“…the radical idea that people should have access to accurate, evidence-based information as part of their treatment is an important and visionary advance in medical care.”

– David M. Lawrence, M.D., M.P.H. Former Chairman and CEO, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Inc.

The National Institute of Whole Health (NIWH) is a content provider of evidence-based, Whole Health Education® curriculums, a research organization in the field of Whole Health Education® and Behavioral Engagement with Pure Presence™ and an educational organization which conducts professional development and accredited continuing education programs in Whole Health Education® for credentialed health professionals. Since its inception in January 1977, the NIWH has held a compelling vision for American healthcare to include demystified health information to promote self-care and disease prevention.

Today, 44 years later, that vision is becoming a reality in mainstream medicine and health care with the inclusion of a whole-person approach to disease prevention, demystified health information and shared decision making between patients and their providers.

For over four decades, with this vision as its guiding light, NIWH has developed, for qualified health, allied health and related professionals peer-reviewed endorsed programs which include professional continuing education courses accredited or approved by more than a dozen of the leading national healthcare associations.

Dr. Blake Andersen, CEO, and founder of the HealthSciences Institute states, “We share with the National Institute of Whole Health, a vision for rigorous standards of training and practice for health care practitioners who work in a healthcare environment where chronic, not acute, conditions, are the main threats to health and independence. These standards are patient-centered and transcend professional disciplines and care settings. They should be based on proficiency, evidence, and outcomes. They should also carry the endorsement of the healthcare industry.”

The NIWH Whole Health professional programs were created to serve those who serve others in healthcare – specifically medical, health education and allied health providers. NIWH is the pioneer of Whole Health Education®, named by a Harvard Affiliate Hospital, as a Best Practice in Relationship Centered Care model and nominated by Union Hospital for the Fetzer Institute’s national Best Practice in Relationship Centered Care award.

With over 35 years of research and development behind the model, clinical research still continues. In 2016, Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine launched a collaborative research agreement with NIWH on its’ Whole Health Education Behavioral Engagement with Pure Presence model, and the model’s potential to transform the staggering problems healthcare faces due to poor communication between patients and providers.

Whole Health Education with Behavioral Engagement places the patient at the center of their health care and empowers them, with a demystified understanding of health and disease, to take control over their health and longevity. Whole Health Education® with Behavioral Engagement™, is the first patient health education and health behavior change model developed, tested and utilized in clinical settings. The model encourages and supports both self-directed and shared decision making between patients, their physicians and caregivers to create the best possible health outcomes.

The tireless work of NIWH has been recognized as important and visionary. This work includes the developed of a Whole Person Care™ model of training for nurses and medical providers, as well as the Behavioral Engagement™ communication skill set. In 2005, the NIWH model became the mandate for “the practice of medicine in all settings”.

Both the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO – now called the Joint Commission) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) identified these key guidelines, which include:

Learners attracted to the NIWH Whole Health training understand that personalized, demystified health information and being cared for as a whole person are what today’s consumers are currently seeking from health providers. By re-educating health professionals with “the whole picture of health”, NIWH has endeavored to not only bring transformation to how consumers are educated, but also to how medical and health professionals are educated. NIWH offers three (3) professional Whole Health Education programs:

These curricula are ideal for enhancing the practice of licensed and certified providers, educators, practitioners and allied health care professionals which include: nutritionists and dietitians, therapists, nurses and medical providers, social workers, hospice workers, massage therapists and therapeutic body workers, health educators, midwives, acupuncturists, patient advocates, and other integrative medicine and health care practitioners.

How will this program enhance my current health career and expand my scope of practice?

The NIWH professional programs provide the education, skills and training needed for today’s Value-care mandates which places quality of care over quantity of “fee for service” visits. Value-care focuses on disease prevention, patient health and wellness education and shared decision making.

In addition, our Whole Health programs are approved for NIWH learners to test-out for the national Chronic Care Professional certification (CCP), as well as qualifies for an NPI number (National Provider Identification number) inpatient health education for specified health insurance billing opportunities. Completion of the Whole Health Education programs also qualifies NIWH graduates for other credentialing opportunities.

While the majority of NIWH learners work in established mainstream health facilities others, who are credentialed to do so, choose to create their own Whole Health practice after receiving the Whole Health Education training and credentials. For the professionals who complete a Whole Health program, NIWH provides free services that include support, networking and a health education insurance billing manual to NIWH graduates.

Certificates of Study for Professionals

NIWH also offers for health and medical professionals a program in Patient Health Advocacy, which leads to credentialing as a Nationally Board Certified Patient Advocate.