A Life Well Lived can Provide a Life Worth Living

Business People, Sep 2009 by DeVinney, Michele

Dr. Rudy Kachmann has been a Fort Wayne resident and a practicing neurologist for 40 years and has helped countless patients through his wise counsel and medical talents While he is still active and continues to perform surgeries, his focus has grown to include many other ways he can help not only his patients but the community, as well, introducing them to a life of health and wellness.

Kachmann came to Fort Wayne via Indiana University where he earned his undergraduate and medical degrees before fulfilling his residency requirements at Georgetown. Following a surgical stint in Vietnam, the New York City native settled in Fort Wayne in 1969 and has called the city home ever since. His dedication to his patients and the community led him to look beyond standard medical practices in an effort to provide the best possible care.

"Through the years, whether I was just intuitive or for whatever reason, I began to realize that 50 to 75 percent of the people I was seeing didn't need anything more than a wellness coach," says Kachmann. "About 20 years ago, I began giving my patients John Schindler's book 'How to Live 365 Days a Year' because it helped teach them how to avoid stress-related illness."

Kachmann, himself a voracious reader, began doing more research on his own, visiting mind-body institutes, which focus on wellness rather than illness. He observed how the medical community was contributing to a culture of sickness.

"I became greatly concerned with the number of patients addicted to narcotics that they were taking for pain problems that were not very clear," he says.

His response was an active one - he joined forces with Kelly Metzger (owner of Workout Room Yoga Studio) to open the Kachmann Mind Body Institute in Fort Wayne, a resource that has grown to two locations. Now downtown (at the Kachmann Gallery on Lafayette) and at Lutheran Hospital Medical Park Campus, the institute offers a variety of group yoga and fitness classes. It also provides Weight Management, Yoga Therapy, Holistic Pain

Management, Stress Management and Personal Fitness Training.

"We now have 600 people who are eating properly thanks to our classes," Kachmann says. "My impression is that the public is aware of the importance of eating right and getting exercise and wishes physicians would start talking to them and giving them a hug instead of handing them a prescription. I see families everyday that are concerned because grandma is on 15 medications. Just yesterday a daughter of an elderly lady was amazed when I took half of her mother's medicines away. She said 'I've been wanting to do that for years."'

Kachmann has also seen participants in the Institute's 12-week Weight Loss Program overcome not only weight problems but also diabetes and other health issues, which proper diet and exercise can improve. While the results are convincing and the data supportive of a more holistic approach to health care, Kachmann acknowledges that it remains an uphill battle with other physicians and the general public.

"Clearly many would much rather get prescriptions, injections or even undergo surgery instead of changing their lifestyle," Kachmann says. "So health care providers must be wellness teachers and motivators. If a med student does not know how to communicate with people, they probably shouldn't be a doctor. We need teachers of wellness at the med school level. I recently attended my 45th med school reunion, and the dean asked if there were any questions. I asked 'What percentage of time in med school is currently dedicated to wellness and proper nutrition?' One person said they had learned a little bit about it in their sophomore year - and that's disturbing."

Although Kachmann cannot turn that tide by himself or overnight, he has certainly dedicated his life to improving the opportunities to address those issues in Fort Wayne and beyond. His work locally is augmented by lectures and conferences around the country and a prolific writing career, which will result in six published books by the end of 2009. He has spoken to Senator Evan Bayh and President Bill Clinton about health care reform and sees many ways a solid wellness approach can not only improve lives but save money, as well.

"We could literally save billions upon billions if we taught wellness. Right now 50 to 75 percent of those experiencing physical stress are presenting as illnesses. All they need is a good wellness coach rather than a doctor," Kachmann explains. "It's been proven many times that we do too many surgeries, give too many injections and prescribe too many medications. Fifty percent of what we do isn't necessary, and that's a huge health problem."

Of course, Kachmann practices what he preaches and enjoys an active life and career four decades after he began practicing in Fort Wayne. His generosity to the city he calls home extends well beyond the Kachmann Mind Body Institute, however. The new home for Channel 39 has been dubbed the Rudy and Rhonda Kachmann Teleplex thanks to his donation to support its programming, and IPFW and Indiana Tech have both named their tennis courts after the Tennis Hall of Fame inductee.