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Dr. Woodson Merrell

Dr. Benjamin Kligler

Donna Karan, through her Urban Zen initiative, has teamed up with Dr. Woodson Merrell, Chairman of the Department of Integrative Medicine at Beth Israel, along with Beth Israel Medical Center’s Continuum Center for Health and Healing, to create an ‘Optimal Healing Environment’ for cancer treatment.

The Urban Zen Initiative at Beth Israel is supporting a major multi-component initiative that includes physical changes to the environment of the oncology unit, the introduction of skilled yoga therapy, staff retraining to encourage optimal healing, and a rigorous research program.

Dr. Woodson Merrell is the M. Anthony Fisher Director of Integrative Medicine at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing in New York City. Dr. Merrell is also the Chairman of the Department of Integrative Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center. He is committed to public policy and practice standards in integrative medicine, having testified to both Houses of Congress, as well as New York City and State agencies.

Dr. Benjamin Kligler is Associate Professor of Family and Social Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Research Director of the Beth Israel Medical Center’s Continuum Center for Health and Healing. He is the author of Curriculum in Complementary Therapies: A Guide for the Medical Educator, and co-editor of Integrative Medicine: Principles for Practice, a textbook published by McGraw-Hill in 2004.

Technorati Tags: cancer treatment, healing touch, integrative medicine, Urban Zen Initiative, yoga