A Conversation with Dr. Jennifer Bettenhausen
What drives your work at Colorado Mountain Medical (CMM)?
The relationships I cultivate with patients drive my work at Colorado Mountain Medical and bring me joy. I have served as a family physician at CMM for 27 years. Babies I once delivered are now young adults, and women I cared for as young adults are entering menopause. I enjoy navigating life’s changes with my patients. Often, I care for entire families, even seeing three generations, and have to build in time to catch up on how other family members are doing. Family relationships play a significant role in a person’s health.
How do you integrate traditional Western medicine with lifestyle approaches in your practice?
I am passionate about integrating lifestyle changes with Western medicine. I believe lifestyle should be the foundation of health, prioritizing lifestyle measures before taking medications. We can greatly improve our overall health by emphasizing nutrition, exercise, quality sleep, and stress management. I appreciate that Vail Health is increasingly focusing on lifestyle and behavioral health, as it is much more rewarding to prevent and manage health conditions through lifestyle changes rather than relying solely on medications.
As May is Women’s Health Month, what advice do you have for women looking to improve their health and wellness?
Women’s health, particularly helping women navigate perimenopause and menopause, has become a significant focus of my practice. For decades, this area has been confusing for many women, especially since the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Study, published in 2002, raised concerns about Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). However, when experts re-evaluated the data from the WHI Study and analyzed it by subgroup, they uncovered several issues with the initial study results. It became evident that women who began HRT early in menopause experienced positive outcomes, whereas complications were primarily seen in women who started HRT after the age of 65. Today, we feel much more confident in treating women with hormones early in menopause—not only to alleviate menopausal symptoms, but also to significantly benefit heart, bone, joint, and even brain health.
I advise women of all ages to prioritize a healthy lifestyle and manage stress effectively. It’s essential to consider what life might look like 10 or 20 years later. At age 30, your lifestyle choices can strongly influence your risk of developing conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, or osteoporosis. By the time you’re 50, those choices can impact whether you experience broken bones or other age-related diseases. I encourage women to focus more on being strong than being thin. Women who are physically strong, fit, eat well, and manage stress tend to age gracefully.
What’s your training and background in the field?
Over the past 12 years, I have completed 100 hours of additional coursework on Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy. These evidence-based courses have significantly helped women thrive after the age of 45. I plan to take two more 20-hour courses in the coming months. This area of medicine brings me great joy and can be a game-changer for the women I treat. Combined with 27 years of caring for women and their families, this additional training makes my approach unique.
