Food Rx Graduation #1

Written By Amber Barone

Crazy how time flies it’s been 10 months and our first Food Rx cohort has come to completion!  Boy did we have a lot to celebrate. Many benefits were seen across the board, both in patients labs, metrics tracked as well as self reported improved energy, less pain, better sleep to name a few. We wrapped it all up with a graduation ceremony, complete with a fall harvest dinner and garden tour.

“What an incredible journey this has been~”

It was a farm to table style dinner with produce coming straight from Towne’s Harvest Garden and those local  ingredients were thoughtfully combined to form a mouthwatering, delicious and nutritious menu by Gallatin College Culinary Arts second year students. These were the same students that helped us integrate the Learn and Dine event series early on in this project, so it was extra special to have them wow us again with their skills and see the project from start to finish.

Community strong has taken on new meaning for me as I reflect over the past 10 months and appreciate how it all came together. The Food Rx idea is simple, it’s about reducing barriers to whole food (we are what we eat) but furthermore, reducing barriers to a holistic model of health. By leveraging our community strengths to bridge the gaps in healthcare, I believe we nurture resilience instead of dependence and a deeper connection with self and the community. Collaborative healthcare is whole care!

A HUGE thank you once again to the partners who have joined us in this movement to educate, encourage and empower low income patients to take back their health. It comes down to the food we eat, the way we move our bodies, how we manage stress, what helps us sleep and forming connections. These are the pillars of health and when properly supported can mitigate “dis-ease” and improve health outcomes.

Congratulations Food Rx Cohort #1

May you continue to feel the difference as you implement what you learned into your everyday. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to prioritizing your health goals, I feel blessed to have had such an amazing group to start this project with. <3

Amber will continue to be involved with the Montana Produce Prescription Collaborative (MTPRx) in partnership with Community Food and Agriculture Coalition (CFAC). Stay tuned!

Amber Barone

Amber is a Holistic RN and Functional Medicine Practitioner who supports whole body integrative health and uses primarily diet changes, whole foods, herbs along with lifestyle tools and supplements to help clients restore balance and align with their highest sense of well being.

Amber started her nursing career in the clinic setting where she built a solid understanding of disease progression and contributing factors along with pathophysiology, biochemistry, psychological and trauma aspects. From there she became a travel nurse, working in various settings including cardiac rehab, med surg, psych, long term care, ICU’s and ER’s. These ever changing environments satisfied her ferocious appetite to learn and grow through challenging and inspiring case loads in diverse settings. It was through all of this that she realized her true passion and where she could serve at her highest capacity was working with patients on how to prevent and reverse chronic disease.

As a functional medicine, holistic RN Amber strives to bring in the best evidence based tools and resources from both conventional and alternative schools of thought. She is dedicated to continuing her learning to stay up to speed with the latest research and trends and has built her practice around educating and empowering patients to be proactive with their health.

Most patients come to Amber through a referral network of practitioners in various medical and alternative settings including MD’s, FNP’s, Acupuncturists, Dentists, Chiropractors, Massage Therapists and Yoga Teachers… who wish to support their patients in this way but don’t have the time, education or resources to do this effectively.

The functional medicine addition to client care seems to be the missing piece of a true wellness model. It becomes a collaborative movement too, working together to promote wellness in our respective communities. It expedites healing through deep understanding and promotes life long transformation. Win! Win!

Functional medicine is a deep dive into root cause correlations contributing to one’s current state, it views each patient as unique and in so doing, more fully supports patients on their road to wellness by nourishing unique pathways effecting body systems, organs and glands. Much like regenerative farming and soil health, our bodies are designed to be resilient they just need the right inputs and tools to mitigate cumulative stress, toxins and burdens of our time. Feeling empowered with your health starts here.

EDUCATION / TRAINING

BS Nursing Montana State University-Registered Nurse

BA Psychology and Sociology University of Montana

Equine Veterinarian Technician-Penn Foster

Clinicians Mastermind Circle a one-year Functional Medicine Intensive

Functional Nutrition Alliance 10-month Full Body Systems Immersion

Yoga Motion 240 hour RYS teacher training

http://www.bar1wellness.com
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