About
Program Overview
Located in suburban Chicago, Duly Health & Care operates a patient-facing Culinary Medicine program within a large for-profit medical group. Led by David Dungan, MD, FACP, FAAP, CCMS, the program uses a shared medical appointment model that blends hands-on cooking with physician-led counseling to support cardiometabolic health and long-term lifestyle skills. Each quarter, four cohorts progress through a six-class, 12-week series built on the Health meets Food curriculum. After the series, the same patient groups reconvene for longitudinal group medical visits every other month (four or more touchpoints) to reinforce key messages, troubleshoot barriers, and sustain momentum.
Participants complete pre- and post-series biometric screenings (e.g., blood pressure, A1C, lipid panels), enabling the care team to observe individual progress and overall trends in health improvement. Patients commonly report meaningful changes in weight, waist circumference, confidence in the kitchen, and day-to-day wellbeing.
Classes are held in a rented church kitchen in Naperville with an adjacent community room that fosters discussion and community. Each session pairs a physician-led discussion with hands-on culinary instruction and closes with facilitated reflection. The model is sustained through insurance and Medicare billing (CPT 99214), supporting ingredients, staffing, and ongoing operations.
Dr. Dungan hopes to expand Culinary Medicine offerings to additional primary care and specialty clinics, integrating the model into care pathways for cardiometabolic, obesity, and oncology patients.
Faculty Leadership
David D. Dungan, MD, FACP, FAAP, CCMS — Program Director
Dr. Dungan is board-certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, and culinary medicine. A founding physician of DuPage Medical Group (now Duly Health & Care), he serves in leadership roles across quality and clinical boards and is active in community health coalitions. His work champions food as medicine and food security across the communities Duly serves. He completed his MD at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine and a combined internal medicine–pediatrics residency at Loyola University Medical Center.
Linda Lis, MD, CCMS — Instructor
Dr. Lis is a family medicine physician whose practice emphasizes preventive care, healthy eating, and culinary medicine. She earned her MD from Georgetown University, completed family medicine residency training within the UC Irvine/Long Beach network, and a Sports Medicine fellowship at MacNeal Hospital. Her clinical interests include preventive and sports medicine, weight management, and women’s health. Duly Health and Care+1
Lisa Rybak — Operations Lead
Manages logistics, scheduling, and patient coordination across multiple cohorts each quarter.
Spotlight & Media
- Participants frequently express gratitude for life-changing improvements in health and confidence in the kitchen, noting that the classes make healthy eating feel approachable and enjoyable.
- The program was featured in USA Today’s Food is Medicine edition.
Research & Outcomes
While formal research is ongoing, the team has observed consistent improvements in cardiometabolic health indicators and patient self-efficacy over the course of the program. Participants often report better energy levels, healthier eating habits, and increased confidence in cooking nutritious meals at home.
Lessons Learned & Advice for Other Programs
Building a culinary medicine program in a large healthcare system requires persistence and clarity of purpose. Dr. Dungan emphasizes the importance of identifying a clear niche where the program can make measurable impact, then repeatedly communicating its value to leadership and peers. Collaboration across specialties strengthens both outcomes and institutional buy-in. Understanding operational and financial feasibility is key, including costs, staffing, and sustainability strategies like the shared medical appointment model. Finally, defining meaningful outcomes—whether clinical, behavioral, or social—helps secure support from funders, administrators, and finance teams by demonstrating real-world results.
