Fredericksburg Parent

32 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • November 2022 This is a monthly column featuring winners and nominees of the 2022 FredParent Family Favorite contest. WRITTEN BY LENORA KRUK-MULLANAPHY family favorites 2022 family Embracing Health Embracing Health captured the Fredericksburg Parent & Family magazine's top spot in the 2022 Family Favorites Winner for Health & Wellness. A board-certified family medicine practice, it's a leader in navigating programs and approaches to achieve a balanced life. Dr. Yvonne M. Villarreal—or "Doc V" to everyone—is the medical director who leads a team of experts who work in partnership with patients to tailor individualized care with a focus on disease pre- vention. Embracing Health covers a variety of care areas, including: • Routine gynecological care • Comprehensive physicals for pediatric to geriatric • Minor surgery • Vaccinations • Some in-office lab testing, such as strep screens, urinalysis, electrocardiograms, hearing and more • Diabetic teaching and counseling • Nutrition • Family Planning • Exercise counseling • Obesity counseling Embracing Health uses integrative medicine, a changing paradigm in the practice of medicine today. A commonality that many thera- pies share is that the body does the healing, and practitioners can only take credit for "helping" the body heal—not doing the magic. Villarreal has learned that medicine is not "one size fits all" and that it must be tailored to the individual. One symptom can't be addressed without affecting the entire body. "Integrative medicine allows me to critically look at the methods of treatment, work with colleagues from many other disciplines in healing, and along with the needs and collaboration of the patient, use the best of both worlds in traditional and non-traditional medi- cine," says Villarreal on her website. Villarreal is also board-certified in integrative holistic medicine. Practicing family medicine and preventative care in the Stafford region since 2001, she received her medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She studied under Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., who is known around the world for his theo- ries on and practice of Integrative and Complementary Medicine. She also served in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Flight Surgeon to the U.S. Marine Corps helicopter squadrons in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and was a residency graduate in family medicine from the University of Hawaii, John Burns School of Medicine, in Mililani, Hawaii. Embracing Health is located at 385 Garrisonville Road (Suite 121) in Stafford. For more information and to contact the practice, call 540-318-8602 or visit embracinghealth.org.

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