Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is proud to announce that it will be joining some of the nation’s leading medical institutions in adopting an integrative approach to healthcare. The hospital officially launched its Urban Integrative Healthcare Plan which will be implemented in several phases.
The Urban Integrative Healthcare Plan aims to provide a patient-centered and holistic healthcare experience by making patients active partners in their care and empowering them with the tools needed to make informed decisions about their physical, mental and emotional health. Each patient will work with a dedicated integrative healthcare team to identify goals and challenges; for which an individualized wellness plan will be created that combines evidence-based approaches in conventional, complementary and alternative medicine. Comprehensive wellness plans can include medication, mental health counseling, nutrition counseling, acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, meditation or reiki.
“Our main objective is to treat the whole person; mind, body, and spirit. This is achieved by exploring all aspects that may affect a person’s health. This includes mental, social, spiritual, lifestyle and environmental factors. We want to go beyond just treating symptoms and offer patients therapies and resources that will improve their quality of life, prevent diseases and promote wellness long term,” shared Dr. Alan Roth, Jamaica Hospital’s Chair of Family Medicine and Ambulatory Care.
To achieve the goals established under the Urban Integrative Healthcare Plan, Jamaica Hospital has developed a series of programs that focus on educating healthcare practitioners and patient navigators on the concept of integrative health. Education consists of Whole Person Health, HOPE Note and Personal Health Inventory training as well as Grand Rounds led by integrative health pioneers such as Dr. Wayne Jonas.
Jamaica Hospital will also develop a program that offers whole-person, patient-centered healthcare throughout its entire network. Integrative healthcare philosophies and approaches will be practiced in the hospital’s ambulatory care centers and clinical departments.
“In the near future, we hope to offer our community a Neighborhood Health Station, a central space where patients can take advantage of all the integrative health services we will provide. We foresee having designated areas for nutrition counseling and healthy cooking classes, legal health services, mental health counseling, social services, a gym facility as well as an urgent care center. Ultimately, we want to provide a place for our community to come together and focus on healing,” said Dr. Roth.
Dr. Roth speaks more on integrative healthcare at Jamaica Hospital in this video: