Healthy Lifestyle Program

Our Program

The MGH Healthy Lifestyle Program was founded in 2019 and currently includes over 50 MGH primary care physicians and nurse practitioners, health and wellness coaches, and dieticians. The Healthy Lifestyle Program offers MGH Primary Care patients Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits as well as health and wellness coaching (see below). The Program’s mission is to empower people to engage in healthy lifestyles by integrating clinical practice, education, research and community programs; the Program’s vision is to establish healthy lifestyle change as the standard of care for chronic disease prevention and treatment.

Winner of MGH’s 10th Annual Patient Experience Team Award in recognition of “exceptional performance and dedicated commitment to providing an extraordinary experience” for patients and families.

What Is Lifestyle Medicine?

"Lifestyle medicine is an evidence-based approach to preventing, treating and even reversing diseases by replacing unhealthy behaviors with positive ones," according to the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

6 Ways to Improve Health »

Clyde’s Story

Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits (LMVGVs)

The MGH Healthy Lifestyle Program is a national leader integrating Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits (LMVGVs) into primary care. LMVGVs allow multiple patients with a shared diagnosis, such as diabetes or obesity, to be in the same virtual room at the same time with a provider for 60-90 minutes. Providers can focus on motivating patients and sharing education on Lifestyle Medicine. During LMVGVs, providers also conduct individual check-ins with each patient. In addition, other team members, such as Health and Wellness Coaches, can provide patient support during an LMVGV (see below).

The MGH Healthy Lifestyle Program showcases an evidence-based LMVGV series on hypertension (i.e., high blood pressure), which decreases blood pressure and leads to a reduction in blood pressure medication for most patients. The Program also offers LMVGVs focused on brain care (i.e., dementia and stroke prevention), nutrition for health, diabetes, insomnia, and stress reduction.

If you receive primary care at MGH, and you are interested in participating in an LMVGV, please call 781-485-6217.

Calendar of Upcoming Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits (LMVGVs) and Free Webinars

Below is a list of upcoming Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits (LMVGVs) that are available to patients receiving primary care at MGH. Free webinars are open to all. Please click on each individual calendar event for details and information for signing up. If you are having trouble viewing the calendar, please click here .

Health and Wellness Coaching

Health and wellness coaching uses a client-centered approach wherein clients decide their goals, engage in self-discovery, and self-monitor behaviors to increase accountability. Health and Wellness Coaches meet clients exactly where they are on their lifestyle journey and support them in uncovering their desire to be well. The MGH Healthy Lifestyle Program offers participants in Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits (LMVGVs) complimentary one-on-one health and wellness coaching.

Video Channels

• Healthy Lifestyle Program
• MGH Revere Food Pantry

Free Lifestyle Medicine Webinars

Learn about the benefits of healthy lifestyle change through the Healthy Lifestyle Program webinars. All webinars are open to all and free. No registration is required. To view upcoming webinars, please see the Calendar of Upcoming Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits and Free Webinars. The Zoom link for all webinars is: https://partners.zoom.us/j/84063392146

To view previously recorded webinars, visit the Healthy Lifestyle Program Video Channel .

Thank you so much [to the Division of General Internal Medicine Healthy Lifestyle Program] for all their help with improving my health. I saw my new [PCP] for an annual physical and blood work, and I passed everything with flying colors. My blood pressure is 118/56 and I am down 11 pounds, causing my A1C to drop three points. The Healthy Lifestyle Program has been the catalyst and will continue to be the route for me to reach my life goal of living to 100 and dying healthy. Those results were enough for me to keep doing what I am doing, and I am so exhilarated by it.

— Josephine

Our Team

Jacob Mirsky, MD, MA, DipABLM
Medical Director

Barbara Canada, MBA
Program Director

Anna Baggett, NBC-HWC
Program Manager

Nydia Febres
Program Coordinator

Amy Sinclair, NBC-HWC
Health and Wellness Coach and Virtual Group Visit Coordinator

Anthony Montoya, NBC-HWC
Health and Wellness Coach and Virtual Group Visit Coordinator

Katie Engels, NBC-HWC
Health and Wellness Coach and Virtual Group Visit Coordinator

Jhoselyn Orellana
Health and Wellness Coach and Virtual Group Visit Coordinator

Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visit Providers

• Carolina Abuelo, MD
• Chris Gelev, MD
• Christine Goscila, FNP-BC
• Claudia Guillen, DNP
• Chin Ho-Fung, MD
• Diana Cornell, MD
• Grace Han, DNP, FNP-C
• Helen Delichatsios, MD, SM, DipABLM
• Jacob Mirsky, MD, MA, DipABLM
• Juliana Morris, MD, EdM
• Ksenia Blinnikova, MD, MPH, DipABOM, DipABLM, MSCP
• Laura Hu, MD, MPH
• Mary Ann Foley, MSN, CNP
• Melinda Mesmer, MD
• Sydney Jimenez, MD
• Sarah Matathia, MD, MPH, DipABLM

Latest News

• Healing Together: Lifestyle Medicine Group Visits Help Patients Manage Chronic Disease - MGH Hotline - January 19, 2023
• Hypertension Control and Medication Titration Associated With Lifestyle Medicine Virtual Group Visits and Home Blood Pressure Monitoring - American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine - July 4, 2022
• Shared Medical Appointments" with Jacob Mirsky, MD - The Whole Health Cure podcast - November 15, 2021
• American College of Lifestyle Medicine Announces New National Council to Facilitate Pioneering Trend of Lifestyle Medicine Integration into Health Systems – June 8, 2021
• Virtual Group Visits: Hope for Improving Chronic Disease Management in Primary Care During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic – American Journal of Health Promotion – April 28, 2021
• It's now up to health systems to solve our food problems – The Hill – September 29, 2020
• Lifestyle medicine for all: Healthy food comes first – Harvard Health Blog – September 24, 2020
• Addressing Food Insecurity in the Community Through an Academic Food Pantry – Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care
  
• Chronic Disease Management in the COVID-19 Era – AJMC – July 9, 2020
• Good for Profits, Good for Patients: A New Form of Medical Visits – Medscape – June 29, 2020
• MGH Revere Pilots Therapeutic Food Pantry – Mass General – February 12, 2020
• Effectiveness of Lifestyle Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes in Primary Care: the REAL HEALTH-Diabetes Randomized Clinical Trial – Journal of General Internal Medicine – January 21, 2020

Health Systems Council Founding Member

We are proud to announce that we are a founding member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Health Systems Council, a group dedicated to supporting the pioneering trend of implementing lifestyle medicine into some of the largest and most innovative health organizations in the U.S.

Learn more