NIWH Graduate Spotlight Questionnaire
Melissa Sperry MSN, RNc NC-BC, CNE, CNOR

Q: What drew you to the Whole Health field and the National Institute of Whole Health?

A: “After completing the Whole Health Educator classes, I qualified for my National Provider Number (NPI) and began my own practice in health promotion and disease prevention.

The NPI has been a great help as I am able to provide my clients with coded statements for my services.

They are able to submit this to their insurances or flexible spending accounts as health education expenses, if these services are covered under their plans. If not, the statements can be used as medical expenses on their annual Income Tax returns.

The NPI number brings increased credibility among colleagues for additional referrals from clinics and hospital facilities, as well as allows the patient to use insurance or flexible spending accounts to pay for all or part of costs. The Health Educator Certificate program allows nurses to enhance and richen their practices and bring care to the best place possible, whole person healthcare, with the patient being the center and driver of choice.”

Q: How are you currently applying your training from NIWH?

A: “All of my clients have been successful with a combination of Whole Health Education, personalized coaching, and with nursing critical thinking and care planning skills. One client has seen an eighty (80) pound weight loss and is now running marathons on a regular basis. He is happier, more active, and feels the journey was easy with the right understanding of how one element can affect everything around him and within him.”

Q: Are you pleased you are able to serve others through Whole Health?

“Another young man came to me with extreme hypertension. Medical physicians in his area would not see him until over $900 in lab work could be drawn. He was desperate, knowing that his health was at risk but his income could not support such high lab costs. Looking at the whole picture of his environment, nutrition, spiritual, emotional, and physical health he has been able to find and acknowledge behavioral issues and change them for the better. Today his blood pressures are running in the “perfect” range. He has given up most of his fast foods and soda intake and began a personal exercise program.”