On November 17, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center announced that it had introduced its Urban Zen Integrative Therapy program, the first such program on the West Coast. When world-renowned fashion designer Donna Karan's husband, Stephan Weiss, was dying of lung cancer in 2001, she was distressed that there was no place in the New York hospital system that offered yoga and other meditative therapies to ease his suffering. The experience galvanized her into action. "Much was missing from Stephan's care," Karan said. "He needed the knowledge of traditional Western medicine. But he also needed healing that can only be accessed from the heart and through the spirit. Out of my frustrations with the treatment at even the best medical facilities, a commitment was born. I am determined to do what I can to create a new model for wellness and patient care in hospitals and to address the needs of patients' loved ones and the staff who are on the journey with them."
Karan took a combination of Eastern healing techniques that she found effective and developed them into an actual program that has expanded to hospitals across the nation. In partnership with Karan's Urban Zen Foundation, the UCLA Health System will be offering a unique Eastern healing program designed to enhance the care of patients. The program will include:
- Training of doctors, nurses and other hospital staff members in holistic practices to encourage optimal healing.
- Introduction of Eastern healing modalities to patients, including yoga therapy (breath awareness, in-bed movement and guided meditation).
- Reiki (a Japanese vibrational energy therapy facilitated by light touch, on or slightly off the body, that balances the human biofield).
- Essential oil therapy.
- Nutrition.
- Contemplative care.
The UCLA Center for East–West Medicine currently offers traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, acupressure and herbal medicine, on an outpatient basis. UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center teaches the practice of mindfulness — the moment-by-moment process of actively and openly observing one's physical, mental and emotional experiences. The Urban Zen Integrative Therapy Program at the UCLA Health System is designed to take these advances to the next level.
"This program of 'integrative medicine' addresses issues such as pain control, nausea, relaxation and sleep," said Ellen Wilson, director of therapy services at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. "There is essentially a menu of approaches, including yoga, aromatherapy, Reiki and meditation. The concept is that existing employees are trained in the techniques by the Urban Zen facilitators and then can provide these services to patients upon request or if recommended by the patients' caregivers." Training for the first group of 30 professionals at UCLA, including doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers and other care providers, began in September, Wilson said, and the program will be ready to provide these services to patients this December. He added, “UCLA will then train new teams of 50 employees at a time, with the goal of eventually having trained 250 to 300 personnel available throughout the health system in both inpatient and outpatient areas.”
"Cancer patients are likely to be the first group to receive these holistic healing offerings at UCLA," said Dr. David Feinberg, president of the UCLA Health System. He added, "With more than 1.5 million Americans diagnosed with cancer annually, there are many people and families who could benefit from an approach that involves treating the whole patient and his or her loved ones — and not just the disease." The UCLA Health System has committed to supporting Urban Zen at UCLA; however, it also seeks philanthropic donations to augment the program's reach. "Such additional support will expedite UCLA's ability to expand the program to hospitalized patients at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA, Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA and Santa Monica–UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital," Feinberg said.
For more information, visit www.rehab.ucla.edu.
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