Cleveland Clinic Leads American Health Care the Right Way

October 13, 2014

Cleveland Clinic Leads America Again – Adds Functional Medicine Clinic 


 Reference:   Cleveland Plain Dealer Sept 22, 2014 


 The Cleveland Clinic has been one of the most admired clinics in America. It was the birthplace of open-heart surgery and for many years has been one of if not the premier destination for open-heart surgery for international clients. But it has also always fostered a climate of innovation and creativity. For example, Dr. Roizen has been intimately involved in the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He was the best-selling author of many wellness books but the most well-known is probably You, The Owner’s Manual. (At least that’s the one I have). 


With that, the climate was created for Dr. Esselstyn to start innovation. With his diet, he established the first study to show that coronary artery disease could be reversed!   Reversed! Imagine, a clinic that makes the most money in the country from open-heart surgery nourishes and helps develop a physician who undercuts their most lucrative income source. You can come to the Cleveland Clinic and find a “Disease Reversal Program” and not only reverse coronary artery disease, but sign up for a variety of programs to help reverse other chronic diseases.   


Why would the Cleveland Clinic invest in technologies that undercut its most lucrative lines of business? Because it’s the right thing to do. Now, the clinic has moved another step forward to make itself a leader in American health thinking. Mark Hyman is the chairman of the board of the Functional Medicine Institute. Patrick Hanaway, another blockbuster leading advocate for functional care. Dr. Hanaway will be the actual “boots on the ground” medical director, as Mark Hyman will only be spending three days a month in Cleveland. 


 To quote the Plain Dealer: Hyman first broached the idea of functional medicine to Cosgrove a few years ago. Hyman's pitch to Cosgrove: "What would you say if I created a program that would cut the number of angioplasties and bypass operations in half, and cut hospital admissions in half?" To Hyman's surprise, Cosgrove was receptive to the idea. In turn, Cosgrove reached out to Hyman with an offer to join the Clinic and help launch a center for functional medicine. "You probably don't want me there," was Hyman's initial reluctant response. After all, functional medicine is a paradigm that challenges the traditional practice of medicine, he said. "Instead of where the symptom is in the body, we're looking at underlying mechanisms," 


Hyman said. "It's the difference between treating the soil and treating the plant, which is what functional medicine does." 


 WWW. What will work for me? This is what I want for me. I want doctors who address and help me reverse my illnesses. Don’t treat my diabetes, show me how to reverse it. Don’t push a statin on me, help me eat differently so that I don’t even need one. Don’t encourage me to have open-heart surgery, show me Esselstyn’s diet. What incredible bravery! Can you imagine this happening in Milwaukee?   


 Pop Quiz

  1. Functional Medicine focuses on how your body functions? T or F.                Answer: Perfect. It’s that simple
  1. More than 70% of what’s wrong with you comes from your lifestyle: what you eat, your stress, your sleep, your hormones, your exercise – NOT your genes. T or F                Answer:  True as it can be
  1. The reason we get fat is because our health institutions have had it wrong and teach us to eat the wrong food, and we haven’t been brave enough to name it. T or F             Answer:   True
  1. The Health Care Emperor has no clothes.                       Answer:   About time someone named it. Thank you Cleveland Clinic
  1. American Health Care is decidedly not the best in the world anymore. T or F                  Answer:  True.

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