Our top priority here at ALTUM Health and Wellness is your health. We take a Bio-Individual approach to nutrition, this simply put meaning that everything we do is custom for each person we work with. There’s no one-size-fits-all diet and no two people are the same. We recognize that we don’t all have the same issues and that each person is a unique individual. By applying a customized approach fit best for you, we’re able to meet your highly individualized nutritional requirements and help you achieve your personal health goals.

Our goal with each person we have the pleasure of working with is to get them healthy, and by doing that, you’ll be able to notice improvements within all areas of your life and overall health. A healthy life, is a happy life, and we’re here to help you achieve just that!

Marsha Kentish

Functional Integrative Health Professional

REGISTERED NURSE:  20+ Years

HEALTH COACH:  4+ Years

EDUCATION: Masters in clinical nutrition and integrative health (Maryland University of Integrative Health) 

Health Coach ( Institute for Integrative Nutrition) 

Registered Nurse ( Norfolk State University) 

About Me

As a registered nurse, I have witnessed the devastation of polypharmacy. Many of my patients were on multiple drugs, most of which caused some side effects, then new drugs were added to alleviate the side effect my patients were caught up in a never-ending cycle, I felt helpless.

After a close family member was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease, I was afraid that she too would fall victim to polypharmacy. It was time to step up my game. I needed more in-depth knowledge of health and wellness. I became a health coach so that I could better help my family members and my patients implement a healthy lifestyle that would help slow or stop disease progression and ultimately improve their wellbeing.

However, that just wasn’t enough. I wanted to learn more about evidence-based clinical nutrition, so I enrolled in a Masters degree program in Clinical Nutrition & Integrative Health at Maryland University of Integrative Health.

What sets me apart is my personal experience with an auto-immune disease. I have successfully managed my chronic conditions and that of my family members with diet, exercise and lifestyle changes, and I also know first-hand the struggles that come with implementing change and the importance of having a supportive group of people to cheer you on. I am compassionate, patient, and empathetic.

Besides my advanced clinical skills as a registered nurse and my in-depth and advance knowledge in Clinical Human Nutrition, coupled with training in motivational interview techniques, make me a sound and effective health coach.

My goal is to offer cooking classes and food preparation demonstrations in a group and private setting to my nutrition and health coaching clients. I believe that by teaching my client how to use food as medicine, and how to prepare healthy and delicious meals, will increase their chance of achieving wellness. Using the motivational interview techniques, I have successfully been able to help my clients resolve ambivalent feelings and insecurities about their ability to make behavioral changes resulting in better blood sugar and blood pressure management, to find the internal motivation they need to change their behavior. It is a practical, empathetic, and short-term process that takes into consideration how difficult it is to make a life change.

I work through educating patients on self-management skills and goal setting. These are patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, CHF, COPD/Asthma, Hypertension, CAD, Ischemic Heart Disease, Anxiety, Depression, and auto-immune diseases.