National Study Highlights Integrative Care at Drexe'ls 11th Street Center

Women and children at the 11th Street Family Health Services draw and write as part of an educational or integrative health program.

Integrative health offerings at the 11th Street Family Health Services of Drexel University include health education classes, creative arts therapies, and more.

The 11th Street Family Health Services of Drexel University was one of 29 centers surveyed for a new national study released last week by the Bravewell Collaborative. The Bravewell study, Integrative Medicine in America, reports on trends in the practice of integrative health care at centers across the United States, including patient populations and medical conditions most commonly treated with an integrative health approach.

Integrative health care puts the patient at the center of care and uses a personalized strategy to addresses the full range of influences that affect an individual’s health.

Drexel’s 11th Street center is a community-based health center run by the College of Nursing and Health Professions in collaboration with the Family Practice and Counseling Network to meet the needs of an underserved population in North Philadelphia through the seamless integration of healthcare disciplines.

“At 11th Street, our care is built around responding to and supporting the community’s needs, and ultimately providing the health education and tools for our patients to pursue self-directed wellness,” said Dr. Patricia Gerrity, professor and associate dean for community programs in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, and director of the 11th Street Family Health Services.

Patients at 11th Street see an interdisciplinary core care team that includes a nurse practitioner, behavioral health specialist and social worker. In addition, based on the needs of the community, the center offers a wide array of health and wellness services including nutritional support and education, dental services, physical therapy, creative arts therapies and mindfulness meditation. The center has been cited as a model by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The 11th Street center was the only nurse-run center included in Bravewell’s national integrative health study. Of the centers surveyed, 75 percent reported success using integrative practices to treat chronic pain and more than half reported positive results for gastrointestinal conditions, depression and anxiety, cancer and chronic stress.

To view Integrative Medicine in America online, visit www.bravewell.org.