Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Having a chronic disease can be overwhelming and worrisome, but the CHRISTUS Center for Health Management is working to remove those worries for South County residents.

The center is staffed by a nurse practitioner, registered nurse and registered dietician, who work together to provide patients with a multi-disciplinary approach to care.

The team works closely with each patient and physician to help the patient manage conditions such as heart failure, hypertension, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“We realize that these conditions bring with them a certain level of fear and insecurity,” said Sheila Arnaud, nurse practitioner. “So, it was important that we work to specialize our care to educate each of our patients and give them a sense of empowerment to take charge of their own health.”

During confidential and personal visits, patients and clinic staff assess a patient’s health status while working to help the patient understand his or her medication options. The staff will also work with patients to review dietary habits and assess their nutritional needs.

The team will also work with patients to develop, review and implement a health management plan that works for each individual patient.

“Each patient presents a unique set of circumstances, so we know that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to health care goes against our CHRISTUS commitment to high quality, compassionate care,” says Ryan Miller, COO of CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System.

“We’re here to treat you if you do get sick, but our goal is to help you to stay healthy so that you hopefully don’t need to see us. Personalizing our care in accordance to each individual’s needs, providing individualized advice and taking some of the guesswork out of treating chronic diseases is a huge step toward that outcome.”

Miller hopes the center eases patients’ health anxieties and eases fears residents may have about CHRISTUS Southeast Texas’ presence in South County.

“We certainly understand the anxiety and fear that may have been felt with St. Mary hospital closed its doors, but we look at the Center for Health Management as a strong symbol to our community that we are still here,” Miller said. “And you can expect us to continue to serve you with the quality, compassionate care you’ve come to expect from CHRISTUS Southeast Texas — well into the future.”

CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System is a Catholic, not-for-profit health care system that has been serving the needs of its communities for more than 117 years.

Log onto christussetx.org for more information.