Two gifts totaling $300K will benefit the center, which focuses on treating the mind, body and spirit
CINCINNATI – February 12, 2015 – The UC Center for Integrative Health and Wellness at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine will look to expand programming and research efforts after receiving two gifts totaling $300,000. The center helps patients achieve overall wellness through a combination of conventional medicine and integrative therapies such as mindfulness-based approaches, nutrition and health coaching, acupuncture, massage therapy, therapeutic yoga, stress reduction techniques and healthy lifestyle support.
The Turner Farm Foundation donated $250,000 to the center, establishing The Bonnie Mitsui Integrative Health and Wellness Fund. The gift will be used to support overall program development at the center. It pays homage to Bonnie Mitsui, who worked tirelessly to develop Turner Farm into the region’s leading organic farm and education center. In 2013, Mitsui passed away after a long battle with cancer.
“At the farm, Bonnie provided herself with an integrative health program. She was committed to modest living, a proper diet and living a stress-free life,” said Robert Edmiston, a trustee of the Turner Farm Foundation. “She saw what she wanted to see when she looked out her window.”
Edmiston, who is a member of the board of advisors at the UC Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, says Turner Farm has an opportunity to play a larger role in integrative health conversations. He has seen first-hand, through Bonnie, the effect an integrative health approach can have on one’s life.
Dr. Dan Asimus (Med ‘72) has also witnessed the life-changing impact of integrative medicine and health. Asimus is the founder and medical director of the Hawaii and Pasadena-based Life Fitness Center, an integrative holistic multispecialty practice that helps patients achieve their best health, happiness and success using a variety of integrative health therapies.
Asimus and his wife, Dr. Cheri Ewing, donated $50,000 to the UC Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, creating the Dr. Dan Asimus and Dr. Cheri Ewing Fund for Integrative Medicine. The fund will support the UC Task Force for Integrative Health and Wellness, educational programming, additional fundraising efforts, travel and planning for industry conferences, international partnerships, and strategic planning efforts for the center.
“Cheri and I are proud to contribute to the UC Center for Integrative Health and Wellness. We encourage all friends and alumni of UC to do likewise,” said Dr. Asimus. “All of us can make a difference in helping our community, faculty and students learn the real benefits of a peaceful healthy lifestyle in order to prevent illness and achieve ultimate health and wellness. Please join us.”
“Gifts like these are extraordinary,” said Dr. Sian Cotton, director and founder of the UC Center for Integrative Health and Wellness. “They allow us to transform health and wellness in our community through teaching the next generation of medical and health professionals about the benefits of an integrative approach to health and wellness.”
Cotton says the gifts will allow the center to expand and enhance its programs over the coming years and will have a lasting impact on its day-to-day operations and growth potential.
“Community support is critical for academic health centers, as we partner together to raise support and awareness to help us achieve our collective mission of improving the health of our communities.”
“Donors like Robert Edmiston and Dr. Asimus are difference-makers,” said Rodney Grabowski, president of the UC Foundation. “Their generosity not only positively impacts UC, but the entire Greater Cincinnati health community.”
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