Inspired by Wellness
Highlights from the ELIA Wellness Summit 2023. Video courtesy: ELIA Wellness
When did you last visit your doctor—not because you were sick—but because you wished to thrive? Not for a drug prescription, but for lifestyle empowerment?
I was privileged to attend the ELIA Wellness¹ Summit, held 24-26 March 2023 at Sydney Adventist Hospital, with around 250 medical professionals and health enthusiasts from across our church’s South Pacific Division. We were encouraged to think of wellness—not just in terms of disease prevention—but to attain a positive health score; being better than ‘not sick’ by means of a whole-person approach to life.
We were treated to information sessions ranging from the evidence behind the 7 Dimensions of Wellness, the emerging success of 10,000 Toes for diabetes prevention in the Pacific, and ideas for implementing ELIA Wellness Hubs in our own communities. Presentations by Dr Geraldine Przybylko, Professor Darren Morton and others were interspersed with fun fitness sessions led by Todd Brodie, and opportunities to meet like-minded people from Australia and the South Pacific region. Dr Peter Landless spoke powerfully about the benefits of a blended ministry combining health and spirituality. It was very evident that these leaders had both a heart for people and God.
Unveiling of the plaque for the new ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre at Sydney Adventist Hospital. Left to right: Brett Goods, CEO of Adventist HealthCare Limited; Dr Geraldine Przybylko, Executive Director of ELIA Wellness and our South Pacific Division Health Strategy Leader; Dr Peter Landless, our General Conference Health Director; Mr Julian Lesser MP, Federal Member for Berowra; Dr Andrea Matthews, ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre Medical Director, and Pr Glenn Townend, our President in the South Pacific Division. Image courtesy: ELIA Wellness
A highlight for me was the official opening of the ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre at the Sydney Adventist Hospital. Brett Goods, CEO for Adventist HealthCare (and brother of our President in WA, Pr Steve Goods), pointed out that it’s the first of its kind in Australia to be associated with an acute-care hospital. This will allow, for example, a surgeon who repairs a coronary occlusion to refer his patient to the ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre where he will be supported into health-changing habits to make him truly well. Or, perhaps, a pre-diabetic patient will seek lifestyle support to reverse her condition before she becomes another statistic in the non-communicable diseases pandemic. The Member for Berowra, Julian Leeser, officiated in the opening and spoke touchingly of his appreciation for the San (the name locals give to Sydney Adventist Hospital). He committed to becoming one of the first patients in the ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre, where nutritionists, personal trainers, mental health practitioners and doctors work as a team to facilitate whole-person health.
Brett Goods, CEO for Adventist HealthCare (and brother of our President in WA, Pr Steve Goods) sharing about Sydney Adventist Hospital’s enduring mission: ‘Christianity in action’. Image courtesy: ELIA Wellness
I came away from the summit with a greater understanding of the mission of lifestyle medicine, a sense of pride in my church’s cutting-edge health work, and a quiver full of resources to make my local church an asset to my community. The evidence-based resources and training opportunities provided by ELIA Wellness make it easy for you and I to support life changing health in our communities with a flexible program of clubs, knowledge sharing, and tools for culture change. You get to create a plan that will work best for your context, whether small or grand.
Four of our people from WA were sponsored to attend: Noel Mondejar from Manjimup Seventh-day Adventist Church; Dr Rob Granger from Bunbury Seventh-day Adventist Church; Dr Solomon Kusangaya from Rockingham Seventh-day Adventist Church and myself from Maida Vale Seventh-day Adventist Church. The WA Conference paid half of the sponsorships, and some local church boards also gave toward this important health empowerment opportunity. Image courtesy: ELIA Wellness
Footnote
¹ I evolved from hearing the name ‘ELIA Wellness’ for the first time, to a deep appreciation of the contribution this organisation makes to the spectrum of available medical services. Incidentally, ‘ELIA’ is an acronym for ‘Empower Lifestyle Innovation Advocates’, and is also a Hebrew name for God. The good news is that this immensely beneficial movement is not constrained to hospital corridors and medicos, but rather churches, community groups and individuals becoming part of the groundswell of culture change around lifestyle and whole-person health.
