Leading healthcare transformation through education, research, advocacy, standard-setting, and clinical care.
About Us
Established in 2025, The Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health at 91性息港 of Health Sciences (SCU) is an action organization devoted exclusively to accelerating our nation鈥檚 adoption of a more efficient, humane, whole-person approach to care.
Our aim is to become a unifying force across a fragmented healthcare system鈥攖raining healthcare providers and administrators, driving clinical research, setting education and practice standards, and convening local and national thought leaders in pursuit of a singular Vision: a world in which every person has access to whole-person care, empowered and equipped to lead their most meaningful lives.
In 2025, we launched a first-of-its kind Doctor of Whole Health Leadership program, a groundbreaking program developed in partnership with the nation鈥檚 leaders in Whole Health transformation and the architects of the Veteran Administration鈥檚 Whole Health initiative.
Soon, the Institute will be launching a range of additional learning opportunities鈥攆rom certificate programs to CEU-eligible short-courses鈥攖o provide practical Whole Health knowledge that healthcare professionals can immediately integrate into their work.
For years, SCU鈥檚 Clinical Research Department has focused exclusively on advancing the science of integrative, whole-person care鈥攔igorously examining its safety, efficacy, efficiency, and accessibility鈥攚ith funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), numerous private foundations, and other partners. Now working directly with our Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health, our team of respected researchers and advisors continues to expand the evidence base needed to inform, shape, and optimize our nation鈥檚 healthcare transformation.
In today鈥檚 fragmented healthcare system, the Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health will serve as a vital convener鈥攂ringing together researchers, educators, clinicians, policymakers, and community partners to create and amplify a unified voice for change. Our goal is to elevate evidence and lived experiences that demonstrate the value of Whole Health and help to shape public policy and accelerate reform.
Many providers and policy makers have begun adopting the language of Whole Health without a unified understanding of its essential principles and practices. A key priority for the Institute will be to develop and promote clear, evidence-informed standards and measures to ensure that Whole Health is practiced with fidelity and maximum impact. As a first step, SCU recently developed and released standards for being a Whole Health University鈥攁n institution that not only teaches Whole Health but nurtures it within its own community. .
Every year, SCU receives nearly 50,000 patient visits at , where we provide integrative, whole-person care that addresses the physical, emotional, and social dimensions of well-being. Individualized treatment plans may include primary care, chiropractic, acupuncture, nutrition, behavioral health, and other approaches鈥攁lways with a focus on what matters most to each unique individual. In partnership with the Institute, our clinics will soon be launching large-scale Whole Health pilot initiatives to measure and improve health outcomes and costs at scale.
Why Now?
The U.S. healthcare system is in crisis, plagued by fragmented care, poor outcomes, high costs, and widespread dissatisfaction among patients and clinicians alike.
Spending
The U.S. spent $13,432 per capita on health care in 2023鈥攏early twice the peer-nation average of $7,393.
.
Share
The U.S. devotes 17.8% of GDP to health care鈥攏early twice the rate of our peer nations.
Expectancy Gains
Since 1980, life expectancy in the U.S. has grown half as fast as peer nations, leaving Americans living ~6 years fewer聽than people in comparable countries.
Deaths
The U.S. maternal mortality rate was 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023鈥斺�� two to three times higher than peer nations, many of which are in the single digits.
.
Deaths
Americans are twice as likely to die from conditions that are preventable with timely, effective care聽compared to residents of peer countries.
Needs
About 30% of U.S. adults skip needed care due to cost鈥攖hree times higher than in most peer nations.
Why Whole Health?
The data is clear that our healthcare system is broken, and that incremental improvements are not working. We need radical system transformation鈥攁nd a Whole Health approach is the answer.
Over the past decade, the Veteran鈥檚 Health Administration (the largest integrated healthcare system in the nation) piloted a Whole Health model of care which included: peer-guided personal health planning; training in wide-ranging self-care approaches (e.g., mindfulness, yoga, Tai Chi); plus clinical care centered around each Veteran鈥檚 unique goals. The results were so extraordinary that the VA formally made Whole Health its systemwide model of care, and The National Academies as a blueprint for the entire nation.
Here鈥檚 a glimpse at the results of the Whole Health approach at the VA:
Opioid Use
Patients with chronic pain in the VA Whole Health model experienced a 38% drop in opioid use鈥攐ver three times the reduction seen under standard care (11%).
Invasive Procedures
Whole Health participants had 42% fewer invasive pain procedures at 3 months and 22% fewer at 18 months, compared to control groups.
in RX Spending
Annual outpatient pharmacy spending grew just 3.5% (mental health) and 4.3% (chronic conditions) among Whole Health patients鈥攖hree to four times lower than the 12.5% and 15.8% increases among those in standard care.
.
Experience
Whole Health patients reported higher likelihood to recommend the VA (+2.0 pp), more goal-aligned care discussions (+11.8 pp), better care interactions (+2.5 pp), and greater engagement in health behaviors (+2.2 pp).
.