Sweeps Winner

Avenue Wellness - PA

The Road to Avenue Wellness

Twenty years ago, when I became the first person in my family to get a Masters Degree, I never imagined it would lead to starting my own business. My initial plan upon graduating with an advanced degree in public health from Emory University was to stay and work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the remainder of my career. This would be my dream--helping people live their healthiest life possible. I was going to reach people who did not have access to healthcare and I was going to help people make better choices when it came to diet and exercise.

Then I graduated, and spent the next 20 years as a statistical programmer in the health field crunching numbers for reports about health. I believe some of the work has trickled through to help people live happier lives and for that I am grateful. But the nagging sense that I am not quite reaching the community the way I am meant to has remained persistent.

In the last 5 years while maintaining my role as a statistical programmer, I have obtained my credential as a board certified health and wellness coach. I am also certified to teach yoga. In 2020, I created Avenue Wellness (Avenue Yoga, LLC) and through this side business I have been able to finally reach people at the human level. The way I imagined I would over 20 years ago. Each person I've worked with is a living breathing individual with a family, a circumstance, and no longer a simple tick on a computer program.

I now realize I want to make Avenue Wellness my primary focus and an idea has emerged. Public health statistics reveal that prediabetes is a growing health threat, with 1 in 3 adults in the US living with prediabetes. The CDC has developed the National Diabetes Prevention Program in order to combat this surge. Public and private organizations can become providers of the year-long CDC developed program which is comprised of weekly meetings focused on diet and exercise.

Avenue Wellness is currently on the path to becoming a National DPP provider. My vision is for Avenue Wellness to offer onsite yoga and group fitness classes in collaboration with the CDC approved program. This pioneering concept incorporates what I believe we should normalize regarding healthcare- to bring it back to the community. To provide a one-stop-shop to the community. A place where others truly care about your health and wellbeing and have the skills and qualifications for that responsibility. Lifestyle change can be challenging and research shows it works best in a supportive, in-person, nurturing long-term environment. Avenue
Wellness can be the first of this type of platform as we head into the future.

Thank you for reading this submission, I appreciate the opportunity to share my story!

Tamara Fidler, MSPH, NBC-HWC