Leesburg, Virginia Feb 28, 2019 (Issuewire.com) - The World Health Science Organization (WHSO), a non-profit dedicated to the fusion of Eastern and Western health principles and practices, completed its 2019 Spring Conference last week at Lansdowne Resort and Spa in Leesburg, Virginia, hosting medical luminaries from both the US and China.
WHSO was formed in 2018 to combat the global health crisis of ballooning expenditures and stagnating outcomes which has resisted solution since the 1980s. WHSO proposes to impact the crisis by shifting the focus from the classic disease-centered model to a wellness-centered model based on fusion of Eastern and Western holistic and “root-cause” oriented approaches.
The organization’s first principle, echoing a World Health Organization principle, says health is not the absence of illness, but a status of perfect body and mind for which people must take their own primary responsibility. In support of this principle, the WHSO Spring Conference introduced the Harmony model, a new concept of healthy lifestyle integrating Eastern and Western health practices.
“The Harmony model is authentic, innovative, and wellness-oriented,” according to Dr. Louis Hofmann, WHSO Academic and Advisory Board Co-Chair and former Physician to the Vice President of the United States. “In contrast, the Western model is primarily focused on disease treatment.”
According to Dr. Hofmann, the Harmony model is not confrontational and not divided from life but embraces a full integration with life. “Through an easy-going, happy lifestyle, supported by nature-based tools, people reinforce their health naturally. Enjoying life is to enjoy health. Health is life.”
Fellow Co-Chair Prof. Xinzi Chen, an Academician of the China Academy of Sciences, said, “Everyone can enjoy health, but you are primarily responsible for your health.” Self-assessment, self-help, and self-improvement continuously applied to improve health status is the process of owning your health.
The starting point of the Harmony model, according to Prof. Hong Liang of Fudan University in Shanghai, is that health is a status. It is individualized, continuous, and dynamic, as well as measurable and quantifiable. It can be viewed as the ability of the human body to achieve unity of body and mind through internal self-balancing, together with unity of man and nature, through adaptation to the natural and social environment. Perhaps most importantly, knowing one’s health status allows a person to take actions, based on evidence from “big data” research, to improve their status.
A common theme of the conference was that as people apply Harmony principles to address and reduce their root causes of disease, they rely less and less on having to enter the western “disease care system” and instead focus on their personal self-service model. This model supports a person’s ability to maintain and promote health throughout their day-to-day activities, adjusting their lifestyle to improve their health status and ultimately reach overall optimal health status.
Dr. Richard Niemtzow, Editor-in-Chief of American Journal Medical Acupuncture, explained that in the West, WHSO’s focus must be culture change. According to Niemtzow, though eastern medicine is widely recognized in western cultures, its integration is, as of yet, inadequate to make a real dent in the Global Health Crisis. He emphasized the importance of a multi-pronged approach to achieving integration, including research, education, and expanding the use of modalities with which Americans, and other westerners, already have some degree of comfort, such as acupuncture.
Prof. Baoyan Liu of China Academy of Chinese Medical Societies (CACMS), and Chairman of the World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies, lauded the signing of House of Representatives’ bill H.R.6, which for the first time in a US law, listed acupuncture as a potential treatment, in this case, specifically to be evaluated for its potential role in pain management. He claimed it presents the best opportunity for eastern and western medicine integration, because it gives specific legal recognition in the United States for a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) modality.
Other Chinese medical experts at the conference emphasized specific, critical links that must be made between Eastern and Western practices in order for the Harmony model to be a success.
Prof. Shilin Chen, Director of Institute of Materia Medica of CACMS, discussed the importance of increased cultivation and use of herbal plants, especially as scientific evidence for the value of natural medicines becomes more well-known in the West.
Prof. Dean Guo from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, China Academy of Sciences, noted that developing and achieving recognition of an international TCM standard is going to be the breakthrough point for the global promotion of Chinese medicine.
Other Chinese experts included Vice Dean Longhui Yang of CACMS, who provided actionable suggestions for international promotion and communication of TCM culture and greater global acceptance, and Dr. Zhigang Gao, MD, Vice President of Yanhuang Dongfang Health Technology, who introduced the concept of 2,509 discernable health status categories with associated interventions and how this combined with artificial intelligence enables self-service assessment and intervention, and finally, Dr. Dong Jing, PhD, Vice Dean of Fudan Urban Design and Construction Academy, affiliated with Fudan University, presented the Harmony Town and Compendium Medica Garden concept design.
Dr. Richard Tubb, a WHSO Director and former Physician to the President of the United States, commented that this East-West fusion will the be "secret sauce that enables WHSO to achieve its vision. This model is not merely westernizing an eastern concept but creating a high level of integration of eastern and western medicine. It is not merely modernizing traditional medicine but emphasizing the existing parallels between underlying principles of traditional and modern health. And, it is not merely a different approach to health science, but the integration of natural and social sciences, technology and humanity."
Moving forward, Lansdowne Resort and Spa will serve as a prototype for the outlined Harmony model concepts. Laddie Hunter, Director of Operations at Lansdowne, elaborated on the future development for the wellness destination, including plans for the resort to house intra- and extramural research for WHSO as well as community-focused lifestyle experiences.
“The ultimate goal of the Harmony model is to help everyone achieve a natural, happy, easy-going, yet effective way to promote one’s own health,” said Dr William Lang, CEO of WHSO.
“Within this model, health and lifestyle become intertwined for both the individual and society. With everyone moving in the direction of a lifestyle in Harmony, society can move towards more perfect health status, and with the improvement of health status, we will reduce medical costs and finally begin to control the Global Health Crisis."
Therese Burch, a certified Health Coach and WHSO team member, concluded, “The Harmony Model provides a brand-new solution to address the global health status. It will be life-changing for American people and will have a major impact on human health development around the world.”
Media Contact
World Health Science Organization / Therese Burch tburch@dejiallc.com 202-549-0040
