Nardone Chiropractic & Wellness in Wheeling has launched a national wellness branding initiative, Wx.
Founder and CEO Dr. Emil Nardone said his health care initiative addresses what he sees as the solution to the nation's health care crisis - teaching Americans to make the kinds of lifestyle changes than can keep health issues from developing, rather than spending billions of dollars every year after the fact to treat the medical conditions that arise when they don't.
Nardone, a certified chiropractic wellness practitioner, contends Americans are 'overprescribed, overmedicated, obese and at the bottom of most health care statistics compared to the rest of the world.' He said those conditions benefit the medical and pharmaceutical industries, not consumers.
'Health care reform begins with wellness and the individual, and we want people to take action,' Nardone said in announcing the program. 'That's why our health care costs - both insurance and providers - have skyrocketed. We're not actually addressing or fixing the problem, which is the national need for wellness and preventative health care.'
Nardone said his Wx initiative is geared toward teaching people 'how to eat, drink, exercise and understand the stresses in their lives.'
Often, he said, a person's lifestyle choices make him or her vulnerable to disease.
He said the cost benefits of corporate wellness initiatives 'far outweigh the costs of excessive employee health insurance claims and decreased profitability caused by illness and lack of productivity.'
'Our goal is to cut their health care costs and overhead,' he said.
It's a three-phased program. Phase I is an audit during which Nardone and his staff familiarize themselves with health care issues impacting a company's work force 'to identify where the problems are.' Phase II involves a customized treatment program, including education, vitamins and supplements, nutrition counseling and wellness planning. In Phase III, they revisit the client to calculate the cost savings and effectiveness of the plan.
'It's not a one-size-fits-all approach,' he added. 'It's a different plan for each business we work with, whether it's a small company or a large company.'
Nardone, an Upper Ohio Valley native, earned his bachelor of science in biology and chemistry from Fairmont State University and his doctorate of chiropractic from the Southern California University of Health Sciences. Currently licensed in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, he has board certifications in acupuncture and corrective exercises and is a member of the International Chiropractic Association. He is one of a select group of doctors worldwide to earn a post-graduate certificate as a certified chiropractic wellness practitioner from the ICA Council on Wellness and is considered an expert in the areas of nutrition and wellness.
Nardone said he is marketing the Wx initiative on a national level, though initially the Mountain State is garnering its share of his attention. With West Virginians rated among the unhealthiest in the nation, Nardone figures if he can change the mindset of consumers in one of the unhealthiest states in the U.S., 'then our plan is going to work for the nation.'
Nardone received his associate training at Dexter Chiropractic in Marietta, Ohio, and in 2002 opened his own practice. He consults nationally for practice management, corporate wellness and personal injury. His post-graduate studies are focused on whiplash, personal injuries, orthopedics, rehabilitation, nutrition, neurology, pediatrics and sports injuries.
