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 Integrative Health is the integration of conventional and complementary alternative healthcare options which address the body, mind, and spirit, as well as the environment and relationships with others. It focuses on wellness, health promotion, and the healing process. Many disciplines within Integrative Health have been a part of human healing since civilization began!
 | | The Integrative Health Steering Committee of Windham Hospital is an active group of practitioners, staff, and community volunteers whose mission is to enhance the lives and well-being of our community through an integration of mind, body, and spirit.
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Integrative Health Services include:
- Acupuncture
- Caring Clown
- Massage
- Meditation
- Pet Visitation
- Reiki
- Wellness on Wheels (WOW)
- Yoga
- For the Health of It Lecture Series
- Student Interns
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Integrative Health also maintains the Community Health Resource Center, located on the 2nd floor.
The Community Health Resource Center is open from 6am until 10pm. Located on the 2nd floor between the Greer Wing and the Ambulatory Care Unit. This is a place for families to research information, access web-based medical resources and spend some quiet time as needed.
The Community Health Resource Center includes research materials and a conversation area, as well as massage treatment rooms.
For The Health of It Lecture Series:
This is a monthly education series providing information on a variety of integrative healthcare topics. Practitioners share their expertise in a comfortable learning environment. All are welcome.
Fee: None; donations accepted
Current Schedule: Held on last Wednesday of each month: 7-9 PM at WCMH Education Center. Open to community without prior registration.
Contact: Mary Horan 456.6766
The 2010 “For the Health of It”
Lecture Series (7 PM in the Hospital Education Center)
January 28
Creating Healthy Habits: A Workshop with Movement and Meditation
Clare Vidich
February 24
Introduction to Meridian Tapping (EFT–Emotional Freedom Technique)
Rebecca Gurland
March 31
Local Farms, Local Food
Bryan O’Hara & John Sokolowski
April 28
The Wellness Aspect of Feng Shui
Micheléy Angelina, CHT
May 26
Reiki for Self Healing
Cherese Mathews & Carleen Wells
July 28
Cultivating Your Spirituality for Health
Mary Horan
September 29
Integrated Medicine and Reducing Health Care Costs
(presenter TBA)
October 27
Massage Cupping
Anne Buchalski, LMT
November 17
An Overview of Holistic Psychotherapy and Life Force Yoga for Mental Health
Peggy Dillon, LCSW |
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Previous lectures have included:
Cooking with Herbs for Winter Health • Relaxation Massage for Couples in Stressful Times • You've Got to Move It, Move It – The Science Behind Exercise & Health • How to Begin a Meditation Practice • Focus on Healing: The Lebed Method • Homeopathy • Living the Holidays with Meaning & Wellness • Hypnosis for Optimal Health • Massage and Trauma Touch Therapy • Making Peace with Food • Living with Chronic Illness • Acupuncture for General Health • Labyrinth Walk • Weed Walk • Horses and Healing • Yoga for Stress Reduction, Relaxation & Health • Cranio Sacral Therapy • The Alexander Technique • Discover the Power of Magnetic Therapy • Reverse Therapy: A Revolutionary Treatment of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome • Death and Beyond : Medical Investigations and Mystical Perspectives • Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance- More Common Than We Think?! • Stress, Immunity, and Emotional Health • Mind/Body Skills for Decreasing Stress • Chinese Medicine for Fertility • Peaceful Touch • Overcome Fears, Embrace Joy: Workshop with Meditation • Qiqong/Ch’i kung • Breast Cancer Treatment, an Integrative Approach • Menopause, Embracing Change: Nutrition, Hormone Balance and Symptom Management • Pet Visitation – What Is It? Becoming Involved • How Chiropractic Can Help You •
Caring Clowns: The Value of Humor in Healing • The Immune System: Your Foundation For Good Health • Co-Counseling • Laugh, Breathe, and Tap Into an Abundant Energy Supply • Sound Healing with Crystal Bowls • Nurturing Spirituality in Children • Swedish Massage for Children | |
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Gift Certificates
Gift certificates are available for any of these Integrative Health Services and can be purchased in the hospital gift shop.
Acupuncture:
Relaxing discipline practiced for over 2000 years. Studies find this is helpful in alleviating musculoskeletal pain, arthritis, migraines, lower back pain, asthma, and allergies, and women’s health issues. Acupuncture needles are as thin as a hair and are used just one time.
Fee: $20-$40
Current Schedule: Thursday clinic 1:30-4:30 PM. Call for appointment (some walk-in appointments available) Contact: Deborah Pacik 456.1237 | |  |
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Caring Clown:
Moments of playfulness and shared laughter can bring people closer together and make difficult situations seem less scary. The language of laughter crosses many boundaries even in the serious day to day events of a hospital. Weekly visits by our caring clown are provided by trained compassion humor specialists and are optional.
Fee: None
Current Schedule: Clown visits are optional and occur randomly throughout the month.
Contact: Mary C. Horan 456.6766 | | |
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Massage:
Skillful touch of hands to relieve muscle tension, improve sleep and decrease stress. Massage has been found to calm the nervous system and increase circulation which boosts energy and alertness.
Fee: $65/hour or $60/hour when session is purchased as a gift certificate.
Current Schedule: Wednesday afternoon or by appointment
Contact: Tamre Fontaine 456.6810 | |  |
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Meditation:
Medical research shows that meditation can enhance physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It is a process that leads to a state of consciousness that brings serenity, clarity, and bliss.
Fee: None
Current Schedule: The first Monday of every month from 11:45 AM – 12:30 PM in the Chapel located on 4 Shea; walk-ins welcome.
Contact: Mary C. Horan 456.6766 | | |
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Pet Visitation:
A growing number of studies show that animals contribute to physical health including lowered blood pressure, reduced anxiety levels and even better survival rates for people with heart disease. This program offers an opportunity to have visits from certified pet therapy teams or the patient’s pet.
Fee: None
Current Schedule:
Therapy Team Visits - occur randomly on week days and weekends.
Visit from a Patient’s Pet – A handout is available which outlines procedure. Please contact patient’s nurse if interested in arranging this visit.
Contact: Mary Horan 456.6766 | |  |
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Reiki:
(pronounced ray-key) Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. Based on the premise that everything in the universe is made up of energy, this technique helps to restore low or imbalanced energy in the body, activating the body’s own healing abilities.
Fee: $60/hr for public; no fee for current WCMH patients or staff.
Current Schedule: Weekly Monday and Tuesday mornings or by appointment. If you are preparing for surgery and would like to arrange a session please contact Mary C. Horan.
Contact: Call 456.6002 and follow voice mail instructions. For immediate requests please contact Mary Horan 456.6766
Our Reiki practitioner program utilizes volunteers to provide this service. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Reiki volunteer, please contact Mary Horan 456.6766. | |  |
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Wellness on Wheels (WOW):
Hospitals can be challenging places to find space for quiet relaxation yet this may be just what the doctor ordered! Our WOW cart offers alternatives to television and newspapers by providing inspirational and relaxing CDs, audiotapes and books/audiobooks. Find music that suits your style or enjoy the soothing sounds of nature. Equipment is loaned free of charge with materials or patients may use their own.
Fee: None
Current Schedule: Volunteers make daily rounds. Ask your nurse if you have not had a visit.
Contact: 456.9116 ext. 2287 (Volunteer Desk) | |  |
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Yoga:
An ancient practice that combines the breath with stretching, strengthening, and relaxation/meditation, yoga cultivates a calm mind, stimulates organ function and strengthens bones and muscles. Yoga is appropriate for anyone; beginners are welcome.
Fee: $15 per class; $60 for a 6 week session
Current Schedule: Mondays 4:30-5:45 PM; Hatch Day Room. Walk-ins are welcome! Please arrive in comfortable clothes
Contact: Anne Buchalski 377.1472 |
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Student Interns:
Student internships are provided for college students in various programs. Windham Hospital is also an approved site for the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy internship program. Please contact Mary C. Horan (link to e-mail) with any questions or interest in becoming a student intern at Windham Hospital.
Our Reiki practitioner program utilizes volunteers to provide this service. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Reiki volunteer, please contact Mary Horan 456.6766. | | |
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Huggles the Clown
The hospital clown is becoming more accepted with the release of research studies in the medical field, and Windham Hospital is pleased to have the wonderful spirit-lifting services of Huggles the Clown! She regularly visits patients, families and the Hospital staff, bringing a smile with her silly, corny jokes and her funny little bag of tricks. Huggles the Clown, a.k.a. Kathy McLaughlin, has been a clown since 1974, attended Clown Camp in a number of countries, and is a member of several clown associations. She has traveled throughout the world to orphanages and hospitals in developing countries—including Russia with world renowned Patch Adams (the founder of the Gesundheit Institute in West Virginia, and the subject of a highly acclaimed film which starred Robin Williams as Patch). Huggles volunteers her services at both Windham Hospital and St. Francis Hospital. | |  |
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Bountiful Bowls
The volunteers who make up the Integrative Health Service at Windham Hospital offer many services—including treatment vouchers for outpatients who need massage and simply can’t afford it. That’s where “Bountiful Bowls” comes in. Selling donated soup from the Auxiliary’s Coffee Shop in pottery donated by local artists, the Integrative Health Committee raises funds for numerous massage and reiki scholarships throughout the year. “It’s always a complete sell-out!” according to Deb Pacik and Claire Vidich, co-chairs for the event.
To download the flyer for the 2009 event, click here. | |  |
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