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DEANNA M. CHERRONE, MD, IFMCP

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE PRACTITIONER

 

Deanna M. Cherrone is the owner and founder of Natural Health & Healing, LLC in West Hartford, Connecticut, a Functional Medicine practice that has been providing patients with a guided approach and individualized treatment plan on how to optimize health since 2006. Dr. Cherrone discovered Functional Medicine when her own health challenges were not being adequately addressed by conventional medicine.

 

Dr. Cherrone is certified in Functional Medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine. She is also certified in Therapeutic Lifestyle Change, NLP - Neurolinguistic Programming, Quantum Biofeedback and she is also a certified Dream Coach Group Leader. She recently completed a one week preceptorship under the supervision of an ILADEF - (International Lyme and Associated Disease Educational Foundation) and she is currently in the process of receiving her certifications in Clinical Nutrition and Mind Body Medicine. She has been a speaker at the Connecticut Business Women's Forum and was the Keynote Speaker at the Natural Nutmeg's Heal Thy Self conference. She is on the advisory board and has written many articles for the Natural Nutmeg Magazine. She also lectures to a variety of different public and professional groups on the topics of nutrition, the mind body connection, detoxification, bio-identical hormone replacement and thyroid disease. She was recently honored with the distinction of top ten holistic practitioners in Connecticut.

 

​ ​ MEGAN TANTILLO, DNP, FNP-BC Megan is a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) and board certified family nurse practitioner (FNP-BC) licensed to practice advanced nursing in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She joined Dr. Cherrone’s Functional Medicine practice October 1, 2021. She is working part time in the office and enjoying learning how she can best apply the Functional Medicine approach to their patients. Megan was initially attracted to nursing due to its holistic and patient-centered approach. She has a very diverse nursing background. She completed a medical surgical residency at Yale New Haven Hospital followed by training in their critical care program. Her own health challenges led her to the discovery of Functional Medicine and the subsequent pursuit of becoming a more holistic provider using food as medicine and other more natural approaches to healing. Her clinical focus as a Doctor of Nursing Practice has expanded to include hormone health, preconception and postpartum care. She developed her own part time health coaching business while completing her DNP and her focus is on patient advocacy, education, nutrition and stress management. She is passionate about helping individuals and families make meaningful changes to their diet and lifestyle to promote health and improve quality of life. Megan also offers health coaching to Dr. Cherrone’s patients.   ​ JACOB APPLETONCERTIFIED HEALTH COACH Jacob Appleton is currently serving as a Health Coach at Natural Health & Healing. He provides services in person, over the phone or via Internet conferencing for both individuals and groups. Jacob was a former Division 1 Athlete, playing tennis at the University of Connecticut. At the beginning of his sophomore year he was diagnosed with Babesia, a lyme coinfection and CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) from toxic mold exposure, which forced him to leave school. The traditional path of healing was not effective for him. He explored alternative approaches to healing using food, working with emotions and learning self-care. This experience inspired him to enroll in the Integrative Institute for Nutrition (IIN) where he completed a six-month accelerated program and he is now an IIN certified health coach. Jacob is passionate about helping athletes improve their performance and overall health. He is also interested in using his personal experience to help coach Lyme and Mold patients through their healing journey allowing them to unlock their best and healthiest selves. Jacob attended Kingswood Oxford (KO) and graduated in 2016. He was a member of the varsity tennis team at KO starting in 6th grade and captain of the team his sophomore, junior and senior years. He also played on his soccer and basketball teams. At UConn he started in both singles and doubles as a freshman. He became ill  the beginning of the fall season of his sophomore year. He will tell you that although his illness turned his world upside down, it was a blessing because it allowed him to learn the power of food as medicine, the importance of self care and how supporting his genetics enabled him to jump start his healing. Jacob is currently pursuing a certification in genetics.