01/10/2012 - Healthy Living with the California Health & Longevity Institute, Four Seasons Hotel, Westlake Village

Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village

http://www.chli.com/

The California Health & Longevity Institute (CHLI) is the only place of its kind offering a seamless integration of evidence-based medicine with qualified experts and programs designed to improve health and wellness for individuals and organizations.  The Institute uses a 360-degree approach by integrating five disciplines to achieve lifestyle and well-being goals: Medical, Nutrition, Fitness, Life Balance, and Spa.  An on-site medical clinic fuses the latest breakthroughs in Western preventive-care medicine with complementary and alternative Eastern medical techniques, and houses a complete imaging suite, dermatology center, and a medical laboratory.

The Institute (CHLI) was founded in November 2006 through a partnership between David H. Murdock, WellPoint, and renowned geneticist Andrew Conrad, PhD.  Mr. Murdock, chairman and sole owner of Dole Food Company, Inc., long envisioned creating a place where individuals in search of a healthier lifestyle could engage with the best available experts in the fields of Medicine, Nutrition, Fitness, Life Balance and Spa to improve the quality and longevity of their lives.  WellPoint, Inc., the largest health benefits company in terms of medical membership in the United States, recognized a need to educate their corporate clients about strategic methods of reducing healthcare costs and absenteeism while increasing productivity through proven methods that provide a return on investment.  Dr. Conrad, one of the world’s foremost experts in the fields of genetics, complemented this venture with his studies about the degradation of DNA due to lifestyle factors.  Together, they refined a vision to proactively provide an educational approach to improve the health and well-being of individuals and corporations’ employees which resulted in California Health & Longevity Institute.

Terry Schaack, M.D.

Medical Director

Dr. Terry Schaack has devoted his medical career to the highest levels of patient care and cutting-edge medical research. For more than 15 years, Dr. Schaack was in private practice, providing primary and preventive care to patients in Southern California. He maintains hospital privileges at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California where he was recently elected secretary of the medical staff. Before going into private practice, Dr. Schaack served as a hospital intensivist and as a Director of Emergency Services. At California Health & Longevity Institute, Inc. he is a Medical Director.

After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Rochester, New York, Dr. Schaack received his medical education at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Additionally, he trained in internal medicine at Ohio State University and did sub-specialty training in Rheumatology at UCLA. Currently, Dr. Schaack is the primary investigator for a National Genetics Institute study on DNA breakdown and repair. Dr. Schaack received a Senior Rheumatology Scholar Award by the American College of Rheumatology and in 2006 he was nominated as one of the “Best Doctors in America.”

Paulette Lambert, R.D., CDE

Director of Nutrition

With an ability to translate the latest scientific medical research in nutrition into tips and strategies easily understood by consumers, California Health & Longevity Institute Director of Nutrition Paulette Lambert, RD, CDE (registered dietitian and certified diabetic educator) is a nationally recognized expert in her field.  In addition to being a sought-after speaker for corporate meetings and conferences in the fields of insurance, healthcare, consumer products and more, she can be seen as the nutrition expert on ABC’s Extreme Makeover:  Weight Loss Edition.  She has also appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, KNBC Los Angeles, KABC Los Angeles and KCBS Los Angeles.  She is a regular contributor to Organic Spa and A Woman’s Health magazines as well as being cited frequently for her expertise in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Shape, Los Angeles Times, Smart Meetings and more.

As the Director of Nutrition for the Institute since its opening in 2006, Paulette develops the nutrition programs and protocols for individual consultations, workshops for consumers and corporate groups including “Smart Dining Out” and “Strategies for Healthy Eating” and the popular Wellness Kitchen.  This interactive food experience, a signature program at the Institute, combines nutrition education with a hands-on cooking class in a fun yet informative class set in a made-for-television demonstration kitchen.  Paulette’s passion for delicious food and cooking (she is a self-described “foodie”) allows her to create recipes for the Wellness Kitchen that are infused with flavor and chock full of nutritional content while satisfying even the pickiest of palates.  (In fact, she applied to study pastry at the Culinary Institute of America before deciding to pursue a career in nutrition.) She also provides nutrition support for healthy menu options developed for the restaurants, in-room dining and banquet facilities at Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, where the Institute is located.  She works closely with the Institute’s medical team to provide care for each guest’s personal health strategies and needs.  Paulette also spearheads the Institute’s partnerships with local school systems to provide healthier lunch programs for area children.

With more than 30 years of experience in her field, Paulette’s vast experience with clinical nutrition includes expertise in the areas of weight management,  diabetes, heart disease prevention and cardiac care, cancer prevention and management, obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, food allergies, supplements, sports training and more.  As a certified diabetic educator, she has lectured extensively for the American Diabetes Association.

A graduate of California State University at Northridge, Paulette holds a degree in nutrition and completed her residency at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, Texas.  After finishing her studies, Paulette worked for hospitals in Texas and Southern California before becoming the first registered dietitian in California to move to private practice. 

Discover a destination of purpose, complete with an expansive spa and an array of dining options, all enclosed within acres of serene gardens near Los Angeles, Malibu and Santa Barbara. Westlake Village offers leisurely comforts and the perfect atmosphere for business meetings and trips, as well as accessibility to Los Angeles-area conferences and trade shows. Located within the luxury Hotel, California Health & Longevity Institute offers a comprehensive approach to health and well-being in the areas of medicine, nutrition, fitness and life balance.

Michael Newcombe

General Manager

I’ve always been attracted to ocean living and the qualities of life that California affords. And this place is about as good as California gets.”

Love it or not, there’s no denying the California lifestyle is a phenomenon to be reckoned with. Fortunately, Michael Newcombe holds Golden State living in high regard and is in a plum position to experience it as General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, California. “Everything is done with energy out here: recreation, socialising, eating – everything,” says the 20-year Four Seasons veteran, a connoisseur of the good life who revels in fine food and wine as well as golf and sailing. “That goes great for me, because I’m the sort of person that totally embraces the California lifestyle.”

If California is the fitting destination for one of Newcombe’s passions, the Westlake property is the perfect address. Joined at the hip to an independent health and longevity facility, the Hotel offers a broad array of programs focused on nutrition, fitness and wellness alongside exceptional leisure opportunities including the Jack Nicklaus-designed Sherwood Lake golf course and one of the country’s top-rated spas.

Newcombe’s formula for Westlake’s continued success includes increased emphasis on the meetings market, something for which he has particular talent. Indeed, among the General Manager’s first moves upon taking the helm in early 2011 was to have the Hotel’s sales team put added effort into executive physicals – a “really sexy product,” he notes, adding that physicals expose corner office executives to the Westlake experience with the potential for increased meetings business down the road.

Newcombe brought a strong skill set for all of the above to California. Prior to Westlake, he held the top spot at Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, which has 34,000-square feet (3160 square metres) of event space and myriad recreational facilities across 400 acres (162 hectares). “I have a love of sport deep in my soul,” he recalls of the thrill of being posted in the Big D over a 12-month period that saw the Texas Rangers go to the World Series and the city host both the NBA All-Star Weekend and Super Bowl XLV.

Born and raised in the English Cotswolds, Newcombe excelled at sports from a young age, particularly at sailing, which saw him participating in national championships and European events. Some of his crewmates went on to earn Olympic medals. He continues to sail as a member of various yacht clubs.

Growing up, Newcombe travelled frequently with his father, an executive at a British automotive company. Though he initially set his sights on a medical career, he was inspired to hospitality by a film adaptation of Arthur Hailey’s Hotel, which he saw on television as a 12-year-old. “I became fascinated by the idea of a business operating 24/7 and never knowing what the next day will bring.”

That fascination has led Newcombe to Four Seasons hotels in London, Toronto and Sydney, along with stints as Hotel Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Dublin and opening General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire. He took his first gig in Casablanca for the sake of cultural immersion. “Living in other cultures rather than visiting them is how to get a real sense of what they’re all about.”

An enthusiastic oenophile who has enhanced his palate through wine education, Newcombe is like a kid in a candy shop in California. “I grew up on Old World classics of France and Italy and now find myself in the home state of the finest New World wines,” he says, practically salivating at the opportunity to lend his expertise to Westlake’s wine list. Now, what pairs best with good health and wellness?