Business Profile: Hygeia Integrated Health, LLC, Jefferson Valley

Hygeia Integrated Health LLC was opened in April 30 and as its name indicates, it provides several types of care form a varied staff of professionals.

Cortlandt resident Denise Foulkes is a licensed clinical social worker who is the founder of Hygeia Integrated Health LLC in Jefferson Valley  Nyack resident Christine Fallon does marketing and operations work for Hygeia. Ossining Harry Campbell is a certified biofeedback specialist who does stress management work. Croton resident Nicole Memoli is a psychotherapist. Cortlandt resident Carmen Ramos-Guerrero is a clinical social worker who will be joining the Hygeia staff.

“We wanted to open in time for May, which is Mental Health and Awareness Month,” Foulkes said.

Foulkes, who also has a background in pharmaceutical marketing, added, “I realized there was a real opportunity to focus on people’s social and emotional health.” She noted that 75 percent of the more than three trillion dollars of health care spending annually in the United States is devoted to behavioral, mental or emotionally related patient care issues “that are preventable if people get the appropriate treatment.”

People’s health can be improved if they are doing a variety of things, such as being discouraged from using less street drugs, eating healthy, having better emotional and social relationships and not having unprotected sex, Foulkes said.

“We really believe in an integrated wellness model,” she said. “If you don’t feel well you can’t do anything right. You can’t take care of yourself. You can’t eat properly You don’t have good relationships.”

Among the services provided at Hygeia are psychotherapy and other behavioral health services and complementary and alternative medicine services, including acupuncture, biofeedback, message and nutrition advice.

Campbell said a major reason he became involved with biofeedback was because it allows practitioners “to measure a physical reaction in the body just based on what somebody’s thinking.” Biofeedback can “help a person to reduce the negative reactions that they’re having in their body related to stress,” he said. His patients can by using biofeedback instruments “actually see the changes and learn how to control them better so it helps to reduce a lot of the symptoms that they may get like headaches and hypertension,” Campbell said.

Efforts are being made to attract new patients, Fallon said. “We’re working on doing targeted outreach to the community so that people are aware that we’re here,” she said. “We’re going to be offering seminars and workshops so people can come and learn about the different modalities that we offer. Some people may have heard of things like biofeedback or acupuncture but don’t really know their benefits.”

“We’re hoping to spread the work that there are alternatives to common problems,” Fallon said. “We’re trying to incorporate mind and body wellness.”

Hygeia Integrated Health, LLC is located at 3505 Hill Blvd. (behind the Jefferson Valley Mall) in the Jefferson Valley section of Yorktown. For more information, call 914-352-6116, send an e-mail to hyinhealth@gmail.com or visit hyinhealth.com.

Neal Rentz