ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre at the San

The ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre at Sydney Adventist Hospital offers a comprehensive, wholistic approach to the treatment and prevention of chronic disease. With half the Australian population living with at least one chronic disease – such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis – there is a great need for expert and compassionate support to help people live well.

The Centre is located in the Tulloch building at the hospital, and is open to outpatients and the broader community – with or without a GP referral. The centre has an interdisciplinary team including GPs with additional qualifications in lifestyle medicine, registered nurses, dieticians, health coaches, exercise physiologists, and psychology care all in the one location. 

Evidence-based lifestyle medicine consultations and interventions, group programs, and individual coaching are all used to help people address the root cause of chronic disease. This is particularly important as chronic disease accounts for 90% of deaths in Australia, and these deaths are often preventable. It is good news that many of the risk factors that contribute to chronic disease are modifiable with changes to lifestyle habits. Lifestyle medicine initiatives can greatly improve health and quality of life in many cases.

The ELIA Diabetes 12-week Clinical Program is recommended for patients with pre-diabetes or diagnosed type 2 diabetes. It will empower patients in their wellness journey and will help transform their life, as we help them develop the necessary skills to thrive and live life more abundantly, and to prevent, treat or remit their type 2 diabetes. This evidence-based program includes personal appointments catering to individual needs, group sessions, coaching and a comprehensive Diabetes Lifestyle Plan health education program available on the ELIA Wellness digital platform. 

The ELIA Lifestyle Medicine Centre continues a long tradition of health education and wellness programs at the hospital, and builds on foundational principles of why Sydney Adventist Hospital was established in 1903 – to care for the body, mind and spirit of our patients, colleagues, community and ourselves.

This is an initiative of ELIA Wellness, a health promotion charity established to champion the research and practice of lifestyle medicine. ELIA Wellness is an initiative of Adventist Health in the South Pacific Division.