There is much confusion about what makes a person "healthy". The majority would probably say that exercising and eating right are the two essential elements for health. This is only partly true. The World Health Organization defines health ‘as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’ Wellness, on the other hand, is "An active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence." Wellness is multidimensional with at least 6 components:

Social Occupational Spiritual

Physical Intellectual Emotional

Conventional medicine emphasizes diagnosis and treatment of disease over preventative medicine. Dr. Metzger practices preventative medicine where intervention is initiated before disease develops. For women (or men) who need a primary care physician who understands their unique health issues or if you are essentially healthy and interested in maintaining your health, we can provide comprehensive holistic and integrated medical care.

The majority of these services are provided during an annual office visit at which time we will review your status and design a health and wellness plan specifically for you. Other services are provided as the need arises:

• Age-specific routine assessment-annual exam
• Health status evaluation and counseling (fitness, nutrition, exercise, emotional health, stressors, etc)
• Routine detection and prevention of disease (cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, substance abuse, thyroid, adrenal, etc)
• Psychosocial issues (sexuality, depression & mood disorders, domestic violence, personal goals, etc)
• Routine gynecology (vaginal infections, UTI’s, breast conditions, incontinence, abnormal bleeding)
• Primary care (colds, sinusitis, skin conditions, hypertension, etc)
• Adolescent gynecology (first exam, STD’s, menstrual problems, etc)
• Family planning
• Preconception care
• Endocrine dysfunction & infertility
• Menopause management

For more information, click for an index of reading materials recommended by Dr. Metzger.