
Healthy Lifestyle, Healthy You, with Dr. Hugo Ortega
06/05/24 • 25 min
In this month’s episode, Dr. Hugo Ortega joins us as we take a look at lifestyle medicine – a fresh approach to healthcare that more and more physicians are embracing. Dr. Ortega, an associate program director for the Montefiore Einstein Internal Medicine Residency Program in the Bronx, shares his personal story of how he became interested in lifestyle medicine and how it informs the way he treats his patients and teaches his residents. He outlines the six basic pillars of lifestyle medicine and explains how paying attention to each can help get to the root causes of poor health and help us live our best lives.
The Takeaway
- Get started on your health journey by making an appointment with your primary care physician. Don’t have one? Find one at our Provider Directory: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/find-a-provider.
- Learn more about lifestyle medicine by visiting the American College of Lifestyle Medicine website: www.LifestyleMedicine.org.
- Get the basics on whole-food, plant-based nutrition at www.PlantPoweredMetroNY.org.
- Visit the Healthy Living Resource Center for wellness tips, information and resources; www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyliving.
- Get to know your numbers at www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyhearts
- Join WeightWatchers at a discounted rate of just $5 a month; $0 if you are living with diabetes or prediabetes: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/ww.
- If you are living with type 2 diabetes, find out more about our partner Virta’s diabetes reversal program: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/news/virta.
- Get inspired by fellow members through our Members’ Voices series: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyliving/membervoices.
- Stop by our Benefits Channel to join webinars on managing stress, building healthy meals and more: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/videos.
- Visit our YouTube channel to view a wide collection of healthy living videos: www.youtube.com/@1199SEIUBenefitFunds/playlists
- Sample our wellness classes to exercise body and mind: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/wellnessevents.
Guest Bio
Dr. Hugo Ortega is an associate program director for the Montefiore Einstein Internal Medicine Residency Program in the Bronx and served on the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Board of Directors as Young Director. The college also awarded him the Health Equity Achieved Through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) Initiative Scholarship, which aims to support a diverse healthcare workforce. With a passion for medical education and a master’s degree in health professions education, Dr. Ortega completed his residency in primary care and social internal medicine and has developed an expertise in lifestyle medicine. Believing education to be the cornerstone of changing the current landscape of healthcare, Dr. Ortega says teaching students and residents to be aware of the complex social systems that determine health allow for better adaptation to the system while also fighting to change it. Experienced in development, implementation and evaluation of undergraduate/graduate medical education curriculum, Dr. Ortega has also developed administrative and leadership skills during the creation and directing of the lifestyle medicine programs at Northwell Health. Dr. Ortega believes strongly in giving back to the community via education and mentorship, empowering people to take charge of their health and influence others.
In this month’s episode, Dr. Hugo Ortega joins us as we take a look at lifestyle medicine – a fresh approach to healthcare that more and more physicians are embracing. Dr. Ortega, an associate program director for the Montefiore Einstein Internal Medicine Residency Program in the Bronx, shares his personal story of how he became interested in lifestyle medicine and how it informs the way he treats his patients and teaches his residents. He outlines the six basic pillars of lifestyle medicine and explains how paying attention to each can help get to the root causes of poor health and help us live our best lives.
The Takeaway
- Get started on your health journey by making an appointment with your primary care physician. Don’t have one? Find one at our Provider Directory: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/find-a-provider.
- Learn more about lifestyle medicine by visiting the American College of Lifestyle Medicine website: www.LifestyleMedicine.org.
- Get the basics on whole-food, plant-based nutrition at www.PlantPoweredMetroNY.org.
- Visit the Healthy Living Resource Center for wellness tips, information and resources; www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyliving.
- Get to know your numbers at www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyhearts
- Join WeightWatchers at a discounted rate of just $5 a month; $0 if you are living with diabetes or prediabetes: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/ww.
- If you are living with type 2 diabetes, find out more about our partner Virta’s diabetes reversal program: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/news/virta.
- Get inspired by fellow members through our Members’ Voices series: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyliving/membervoices.
- Stop by our Benefits Channel to join webinars on managing stress, building healthy meals and more: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/videos.
- Visit our YouTube channel to view a wide collection of healthy living videos: www.youtube.com/@1199SEIUBenefitFunds/playlists
- Sample our wellness classes to exercise body and mind: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/wellnessevents.
Guest Bio
Dr. Hugo Ortega is an associate program director for the Montefiore Einstein Internal Medicine Residency Program in the Bronx and served on the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Board of Directors as Young Director. The college also awarded him the Health Equity Achieved Through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) Initiative Scholarship, which aims to support a diverse healthcare workforce. With a passion for medical education and a master’s degree in health professions education, Dr. Ortega completed his residency in primary care and social internal medicine and has developed an expertise in lifestyle medicine. Believing education to be the cornerstone of changing the current landscape of healthcare, Dr. Ortega says teaching students and residents to be aware of the complex social systems that determine health allow for better adaptation to the system while also fighting to change it. Experienced in development, implementation and evaluation of undergraduate/graduate medical education curriculum, Dr. Ortega has also developed administrative and leadership skills during the creation and directing of the lifestyle medicine programs at Northwell Health. Dr. Ortega believes strongly in giving back to the community via education and mentorship, empowering people to take charge of their health and influence others.
Previous Episode

How Healthy Is Your Relationship with Your Doctor?
In this episode, the Benefit Funds’ Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Van H. Dunn, discusses the importance of building a healthy relationship with a primary care provider. Putting the emphasis on prevention – catching small problems before they become big ones – Dr. Dunn details the ways in which healthcare providers treat the whole person. He also explores the reasons why many people avoid seeing a provider regularly (and how to overcome them) and offers tips on what to look for in a provider – and what to avoid.
The Takeaway
- Find a provider by browsing the Benefit Funds’ Provider Directory: www.1199seiubenefits.org/find-a-provider/.
- Visit our Healthy Living Resource Center for info on how to build a solid relationship with your healthcare provider: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyrelationships.
- Talk to your doctor about any screenings you may need: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthybodies.
- Know your numbers to know where you stand: www.1199seiubenefits.org/healthyhearts/
- For additional support, call our Wellness Member Assistance Program: (646) 473-6900.
Guest Bio
Van H. Dunn, MD, MPH, FACP, is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the 1199SEIU Benefit Funds. As CMO, he oversees the Funds’ clinical, care management and analytics functions, and is responsible for pursuing health and wellness initiatives and value-based strategies. Prior to joining the Funds, Dr. Dunn served as Senior Vice President for Medical and Professional Affairs and CMO at NYC Health + Hospitals, and as CMO for MetroPlus Health Plan. He also served as Deputy Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and as Senior Health Policy Advisor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, advancing policy and legislation relating to healthcare reform, health promotion, disease prevention, women’s and minorities’ health, disparities in healthcare and biomedical research, among other critical initiatives.
Dr. Dunn holds a Bachelor of Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University Medical College (now Weill Cornell Medical College) and a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health (now the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health).
Next Episode

Key Note: Healthy Lifestyle, Healthy You
In this month’s episode, Dr. Hugo Ortega joins us as we take a look at lifestyle medicine – a fresh approach to healthcare that more and more physicians are embracing. Dr. Ortega, an associate program director for the Montefiore Einstein Internal Medicine Residency Program in the Bronx, shares his personal story of how he became interested in lifestyle medicine and how it informs the way he treats his patients and teaches his residents. He outlines the six basic pillars of lifestyle medicine and explains how paying attention to each can help get to the root causes of poor health and help us live our best lives.
Keep the conversation going and tag us or comment on our Facebook or Instagram pages with your thoughts and questions.
www.facebook.com/1199SEIUBenefitFunds
www.instagram.com/1199seiubenefitfunds
The Takeaway
- Get started on your health journey by making an appointment with your primary care physician. Don’t have one? Find one at our Provider Directory: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/find-a-provider.
- Learn more about lifestyle medicine by visiting the American College of Lifestyle Medicine website: www.LifestyleMedicine.org.
- Get the basics on whole-food, plant-based nutrition at www.PlantPoweredMetroNY.org.
- Visit the Healthy Living Resource Center for wellness tips, information and resources; www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyliving.
- Get to know your numbers at www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyhearts
- Join WeightWatchers at a discounted rate of just $5 a month; $0 if you are living with diabetes or prediabetes: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/ww.
- If you are living with type 2 diabetes, find out more about our partner Virta’s diabetes reversal program: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/news/virta.
- Get inspired by fellow members through our Members’ Voices series: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/healthyliving/membervoices.
- Stop by our Benefits Channel to join webinars on managing stress, building healthy meals and more: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/videos.
- Visit our YouTube channel to view a wide collection of healthy living videos: www.youtube.com/@1199SEIUBenefitFunds/playlists
- Sample our wellness classes to exercise body and mind: www.1199SEIUBenefits.org/wellnessevents.
Guest Bio
Dr. Hugo Ortega is an associate program director for the Montefiore Einstein Internal Medicine Residency Program in the Bronx and served on the American College of Lifestyle Medicine Board of Directors as Young Director. The college also awarded him the Health Equity Achieved Through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) Initiative Scholarship, which aims to support a diverse healthcare workforce. With a passion for medical education and a master’s degree in health professions education, Dr. Ortega completed his residency in primary care and social internal medicine and has developed an expertise in lifestyle medicine. Believing education to be the cornerstone of changing the current landscape of healthcare, Dr. Ortega says teaching students and residents to be aware of the complex social systems that determine health allow for better adaptation to the system while also fighting to change it. Experienced in development, implementation and evaluation of undergraduate/graduate medical education curriculum, Dr. Ortega has also developed administrative and leadership skills during the creation and directing of the lifestyle medicine programs at Northwell Health. Dr. Ortega believes strongly in giving back to the community via education and mentorship, empowering people to take charge of their health and influence others.
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