News Release
January 31, 2006
Contact: Kristina Goodnough, 860-679-3700
e-mail:
goodnough@nso.uchc.edu
Integrative Medicine Health Fair at UConn Health Center
Farmington, Conn. - UConn Health Center will feature demonstrations and discussions of integrative medicine therapies at a health fair on Wednesday, February 22, from 4 to 8:30 p.m. in Keller Auditorium.
“Our goal is to familiarize the public and our own health care community with integrative medicine and to highlight the work we are advancing in this field,” says Mary P. Guerrera, M.D., associate professor of family medicine. “Many people believe the best way to reach optimal health is by combining the best complementary therapies with conventional treatments,” says Guerrera, who incorporates acupuncture into her medical practice.
“We know that almost half of the American population uses some form of complementary or alternative medicine,” says Guerrera. “Our goal is to foster research and education that will broaden our knowledge of integrative medicine and its efficacy.”
The fair will feature more than a dozen integrative medicine practitioners who will discuss and demonstrate their approaches to health and healing, including, yoga, hypnosis, energy therapy, Ayurveda and meditation. Health Center librarians will be available to provide information on ways to locate accurate and up-to-date health and medical information.
Following the demonstrations, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Health Center faculty members will make presentations on integrative medicine. Topics and presenters include:
- Mind-Body-Spirit Medicine - Mary P. Guerrera, M.D., Family Medicine
- Mind-Body Experiential - Karen Steinberg, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry
- Ayurveda, Healing through Subtle Energy - Amala Guha, Ph.D., Department of Immunology
- Energy Medicine Research - Gloria Gronowicz, Ph.D., Department of Orthopedics
The health fair is an outreach activity sponsored by the UConn Health Center. It is funded with a grant from the Bravewell Collaborative, which promotes increased understanding of integrative medicine. The fair is also designed to promote viewing a two-hour documentary entitled “The New Medicine” that will be broadcast on Connecticut Public Television March 29, from 9 to 11 p.m. For more information on the documentary and integrative medicine, go to www.thenewmedicine.org.
“Patients are not using complementary and alternative medicine in isolation,” says Guerera. “They use it along with treatments recommended by their doctors. Part of being a good doctor is being able to talk to patients about these therapies and to have some knowledge about which are safe and effective and which might be ineffective.“
The Health Center provides instruction on complementary and alternative medicine as part of its curriculum for medical and dental students and it has received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study energy medicine and its efficacy on bone formation and wound healing. It is also a member of the Consortium of Academic Medical Centers for Integrative Medicine which aims to make a qualitative difference in peoples’ health by advocating an integrative model of healthcare, incorporating mind, body and spirit.
The health fair and the presentations are free and open to the public. For registration and more information, call UConnLink at 800-535-6232.
UConn Health includes the schools of medicine and dental medicine, the UConn Medical Group, University Dentists, and John Dempsey Hospital. Home to Bioscience Connecticut, UConn Health pursues a mission of providing outstanding health care education in an environment of exemplary patient care, research and public service. More information about UConn Health is available at www.uchc.edu.
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