Thanks to the extraordinary philanthropy of Bernard Osher, the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine will soon be one of a select few institutions offering a unique and comprehensive center for evidence-based, integrative medicine.
The Bernard Osher Foundation, which was founded by Osher in 1977, recently approved a $5 million endowment gift to create the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, along with a $500,000 current-use grant. The funds supporting the two grants are a personal donation of Osher, who is also the treasurer of the foundation.
“As the architect of the Osher integrative medicine program, the foundation takes great pride in the program’s expansion, through the personal gifts of Bernard Osher, to include the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine,” said Mary Bitterman, foundation president and trustee.
“We have been greatly impressed with the leadership of the university in the integrative medicine field and with the support it has received from the Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Foundation. We are confident that this new center will make valuable contributions to the network of Osher centers across the country and in Sweden.”
There currently are Osher Centers for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston; the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden; Northwestern University in Chicago; University of California San Francisco, and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
Believed to be the first of its kind in South Florida, the new Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine will bring all integrative medicine efforts at the University of Miami Health System together under one roof, collaborating extensively with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center to continue developing innovative approaches to pain management and palliative care.
“We are very grateful to Bernard Osher and the Osher Foundation for their extraordinarily generous and thoughtful support,” said University of Miami president Julio Frenk, MD, MPH, PhD. “This initiative will promote a holistic approach to health and wellness and serve as a comprehensive resource for healthcare providers, patients, and medical students.”
The center will build the future of integrative medicine by combining the use of modern medicine with complementary therapies, and encompass multidisciplinary initiatives in education, clinical care, research, and community engagement.
Leading the Miller School effort is E. Robert Schwartz, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and chief of service at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to create evidence-based approaches to integrative medicine and complementary care that our patients have been asking for,” Schwartz said. “Our goal is to develop a clinical practice offering massage therapy, acupuncture, mind-body and nutrition classes, herbal remedies, yoga, and more, with the providers in one place.”
UM has engaged in integrative medicine for more than a quarter-century, starting with the launch of a continuing medical education program in acupuncture. In 1992, the Miller School established the Touch Research Institute (TRI) in the Department of Pediatrics with a start-up grant from Johnson & Johnson and subsequent funding from the National Institutes of Health, among other entities. The TRI was the first center devoted solely to the study of touch and its effects on various medical and psychological conditions at all stages of life.
Just finished radiation at UM Hospital and I would like to find out more about the Osher programs offered at the Sylvester Cancer Center. Can you send me information?
Thank you
Will this Center be open to the public?
How much will it cost to attend?
I would like to take advantage of the yoga, massage therapy, acupuncture, mind body and nutrition,, Etc.
I live in Coral Gables and could benefit from such wellness activities.