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PROVIDER PROFILE:
Dr. Tonya Adkins
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We are delighted to begin our Provider Profile column with one of our newest providers: Dr. Tonya Adkins.
Dr. Adkins has a diverse history of providing medical care. She started her medical career as a Navy Obstetrician Gynecologist and was sent to Okinawa, Japan for her first duty station. There she met her husband who is a Marine Corps Officer.
While she loved military medicine, she decided to leave the Navy to start a family. She joined a private practice and then decided to take a break to care for her children. She returned to medicine but as an outpatient provider, providing care to those women who were so often underserved. She found that this was her passion.
Dr. Adkins loves working with our female patients, educating and advising them about their
physical and mental health and partnering with them in their medical care at HealthWorks.
When not working she enjoys traveling with her family, reading and crafting.
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Become a Healt
hW
orks Volunteer
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Volunteers are an integral pa
rt of the
HealthWorks team. We ask volunteers to commit to volunteer three times a month for at least six months.
Licensed and unlicensed positions available.
For additional information and application forms, please visit our
website at www.hwnova.org
.
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This month America's Community Health Centers celebrated the many ways they contribute to the creation of healthier communities.
Community Health Centers now serve more than 25 million Americans through more than 9,200 sites across the nation.
In recognition of our role in creating healthier communities, HealthWorks was again delighted to provide 104 free school physicals for low-income children
in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties.
Children cannot attend school without these physicals and we are one of the very organizations which provide them.
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HealthWorks and Loudoun Hunger Relief Launch Program to Fight Childhood Obesity
Health
Works has partnered with Loudoun Hunger Relief to implement a joint pilot program to fight obesity in low-income children.
The Integrated Pediatric Care program, funded by a $60,000 grant from Northern Virginia Health Foundation, supports the pediatric patients cared for at our Leesburg location. Participating families receive fresh fruit and vegetables each week through a prescription written by our registered dietitian, Marbella Moreno-McCarthy. The program also includes educational classes and ongoing support promoting healthier eating habits for the entire family.
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The rate of pediatric obesity in our patient population is very high, with nearly 50% of our patients under the age of 18 diagnosed with either obesity or overweight,"
said HealthWorks CEO Carol Jameson.
Loudoun Hunger Relief has been putting a stronger emphasis on healthy eating through its food pantry operations and the new program builds on those efforts.
"We have developed a pilot program which can eventually be scaled up to address the broader issue of obesity among low-income families with limited affordable food choices in Loudoun County," stated LHR Executive Director Jennifer Montgomery. "We are extremely grateful to have this funding from the Northern Virginia Health Foundation who recognize the possibilities that exist when innovative community partnerships are formed."
The program is being funded by Northern Virginia Health Foundation's grant in large part because of the extensive collaboration among area organizations during the year-long planning phase. The community-based partnership also includes Loudoun County Health Department, Loudoun Pediatric Obesity Collation, Loudoun Valley Homegrown Markets Cooperative, Real Food for Kids and A Farm Less Ordinary.
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Successful AARP Tax Assistance Partnership at HealthWorks
This
past tax season, HealthWorks partnered with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide to provide free income tax preparation for low to moderate income taxpayers and seniors. The program is offered at similar sites across the country.
The HealthWorks site operated three days a week from January 31 through April 15. HealthWorks provided space in the lobby of our Leesburg Center for the in-person appointments, as well as the needed resources for the program. Twenty-five volunteers prepared over 450 federal tax returns (as well as a similar number of state returns) and answered questions for an additional 150 taxpayers at the HealthWorks site. Volunteers started in the fall training and obtaining IRS certifications to help clients with their taxes.
This service directly helps the neediest members of our community by relieving them of the stress and expense of tax return preparation, while also ensuring that these taxpayers receive all the credits and deductions for which they qualify.
We look forward to continuing the partnership with the AARP Foundation again next year.
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Dental Care for Older Patients
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Dr. Wilson examining the teeth of a senior patient. |
Healthy teeth and a beautiful smile are so important for a patient's emotional and physical well-being.
Edentulous patients, defined as those without teeth, are affected em
otionally, physically and often financially by the loss of their ability to chew and smile. Eating fibrous, crunchy vegetables is not a possibility for an edentulous patient, so these patients rely on a soft carbohydrate-laden diet, which increases their risk for diabetes and malnutrition.
Patients need dentures to help them chew, regain confidence to appear in public, for job interviews and at community gatherings.
Our Chief Dental Officer,
Lois Wilson, DDS notes
that
as life expectancy is increasing, it is important for dental practitioners to ensure that older adults have access to high quality, well-functioning dentures as a means of improving overall quality of life. We are proud to provide dental services at HealthWorks that include dentures, as well as crowns and bridges for our patients.
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About HealthWorks for Northern Virginia
HealthWorks for Northern Virginia is a nonprofit community health center. We provide high quality, accessible and affordabl
e medical, dental, behavioral health care, nutrition counseling and support services to over 17,000 patients. Our goal is to provide access to seamless integrated health care for everyone, regardless of their ability to pay whether they have insurance or not.
www.hwnova.org
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