ST. LOUIS, June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The American
College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) today announced its Health
Systems Council (HSC), a new group to support the pioneering trend
of implementing lifestyle medicine into some of the largest and
most innovative health organizations in the U.S. The new council
has a founding membership of 19 systems employing more than
650k employees serving millions of
patients in 28 states. It is guided by an advisory board chaired by
Michael P. O'Donnell, PhD, CEO and
Founder, Art and Science of Health Promotion Institute, with six
other experts who are accomplished pioneers in the field of
lifestyle medicine.
"This is pioneering work with systems that have identified
lifestyle medicine for their transition to value-based care."
Lifestyle Medicine is the use of evidence-based lifestyle
therapeutic interventions—including a whole-food, plant-predominant
eating pattern, regular physical activity, restorative sleep,
stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive
social connection—as a primary modality, delivered by clinicians
trained and certified in this specialty, to prevent, treat, and
often reverse chronic disease. Leading health systems have begun
deploying lifestyle medicine centers, integrating lifestyle
medicine into employee wellness and expanding research into the
therapeutic impacts of lifestyle medicine. U.S. health systems,
defined in this case, include at least one hospital and at least
one group of physicians providing comprehensive care, and who are
connected with each other and with the hospital through common
ownership or joint management.
The council is designed to support a collaborative community of
health systems leading the transition to value-based care through
integration of lifestyle medicine, synonymous with value-based
care. While lifestyle medicine is not new, large-scale
implementation of these evidence-based modalities into health
systems is one of the greatest pioneering initiatives in the health
care industry today, and presents a number of learning
opportunities and challenges. The council will provide a platform
for health systems to exchange state-of-the-art practices and
resources, identify pragmatic solutions to common barriers, and
accelerate the integration and implementation of lifestyle medicine
therapeutic modalities within their organizations and their
communities.
"This is pioneering work with systems who have identified that
providing care through a lifestyle medicine lens and through
lifestyle medicine programs is an avenue to successfully make a
transition to value-based care," said ACLM President Cate Collings,
MD, MS, FACC, DipABLM. "These organizations are leading edge
in this recognition and ACLM and patients are equally fortunate to
move forward together in this direction. I congratulate our
partners in their dedication to the best patient care."
Founding systems are:
- Advent Health
- Adventist Health
- Emory Healthcare
- Hospital for Special Surgery
- Intermountain Healthcare
- Kaiser Permanente Southern California
- Memorial Health
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- MedStar Health
- Midland Health
- Monument Health
- NYC Health + Hospitals
- Rochester Regional Health
- Spectrum Health
- St. Luke's Health System
- St. Luke's University Health Network
- UC San Diego Health
- University of Central Florida
Health/UCF College of Medicine
- Vidant Health
Advisory members of the council include:
- Dexter Shurney, MD, Chief
Medical Officer / Sr. Vice President, Wellbeing Division Executive
Director, Adventist Health
- Janice M. Prochaska, PhD,
Consultant at Prochaska Change Consultants and Pro-Change Behavior
Systems, Inc.
- John Harris, MHE, Previously
Performance pH, Healthways, Axia, and Harris HealthTrends,
Inc.;
- Michael P. O'Donnell, PhD, CEO
and Founder, Art and Science of Health Promotion Institute
- Mike Roizen, MD, Wellness
Officer Emeritus, Cleveland
Clinic
- Padmaja Patel, MD, Medical
Director at Lifestyle Medicine Center, Midland Health
- Richard Safeer, MD, Chief
Medical Director, Employee Health & Well-being, Johns Hopkins
Medicine
"The power of lifestyle medicine lies in its ability to
transform 'sick care' to 'health care'," said Sean Hashmi, MD, MS, FASN, Regional Physician
Director, Weight Management and Clinical Nutrition for Southern
California Kaiser Permanente. "The Health Systems Council provides
an exciting opportunity to create collaboration and share
evidence-based best practices that will help healthcare
organizations on their mission to provide the highest quality care
and improve affordability."
"As a primary care physician who has served in health care for
over 25 years, I am excited to see Vidant Health invited to the
ACLM Health Systems Council," said David
Michael, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer, Vidant
Health. "Lifestyle medicine is an evidenced-based approach to
achieving value-based care initiatives through prevention,
management, and even reversal of chronic diseases. With the
prevalence of chronic diseases so high in our area, eastern
North Carolina is the perfect
setting to apply the principles of lifestyle medicine, which will
help improve the health and well-being of those we serve and help
us meet our mission. As a member of the council, Vidant looks
forward to sharing its experience as a rural health care leader,
and learning from others on the journey to wellness."
Council participants do not need to be ACLM members, but they
need to meet qualifications as a representative for their health
system. They can apply to join by reviewing the Health Systems
Council Brochure which contains a link to the Health
Systems Council Interest Form.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE: ACLM is the
medical professional society for those dedicated to the advancement
and clinical practice of Lifestyle Medicine as the foundation of a
transformed and sustainable health care system. More than a
professional association, ACLM is a galvanized force for change.
ACLM addresses the need for quality education and certification,
supporting its members in their individual practices and in their
collective mission to domestically and globally promote Lifestyle
Medicine as the first treatment option, as opposed to a first
option of treating symptoms and consequences with expensive, ever
increasing quantities of pills and procedures. Learn more
at www.lifestylemedicine.org.
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SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine