An interesting addition to Lowell has recently begun what they call a marketplace that heals, engages, and feeds the community. By using holistic methods of chiropractic care and physical therapy, nutrition, and counseling, the Garden Foundation believes that what they bring to the table is what the standard should be for all medical care.
Garden Foundation founder and president Bobby Belmonte is a chiropractor who believes in providing individualized care by getting to the root of the issue, rather than only treating the symptoms. This is done best when healthcare professionals of various specialties collaborate and work together under one roof, he says.
This particular roof happens to be at 1150 N. Hudson St. north of downtown Lowell.
As someone who has had a lot of experience with serious medical issues of his own, Belmonte was diagnosed with type one diabetes at the age of five. In spite of that, he was a student athlete at Michigan State University and accepted the hardships of dealing with the disease, including daily seizures, as part of his life.
It wasn’t until he met a chiropractor through his football team that he began to understand the role chiropractic care can have on a person’s health. This led to Belmonte changing course and attending chiropractic school.
“The brain controls the body through the spinal cord, through the nerves, and he just communicated with me in a way that changed the way I looked at sickness,” Belmonte says of his former chiropractor.
“If you look at a medical doctor’s curriculum and a chiropractor’s curriculum, what’s interesting is the chiropractor’s curriculum actually has more studies in science, biology, nutrition than a medical doctor’s,” he says.
After six months of chiropractic treatment and physical therapy alongside traditional medical care, Belmonte said he became seizure-free and his blood sugars balanced, reducing his need for insulin.
“Then it became my mission to help as many people figure out how to do the same thing,” he shares.
The Garden Foundation seeks to give patients all the care they need mostly under one roof. They are building an integrated system where they hope to meet all medical needs.
“What if we just built a facility that would allow for us to all co-exist together with the same goal of helping the person get better and stay better – to be as healthy as they can possibly be?” he asks.
Belmonte says there is definitely a need for traditional medical doctors and plans to have a general care physician on staff, but there needs to be more of an emphasis on lifestyle changes and nutrition. The whole body needs to be examined to find not only physical causes, but underlying mental and spiritual issues that can bring about a physical ailment.
Belmonte uses x-rays to diagnose his patients when subluxation, an interference in the nervous system, is suspected. He said a spine that is out of alignment is not moving properly and wears down, eventually negatively impacting the nervous system.
“If the nerves that go into your heart are damaged by the problems coming from your spine, then your heart’s not going to work as well as it could or should,” Belmonte says. “If there’s something that can be done to help correct the spine, reduce the amount of damage or pressure that’s being put upon the nerve, then the heart could start working better as a result of removing that interference.”
The Garden Foundation has a strong emphasis on good nutrition and chemical-free food production. They have one garden on their one-acre property and another at Impact Church in Lowell. Belmonte said ingesting more “real” foods and consuming fewer chemicals and sugar produces a healthier nervous system, which takes care of 80-90% of health problems.
Making this foundation truly uncommon in the healthcare world, the Garden Foundation offers a unique fee schedule. Belmonte said making a profit and insurance are the least of his concerns. He said the reason he created a foundation was to make it accessible to everyone.
The first three appointments, which include taking a health history, a physical examination, nutritional evaluation, possible x-rays and laboratory work as needed, an initial treatment, and a follow-up appointment to the treatment costs only $40.
Even more uncommon, if paying cash is not an option, Belmonte said patients can donate time to “pay off” their medical care by volunteering through Garden Foundation or other programs within the community.
Though only having opened last November, the Garden Foundation is currently serving 300 regular patients according to Belmonte. They have three full-time employees and are partnering with Cornerstone University for internship opportunities.
In addition to medical care, the Garden Foundation hopes to offer space for the community to gather. A coffee shop recently opened inside their building, and Liam’s Be Cafe is a full-service coffee shop offering espresso, latte, teas, and more including baked goods.
To learn more about the Garden Foundation, visit their website or Facebook page.
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