Written by Crystal Ward Kent
“Keep calm and carry on,” is a popular phrase, and one that might also apply to Kelly Donatello’s outlook on life. Donatello is a certified integrative nutrition health counselor and also the co-director of the Center for Wellbeing in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She and her husband, a practitioner specializing in functional medicine, manage the Center which focuses on leading treatments in functional and regenerative medicine, and the power of the mind/body connection to promote self-healing and minimize medications and surgery.
For Donatello, 2019 was an exciting year with many positive changes for her business, as well as some important personal changes. “We were very excited to move the Center for Wellbeing into a new, larger space on Lafayette Road in Portsmouth,” she says. “We have grown so much in recent years, and this move allows us to offer more services, bring in more staff, and also know that we have room to expand and grow. As part of our staff expansion, we were thrilled to add another nurse practitioner, and this one specializes in both traditional and functional medicine. She is passionate about getting to the root cause of an illness, and not just treating symptoms, which aligns perfectly with our approach to healing. Patients are really enjoying seeing her, and she is a wonderful addition to our practice.”
Donatello notes that one reason for the Center’s expansion is to accommodate their ongoing role in providing the latest in regenerative medicine treatments, especially the use of stem cell derived therapies to help heal issues of chronic pain and injury. “We have been offering this since late 2017,” she explains. “And we are seeing extraordinary results. We have seen more than 100 patients be able to cancel planned surgeries for knee replacements or similar procedures after undergoing the regenerative therapies because chronic pain was no longer an issue. This is clearly the future of medicine and we are excited to be on the cutting edge.”
2019 was also a year of personal change and reflection for Donatello, who saw her family finally be able to move into their newly renovated home. “My husband and I bought the home a year-and-a-half ago, just after we were married, but it needed work. We were so pleased to be able to renovate the home as a family and truly make it into what we wanted. Now, it is so nice to be living there as a blended family—we have four kids—knowing that it is a true reflection of our new lives together.”
Finding Balance
Given all of the changes at work and at home, Donatello realized that she had been neglecting her own self-care, and says paying more attention to that is one of her goals for 2020. “I’m back taking yoga classes, eating better, and generally making more time for me,” she says. “I noticed immediately how much better I felt when I restarted yoga. I’m able to do better in my work, with my family, and in life when I feel my best. The saying that you ‘can’t serve from an empty vessel’ is true—we all need to take care of ourselves in order to serve others.”
For 2020, Donatello is hoping to continue work on her yoga teaching certification, and pushing herself further in her yoga. “I’m approaching 50, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how I’ve been able to do more advanced poses. It’s shown me that I can do more than I think I can, especially if I take baby steps. We have more potential than we realize, and I want to maximize that for the next 50 years!”
She is also eager to see the Center for Wellbeing continue to embark on new therapies that will bring the latest healing offerings to patients. “We are looking into offering a cutting-edge diagnostic exam that was developed by one of the researchers who helped map the human genome,” she explains. “It uses information from a full-body MRI combined with genetics to look at issues your body may be facing before they become serious. This type of diagnostic exam has so far been of special interest to high performing people who value their health and want to take advantage of early detection and treatment of serious diseases. We feel it has tremendous potential and look forward to sharing more information with our patients later in the year.”
As always, Donatello’s personal and professional goals dovetail when it comes to exploring mind/body therapies. “Our main purpose is always to seek ways to best serve the community and our patients,” she says. “To that end, we are always looking into how we can keep improving, keep evolving. I’m personally intrigued by the mind/body therapies that are out there, and I know that these can make a difference in people’s lives, so I’m eager to learn more. I think the future of medicine will see more and more of a blend of ancient knowledge and ground-breaking technology.
“I’m inspired when I explore all of the ways that we can fulfill our potential,” she continues. “I want to people to be their best in mind, body and spirit so that they can deal with today’s rather tumultuous world from a place of calm and good health. That’s my goal for 2020 and every year.” To learn more about the Center for Wellbeing, please call (603) 380-9159 or visit www.centerforwell.com
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