Bravewell Collaborative

A Community of Philanthropists Transforming Healthcare

The Bravewell Collaborative was founded in 2002 by a small group of leading philanthropists dedicated to transforming the culture and delivery of health care and improving the health of the public through integrative medicine. As an operating foundation, the Bravewell Collaborative chooses and manages its own initiatives, all of which support the advancement of integrative medicine by creating systemic change and translating emerging knowledge into broad practice.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The Bravewell Clinical Network

In 2003, to help develop effective clinical models for the delivery of integrative health care, Bravewell established a network of eight leading integrative medicine centers and offered assistance in building the capacity to serve patients, developing successful models of care, and improving financial viability.  Today, these centers provide integrative care to thousands of people across the nation. 

The Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine

With Bravewell’s financial support, the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine has grown from its four founding members to a strong organization of forty-two member schools.  This network of clinical centers connected with leading medical universities in the United States and Canada is helping to transform both patient care and physician education. 

The New Medicine PBS Special

Understanding that educating the public is key in the effort to transform our health care system, Bravewell organized and its members helped fund an award-winning two-hour PBS Special on integrative medicine.  The New Medicine aired on March 29, 2006 on 516 PBS stations nationwide during prime time and was viewed by over 4.2 million people, with repeat broadcasts ongoing. 

BraveNet

Recognizing the pressing need for research that would document the cost and clinical effectiveness of integrative care, The Bravewell Collaborative established BraveNet, the first ever practice-based research network for integrative medicine.  Under the direction of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, BraveNet researchers are currently completing their first study. 

The Bravewell Leadership and Pioneers of Integrative Medicine Awards

The Bravewell Leadership Award and the Bravewell Pioneers of Integrative Medicine Awards recognize, empower and support the physician leadership in this field.  In 2003, Ralph Snyderman, MD, Former Chancellor for Health Affairs, Duke University Medical Center, accepted the $100,000 Leadership award from Walter Cronkite. In 2005, Brian M. Berman, MD, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, accepted the $100,000 award from Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. The Inaugural Pioneers of Integrative Medicine Award Event in November 2007 honored six early leaders of integrative medicine — Larry Dossey, MD; Jim Gordon, MD; Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD; Dean Ornish, MD; Rachel Naomi Remen, MD; and Andrew Weil, MD.  This event, which was attended by more than 600 people and raised more than $1.6 million dollars, featured a special video presentation and introduction by HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.

The Bravewell Fellowship Program

To help train new clinical leaders in the field of integrative medicine, the Bravewell Collaborative created the two-year Bravewell Fellowship Program in conjunction with the highly-respected Fellowship Program at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona.  The first class of 28 graduated in December 2006.  The second class of 23 graduated in December 2008.  A third class of 24 Bravewell Fellows began their fellowship in January 2009.  Because the graduates typically return to leadership positions within their organizations, this program is exponentially increasing the availability of integrative medicine for the American people.

An International Alliance

In 2007, The Bravewell Collaborative and The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health, a charitable trust founded in the United Kingdom by HRH The Prince of Wales, signed an historic agreement establishing a partnership to improve the health of the public in both countries by advancing the use of integrative medicine.

The National Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public

In partnership with The Bravewell Collaborative, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) at the National Academies convened a National Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public on February 25-27, 2009 in Washington, DC.  This important Summit, the largest ever produced by the IOM, explored the science and practice of integrative medicine — health care that addresses together the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of the healing process — for improving the breadth and depth of patient centered care and promoting the nation's health.

To learn more about Bravewell's major initiatives, click here.