WHOLE PERSON HEALTH CONCEPT

from Innovations 5th Edition - Spring 2023

by Riverside University Health System

Innovations 5th Edition - Spring 2023

GEOFFREY LEUNG MD, M.Ed

RIVERSIDE COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Our theme for this issue of the RUHS Innovations Magazine is “the whole person.” we are excited about this edition because we believe it speaks to our philosophy and approach to health. In the following pages, we highlight some of our integrated specialty services that cover the gamut of head to toe physical health needs, including dental, ophthalmologic (eye), pulmonary (lung), gastrointestinal (digestive tract), podiatric (foot), and women’s health services. We explore some of the ways in which RUHS supports non-medical whole person needs, such as food, transportation, and translation. And we discover some of the ways in which RUHS Behavioral Health is pioneering integrated whole person programs to improve treatment, recovery, and prevention of behavioral health and substance use conditions. Importantly, this edition spotlights RUHS’s Whole Person Health Score, which was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst (August 2022) and recognized in a CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) “Science in Brief” (November 2022) as an innovative tool to measure holistic health and underlying social determinants of health. Finally, this edition provides Dr. Arnold Tabuenca, a beloved RUHS leader who has embodied this “whole person” approach, an opportunity to reflect upon his many years as Chief Medical Officer. We hope you enjoy this edition of the Innovations Magazine focusing on RUHS’s approach to “the whole person!”