Offered locally, classes in Integrative Medicine recognize that alternative approaches have a place in health care
If you have used complementary or alternative therapies, such as massage, Reiki, nutritional counseling, meditation, acupuncture and yoga, you are part of a growing number of Central New Yorkers. CAM, or complementary or alternative medicine, refers to a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. Integrative medicine (IM) combines conventional and CAM treatments that are shown to be safe and effective.
The National Institutes of Health report that in the United States, approximately 38 percent of adults, about four in 10, and approximately 12 percent of children, about one in nine, use some form of CAM therapy. In Central New York, healthcare providers are aware of this trend and are responding with current programs and plans to broaden the scope and availability of CAM services.
SUNY Upstate provides educational HealthLink programs at Oasis Senior Learning Center in East Syracuse. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, Dr. Leslie Kohman, medical director of the Upstate Cancer Center, and Dr. Kaushal Nanavati will discuss IM and how it can benefit patients, especially those with cancer.
Nanavati, board-certified in family medicine and integrative holistic medicine, recently joined the staff at Upstate to promote IM. As a longtime resident of this area, he looks forward to this new opportunity to practice and encourage IM and envisions future benefits to the community. “To make our home better,” he says, “no effort is too much.”
Kohman says she is thrilled that Nanavati, with his expertise in integrative modalities, will be focusing his efforts first on the Cancer Center. “Integrative medicine helps patients achieve peace of mind,” says Nanavati. “While a dedicated program of integrative medicine may be instituted first at the Cancer Center, other areas of care—including cardiology, rheumatology, endocrinology, women’s medicine and pediatric care—can benefit from a more holistic approach. In an environment of integrative medicine, allopathic or traditional medicine that includes modern technology, drugs, surgery or other medical treatments, are offered along with holistic modalities.”
IM modalities are also a high priority at Hematology Oncology Associates of CNY (HOA). Dr. Heidi S. Puc is board-certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, hematology and integrative holistic medicine. “I have incorporated a holistic and integrative approach into my hematology and oncology practice,” she says, “and have begun doing formal integrative oncology consultations for my own patients as well as those of my practice partners. I firmly believe that integrative modalities can improve the quality of life of hematology and oncology patients during active therapy as well as beyond it.”
Puc adds that HOA’s Wellness Center in Camillus “provides a variety of integrative services, including massage, acupuncture, Reiki, yoga, healing touch, craniosacral therapy, vibrational healing, foot reflexology, tai-chi, neuromuscular integrative activity (NIA) and meditation.”
At St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center’s Outpatient Mental Health Services, healthcare providers offer various complementary therapies including guided meditations and yoga. Spiritual care and music therapy programs are available to in-patients, and spiritual care chaplains use various holistic modalities in caring for patients, including healing touch, meditation, mindfulness, guided imagery, music and prayer.
Sister Rose Ann Renna, vice president for mission integration for St. Joseph’s, says, “Our hope is for everyone in patient care to give that person {patient} an experience of faith and spirituality.”
While patient IM services are expanding, there is concern across local healthcare institutions about educating healthcare providers themselves. “It is important to train healthcare providers in complementary modalities,” states Renna, looking ahead to her new responsibilities for curriculum development and education at St. Joseph’s College of Nursing.
RN staff educator Julie Byrne agrees, “To make patients more aware of these integrative care services, we are working toward having the staff experience and understand various therapeutic modalities so they can better explain them to patients. We are in the process of educating staff on what therapies are possible.”
At Upstate, Nanavati says, “Goals for integrative medicine include clinical education for medical, physician assistant, nursing and physical therapy students, community education to raise awareness of the need for preventative care, and education for healthcare providers.”
Treatman looks forward to working with him. “With both SUNY Upstate and Crouse Hospital now playing a role in raising awareness and informing the community, we have great opportunities to be involved in research and the facilitation of evidence-based care.”
Some research has already begun. “Even the Veterans Administration and armed forces have an interest in things like acupuncture, meditation and yoga,” adds Treatman. “We’re beginning a study of mindfulness meditation and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Treatman is emphatic in support of IM. “It’s obvious that conventional care has its limitations. The value of integrative medicine has been affirmed over the millennia through empiric results and more mainline randomized controlled studies.”
IM is an emerging field for research, health education and patient care in Central New York. “We want to offer modalities that can help patients,” says Kohman about Upstate. “Traditional care might not answer all aspects of care.”
It is encouraging to see conventional medicine adopting programs which include alternative options. I am especially impressed with the development of educational programs designed to help health care professionals integrate safe, effective alternative methods into their practices.