“With more than 1,400 FQHCs and CHCs in the country, the impact that physicians at these institutions can have in addressing disparities in healthcare for lifestyle-related chronic diseases is tremendous,” said ACLM President and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, part-time. Beth Frates, MD, FACLM, DipABLM. “The National Training Initiative is an important step in the right direction to make lifestyle medicine accessible to everyone.”
Each health center represented serves underserved populations, including communities of color and special populations at higher risk for lifestyle-related chronic diseases. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health, non-Hispanic blacks were twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes in 2019. Additionally, Hispanics have higher rates of diabetes-related kidney failure and blindness. Partnering with health centers, many of which address Social Drivers of Health (SDoH) such as nutrition insecurity, food deserts, and more, will ensure that some of our historically most medically underserved populations nation gain access to lifestyle medicine solutions.
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Certified lifestyle medicine physicians are trained to apply prescriptive, comprehensive, evidence-based lifestyle changes to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine (a whole-food, plant-dominated eating pattern, physical activity, restful sleep, stress management, positive social connection, and avoidance of risky substances) also provides prevention. effective for these conditions.
The American Council on Exercise (ACE), the leading nonprofit organization that certifies health coaches and exercise professionals in the United States and around the world, made a major donation to support physicians on the path to certification in lifestyle medicine. ACE, NTI’s first impact partner, will also conduct a demonstration project to investigate the impact of health coaching within the FQHC/CHC environment and the communities these centers serve.
“ACE is proud to join forces with ACLM in an unprecedented step toward equitable healthcare,” said ACE President and Chief Scientific Officer. Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D., FACSM. “This initiative promises to provide transformative education, training and certification to healthcare professionals working in underserved communities across the country. As we begin this journey, we are excited to provide access to lifestyle medicine and behavior change so that all communities, regardless of their resources, can reap the benefits.”
Additional impact partners include Lore Health and Blue Zones.
Lore Health has supported ACLM’s mission and growth since 2022 and has generously provided funding to support the training and certification of 70 awardees who are part of the inaugural cohort.
“Through our work with federally qualified health centers and other clinical partners, we have seen how impactful clinical care with lifestyle medicine can be,” he said. Mark Briesacher, CEO of Lore Health ACO. “We are excited to contribute to a program that will help more healthcare workers and providers deliver lifestyle medicine treatments to people of all backgrounds seeking care at FQHCs and rural health clinics.”
Other in-kind marketing and promotional partners include organizations such as the Association of Physicians for the Underserved (ACU). By joining ACLM for a communications campaign, ACU reinforced awareness of the opportunity with its 26,000-member base of medical professionals, physicians and health center leaders, and healthcare advocates across the country.
“The launch of the National Lifestyle Medicine Training Initiative is the cornerstone of our strategic collaboration with ACLM and drives our shared commitment to promoting comprehensive, accessible and equitable care for all,” said ACU CEO. Amanda Pears Kelly. “Through NTI and beyond, this vital partnership will allow us to further support the clinical, operational and equity excellence of our FQHC community to reduce health disparities and improve care for America’s historically medically underserved communities.”
The National Training Initiative is an extension of ACLM’s commitment to the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, which also includes 5.5 hours of complementary continuing medical education and continuing education credits (CME). /CE) in nutrition and lifestyle medicine courses open to 200,000 doctors and other medical professionals through September 2025. To date, more than 40,000 medical professionals have registered for the course. Physicians, especially those treating patients in areas with a high prevalence of diet-related diseases, are invited to register free of charge for the online course “Lifestyle and Food Medicine as Essential Medicine” at WHConference.
ACLM is seeking additional impact partners to support NTI scholarships through tax-deductible matching funds. To explore opportunities for collaboration, visit NTI’s resources page.
About ACLM®
Serving as a catalyst for transformation, a disruptor of the status quo, and a galvanizing force for change, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine is the nation’s medical professional society that promotes the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare. delivery system, essential to achieve the Quintuple Objective and the integral health of the person. ACLM represents, advocates, trains, certifies and equips its members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease by optimizing modifiable risk factors. ACLM is filling the enormous gap of lifestyle medicine, including food as medicine, in medical education, doing so across the entire medical education continuum, while advancing research, clinical practice, and management strategies. refund. Adding years to lives and life to years, while controlling the alarming and unsustainable trajectory of healthcare spending, is what lifestyle medicine offers.
Media contact
Stacia JohnstonAmerican College of Lifestyle Medicine, 7189747213, [email protected]American College of Lifestyle Medicine
SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine
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