I love partnering with women on their journey toward health, and if that journey involves surgery, we approach it together so that I can be as strong of a support as they need to make the process as easy as possible for them. A Deeper Look at Patient Health The foundation of integrative medicine is to delve deeper and explore why women are dealing with specific health issues. According to Sue Lang, Advanced Practice Nurse and Certified Nurse Midwife at the Couri Center: When patients continue to have the same bothersome health issues, integrative medicine gives us the tools to address the issues on a deeper level. Integrative medicine shuns the Band-Aid approach to health care. It helps us to get to the root cause of the patients medical issues. Dr. Couri states: We love to collaborate with primary care physicians in providing this type of medical care as time constraints in the current Western medical model dont allow for comprehensive teaching on lifestyle factors such as nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction. We have built a team here to provide this level of care. Our team involves myself, two advanced practice nurses, one physician assistant, and our exercise physiologist/registered dietician. We love to work with physicians by providing comprehensive lifestyle medicine for their patients because it is the foundation upon which optimal health resides. Incorporating Nutrition and Wellness Integrative tools, such as those the Couri Center provides healthy eating classes, lifestyle management tips, nutrition counseling, nutritional supplements, fitness consultations/personal training on premises, bioidentical hormone replacement pellets for hormone balancing, yoga classes and relaxation therapies/biofeedback allow the body to achieve homeostasis and complete healing while assisting patients in achieving optimal health and mitigating chronic

Every product at the Retail Center is thoroughly screened.

disease through lifestyle changes. Changes in diet can have a dramatic impact on patients health. We believe that healthy eating is a major part of healthy living, according to Dr. Couri. Food is information that we supply to our body not just calories to control hunger. Food talks directly to our genes. It can turn genes on and can turn genes off. Unless we give our bodies the right information, all the medication and supplements in the world wont help our overall health. The Couri Center helps patients with lifestyle changes through innovative healthy eating classes but mostly through their 15-week Lifestyle program called TLC. This program is a comprehensive immersion in integrative medicine delivered in 15 weekly sessions. The sessions include food sensitivity testing, detoxification, nutrition teaching, personal training/exercise, meditation and yoga, massage, biofeedback, and stress reduction/sleep hygiene. This program helps patients learn sustainable lifestyle tips that will benefit them for years to come. Another area in which we make a significant impact in the quality of our womens lives is through hormone balancing. When a womans
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Photo by Jamil Alwan

Total body care/total body wellness.

hormones are balanced, her overall outlook on life is better; she feels energized and rejuvenated. We have achieved great success with hormone balancing using hormone pellets that are placed subcutaneously and last for about three to four months. This hormone replacement option has revolutionized hormone replacement for women, Dr. Couri says. BHRT Pellets are an individualized approach to hormone replacement therapy, using biologically identical hormones (BHRT) that pinpoint a womans exact hormone levels and what hormones are needed to balance her hormone deficiency. Set Apart Advanced education and fellowship training in Integrative and Functional Medicine sets the staff at the Couri Center apart from other practices providing similar services. To my knowledge, I am the only physician who has completed two fellowships in this field, says Dr. Couri. I owe it to my patients to be as comprehensively trained in both traditional Western medicine and integrative medicine as I can be. I take my responsibility very seriously. Practicing medicine is an honor, and my patients deserve a physician who never stops learning. The last four years that I have spent in Fellowship training in this field have expanded not only my knowledge base but also my passion for medicine in general. I truly am grateful to be where I am at today. According to Leslie Rush-Bayer, the Couri Centers Registered Dietician and Certified Personal Trainer: As we continue to lead by example by eating healthy and staying up to date on current evidence-based information about nutrition, patients are reassured that we are committed to taking this journey with them. Because thats what healthy living is a journey.
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Our patients know and appreciate the fact that we continue to learn and grow in our field, adds Sue. We love what we do here. We love helping our patients. Were a family. Dr. Michele A. Couri, MD, FACOG, ABIHM is a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. She is appointed to the medical staff at OSF, UnityPoint Health Methodist Medical Center, and UnityPoint Health Proctor Hospital. She entered private practice in 2001 in Peoria where she serves as the Medical Director at the Couri Center for Gynecology and Integrative Womens Health. In 2011, Dr. Couri completed a Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine under the direction of world-renowned Dr. Andrew Weil. In December 2013, she completed her Fellowship in Anti-Aging, Regenerative, and Functional Medicine from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine through the University of South Florida. Dr. Couri is also board-certified by the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine.

For more information on the Couri Center for Gynecology and Integrative Womens Health, visit www.couricenter.com or call 309-692-6838. The Couri Center is located at 6708 N. Knoxville Ave. Peoria, IL 61614.