Medicine is moving from a model that is largely based on outpatient office-based providers and referrals to outside health professionals toward an integrated medical home model of multidisciplinary care, shared decision-making, and consumer driven whole health model of care. The Whole Health initiative is embraced as a critical element of VA Health Care that empowers and enables the person to take charge of their own health and well-being. Mindful awareness is the fulcrum of the eight considerations of a whole health life, both for our own well-being and for the person we are partnering with in healthcare planning. Persons with multiple sclerosis can take advantage of the eight whole health strategies at any point in the disease: a) working the body considering energy and flexibility; b) food and drink or nourishing and fueling; c) power of the mind or relaxing and healing; d). spirit and soul or growing and connecting; e). family, friends and coworkers or relationships; f) recharging or sleep and rest; g) personal development or personal life and work life; and, h) surroundings, the physical and emotional.
Dr. Kavitha Reddy from the VA Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation will review the eight points and use a personal health inventory as an experiential tool for understanding what matters most to the individual, both as a healthcare provider and healthcare consumer. Providers from the multidisciplinary group from the VA MS Centers of Excellence will offer insights in application of the Whole Health for Life model to cases studies of persons with MS in different phases of the disease trajectory and life situations. Dr. Reddy and the group will discuss practical strategies for implementation.
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