Institute for Health & Healing leads national trend—integrating alternative medicine in a hospital setting—reaches 50,000 patient visits a year.

SAN FRANCISCO, California—March 14, 2002— Institute for Health & Healing at California Pacific Medical Center. More than 80 million Americans turn to complementary (or alternative) medicine every year. Complementary medicine is now mainstream in the U.S., and growing quickly. Increasing demand "will affect all aspects of healthcare delivery over the next 25 years," according to a Harvard Medical School study (August 2001).

As a result, a new trend is emerging—the convergence of western and complementary approaches: integrative medicine. At integrative medicine clinics, board-certified doctors are combining the best of conventional and complementary therapies in a personalized approach that cares for patients’ body, mind and spirit.

Over 100 hospital-sponsored integrative clinics have sprung up across the nation and the number is growing, according to The Integrative Medicine Consult (October, 2001) a quarterly business report. The San Francisco Bay Area leads the country in the new era of integrative medicine. Bay Area residents are 25% more likely to use complementary medicine. At a time when the conventional medical system is strained, consumers are expecting doctors to support a full range of health care options that include holistic approaches.

“Medicine today is at the frontier of immense change in both theory and practice,” said Dr. William Stewart, medical director and co-founder of the Institute for Health & Healing. “The new vision is holism—listening to and treating the whole person. At the Institute, we combine ancient therapies with modern medicine, spirit with science, technology with touch. It’s a partnership that works.”

America’s Healthiest Hospital—Trend Leader—35 Holistic Therapies—7 Campuses and Growing—First California Licensed—50,000 visits per year

Leading the trend is the Institute for Health & Healing at the non-profit California Pacific Medical Center located in San Francisco. The Institute is both a local and national leader in the field with one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most comprehensive centers for integrative medicine. The quality and diversity of its programs resulted in California Pacific Medical Center being designated as “America’s Healthiest Hospital” in December 2001 by Natural Health magazine.

Integrative care brings in systems like traditional Chinese and Indian (Ayurvedic) medicine. It takes into account diet, nutrition, exercise and incorporates multi-cultural practices like T’ai Chi, Yoga, Chi Kung, massage, meditation and herbs. The purpose is to treat the body, and the emotions, mind and spirit of patients—to heal the whole person. The Institute’s director of clinical education and spirituality, Dennis Kenny, published his book on spirituality – Promise of the Soul – this March.

Integrative medicine enhances the medical toolbox, creating more ways to approach a medical situation. Over 50,000 patients use more than 35 holistic healing services at the Institute for Health & Healing each year. Many patients have chronic or life threatening illnesses. When AIDS patient Steve Jensen faced severe symptoms he turned to nutrition and spiritual care at the Institute. Steve’s symptoms have cleared up and he says his treatment “has been the most profound experience of my life.”

The Institute’s services also help well people live a healthier lifestyle by teaching self-care skills like diet, nutrition, stress reduction, guided imagery, meditation, and by offering a host of massage and bodywork therapies.

The Institute was created in 1994 through the union of three highly successful programs at California Pacific Medical Center: the Program in Medicine and Philosophy, the Department of Pastoral Care, and the Planetree Health Resource Center. It includes the first integrative medicine clinic licensed by the State of California in 1998.

The Health & Healing Clinic Innovates
The Institute for Health & Healing's comprehensive program includes clinical care, education and research. Key to the successful establishment of complementary therapies in a medical setting are hospital-based integrative medicine clinics. These specialty clinics are where Western-trained doctors and complementary therapists are finding new ways to provide holistic health care. The Health & Healing Clinic is unique because of the:
 • Leadership: Michael F. Cantwell, MD, MPH, the clinic medical director, is one of the most knowledgeable people in America on integrative medicine. He serves on the National Institutes of Health Advisory Committee for complementary and alternative medicine.
 • Practitioners: An experienced, skilled team that includes four board-certified physicians with training in complementary medicine, a nutritionist who is also a pharmacist, a Chinese medicine practitioner, etc.
 • Personalized care: An approach that goes way beyond medical history to include mental, emotional, spiritual and lifestyle issues so care plans are created that treat the whole person.
 • Wellness and prevention: A place that offers coaching and practical solutions for reducing stress, managing weight, improving nutrition and fitness, and achieving a more balanced, fulfilled life.
 • Products: An adjacent boutique that offers supplements, herbs and remedies, which are independently laboratory-tested and rarely available in a hospital setting.
 • Linkage: Comprehensive integrative medicine services surround the clinic, including: almost 50 public classes and workshops, a health information service and library, in-hospital care, health professional training in integrative medicine, and a research institute.

Marin, Novato and San Mateo Campuses
The Institute’s three other integrative medicine centers offer services at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, Novato Community Hospital, and Mills-Peninsula Health Services in San Mateo and Burlingame. These are all affiliates of the not-for-profit, community-based Sutter Health system. Through the Integrative Medicine Partnership, the Institute is consulting throughout the 28-hospital Sutter Health system to establish more integrative medicine programs.

Integrative Medicine Trend
 • More than 60% of medical schools teach about alternative medicine practices.
 • Biomedical research organizations are investing more substantial amounts towards the investigation of these practices.
 • Top hospitals across the country (e.g. Harvard, Duke, University of Minnesota and Columbia) have opened integrative medical programs.