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Course to Equip Leaders with Tools to Transform Practice

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke Integrative Medicine was awarded a $1.4 million grant today from The Bravewell Collaborative to create and launch a leadership program focused on integrative healthcare in the United States.

Set to begin in early 2015, the Leadership Program in Integrative Healthcare at Duke University will prepare a national cadre of leaders to transform practice and improve the health of the nation. These leaders will fully embrace a personalized approach to comprehensive medical care that optimizes health.

“This grant will allow us to build a lasting cohort of new integrative healthcare leaders equipped with the tools to make a significant impact on the way we practice healthcare in this country,” said Adam Perlman, M.D., executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine and director of the new program. “Duke’s distinguished set of programs in medicine, leadership and business are uniquely positioned to establish a transformative cross-disciplinary training, which is foundational to the integrative approach.”

The grant will contribute to the progress of Duke Forward, the $3.25 billion fundraising campaign that supports priorities across Duke's 10 schools, Duke Medicine and a range of university programs. Duke Medicine has a campaign goal of $1.2 billion for “Medicine that Changes the World.”

Integrative healthcare is a rapidly growing and highly credible field that seeks to integrate the best of Western scientific medicine with a broader understanding of the nature of illness, healing and wellness. Built on this philosophy of care, the year-long certificate course includes three brief retreats, an extensive online curriculum and a personalized mentorship experience. Bringing together world-renowned experts in integrative healthcare, leadership and business from across the country to serve as faculty, the curriculum focuses on integrative strategies informed by evidence and tested in healthcare systems, the military, and healthcare centers across public, private and academic settings.

Duke Integrative Medicine will host the program in collaboration with Duke Fuqua School of Business and Duke Center for Educational Excellence.

“Creating a culture of health and wellbeing in this country requires more than clinical and administrative skills,” said Christy Mack, co-founder and president of The Bravewell Collaborative, a community of philanthropists dedicated to bringing about optimal health and healing for individuals and society.  “It requires leaders with expertise in both integrative healthcare and business acumen. They also need the leadership skills to advance change throughout their own organizations and beyond.”

All levels of healthcare and government are making unprecedented efforts to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction while decreasing costs, Mack added. Bravewell believes that integrative healthcare, with its focus on patient engagement, holds a key to resolving many of the issues facing our nation’s healthcare system. Treating the whole person, and addressing all the influences that affect their health not only enhances people’s ability to get well, it also helps them stay well, she said.

“This is an exciting time for healthcare in this country,” said Victor J. Dzau, M.D., chancellor for health affairs at Duke University and president and chief executive officer of Duke University Health System. “As leaders incorporate the principles and practices of integrative health across major hospitals, academic health centers, public health clinics, community hospitals, and private practices, we believe this will lead to improved outcomes and quality of care, lower costs, and increased patient engagement, activation, and satisfaction.”

Designed for professionals who have already demonstrated leadership, registration will open in the summer of 2014, with the first cohort slated to begin in early 2015. For more information, please visit www.integrativehealthleaders.org.

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About Duke Integrative Medicine
Duke Integrative Medicine is committed to transforming the way healthcare is delivered in the 21st century. Our expert providers integrate the best of Western scientific medicine with proven complementary therapies to address the whole person -- body, mind, spirit, and community. Our innovative model of care -- including primary care, physician consultations, health coaching, and a broad array of clinical services, classes, workshops, and trainings -- is focused on healing and provides personalized, comprehensive support across time. For more information, please visit http://www.dukeintegrativemedicine.org/

About The Bravewell Collaborative
Formed in 2002, The Bravewell Collaborative is a community of philanthropists in the United States dedicated to bringing about optimal health and healing for individuals and society. An operating foundation, Bravewell develops and manages strategic initiatives that support integrative approaches to healthcare. Embracing rigorous research and scientific approaches in the entirety of its work, The Bravewell Collaborative’s key initiatives include programs to educate the general public, change the way physicians are educated, develop leading clinical centers as models for change, acknowledge and support leaders in the field, and promote translational and outcomes-based research. Most recently, The Bravewell Collaborative established the first practice-based research network in integrative medicine and worked with the Institute of Medicine at the National Academies of Science to produce a National Summit on Integrative Medicine.  For more information about The Bravewell Collaborative, please visit www.bravewell.org.