Kathi J. Kemper, M.D., a pediatrician at Brenner Children’s Hospital, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Kohlberg Foundation to establish the North Carolina Academic Alliance for Integrative Medicine (NCAA-IM).
“Efforts are underway at many academic medical centers to enhance integrative care in clinical services, community outreach, medical education and research,” Kemper said. “However, most institutions tend to develop strengths in one or two of these areas but could benefit from the experiences and support of nearby institutions that have developed other areas of expertise. That’s why we have taken steps to work together to advance the field of Integrative Medicine.”
All four medical schools in North Carolina (Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Duke Medical Center, East Carolina University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and two additional leaders in integrative medicine will serve on the council. (Brenner Children’s Hospital is part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.) Alliance leaders will meet at least once yearly in person and conduct five conference calls annually to share information and provide support, Kemper said.
The NCAA-IM will also co-sponsor an annual lectureship with one or more of the alliance institutions. The lectureship will be open to the public and would focus on the future of Integrative Medicine.
“To help develop future leaders in the field of Integrative Medicine, we hope to award four grants for novel research, education or community outreach activities from trainees at the four North Carolina schools of medicine, Kemper said.”
Kemper will serve as the chair of the Alliance, which will seek additional funding to grow and continue the group’s work.
“We hope this formal alliance will serve as an important role model for other groups of academic medical centers seeking to achieve excellence in integrative medicine,” Kemper said.
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