Six
Pioneers of Integrative
Medicine to be Honored Next Week
By
Michael S. Evers
Mehmet
Oz |
(November
1, 2007) On Thursday November 8, 2007, the Bravewell Collaborative
will host the Inaugural Pioneers of Integrative Medicine Award event to
honor six of the early leaders of Integrative Medicine whose work in
the 1980s and '90s paved the way for a new era in American medicine.
The black-tie event will take place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New
York City with famed cardiothoracic surgeon Mehmet Oz serving as master
of ceremonies.
This year’s event
marks a shift from recognizing a single individual
“leader” with a $100,000 cash award, as was done in 2003 and 2005. All
six of this year’s chosen “pioneers” will receive a cash award of
$25,000 to recognize, empower and support his or her efforts in
transforming the culture of healthcare.
The
six awardees are medical doctors Larry Dossey, James Gordon, Dean
Ornish, Rachel Remen and Andrew Weil, along with Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD.
The
pioneers will also be featured speakers at a special lecture series
earlier that same day, where they will each discuss what they have
learned about health, healing and humanity that changed the way they
thought about medicine. Dr. Oz will also moderate the lectures and
luncheon series.
Bravewell Co-Founders Penny George
and Christy Mack congratulate Dr. Brian Berman, winner of the 2005
Bravewell Leadership Award |
The Bravewell Collaborative is a small group of philanthropists who
came together in 2002 to change the face of medicine as practiced in
the United States. In addition to funding the Bravewell Leadership and
Pioneer Awards, the Collaborative has also nurtured the growth of model
clinical centers for integrative medicine, like the newly established Duke
Integrative Medicine Center funded primarily with an $11
million grant from Bravewell cofounder Christy Mack, and her husband John. The
Collaborative also works closely with the 39-member Consortium for Academic
Health Centers for Integrative Medicine to develop and
publish a medical school curriculum for integrative medicine. Last
year, the
Collaborative funded a two-part documentary program titled
“The New Medicine,” which aired on PBS stations nationwide.
The
2003 Bravewell Leadership Award was presented to Ralph Snyderman, MD,
Chancellor Emeritus for Health Affairs at Duke University. In 2005, the
award went to Brian M. Berman, MD, Director of the Center for
Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine,
the first integrative medicine center at a U.S. academic institution.
Larry
Dossey, MD
"I used to believe that we must choose between science and reason on
one hand, and spirituality on the other, in how we lead our lives. Now
I consider this a false choice. We can recover the sense of sacredness,
not just in science, but in perhaps every area of life."
- Larry
Dossey
Larry Dossey, MD, is best known as an advocate for the role of the mind
and spirit in health. An international lecturer and the author of ten
books, Dr. Dossey is also the Executive Editor of EXPLORE: The Journal of Science
and Healing, a leading journal in the field of integrative
medicine. The primary quality of all of Dr. Dossey's work is scientific
legitimacy, with an insistent focus on "what the data show." The impact
of Dr. Dossey's work has been remarkable. Before his book Healing Words was
published in 1993, only three US medical schools had courses devoted to
exploring the role of religious practice and prayer in health;
currently, nearly 90 medical schools have instituted such courses, many
of which utilize Dr. Dossey's works as textbooks. In his 1989 book Recovering the Soul,
he introduced the concept of "nonlocal mind." Since then, many leading
scientists have adopted this model as an emerging image of
consciousness. Dr. Dossey's ever-deepening explication of nonlocal mind
provides a legitimate foundation for the merging of spirit and
medicine, the ramifications of which call for no less than the
reinvention of medicine.
|
James
Gordon, MD
"I believe that self-awareness and self-care are not only central to
the practice of integrative medicine, but are themselves the midwives
for its birth." - James S. Gordon
One of the first people in this field to develop the practical
foundation of mind-body medicine, James S. Gordon, MD, is the Founder
and Director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington,
DC. In the early 1970s, it became apparent to Dr. Gordon that
if medicine was ever to address the worldwide epidemic of chronic
illness and to heal the pain and alienation of patients and health
professionals, then it needed to change at a fundamental
level. In response to this realization, he gathered leaders
in integrative and holistic medicine under the auspices of the National
Institute of Mental Health and developed the first major text in the
field, Health for Whole
Person. His book, Manifesto
for a New Medicine, published in 1996, sparked a personal
revolution for many healthcare providers. Dr. Gordon's
influence is felt worldwide. Founded on the principle of teaching and
empowering people to help themselves, Dr. Gordon's Healing the Wounds
of War program has helped more than a thousand health and mental health
professionals, teachers and community leaders throughout the Americas,
Europe and the Middle East to deal successfully with the stress and
trauma of war-in themselves and in the populations they serve.
Jon
Kabat-Zinn, PhD
|
"The two fundamental things that most people get out of the
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program are that (1) the
breath is an ally and can be used to calm down and see more clearly,
and that (2) you are not the content of your thoughts. You don't have
to believe them or react to them. That's incredibly liberating."
- Jon
Kabat-Zinn
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD is internationally known for his work in bringing
mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. The author of
three best-selling books - Full
Catastrophe Living; Wherever You Go, There You Are; and Coming to Our Senses: Healing
Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness - Dr.
Kabat-Zinn founded the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care,
and Society at the University of Massachusetts. His work has deeply
influenced the growing movement of mindfulness in mainstream
institutions including healthcare, education, business, policy and
sports. Since 1979, Dr. Kabat-Zinn's research has focused on mind/body
interactions for healing; on the clinical applications of mindfulness
meditation training for chronic pain and/or stress-related disorders;
on the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the
brain and the immune system; and on stress in various corporate
settings and work environments. Over 200 medical centers nationwide and
abroad now use the MBSR model. Dr. Kabat-Zinn was the founding convener
of the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine,
a network of deans, chancellors and faculty at major US medical schools
engaged with integrative medicine. He currently sits on the Board of
the Mind and Life Institute, a group that organizes dialogues between
the Dalai Lama and western scientists and scholars that probe the
fundamental nature of the mind, emotions, and reality.
Dean
Ornish, MD
|
"I believe in the value of science as a powerful means of gaining a
greater understanding of the world we live in. But I also understand
its limitations. What is verifiable may not necessarily be what is most
important." - Dean Ornish
Best known for groundbreaking work in cardiovascular disease, Dean
Ornish, MD, is founder of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research
Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSF. Dr.
Ornish's clinical research has demonstrated-for the first time-that
integrative medicine interventions may reverse the progression of
coronary heart disease without the use of drugs or surgery.
His work, which has inspired millions of people to change their
lifestyles, is now used in hospitals throughout the United States. He
directed the first Medicare demonstration project of integrative
medicine and recently completed the first randomized trial
demonstrating that this integrative medicine program may reverse the
progression of prostrate cancer. The author of more than five
bestselling books, Dr. Ornish is literally changing the way America
eats. He is currently consulting with the CEOs of McDonalds,
PepsiCo, Con Agra, Del Monte, and Safeway to make more healthful foods
and to provide health education to their customers here and abroad.
Recently, he helped facilitate an agreement with the major soft drink
companies, the Clinton Foundation, and the American Heart Association
to remove sweetened beverages and unhealthful snacks from elementary
schools. He writes a monthly column for Newsweek and Reader's Digest.
He is on the board of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees,
the Quincy Jones Foundation, and the San Francisco Food Bank. Dr.
Ornish has received numerous awards, was featured in the "TIME 100" issue on
alternative medicine, and chosen by LIFE magazine as
"one of the 50 most influential members of his generation."
Rachel
Naomi Remen, MD
|
"Curing is a form of repair, but healing is a form of growth."
- Rachel
Naomi Remen
Rachel Naomi Remen, MD is internationally acclaimed as one of the
earliest pioneers in the mind/body holistic health movement and among
the first to speak out about the role of the spirit in health and
recovery from illness. She is the Co-Founder and Medical Director of
the famed Commonweal Cancer Help Program, which was featured in the
Bill Moyers PBS series, Healing and the Mind. One of the first to
develop a psychological approach for people with life-threatening
illnesses, for the past thirty years, Dr. Remen has cared for people
with terminal illnesses, helping them to both cure and heal. Dr. Remen
is also a nationally recognized medical reformer and educator who sees
the practice of medicine as a spiritual path. Her groundbreaking
holistic curricula, especially The Healer's Art course, enable
physicians at all levels of training to remember their calling and
strengthen their commitment to serve life. A wise and masterful
storyteller, she has touched thousands of people with her bestselling
books, Kitchen Table
Wisdom: Stories That Heal and My Grandfather's Blessings:
Stories of Strength, Refuge and Belonging. As a public
speaker, she has spoken to tens of thousands of people throughout the
country, reminding them of the power of their humanity and the ability
to use their lives to make a difference.
Andrew
Weil, MD
|
"The history of science makes clear that the greatest advancements in
man's understanding of the universe are made by intuitive leaps at the
frontiers of knowledge, not by intellectual walks along well-traveled
paths." - Andrew Weil
An internationally-recognized expert on integrative medicine, medicinal
plants and mind-body interactions, Andrew Weil, MD, has devoted the
past thirty years to developing, practicing, and teaching others about
the principles of integrative medicine. Combining a Harvard medical
education with the practice of natural medicine, Dr. Weil was one of
the first physicians to articulate the principles of a medical system
that sought to heal as well as treat; that encompassed body, mind, and
spirit; and that honored and worked with the innate healing power of
the organism. He is the Founder and Director of the Program
in Integrative Medicine (PIM) at the College of Medicine, University of
Arizona, which is helping lead the transformation of healthcare by
creating, educating, and actively supporting a community of
professionals who embody the philosophy and practice of integrative
medicine. His bestselling books - Spontaneous
Healing, 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, Eating Well for Optimum Health,
and Healthy Aging,
among others - have made a tremendous impact on the ways in which
people view health and healing, and as a frequent guest on Larry King
Live, Oprah, and The Today Show, Dr. Weil inspires millions of viewers
with his messages on how to optimize the body's natural healing power.
His website (www.drweil.com)
and newsletter (Dr.
Andrew Weil's Self-Healing) are popular with both health
professionals and the general public.
Tickets for the Lectures & Luncheon are $250. Table prices for
the evening Awards Dinner start at $7,500 and individual ticket prices
start at $750. For more information about the event or to purchase
tables and/or individual tickets, please contact David Rosenstock at
The Bravewell Pioneer Award Event, 136 East 57th Street, Suite 1505,
New York, New York, 10022. Telephone: 212-838-2660.
Email: drosenstock (at) loreleievents.com
