Hello, Everyone! This is the inaugural issue of our new Institute newsletter! Moving forward, I hope to release a newsletter quarterly to keep you abreast of Institute news and upcoming events. In this first issue, we share some exciting changes and developments. If you wish to receive future issues of this newsletter, be sure to click this voluntary opt-in link!
A New Structure
In Fall 2023, Founding Director Dr. Patrice Hallock returned from a sabbatical year to pursue a Masters of Public Health (MPH) through Johns Hopkins University which she should complete this August!
Upon her return Patrice was very busy with The Institute, implementing a new administrative structure. Formerly, a full-time Executive Director headed The Institute in consultation with an Advisory Council and support from volunteers in the roles of Advisory Council President, Vice-President, Secretary, Nominating Committee Chair, and a Conference Planning Committee.
NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBERS
Director Sharon Kanfoush, PhD, C-IAYT, was previously Nominating Committee Chair and then Associate Director of the Institute. Sharon is a certified yoga therapist, meditation teacher, and somatic movement educator and owns Sharon Kanfoush Wellness, LLC. She is also an environmental scientist with research focuses in climate change and environmental health and justice.
Associate Director Nicole Scienza, PhD, is an Institute Faculty Fellow with expertise in psychology-child life and a research focus on use of integrative healthcare practices
In the new configuration, the Executive Director role has been divided into a part-time Director and Associate Director with a full-time Program Manager in order to assure continuity and sustainability of The Institute and its efforts to fulfill its mission and goals over the long-term. Having done this invaluable work, Patrice is now moving to the position of Dean of the School of Health Professions & Education, a role she had held previously. Rest assured, she will continue to be involved with and lend her keen insight and skillful oversight to the work of The Institute! But she will leave the day-to-day efforts to our new leadership team.
by parents and sharing of those with educators and child healthcare providers to positively impact child and family well-being.
Program Manager Bethany VanBenschoten, MS, brings from her 13 years with the university vast and proactive organizational and event planning skills as well as wide-ranging and very relevant community connections.
Helen Blouet, PhD, longtime Advisory Council member, will continue to share her experience and knowledge as President of the Advisory Council.
Our Upcoming Activities
Planning is beginning for our next hybrid conference. We may be reaching out to invite experts affiliated with The Institute and university to help us decide the conference theme and session topics as well as
to identify and invite a keynote speaker. Once we finalize the session topics, we will send out a call for proposals... so be sure to keep an eye out for this!
SEPTEMBER 13, 2025
Institute for the Study of Integrative Healthcare Conference Utica, NY & Virtual
UNDERSTANDING AND NAVIGATING THE GRIEF JOURNEY
A presentation by Dave Roberts, LMSW
Monday, October 7, 2024 | 4:00 - 5:15 P.M.
Hislop Auditorium, Thurston Hall, Utica University
Hosted by The Institute for the Study of Integrative Healthcare
DAVE’S BOOKS DAVE’S PODCAST
Investigative Research
UPDATES FROM FACULTY FELLOWS
Children, Families, and Integrative Healthcare Practices
Principal investigators Patrice Hallock, Ph.D. (School of Health Professions and Education), Laurah Klepinger, Ph.D. (Anthropology) and Nicole Scienza, Ph.D. (Psychology-Child Life) explored how the use of integrative healthcare practices (such as yoga and mindfulness) are used by families in Central New York. They asked families how their practices are communicated to healthcare and child care providers. Their results showed that there are many practices that families engage in, including dietary choices, that can be considered integrative healthcare, yet families do not consider them to be healthcare and therefore do not communicate with their providers about those practices.
The findings were recently presented to a group of child care providers at the Child Care Council of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Spring 2024 conference. The presentation included a discussion of the research, as well as education for providers on three of the most
common integrative healthcare methods found and ways to open lines of communication with families about their healthcare practices.
Following this assessment, the team intends to develop curriculum and deliver additional training to families, child care providers, and educators of young children with the goal to positively impact child health and family well-being by raising awareness of and teaching others about integrative healthcare practices.
What’s In A Name?
You may have noticed the title of our newsletter is “The Meridian”. In traditional Chinese medicine, there are 12 channels called meridians that form a network within the body through which vital energy called qi (chi) flows. According to meridian theory, blocked qi leads to pain or illness. The basic tenet of acupuncture is that the flow of qi can be restored by using needles at hundreds of specific points along the meridians.
Originating in China over 2,500 years ago, acupuncture is now utilized in over 100 countries. There is a growing body of scientific research showing acupuncture is effective at improving osteoarthritis, back and neck pain, headaches and migraines, sciatica, and fibromyalgia, and more. The pain-relief from acupuncture in some studies was shown to be comparable to that of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Since NSAIDs bring potential risks of gastrointestinal bleeding, myocardial infarction, and stroke, acupuncture may be a safer alternative or can be used in tandem with NSAIDs to reduce dosages. Preliminary evidence suggests although not more effective in relieving cancer pain than conventional drug therapy, acupuncture in combination with drug therapy may provide greater relief than drug therapy alone. And there is emerging research that supports acupuncture may provide relief for some health issues other than pain, including urinary incontinence, seasonal allergies, and - when combined with conventional Western carereduction of nasal symptoms from asthma.
Although the research supports the effectiveness of acupuncture, how exactly it does so remains unclear. One mechanism may be indirectly through alterations of the nervous system, another may be more direct in that it affects the tissues in the areas where needles are inserted, or it may result from a placebo effect - or
some combination of these.
Whereas the precise mechanisms whereby it operates remain under study, studies do support that it is not only effective for some health issues but also safe when practiced properly - and most states license acupuncturists to help ensure that this is the case.
Despite the remaining questions about how it works, there is a growing demand for acupuncture by patients. And this growth is now being supported by the fact that insurance companies are beginning to cover the treatments in some instances - so much so that only 40% of acupuncture visits were covered by insurance a decade ago but now more than half are covered.
So we chose the name “The Meridian” for our newsletter to represent our goals of bringing energy to the study of integrative approaches to improving health and wellness!
