The What & Why's of Integrative Medicine (IM)

What is NorthEast Internal & Integrative Medicine?
Northeast Medical Center is adding a new service for physicians and their patients to extend the offerings for healing beyond our traditional excellence of care model. The center will utilize complementary holistic medicine strategies that are evidence based, and low risk to help the patient shift into an additional level of wellness. It will focus on an assessment of the three dimensions of wellness: the physical body, the mental/emotional body, and the spiritual body and look at the interactions between the three to affect a positive change in all three areas simultaneously. This modality works well not only for prevention, but also for chronic illness, and in some cases acute intervention.

What is included in Integrative Medicine?
The emphasis is on the patient as the healer, and the clinic professional staff as the support during the process. Modalities such as manual medicine, energy medicine, biofeedback, hypnosis/guided visualization, Traditional Chinese Medicine/acupuncture, nutritional counseling, and herbal medicine supplementation are among the services offered.

Why have a Holistic Nursing approach?
Nurses who have a passion to take healing to a higher level for themselves and their patients are eligible to enroll in our holistic nursing education program at NEMC. On April 3, 2007, the first AHNA teaching program at NEMC began in conjunction with NorthEast Integrative Medicine, NEMC's Nursing Department, and Cabarrus College of Health Sciences. In this exciting course, students receive practical as well as theoretical nursing education. Training our nursing staff to treat the whole person -- the physical body, the mental/emotional body, and the spiritual body -- will help to incorporate the philosophy of Integrative Medicine across all aspects of care at NEMC.

What is Integrative Oncology and how is this a part of IM?
With the opening of the newly renovated Batte Cancer Center in April 2007, a Rejuvenation Center will also open which will provide Integrative Medicine Services to oncology patients. Coming from the approach that the whole person needs healing and not just treatment of symptoms, alternative therapies such as acupuncture and massage are integrated into the treatment plan for cancer patients at NEMC.

Each patient will be assigned a navigator to help guide them through the often confusing treatment and education process of living with cancer. Once the patient visits the oncologist, an integrative medicine consultation will be offered from our holistically trained nurses. From there, the patient and their health care team will determine what therapies and complementary treatments will enhance the medical care and provide the best outcomes to help the patient attain their goals.

Why has NEMC started plans for a Medical Wellness Program?
A Medical Wellness Center has been studied and researched for several years now as NEMC has reviewed other health care models and visited other facilities. As overall wellness has become an increasing concern for our country, NorthEast Medical Center is addressing these concerns with plans to create a medical wellness center. Plans include services such as nutrition counseling and other therapies to reduce risks for certain conditions and diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and stroke. A large part of this overall wellness program will include many aspects of Integrative Medicine, from nutrition counseling and herbal supplements to tai chi and yoga classes. NEMC's medically integrated wellness program will work to educate our community about lifestyle choices and screenings for preventive care.

What is the role of NorthEast Internal & Integrative Medicine in the North Carolina Research Campus?
As plans move forward with the Medical Wellness Program, NEMC will continue to work collaboratively with the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) being constructed in nearby Kannapolis on the site of the former Cannon Mills. The NCRC is one possible location to house the Medical Wellness Program or at least a satellite location. Likewise, NorthEast Internal & Integrative Medicine may maintain office space at this new campus. NEMC will also partner with the NCRC for providing physician offices and other medical diagnostic services at this location. Please check back for more details as this project moves forward.