Tours/visits to five local integrative medicine facilities in the Twin Cities area will be offered on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, in the evening, so not to conflict with Conference program offerings. One bus will depart for each site from the Hilton Hotel, downtown Minneapolis, at 6:00 pm, spending about an hour at the site then returning to the hotel. The tours are free to registered conference attendees, but we ask that you sign up in advance when you register for the conference.
- The Hennepin Faculty Associates Integrative Medicine Program, Alternative Medicine Clinic. An affiliated clinic of The University of Minnesota Center For Spirituality and Healing
- The Marsh, A Center for Balance and Fitness
- Natural Care Center at Woodwinds Health Campus
- Northwestern Health Sciences University -Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies
- The Penny George Institute for Health and Healing - Abbott Northwestern Hospital
The Hennepin Faculty Associates Integrative Medicine Program
Alternative Medicine Clinic
An affiliated clinic of The University of Minnesota
Center for Spirituality and Healing
The Alternative Medicine Clinic of Hennepin Faculty Associates (HFA) opened in 1993 to give individuals in our community additional health care options within a hospital-based structure. Part of HFA's Department of Medicine, our clinic was one of the first of its type in the nation to open within a western health care organization. We are also proud to be the first free-standing ambulatory alternative medicine clinic to be accredited by the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and the first health care organization in the United States to train medical doctors in alternative medicine therapies during a two-year post doctoral fellowship program that was offered in the mid 1990's.
Clinical services at the Alternative Medicine Clinic at HFA are provided by an integrated team of medical doctors in functional medicine, family medicine, and psychiatry, non-physician licensed providers, including holistic physical therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors and non-licensed providers such as energy workers and massage therapists. HFA has developed a credentialing process for all of the clinic providers. In 2007, the Integrative Pain and Rehabilitation Program (IPRP) was established within the Alternative Medicine Clinic to enhance and expand the service available to those with chronic and acute pain conditions. The IPRP providers join diagnostic EMG and nerve conduction studies with traditional and innovative pharmaceutical pain management techniques, and combined with the extensive CAM therapies available at the Alternative Medicine Clinic, a uniquely comprehensive integrative pain and rehabilitation program has been created.
The clinic has over 1,200 patient visits per month across the various therapies, with approximately 30% of them having been referred by their physicians. Residents from many departments of the Hennepin County Medical Center spend elective rotations at the clinic, and we have developed educational experiences specific to internal medicine, psychiatry, and family medicine residents. The Family Medicine Department at Hennepin is one of eight sites in the United States chosen to participate in a five year grant to provide training in integrative medicine through the University of Arizona's program in integrative medicine. The Alternative Medicine Clinic works closely with the Family Medicine Department residents during this innovative training experience.
We invite you to a site visit of our clinic where staff will provide information regarding their philosophy of healing, demonstrations of their techniques, and allow time for discussion. A history and overview of the clinic and a tour of the facilities will be included in the visit. We will have information and demonstrations in energy work, acupuncture, a JCAHO accredited Chinese Herbal pharmacy, posture education, movement assessment and education, and various manual therapies. In addition, clinic administrative personnel will be available if you have questions regarding issues such as credentialing, insurance reimbursement, and liability.
The Marsh, A Center for Balance and Fitness
The Marsh, A Center for Balance and Fitness, welcomes conference guests to tour our unique facility. Explore and discover our philosophy... real wellness involves the mental, spiritual, emotional as well as the physical aspects of an individual's life.
The Marsh is an international leader in the health and fitness industry. Its founder, Ruth Stricker, is a pioneer in the mind/body connection. Ruth created The Marsh 23 years ago on the principle of treating and caring for the whole person. She opened with an acupuncturist working alongside a cardiologist, blending allopathic and integrative medicines. The Marsh offers the following:
Health and wellness
Clinic
Innovative programming
Day and destination spa
Conference center and overnight rooms
Two restaurants
Designer boutique
Child care
The Marsh's mission is to assist guests in achieving their goal toward a more balanced lifestyle through innovation and integrative programming. The health services team supports many who are preparing for or recovering from surgery, coping with cancer treatment or recovery, transitioning from inactivity, those coping with the daily symptoms of chronic conditions as well as professional athletes. Working seamlessly together, our team provides guests with the information, guidance, and support needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Our expert team of health professionals includes a cardiologist, exercise physiologist, physical therapies, registered dietitian, certified personal trainers, and licensed massage therapists, among others.
Often referred to as "a gathering place" or a "community center for health and wellness," The Marsh is a place of socialization. Friends and families have found The Marsh to be a special community where they may find hope, support for life's challenges, laughter with friends, and quiet spaces for personal reflection and meditation.
The building's architecture was designed to be warm, friendly, and to offer a residential ambiance. The unique Moon Gate entrance (embracing all who pass through it) in the front of the building is complemented by the Meditation Tower (shaped like a silo to remind us of our Midwestern roots). Overlooking acres of pristine wetlands, The Marsh acknowledges nature as a component to wellness. The Marsh provides an environment which inspires, challenges, educates, and supports a healthy and balanced approach toward life. All of our work stems from the resilience of the human spirit.
Natural Care Center at Woodwinds Health Campus
The genesis of Woodwinds is expressed in its vision "to be an innovative, unique, and preferred resource for health by fundamentally creating the health care experience in a way that has not been done before." One of the identified desires of a community focus group was consensus to have access to integrative health care in both the outpatient and inpatient arenas. To that end, planning began in 1997 to create Woodwinds Hospital and Health Campus, and in partnership with Northwestern Health Sciences University, to create the Natural Care Center at Woodwinds. This collaboration has afforded access to natural health care services and fostered relationship centered care in both the outpatient and inpatient realms.
Woodwinds opened in 2000 with 70 inpatient beds and has evolved in 8 years to add an additional 16 inpatient beds. As a community hospital, Woodwinds is part of the HealthEast System on the East side of the Twin Cities. The hospital is aligned with principles to support Healing Healthcare, has a Holistic Nursing Model, and Integrative Services support the mission to provide a seamless holistic medical model.
The Natural Care Center at Woodwinds is a new model of patient care and a leading international center of excellence in integration of natural approached to health. The Center is a unique community of natural health care providers focused on encouraging and supporting both good health and optimal wellness. Doctors of Chiropractic, licensed acupuncturists, nationally certified massage therapists, naturopaths and healing touch practitioners join together as a team in developing and implementing the finest in patient-centered health care based on the most recent evidence, employing best practices, and with a patient-focused mission. The clinic also offers a Retail Store providing a wide array of natural health care products, including supplements, homeopathic remedies, books, relaxation CDs, essential oils, and natural personal health care products. The clinic is one of five operated by Northwestern Health Sciences University, an international leader in natural health care education, scientific research, and patient care. The clinic has recorded over 176,000 patient visits and has grown from a clinical faculty staff of four to fourteen since May 2000.
The Woodwinds Health Campus Vision and Guiding Principles support the campus commitment to blending western medicine and integrative health care through clinical collaboration. To that end, the Woodwinds Integrative Steering Committee provided leadership and support of the first ever post graduate fellowship in Acupuncture.
Please join us for a presentation about our journey, a tour of facilities, and a chance to speak with key leaders of Woodwinds and Northwestern Health Sciences University and the Natural Care Center.
Northwestern Health Sciences University
Over the past 15 years Northwestern Health Sciences University has taken the lead among Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) institutions by committing the necessary resources to build the critical research infrastructure necessary to conduct high quality clinical research.
Since 1991, the Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies (WHCCS) has served as the clinical research division at Northwestern. To date, WHCCS faculty have garnered more than $10 million dollars in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Volunteers of America to conduct research of CAM and non-invasive therapies. Their success has been founded upon extensive interdisciplinary collaborations between scientists, CAM practitioners, and allopathic providers at numerous institutions including the University of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic, Hennepin County Medical Center, and others.
In the fall of 2008, the WHCCS moved to a new 14,000 square foot facility, specifically designed to conduct research. It is beautifully situated in a natural setting overlooking a wooded area and a pond; a healing garden greets patients entering the facility. The new building houses offices for over 25 research faculty, adjunct faculty, staff, an Office of Data Management, a Rehabilitation Center, imaging suite, two conference rooms and an outpatient clinic that is modern, spacious, well-equipped and ideally suited for conducting clinical trials. In addition, the new facility includes a Functional Performance Laboratory, which consists of four rooms specifically designed to be flexible in accommodating space, equipment, and examiner blinding needs for multiple studies investigating physiological mechanisms of CAM therapies.
We invite guests to see our new, state of the art clinical research facilities at the Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies, part of Northwestern Health Sciences University, home to 900+ chiropractic, oriental medicine and massage therapy students.
The Penny George Institute for Health and Healing - Abbott Northwestern Hospital
The Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital invites conference attendees to learn about the nation's largest hospital-based integrative medicine program. The Institute came into existence in 2003 through the visionary support of the George Family Foundation and the Ted and Roberta Mann Foundation. The Institute has implemented the nation's largest inpatient integrative medicine consultation service and an innovative outpatient clinic. Additionally, the Institute -
- established an American Heart Association award-winning fitness center for both staff and patients, including persons with spinal cord injuries;
- developed an advanced nursing education curriculum and mentorship program that leads to board certification in holistic nursing;
- created unique clinical rotations that develop inpatient skills for oriental medicine and therapeutic massage students.
To date, the Institute's inpatient integrative care consult service has recorded more than 50,000 patient visits for treatment of pain, anxiety, nausea, insomnia, and agitation. These consult services routinely reduce pain and/or anxiety by 40%, and approximately one-third of all patients have their post-treatment score reduced to zero. More than 60% have symptoms reduced by at least 50%. More than 600 physicians seek consults at the Institute about their inpatients.
We invite conference attendees to learn how the Institute's approach to teaching self-care skills and personal responsibility for one's wellness is supported by the unique outpatient programming, including the pre-hospitalization care program, the Resilience Training Program for chronic depression, and the Employee Wellness initiatives. Such personal growth is facilitated in the clinic by two unique professionals: the Healing Coach and the Spiritual Facilitator. Participants will also learn how the work of the Institute is supported within the Allina Health System by the Transformative Nurse Training Program, the Arts and Healing Program, and the LiveWell Fitness Center. Participants will also learn about the Human Performance and Physiology Laboratories which support both patient care and clinical research.