Our First Healthy Cooking Class
Our fabulous group of chefs
After years of wanting to include healthy cooking in my practice, the wait was finally over. We had our first healthy cooking class this past weekend. Dr. Charles Mok was our instructor/chef and educated our group on food safety, knife safety, and guided us as we cooked four different chicken dishes. This first class was a huge success and we look forward to our next class on November 12th.
Envision Health’s Night at the Symphony
This past Saturday, we enjoyed our first Envision Health outing to the Symphony. Each year, the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra (NISO) puts on a Summer Concert Series. This was their 23rd Annual Concert on the Lawn. Crown Point has been fortunate to host one of these concerts each summer. The concert is performed on the lawn of Franciscan Crown Point, with a usual rain location at the Crown Point High School. My family and I have enjoyed many concerts over the years and it was fun to invite my Envision Health Family this year. The symphony performed some pieces by many of the famous composers such as Strauss and Williams, however, I think it was some familiar movie soundtrack and patriotic compositions that got the crowd cheering. It was a beautiful night to enjoy some snacks and music under the stars. We look forward to making this a yearly tradition.
Enjoying the beautiful weather!
Gorgeous sunset selfie
Walk and Warm Up
Our last Walk With a Doc
Our Post Walk Warm Up at Steamwhistle Coffee Roasters, Crown Point
Our Walk With a Doc chapter has reached a year and we are going strong. We enjoyed a lovely walk this past Saturday and then a yummy warm up at Steamwhistle Coffee Roasters right across from the fairgrounds. It was a great chance for some of our walkers to get to know each other in a relaxed setting. Our walk topic this month was on Holiday Grief. Certainly a tough, but very appropriate topic for the season. Do you find that sometimes this isn’t the “most wonderful time of the year”? Holidays remind us often of friends and family members that may not be with us any longer. Also the amount of sunlight decreases during this time of the year, causing many of us to experience seasonal depressive symptoms. There are ways to help these symptoms:
Acknowledge that these feelings are real and do something about it, talk to a friend or even a health professional if you are having a tough time.
Get out and enjoy whatever sunshine we have, we need regular exposure.
Honor your loved ones by remembering them at this time and sharing stories about them to others that support you.
Maintain your health by continuing to get good rest, maintaining a regular sleep/wake cycle, eating a healthy diet, and continuing to stay physically active.
Consider traveling, if possible.
Engage in hobbies and volunteer opportunities.
Holiday Grief is real and you can help make this season more manageable. It does take time so don’t get discouraged. Check out a couple of these resources
Advice, information, and support
Hope you will all join us for our next walk at the Lake County Fairgrounds, Saturday, January 14th. We meet at 9am by the playground. This walk is open to all, even our furry friends. See you then! Dr. Mok
Where has the year gone…
Our new Envision Health Location as of March 2022
A lot has happened at Envision Health since my last post. Our Envision Health office has moved into a new beautiful location at 1501 S. Court Street, Suite 206. The beautiful windows offer such a warmth to our new spot. Plus, we now have a beautiful sign on the east facing window.
It has now been nearly a year since our Walk With a Doc Chapter began. All year on the second Saturday of the month, we met at the Lake County Fairgrounds to discuss various health topics and get in a few steps. It has been a wonderful way to start the weekend and interact with our Crown Point community. Some of those mornings were pretty chilly, but we always had smiling faces. As you can see, there are some furry smiles too:)
Looking forward to continuing our walks through the rest of 2022 and into 2023. If you are interested in joining us, these walks are open to everyone. We meet at the playground at the Lake County Fairgrounds about 8:45am on the second Saturday of the month and start walking after a short discussion of a health topic. If the fairgrounds are closed to walkers, we meet at the parking lot of the office at 1501 S. Court St and walk around the area. If you have any questions regarding the Walk With a Doc walks or Envision Health, please contact me at drmok@envisiondirectprimarycare.com or call the office 219-225-6450.
Walk Postponed
Our inaugural Walk with a Doc walk will be moved to Saturday, October 9th at 9am. I am sorry to all that were excited to join us this coming Saturday. We hope to see you on October 9th. Please contact the office with any questions. 219-225-6450. You can also learn more about our walk here We will meet at the Lake County Fairgrounds playground.
Envision Health starts Walk with a Doc chapter
See how it all started
Exciting news for the Northwest Indiana area! Envision Health has started a Walk with a Doc chapter. Dr. Mok is excited to announce the first walk with be held at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown Point on September 11, 2021 at 2pm. Come join us for a quick talk about a health topic and then enjoy a healthy walk around the fairgrounds. Future walks are planned to be held at the Fairgrounds on the second Saturday of every month at 9am. Hope to see you all there. No registration required. You can read more about our walk on our Walk with a Doc website Envision Health WWAD
Dr Mok visits the Farmers Market
This past Saturday, July 10th, was finally a chance to get out and talk about what we are doing at Envision Health. This was the first of three weeks attending and talking about Direct Primary Care and Medical Acupuncture. It was a lot of fun to see what other vendors were selling and talk to many of the attendees about what we offer in our practice. If you are interested to learn more, please call the office at 219-225-6450 or email Dr. Mok directly at drmok@envisiondirectprimarycare.com
Anniversary Special!
Happy First Anniversary to Envision Health!!
It was New Years Eve 2019, that I picked up the keys to the Envision Health office. To celebrate our first year anniversary, we will be offering a special through the month of January 2021. Anyone who joins during January 2021, will have their enrollment fee waived ($75 for an individual or $150 for a family). This fee will be reinstated as of February 1st, 2021. If you know anyone that values their health and appreciates the relationship with a caring, knowledgeable physician, get in now and don’t miss out on the last month this will be offered. Sign Up Here
COVID-19 Vaccine: Truths and Myths
Dr. Mok receiving dose 1 of the COVID 19 vaccination 12/21/2020
Two COVID 19 vaccines have now been issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA. EUA means that during health emergencies, like this pandemic, the FDA will allow the use of unapproved medical products to diagnose, treat, or prevent serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions. The vaccines must meet specific standards for safety and efficacy to receive this designation.
The vaccines from both companies, Pfizer and Moderna, are using messenger RNA from the virus to stimulate our immune system to create antibodies against a portion of the coronavirus. There is no live virus in the vaccine. You can not get COVID-19 from the vaccine. Currently the vaccines are considered 95% effective, but at this point we don’t know how long the vaccine offers protection. This will continue to be studied. The vaccines both require two doses. The Pfizer vaccine requires a second dose 21 days after the first and the Moderna requires a second dose 28 days after the first. It is imperative that the second dose be received to ensure a proper level of protection.
Both vaccines can produce side effects. Getting immunized gets your immune system revved up, so it is common to see fatigue, body aches, even fever after receiving these shots. These are actually good signs because this means your body is developing a response so that if it ever comes across that disease again, it will recognize it and fight against it. There have been some more severe reactions, but these are rare. Dr. Mok did develop soreness at the injection site, some fatigue and body aches the day of vaccination, but already feels better today.
What are the special requirements for the vaccine? You should not get vaccinated if you have a fever or do not feel well. For women who are pregnant, it is advised to talk with your obstetrician prior to receiving a vaccine. If you have had COVID-19 within the past 90 days, it is advised to wait to get the vaccine as you already have some immunity to the infection and this will allow others to get the vaccine.
When you go to get your shot, make sure to tell the provider if you have any allergies, have a fever, have any bleeding disorders or on a blood thinner, whether you are immunocompromised or on a medication that affects your immune system, if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, breastfeeding, or if you received another COVID-19 vaccine.
So after you get your shot, when are you most protected against COVID-19? The Pfizer vaccine is most effective 7 days after the second dose and the Moderna vaccine offers the most protection 14 days after the second dose. However, at this point it is best to continue to mask, social distance, and practice good hand hygiene.
If there are more questions you have that have not been addressed here, please check out the CDC’s site for more information. You can also email Dr. Mok at drmok@envisiondirectprimarycare.com with any additional questions.
We’re up in lights!!
I was excited to see that the practice finally made the marquee at the Mayden Professional Center. Hopefully now patients will have an easier time located our office and referring all their friends and family.
Welcome to the Envision Health Blog
It’s been nearly twelve months since Envision Health opened its doors. What a year it has been for all of us! Starting and running a new business always has its challenges; however, I could never have predicted the ups and downs of this year. It has been a dream come true to offer to the Northwest Indiana area an opportunity for affordable and accessible healthcare at a time when many of us are concerned about our health and what we can do to improve it and prevent disease. I have been working mainly on social media to get the word out about Direct Primary Care and its benefits to patients. I hope that this blog will become an even better method of educating the community about Direct Primary Care and health topics that may be interesting to you. Please let me know what topics you would like to hear about by emailing me at drmok@envisiondirectprimarycare.com