New Institute aims to accelerate national healthcare transformation through education, research, advocacy, standards, and clinical care

WHITTIER, Calif., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) today announced the appointment of Russell Greenfield, MD, as Founding Executive Director of its new Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health, an initiative dedicated to accelerating the nation’s adoption of a more effective and person-centered approach to healthcare.

The Institute was created in response to a healthcare system facing persistent challenges—from rising costs and fragmented care to poor outcomes and widespread dissatisfaction among patients and clinicians. Its aim is to help advance a different model: one that moves beyond strictly treating symptoms and disease to addressing all aspects of well-being—physical, emotional, social, and beyond.

“The healthcare system doesn’t need incremental improvement—it needs transformation,” said John Scaringe, DC, EdD, President and CEO of SCU. “We created the Institute to help accelerate that transformation by aligning research, training, clinical care, and advocacy around a shared vision for Whole Health. Russ has spent decades advancing this work, and he brings the experience, credibility, and relationships to help us move it forward on a national scale.”

“Whole Health has reached an important inflection point,” said Greenfield. “We have strong models, growing evidence, and increasing recognition that healthcare must address the whole person. Now is the time to build on that progress and accelerate change at scale, and I’m excited to help lead that work.”

The Institute is designed to serve as a unifying force across a fragmented healthcare landscape—training healthcare providers and leaders, expanding the evidence base for Whole Health, developing education and practice standards, advancing new models of clinical care, and convening researchers, clinicians, educators, policymakers, and other leaders around a shared vision for change.

The work builds upon a growing national movement toward Whole Health—and an approach increasingly demonstrated to work in practice. The Veterans Health Administration has implemented Whole Health as a systemwide approach to care, and the National Academies has identified Whole Health as a model for transforming healthcare nationally. SCU established the Institute to help accelerate that momentum and advance Whole Health from promising models to broader adoption across healthcare.

Greenfield brings decades of experience as a physician executive, educator, clinician, and nationally recognized leader in integrative medicine and Whole Health. Most recently, he served as a Senior Physician Consultant within the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation, where he contributed to the education, implementation, and scaling of Whole Health principles across the VA.

Greenfield has also founded and led integrative medicine programs within major health systems, including Novant Health and what is now Atrium Health; served in clinical academic roles at the University of North Carolina and University of Arizona; and contributed extensively to research, education, publishing, and national thought leadership in integrative and Whole Health. He has also served as an affiliate faculty member in the University’s groundbreaking Doctor of Whole Health Leadership program.

“Whole Health asks us to think differently about what healthcare is ultimately meant to accomplish,” said Greenfield. “It’s not simply about treating disease—it’s about empowering people to lead full and meaningful lives. We have an extraordinary opportunity through this Institute to unite the people, evidence, and innovation to help make that approach the norm rather than the exception.”

As Founding Executive Director, Greenfield will lead the development of the Institute’s long-term strategy; advance education and research; build national partnerships; pursue philanthropic and grant support; help establish standards and competencies for Whole Health; and expand the Institute’s visibility and impact.

Learn more about the Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health at scuhs.edu/institute.

About Southern California University of Health Sciences

Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) is one of the world’s only Integrative, Whole Health universities—teaching students to blend the best of conventional medicine with proven complementary approaches, and to treat the whole person (body, mind, and spirit). Founded in 1911, SCU has been challenging convention and pushing healthcare forward for more than 100 years. Today, the institution offers graduate, undergraduate, and certificate programs in a wide range of disciplines, including Chiropractic, Sports Medicine, Physical & Occupational Therapy, Genetic Counseling, Genetics & Genomics, Medical Science, Physician Assistant, Ayurveda, Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine, Clinical Psychology, Whole Health Leadership, and beyond. Learn more at scuhs.edu.

www.scuhs.edu

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SOURCE Southern California University of Health Sciences