Lifestyle Medicine Services

The RUSH Approach to Lifestyle Medicine

Improving your health may mean changing the way you live. But we know that's not always an easy thing to do. You might need a little extra help.

That's where the RUSH University Prevention Center comes in. We're a team of dietitians, behavioral health specialists, internal medicine specialists, primary care providers, preventative cardiologists, palliative care providers, diabetes prevention coaches, health psychologists and tobacco cessation specialists — all dedicated to helping you form lifelong healthy habits.

You most likely got a referral to come to see us from your primary care provider, cardiologist or sleep medicine provider. Rooted in health equity and health justice, we take all types of insurance plans, even Medicaid.

We're here to welcome anyone who wants to make a lifestyle change because we believe healthy behavior is one of the best ways to lower risk for disease, manage chronic disease and avoid cancer.

RUSH Excellence in Lifestyle Medicine

• Dedicated to you: You don’t have to censor what you say or how you feel during your appointment with us. We're here to help without judgment. Together, we’ll build a relationship that’s built on trust and respect. When you share what's really going on in your life, it's easier for us to create a plan that will get you the health results you want and need.
• Evidence-based techniques to build healthy habits: We specialize in promoting active lifestyles, healthy eating, management of chronic stress and smoking cessation. Every action-plan we give you is backed up by science. For example, we follow guidelines from the American Heart Association that show that for every two pounds of weight you drop, you'll reduce your blood pressure by one point. Our pre-diabetes program is based on The National Diabetes Prevention Program from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Evidence for this program shows that if you lose 7% of your body fat through lifestyle changes, you can greatly reduce your risk for diabetes.
• Focused on behaviors: Most health care providers focus on your lab work, referrals and prescriptions. We're dedicated to integrating healthy behaviors into your treatment plan, not just medicines and procedures. For example, one of your doctors might diagnose you with pre-diabetes and tell you, "You've got to lose weight." Leaving the appointment, you might be wondering: "How do I do that?" That's where we come in. Our providers have behavioral and coaching training: We come up with the "how" and help you do it.
• Helping you reach your goals: You might know what the steps are to leading a healthy life, but it's difficult to come up with a game plan on how to get there by yourself. We're here to help you make small lifestyle changes that can make a big difference. For example, if you have pre-diabetes and you're drinking two liters of soda every day, we won't have you stop "cold turkey." We'll come up with a plan that will gradually decrease your soda intake, day-by-day, versus just telling you, "Stop drinking soda."
• We spend time with you: Typically, an appointment with a physician is 15-20 minutes long. However, we spend 60 minutes with you during your first appointment, and each follow-up is 30 minutes.
• Your schedule comes first: Our programs are tailored around your schedule and needs. We could do follow-ups every two weeks, once a month or every six months. You decide what's best for you.