WELLNESS: URBAN ZEN FOUNDATION
“Therapies can be performed hands-on or hands-off with the same effect, as you may not be able to physically touch patients”
employers of UZIT practitioners. “If you want to work with the medical
profession you have to be prepared to speak their language,” says Cilibrasi, “so we are meticulous in collecting outcome data and have several studies ready to go. You have to create evidence-based work to show how the therapies are working and how they can be used to best effect. “For example, one of our studies looked
at a 24-bed floor at Beth Israel Hospital where UZIT was active. It showed a US$496 saving per patient on pain, nausea and anxiety medications alone. Over a year, that meant a saving of US$1m for the hospital, so you can see how it quickly adds up. “A lot of our studies contain qualitative
data, such as how patients’ pain scores have been affected or their perceived reduction in stress levels, but we also realise the importance of qualitative data and we have a large study pending from UCLA which will contain such markers.” UZIT works both by training medical
practitioners in complementary therapies, and putting experienced wellness practitioners into a medical setting.
WELLNESS ARMY Cilibrasi says that UCLA is a great example of a top-down initiative, where UZIT has worked entirely with existing medical staff. Around 140 of them have been trained to date – spread across a variety of departments, such as oncology, nursing, rehab services, respiratory therapy and radiology. A further 50 staff will have been UZIT-trained by mid 2015.
Wellness practitioners, such as those
working in spa facilities and yoga studios, need to show a minimum of five years’ practice in their field, before joining UZIT on an intensive training programme (which includes clinical rotation hours) at studios such as Yoga Shanti in New York, Piedmont Yoga in California and Yoga on High in Columbus. Alternatively, longer, part-time training is currently delivered at yoga centres such as YogaWorks studios across the US west coast. So is there a magic formula to UZIT’s
five chosen modalities? Cilibrasi simply says: “Those who work in spa or wellness settings know that a deep tissue massage is very healing, but if you then combine it with some energy work it becomes so much more powerful. So we layer the therapies as required, using some or all of them. “We wouldn’t normally use movement
with someone during end-of-life care. We’re always careful to meet patients at their stage of the journey and not to assume we know what’s best for them.
The organisation is meticulous about
collecting outcome data which proves the effi cacy of its programme
48
spabusiness.com issue 2 2015 ©CYBERTREK 2015 “A great thing about the UZIT therapies
is that they’re designed to be performed hands-on or hands-off with the same effect, as many wellness practitioners going into a medical setting may not be able to physically touch patients.”
THERAPIST SELF-CARE Another perhaps unique aspect of the UZIT programme is the prime emphasis it puts on the wellbeing of the practitioner and the self-care and nutrition modalities are targeted squarely at them. UZIT trainees are required to develop a daily yoga and meditation practice, to eat healthily and are also placed under the care of a personal mentor. As someone who still also actively
practices in a private spa setting with yoga and massage, Cilibrasi is only too aware of the dangers of burnout that lots of therapists and practitioners face. “I’ve seen many massage therapists
burn out in 10 years or less because they haven’t set out with a strategy of self-care. I’m still going strong after 15 years because I’m able to employ the techniques that we teach our trainees. I’ve made my home a spa-like sanctuary where I can
The mission is to ‘bring care back into healthcare’ and it works with numerous medical facilities across the USA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108