health & wellness

Using Alternatives

• Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network
“We work with hospices, hospitals and healthcare agencies in Metro Detroit, helping patients and their
families with the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges associated with life-limiting illness,” says
Natalie Rosenfield, director of patient care for the Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network. “We work
with alternatives to medicine, such as art and music therapy, to help alleviate pain and reduce depres-
sion. Our care team focuses on the patients’ needs and supports the entire family.”
• Healing Arts Program, Karmanos Lawrence and Idell Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center,
Farmington Hills
The goal of this integrative therapy program is to supplement medical treatment and to provide support
to cancer patients and their families by decreasing anxiety and stress. The establishment of the Leah A.
Davidson Endowment supporting the Healing Arts Program enables 600 cancer patients each year to
experience these non-medical techniques to improve their psychological and physical health.

continued from page 44

“An integrative medicine plan is created to
fit each patient’s needs, including recommen-
dations for mind, body, spirit and emotion,”
she says. “More health professionals accept
this approach because research shows non-
traditional approaches to healthcare demon-
strate evidence-based success, and physicians
receive good feedback from patients.”
Dr. Maureen Anderson, medical director
of Integrative Medicine for Beaumont Health
System, says, “The U.S. spends more per cap-
ita for healthcare than any other country, yet
we are 37th in the world in terms of health
outcomes. We need to approach healthcare
differently, which is why
I foresee IM as the future
model.
“An increasing number
of published research
supports the efficacy of
using non-conventional
therapies and treatments
for conditions such as
Maureen
chronic pain, inflam-
Anderson
mation, cardiovascular
disease, fibromyalgia
and high blood pressure,” Anderson says.
“Interestingly, attendance by physicians
has increased at conferences focused on
Integrative Medicine.”
Robert Folberg, M.D., founding dean of
the Oakland University William Beaumont
School of Medicine, says, “Integrative
Medicine is now a component of our medical
school curriculum. Our program emphasizes
that medical students learn to take care of
themselves so they are better equipped to
take care of others. Many are learning about
IM by using some of the non-conventional
techniques for themselves.”
The plan is to offer IM programs at
Oakwood and Botsford hospitals (both part
of Beaumont Health System) soon. A Wayne
State University School of Medicine repre-
sentative said nothing formal regarding IM is
being taught in its curriculum.

IM TREATMENTS
“A few of the more popular complementary
treatment options with patients are acu-
puncture, yoga and reiki,” says Gail Elliott-
Patricolo, director of Beaumont’s Integrative
Medicine program. “Including these alterna-

46 February 25 • 2016

tive options in Beaumont’s
Employee and Family
Health Plan has resulted
in a reduction of pain
medication and the abil-
ity of our employees to
return to work sooner.
“We receive calls from
Gail Elliott-
hospitals across the coun-
Patricolo
try requesting guidelines
and assistance about get-
ting an Integrative Medicine plan started in
their plan and for their patients.
“There is a definite trend for hospitals to
provide alternative therapies in the oncol-
ogy department,” Elliott-Patricolo says.
“Oncology patients are treated with IM
therapies at infusion centers and at physician
offices. Our oncology massage program is
nationally recognized and attracts students
from other states.”
Lindsey Finsilver of Bloomfield Hills used
guided imagery at Beaumont Hospital five
years ago to help her get through chemo
treatments for cancer of the appendix.
“I worked at guided imagery with Gail
Elliott-Patricolo to reduce pain by creating
positive images in my mind,” Finsilver says.
“I’ve also worked with Gail using reiki fol-
lowing a couple of major surgeries. Hand and
foot massages at Beaumont also helped me
deal with neuropathy, improving my mobil-
ity. Dealing with cancer, I rely on Western
medicine, but I find that combining conven-
tional medicine with Eastern medicine gives
me a sense of control because I am person-
ally involved in my own health.”
Sue Ellen Simon of Birmingham volun-
teers her services once a week as a reiki
therapist for Beaumont hospital patients.
“It’s important to me that I be of service to
others,” Simon says. “When I can help oth-
ers feel less stressed by using reiki then I’ve
achieved the mitzvah of tikkun olam. Reiki
is a simple hands-on, no-touch technique for
stress reduction and relaxation that promotes
the flow of life energy in a person and can
stimulate healing. It’s used to relieve pain and
improve the symptoms of a number of health
conditions. I’m often called to work with
patients in oncology and women’s urology.”
Laura Squillace of Southfield was intro-
duced to Beaumont’s integrative services as
part of her treatment for breast cancer.
“I started using the Reiki treatment and

having oncology massages almost from the
beginning,” she said.
“I also use yoga therapy and now do
guided imaging on my own, having learned
about it at Beaumont,” Squillace said.
“Guided imaging is very helpful, especial-
ly during those times when nobody is quite
sure about a diagnosis and treatment. Today,
I include these programs as part of my well-
ness program and frequently talk to medi-
cal school students about my experience of
working with physicians and including alter-
native therapies during my recovery and why
I keep using them for better health.”

CHALLENGES AND EVIDENCE
“Some doctors do not approve of IM because
they are concerned there’s not enough sci-
entific evidence to justify their use,” says
Michael Seidman, M.D., otolaryngologist,
chair of the Center for Integrative Medicine
for Henry Ford Hospital and medical
director of wellness for Henry Ford West
Bloomfield Hospital.
“We talk about preven-
tion and wellness, but
Integrative Medicine is
typically not offered as an
integral part of most care,”
he says.
Besides the skepti-
cism of some physicians,
Michael
“other challenges that
Seidman
effect meaningful change
include the lack of insur-
ance for more natural approaches to health-
care, although this is slowly changing,” he
says. “For example, some policies now cover
acupuncture treatment and massage for spe-
cific conditions.”
Seidman says the Vita Wellness Center
at Henry Ford West Bloomfield offers inte-
grated services with conventional services,
including physical and occupational therapy.
Finding evidence that IM works is key to
many of its challenges. As a result, research-
ers are studying complementary and alterna-
tive therapies for safety and effectiveness.
Even finding out what doesn’t work can
be valid. For example, following a study
published in the New England Journal of
Medicine (Feb. 9, 2006), which reported that
saw palmetto, taken by more than 2 million
men in the U.S., did not improve benign
prostate hyperplasia, the herbal therapy was

no longer recommended.
According to Howard Schubiner, M.D.,
and director of the Mind-Body Center,
Providence-Providence Park Hospital in
Southfield, technological breakthroughs in
science during the past decade now pro-
vide physicians the science to understand
the connection among the brain, the body
and certain symptoms. This concept that
the mind is important
in health goes back to
ancient times.
“Over time, our brains
develop ways of activat-
ing reactions in our body
that alert us to either a
physical or an emotional
process,” he says. “Mind-
Howard
Body Medicine is based
Schubiner
on the science of the brain
in which patients learn that chronic pain may
be due to learned nerve pathways that can be
unlearned by reprogramming the brain.
“The patient’s pain is real, but the patient
may not have a serious disease,” Schubiner
says. “It may be that the patient’s body is pro-
ducing pain because it’s reacting to a series of
unresolved stressful situations.
“At the center, we first distinguish whether
the symptoms are caused by the body or the
brain. With an accurate diagnoses ruling out
a physical problem, we help people by chang-
ing the way they think about their symptoms
and help them make changes in their activi-
ties and lives to reduce or eliminate the pain.”
Rabbi Jeremy Baruch goes back to the
Jewish roots of Integrative Medicine.
“Our Jewish tradition teaches that an inte-
grated approach to healthcare is shared in
the community,” Baruch says. “Some people
may excel in bikur cholim, offering emotional
support to those in need of healing. Others
may be philanthropists, financially support-
ing healthcare at home, in Israel and in the
developing world. Others are healthcare
workers who dedicate their lives to taking
care of others.
“Each of us has the opportunity to make
healthy lifestyle changes in our lives. When
you look around the Detroit community, you
see this integrative approach to healthcare
on a communal level, with everyone contrib-
uting in their own way, creating a healing
whole that is much greater than the sum of
its parts.”

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