Chronic Care Training and Health Education Partnership Prepare the
Health Care Workforce for a New Health Care Environment

National leaders in the prevention, re-education and self-care of chronic disease join to advance standards for health care workforce training and certification.

St. Petersburg, Florida – Wellesley, MA – The National Institute of Whole Health (NIWH), which has developed and researched health behavior change models in hospitals and medical facilities since 1977, announced today its partnership with HealthSciences Institute (HSI), developer of the only nationally recognized and accredited training and certification program in health coaching for patient engagement, lifestyle management and chronic disease self-care support.

The partnership brings HSI’s award winning and validated programs—Chronic Care Professional (CCP) and Registered Health Coach (RHC) ®—to qualified NIWH patient education and health behavior change professionals. The HSI credentials, combined with the NIWH comprehensive, Whole Person Health certifications, will uniquely prepare professionals to engage and best serve individuals at risk of, or affected by, chronic conditions.

The qualification criteria and vision for the HealthSciences Institute Chronic Care Professional (CCP) are based on the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine and leading Consumer Advocacy Groups, which emphasize that today, better health care requires the active engagement of the interdisciplinary health care team, a shared platform for health support, and evidence-based chronic care knowledge with health coaching skills, like those advocated for medical care.

The National Institute of Whole Health’s comprehensive 400 hour training in disease prevention from a patient directed self-care model, positions NIWH graduates for a self-study and test-out option for the Chronic Care Professional Certification–reducing time and costs for NIWH graduates, while earning the only nationally and internationally recognized credential in chronic care and health coaching for clinical and non-clinical health care team professionals

Following CCP, NIWH graduates have the opportunity to earn HealthSciences Institute’s Registered Health Coach® (RHC) credentials and listing on the National Health Coach Registry. RHC is based on motivational interviewing (MI)—an approach supported by over 300 rigorous clinical trials, combined with evidence-based steps for developing and accessing health coaching proficiency.

According to Dr. Blake Andersen, CEO and founder of HealthSciences Institute, “We are delighted to partner with the National Institute of Whole Health, the leader and pioneer in Whole Health Education ®. We share a vision for rigorous standards of training and practice for health care practitioners who work in a health care 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 health care industry.”

NIWH’s Whole Health Education® training, for health care professionals, has been named by a Harvard affiliate hospital, a Best Practice in Relationship-Centered Care for its evidence-based, whole patient approach. A bestselling, multi-award winning book, Changing Behavior: Immediately Transform Your Relationships with Easy to Learn, Proven Communication Skills, has been published on the behavior change model NIWH has developed and researched over the past 33 years.

Dr. Georgianna Donadio, Program Director of the National Institute of Whole Health, say this about the partnership, “The HealthSciences Institute has accomplished precisely what is necessary to create a positive, sustainable shift in the health care system and reduce the chronic disease epidemic – measurable outcomes from rigorous standards. HSI has created the gold standard that all chronic care and health coaching trainings should emulate. NIWH is pleased to afford its professional graduates the opportunity to earn the HSI certifications and further their Whole Health Education® and patient advocacy credentials.”

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About the National Institute of Whole Health

Since its inception in 1977, the National Institute of whole health has held a compelling vision for American health care. Today, 36 years later, that vision has become a reality in mainstream medicine and health care with the inclusion of chronic care coordination, whole person health information, wellness advocacy and self-directed care.

The recently publish award-winning, bestselling book “Changing Behavior” documents the development and research of Whole Health Education at various Boston hospitals than began in 1980. For more information, please visit www.niwh.org. Media Contact: Conor MacCormack, at 888-354-4325 or conor@niwh.org
About HealthSciences Institute

HealthSciences Institute is the largest chronic care and motivational interviewing (MI) health coaching training, certification and quality improvement organization. The award-winning CCP certification program has been recommended or required for staff of regional and state collaboratives, military health organizations, medical homes and health plans—including over 25 BCBS affiliates, CCP has been linked with improved engagement, as well as better clinical and cost outcomes, in reports including Kaiser Permanente, Capital Blue Cross, and Nationwide Better Health.

In an independent evaluation at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, HealthSciences CCP and MI training led to a 46% improvement in evidence-based health coaching skills, and linked MI proficiency with disease management program member enrollment.

Learn more at: http://www.HealthSciences.org. Media Contact: Jessica Lambert at 866-640-6060 or lambert@healthsciences.org