Jen Galloway, FNP-C, believes that listening to her patients is one of the most important things that she can do as a medical provider. Many medical professionals will spend a few minutes in a room with their patients, take a note or two, and then write a prescription and say “take two of these and call me in the morning.”
That’s not how Galloway operates. Galloway believes that, to truly understand her patients and the ailments they are experiencing, she has to spend time actually actively listening to them.
“With my primary care services, every new patient gets a one-hour initial visit,” Galloway stated. “We’ll go through your medical history, your surgical history, all of the basics. But I also want to hear their complaints. We’ll discuss their lifestyle, their nutrition, their exercise. And I make recommendations on how they can possibly improve those things.”
Galloway listens to her patients and she understands that when it comes to the human body, there is not a “one-size-fits-all” model of care. Some things work for one person and don’t work for another. To understand what works and what doesn’t, she communicates with her patients and she isn’t quick to pull out her prescription pad. The goal, for Galloway, is to find a solution that doesn’t necessarily have to be purchased over the counter.
“If a patient needs medication, then I will certainly prescribe something,” she said. “But I just feel like there is a lot of progress that we can make, just with lifestyle recommendations. I even go through calories and protein recommendations; macros, those sorts of things. And exercise as well.”
Galloway is a big proponent of lifestyle solutions. She believes that the human body is a resilient thing; we’re stronger than we think we are in a lot of cases. She wants her patients to find that strength within themselves, and she’s happy to help them do so.
“For instance, if somebody comes in with, say, type-two diabetes, or anxiety, or depression, then yes — they may need medication to get them through this acute phase,” Galloway offered. “But we can make some lifestyle changes as well. With anxiety or depression, I can set them up with counseling or suggest using exercise as a stress relief. I can also suggest appropriate supplements.”
Galloway said that, in many cases, an individual will walk down the aisle of a store like Natural Grocers and will become absolutely overwhelmed with the amount of different supplements and medications that are available. With her extensive knowledge and experience, she will make recommendations to her patients based on their individual needs. And she can only do that because she listens to them during their original appointment.
“I can actually make recommendations based on what they’ve got going on,” she said. “And we can get them through this acute phase with medication, and then follow up in a few months to see how they’re doing. And after some lifestyle changes, maybe after six months or a year, we can start tapering off those medications.”
Galloway said the purpose of functional medicine is to get to the root cause of a problem and fix that root cause; not just suppress the symptoms, which is mostly what medications do. She wants to find the root of an issue and solve that so that it doesn’t keep coming back.
“I incorporate functional medicine into all of my visits,” Galloway said. “A lot of my patients are coming in specifically for functional medicine issues. The majority of my functional medicine practice is dealing with gut issues, so I dive a little bit deeper into that and do some functional medicine labs. I do a lot of stool testing, which gives me a really comprehensive view about what exactly is going on with the bacteria in the gut.”
Galloway said that she believes that a lot of different symptoms and diseases come from gut bacteria. So she performs a lot of gut testing and breath testing, as well as hormone testing, inflammatory markers, thyroid testing and more.
Galloway sees patients aged 12 and older. This includes men, women, adolescents, teenagers and seniors. In addition to functional medicine, Galloway also offers primary care — from yearly exams and sick visits to medication management, women’s health and more. She also offers supplement guidance, IV Vitamin Therapy, Botox and Dysport and Dermal Filler services.
“I have quite a few patients that come in for IV Vitamin Therapy, whether they’re just looking for more energy or if they have vitamin and nutrient deficiencies,” she said. “I can do micronutrient testing and then, based on that, offer IV Vitamin Therapy. I’ve had a lot of patients that have come in with that post-COVID fatigue and I can create different vitamin cocktails, depending on what the patient has going on.”
Galloway said that IV Vitamin Therapy gives people more energy and puts them in a better mood. It serves as something of a pick-me-up, but in a very healthy, safe, nutritious way.
Galloway has also been a nurse injector for several years, and she wanted to utilize that in her practice as well.
“I do Botox and dermal fillers,” she said. “I also have a nurse injector, Kara Turner, that works with me. She’s extremely knowledgeable and very well-educated. She goes to two or three trainings a year and stays up-to-date on the best, safest injection techniques. She’s definitely been a great addition to the practice.”
Another addition to Galloway’s practice is the fact that she now accepts insurance. She is currently accepting Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Cigna insurance. She stated that she plans to accept UnitedHealth, Aetna and Mountain Health Co-Op insurance within the next month as well. This is just another way for Galloway to make her practice accessible to patients who may feel like they’ve fallen through the cracks with other practitioners.
“I just want them to feel like they’re being listened to,” Galloway said. “And I want them to know that I’m going to work with them to resolve whatever issue they have. I might not have the answer immediately, but I’m going to do the research and I’m going to do my best to find an answer to help them feel better.”
Galloway said that her goal is to be a place for people to come to when they want to feel seen and heard.
“I feel like a lot of people come to me because they feel blown off by people saying, ‘Oh, well your labs look fine so there’s nothing wrong with you,'” she shared. “Clearly, that’s not the case and there is something wrong, because they’re saying they don’t feel good. So I feel like, with the functional medicine tools and my knowledge of nutrition and medicine, I can dig a little deeper and really help people with the complaints that they have.”
If you’re sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, Jen Galloway Health is the perfect place for you to start on the journey toward feeling better. Galloway is not going to tell you that you’re fine when you’re clearly not. She’s not going to try to convince you of anything. She’s going to work with you. She’s going to listen to you. She’s going to work hand-in-hand with you to help find a solution to whatever your ailment may be. She wants to partner with her patients and she wants to work together to help them feel better. And isn’t that exactly what medical care should be?
“All around, from myself to my staff — we’re always going to put patients first,” Galloway said. “I want my patients to know that they will be listened to and we will provide them with the best care possible.”
Jen Galloway Health will be holding an “Open House” Grand Opening on Aug. 10 from 4 to 7 p.m., located in the “M” Building at 234 E. 1st St. This will be a chance for current and future patients to meet her, find out more about the services she offers, and schedule an appointment. It will also feature giveaways and will generally serve as a proper introduction of Jen Galloway Health to the community.
For more information on Jen Galloway FNP-C Primary and Functional Medicine, or to schedule an appointment, visit their website or check out their Facebook page.
PAID FOR BY JEN GALLOWAY FNP-C PRIMARY AND FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE
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