September 2014 John Weeks Integrator Round-Up: Academic Health

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

Arizona Center awarded $1.7 million HRSA grant to develop integrative medicine in primary care

The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine was emerged from a competitive grant and is entering a cooperative agreement with the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) to develop a Center for Integrative Medicine in Primary Care (CIMPC). The grant's reach includes not only advancing integrative health but also helping to eliminate disparities and supporting development of health communities. The total grant is for $1,700,000 and spans a 3-year period.

Comment: Congratulations to Patricia Lebensohn, MD, Victoria Maizes, MD, and the rest of the Arizona team! This is a great project that is smack in the Arizona Center wheelhouse. I was aware of the application as the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care with which I am associated was asked by Maizes to support aspects of the grant. A particular area was inter-professionalism. I was pleased to see the Center reach out, especially as this has not always been its strength. Particularly compelling in their commitment to an interprofessional approach was the non-token decision to include ACCAHC chair Elizabeth Goldblatt, PhD, MPA/HA on the i

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

Arizona Center awarded $1.7 million HRSA grant to develop integrative medicine in primary care

The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine has emerged from a competitive grant and is entering a cooperative agreement with the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) to develop a Center for Integrative Medicine in Primary Care (CIMPC). The grant's reach includes not only advancing integrative health but also helping to eliminate disparities and supporting development of health communities. The total grant is for $1,700,000 and spans a 3-year period.

Comment: Congratulations to Patricia Lebensohn, MD, Victoria Maizes, MD, and the rest of the Arizona team! This is a great project that is smack in the Arizona Center wheelhouse. I was aware of the application as the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care with which I am associated was asked by Maizes to support aspects of the grant. A particular area was inter-professionalism. I was pleased to see the Center reach out, especially as this has not always been its strength. Particularly compelling in their commitment to an interprofessional approach was the non-token decision to include ACCAHC chair Elizabeth Goldblatt, PhD, MPA/HA on the investigator team. I anticipate this grant with create significant public value.

 

Massage educators and institutions collaborate for major Educational Congress, July 2015, Minneapolis

An article in Massage Today describes what appears to be a significant collaboration across multiple massage organizations to create a major massage Education Congress in Minneapolis in mid-2015. The driving force is the Alliance of Massage Therapy Educators (AFTME). They note that their members complain of too many meetings and thus too much expense. They first partnered with the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA), Department of Education-recognized accrediting body creating by the massage community. Eight other organizations are listed as participating. AFTME and COMTA have urged as many of the organizations as possible to co-locate their board meetings with the Congress to increase the draw. Meetings are expected to take place throughout the July 21-28 period with the heart of the Congress July 23-25.

Comment: This is a remarkable development, especially for the relatively new-on-the-scene Alliance. Here's hoping it's a tremendous success.

 

Parker Serves: remarkable community program at a chiropractic university

When Brian McAulay, DC, PhD, assumed the presidency of Parker University in Dallas, Texas, he instituted a program called "Parker Serves." It’s a one-day commitment that he chose to hold the third Friday of each September. Parker's website says that the day "offers individuals committed to creating a culture of service the opportunity to donate their time and passion for service to deserving organizations throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth community and around the world." The ambitions of the program do not end there. Parker Serves is part of "an effort to inspire thousands of volunteer projects across the world." McAulay and the rest of the University's staff are expected to participate. They also call on their graduates and the school’s broader network to choose the day to give of their time and energy for a worthy cause. The site lists multiple opportunities in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, from outdoor clean up, to tutoring to clothing sorting at good will, and more.

Comment: There are ways in which those in health care can have a belief that the very act of engaging their own work and professions is a sufficient level of giving to their communities. (Oddly, reports on the culture of Silicon Valley say that many there believe that the nature of the work they do is a significant enough gift to the universe.) Programs like that initiated by McAulay at Parker may be particularly valuable given the growing importance in all in clinical medicine to be aware of the very limited role clinical services play in human health relative to social, economic and cultural factors.

 

NYCC, SCUHS, and Logan recognized by the Chronicle of Higher Education as “Great Places to Work For”

The Chronicle of Higher Education, the leading publication in academia, annually lists the “Great Colleges to Work For.” The 2014 list honors three institutions that are principally in the integrative health and medicine space. These are: Missouri’s Logan University, a primarily chiropractic institution; Southern California University, which has programs in chiropractic, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, massage therapy, and more; and New York Chiropractic College, which is also a multi-program institution, including the Finger Lakes School of Acupuncture. For NYCC, this is a sixth consecutive year to achieve this distinction and the fifth in a row to be selected to the more elite Honor Roll. NYCC has been recognized at this level for 5 straight years. The NYCC release is here.

Comment: These are remarkable distinctions that reflect well not only on the nature of each of these institutions, but also more broadly on the fields with which they work.  Congratulations, and thanks, to each.

 

Huntington College of Health Sciences offers Doctor of Health Science in Integrative Healthcare

After the August 2014 Integrator Round-up posting noted the new health coaching program at the University of Minnesota, a note came in from Gene Bruno, MS, MHS, provost, chief academic officer and co-owner at Huntington College of Health Sciences (HSHS): “I wanted to let (you) know that Huntington College of Health Sciences now offers a Doctor of Health Science in Integrative Healthcare.” Bruno notes that HCHS is an accredited, professional doctorate program that is “designed to provide healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to take an integrative approach to patient care through the application of principles associated with functional medicine, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and other integrative healthcare topics.