Center For Integrative Medicine Opens

Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center has opened the Center for Integrative Medicine, which promotes healing through services that complement traditional medical treatment and promote the body’s own natural healing abilities. Volunteers began providing integrative medicine services to Saint Francis’ inpatients in 2002 in response to requests for relaxation services such as therapeutic massage and energy therapy. Now a section of the Department of Medicine, the center has five staff members, several independent contractors and 30 credentialed volunteers who currently provide more than 275 treatments monthly to inpatients. Pictured, from left, are: Kate Roche, vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer, Saint Francis Hospital; Sharon A. O’Brien, manager of integrative medicine; Kathy Mueller, medical director of integrative medicine; and Dr. Rolf Knoll, chief medical officer, Saint Francis Hospital.