Small Changes, Big Impact

There’s a Tanzanian proverb that says, “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.” The team at STAT Wellness — an integrative, functional medical practice in Park Circle — embraces this idea as they care for patients holistically, consistently aware that small changes compound over time and can make a big difference in their patients’ lives.

Athena Newell, president of STAT Wellness in North Charleston, believes wholeheartedly in their work. “At the heart of our mission is a simple goal,” she says. “We want every person who walks through our doors to leave feeling better than when they came in.”

Newell, a nurse practitioner, has always been passionate about lifestyle medicine, movement as medicine and individualized healthcare. “For me,” she adds, “health isn’t simply about avoiding disease. It’s about helping people build the strength, energy, resilience and confidence to become the healthiest version of themselves.”

The team at STAT Wellness is relentless in taking care of its clients, learning their health histories and personal stories, and working together to ensure client care always goes above and beyond. To them, patients are never simply numbers or appointments on a schedule. “They’re people we have the privilege of caring for,” Newell says. “Our patients have access to medical care, nutrition, health coaching and individualized movement without having to bounce between multiple providers who may never communicate with one another.” There’s not now, nor will there ever be, a one-size-fits-all protocol that suits every patient, every time. STAT Wellness builds care around the individual, their goals, and the life they actually live.

To illustrate the success of the STAT Wellness system, Newell points to a recent client: a woman in her 50s who arrived with several health concerns, including significant gut issues. “Through individualized medical care, nutrition, lifestyle changes and consistent strength training, we’ve watched her gain muscle, become stronger, improve her overall health and make meaningful progress with her GI symptoms,” says Newell. “What I love most about her story is that none of those pieces happened in isolation. Her medical provider, dietitian, health coach and movement team are all working toward the same goals with her. She doesn’t have to piece together her care
across multiple practices — she has a team that knows her and is invested in her health. To me, that’s STAT at its best.”

Or, in other words, a little change here and a little change there, all coordinated through a single, cooperative care team, adds up to a lot of benefit over time.

It’s all part of the STAT Wellness plan. “Whether someone comes to us for medical care, nutrition, movement or simply support in figuring out what’s next for their health,” says Newell, “we want them to feel known, cared for and empowered.”

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