July 2014 John Weeks Integrator Round-Up: Integrative Practice

by John Weeks, Publisher/Editor of The Integrator Blog News & Reports

  

Exit interview: Peter Amato to shut down Scranton’s pioneering, 17-year-old Inner Harmony Wellness Center

After 17 years in the integrative medicine tough-lands of coal country Scranton, Pennsylvania, integrative clinic pioneer Peter Amato is calling it quits with his ground-breaking Inner Harmony Wellness Center. According to this Exit Interview with Amato, on July 31, 2014 the clinic will provide the last of an estimated 34,000 patient visits. The immediate cause is the loss of two integrative medical doctors. The final tally: 7 years in the red, 3 in the black and 7 at break even. In the interview, Amato reflects on: highlights and low-lights of his various models; his relationship with a Mercy hospital that became part of a for-profit; and a productive stint as chair of a policy arm of Andy Weil, MD's growing empire in the late 1990s when Amato had a hand in vastly increasing NCCAM

by John Weeks, Publisher/Editor of The Integrator Blog News & Reports

Exit interview: Peter Amato to shut down Scranton’s pioneering, 17-year-old Inner Harmony Wellness Center

After 17 years in the integrative medicine tough-lands of coal country Scranton, Pennsylvania, integrative clinic pioneer Peter Amato is calling it quits with his ground-breaking Inner Harmony Wellness Center. According to this Exit Interview with Amato, on July 31, 2014 the clinic will provide the last of an estimated 34,000 patient visits. The immediate cause is the loss of two integrative medical doctors. The final tally: 7 years in the red, 3 in the black and 7 at break even. In the interview, Amato reflects on: highlights and low-lights of his various models; his relationship with a Mercy hospital that became part of a for-profit; and a productive stint as chair of a policy arm of Andy Weil, MD's growing empire in the late 1990s when Amato had a hand in vastly increasing NCCAM's funding. The heavy lifting of finding, training, and moving new integrative docs converged with some "soul searching" about his next life steps to prompt the change. [This article was first prepared for the Huffington Post.]

Comment: Amato and his team have served as mentors to others, once they found models. I wrote on his guidance more than once, including, in Inner Harmony's Winding Road toward Health and Profitability. Their Business Strategies Applied to an Integrative Medicine Practice: Case Study on Sustainability was published in Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal. Ultimately, Amato faced the integrative medicine entrepreneur's paradox: what if one's integrative care business entity returns enough capital to pay staff, survive and serve, but not enough to pay back early investment, and provide profit to allow for expansion? Amato’s pleasure in service to the Scranton community of which he is a member kept Amato the entrepreneur at bay for a decade. The time finally came for a change. Good luck in your next ventures, Peter!

Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine seeks new director

The Susan Samueli Center has posted a notice that the UC Irvine School of Medicine is recruiting a full-time director of the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine.  The candidate must be a board certified MD with an interest in integrative medicine with “an active and funded research program, administrative and fundraising experience.”  They note that candidates need to qualify for appointment at the associate or professor level at the University of California.  Responsibilities will include direction of all aspects of the center, including its research, educational, clinical and fundraising programs.  The director will report directly to the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at the University of California, Irvine.  This position will be supported by a partial FTE and the Susan Samueli Chair in Integrative Medicine.  In addition, candidates will be eligible to apply for the Larry K. Dodge Chair in Integrative Biology. Serious candidates contact Laurie Macaulay at [email protected].

Comment: This will be an exceptional position for the right candidate, in an environment in which numerous explorations are underway to better integrate the Center’s services in community health initiatives in Orange County.

From Google Alerts: Integrative Medicine in Health Systems, Communities and Internationally for June 2014

This typically monthly Integrator feature is a quick capture of highlights from the multitude for links that flow in daily via Google Alerts for "integrative medicine," "complementary and alternative medicine" and "alternative medicine." The gem here is discovering the existence of the "Reflexology Section" of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Slovenia. While my original focus was on integrative medicine in health systems, the later search term often nets developments from around the world. Here are 11 selections related to hospitals and medical organizations in integrative medicine, 7 from alternative and integrative medicine in community non-system practices, and 16 developments from around the world for June 1-26. 2014.

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