SPRINGFIELD — Renew Weight Loss Med Spa, a weight loss clinic on 235 Chestnut St. had its grand opening on April 5. Attendees included Counselor Zaida Govan and Jack Clemente and Traci Talbert from the Franklin County Community Development Corporation.
“The grand opening was great,” said co-owner Loic Assobmo along his wife Patience Assobmo who both have 15 years of experience as clinicians. “We want to collaborate with the community, local politicians and business owners. We want to be able to open the door and say hey if you’re doing an event regarding health and wellness, we’re willing to extend our hand, collaborate and share critical knowledge.”
Assobmo has been a nurse practitioner in primary care for seven years. While his wife has been a nurse practitioner in women’s health care for six years. He has worked in Chicopee, Springfield, then Westfield and currently works in one of the major groups in Longmeadow. Over the last couple of years, Assobmo had a lot of patients come into his office looking for weight-loss treatments. The couple established Renew Weight Loss Med Spa in January to offer discounted, non-surgical weight-loss treatments to their clients. They specifically chose Springfield because they know that the social determinants of health disproportionately affect people there. Assobmo explained, “When you look at the obesity rates within western Mass, they seem a little bit worse in Springfield as opposed to some of the other towns like Westfield and Longmeadow. We figured if we want to make an impact, why not start where they need the most help.”
They prescribe GLP-1 medication such as semaglutide in order to help people do their weight loss journey because these are FDA approved for weight loss, and they acknowledged that obesity is also a chronic medical condition just like diabetes and hypertension. These GLP-1 medications work by activating receptors in your brain and your stomach to reduce your appetite, and make you feel full faster so that you can reduce your overall calorie intake and lose weight. The couple use medications in combination with diet, exercise, and a healthy overall lifestyle to treat their patients.
“We want people to know that medication is not the only solution,” said Assobmo. “We want you on medication if you need it, but we also need you to adjust your lifestyle and incorporate regular exercise as well as diet appropriately.”
He continued, “We want to be able to educate the local community about obesity, weight-loss and treatment. We tend to stigmatize obesity. A lot of patients we see at our clinics are doing all of the dieting and exercising, but for some reason they’re not losing weight and we want to reshape the perspective on obesity.”
Renew Weight Loss Med Spa is open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit their website at renewmedandspa.com with a link to book an appointment. For questions, email renewweightlossLLC@gmail.com or text 413-438-5737.
Loic and Patience Assobmo want to take a moment and acknowledge people within the community who have helped them so far: Ayanna Crawford, media consultant, Jack Clement, business advisor, Myke Connolly, marketing partner, Traci Talbert, community leader, Areliz Barbosa, community health worker, and so many others within the community who have supported them throughout their journey so far.
