Paula Dow will talk about functional medicine (FM) at Tuesday's Rotary meeting. FM shifts the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, addressing the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. FM practitioners spend time with their clients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex disease.
FM integrates best medical practices, such as urgent care and acute care for the treatment of things such as trauma or illness that is of short duration and in need of urgent care, such as appendicitis or a broken leg. FM involves understanding the origins, prevention, and treatment of complex, chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, mental illness and autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and many other diseases.
Ms. Dow has been a functional medicine coach for 13 years and is certified by the Institute for Functional Medicine. Prior to that she did senior home care, caring for people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease, trauma from falls, and numerous other illnesses.
The Rotary Club meets every Tuesday from 12-1 p.m. for lunch in the WNMU Student Memorial Building, Second Floor, Sunset Room. There is a brief "meet and greet", a short business meeting and then the speaker has the floor. The club welcomes members of the public to the meetings. If lunch is desired, pay the cashier $14 and go through the cafeteria line. If unable to attend in person, a Zoom link for the meeting can be obtained by email to
