John Tew, MD, Appointed to Executive Positions at UC Health and UC

Cincinnati – John Tew Jr., MD, has been appointed to new executive positions that will direct the community outreach and philanthropic efforts of the integrative medicine program at UC Health and the UC College of Medicine. Tew will serve as the program’s vice president of community affairs at UC Health and as executive director of community affairs at the College of Medicine. Tew also will continue to serve as a tenured professor of neurosurgery within the College of Medicine and focus his international clinical practice in neurosurgery by providing consultative services to patients and neurosurgeons. 

"We are thrilled to have John serve the university and the College of Medicine in this new capacity,” said Thomas Boat, MD, vice president for health affairs and Christian R. Holmes Professor and dean of the College of Medicine. "His leadership and stature in the community, along with his long and distinguished service to UC position him perfectly to breathe life into this new program and ensure its long-term success.” 

The goal of UC Health Integrative Medicine is to help the whole person achieve overall wellness. Services are offered to promote stress reduction and optimize health function to preempt disease and prevent relapse. With an integrative medicine physician and a variety of practitioners, patients develop personalized plans for self-care and wellness. The physician and patient work as partners to engage body, mind and spirit in attaining and maintaining optimal health. Services such as acupuncture, massage, yoga and Pilates are available without the consult of a physician. 

The UC Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, which was established at the College of Medicine in 2012, educates medical students, fellows and faculty on integrative medicine concepts to improve the way current and future physicians practice medicine. Additionally, center faculty conduct research into complimentary medicine practices including clinical trials. 

"John’s thought leadership in the area of integrative health and wellness will serve as a catalyst that will transform how people view health-related issues and how they ultimately choose to manage them. I can think of no better person who can bring to bear the energy, enthusiasm and intellectual firepower necessary to transform people’s thinking of health and chronic disease management. John is a true change-agent,” said Richard Lofgren, MD, president and CEO of UC Health. 

Tew has been a long-time advocate of health and wellness issues and has lectured frequently on the topic to Cincinnati’s corporate and health care leadership. 

"I applaud UC’s leadership in this area and deeply appreciate the university’s commitment to changing the way we approach patients and care for them. This truly represents a significant change in the care delivery model, one that puts patients in the center and empowers them to take control of their health and wellness. I’m honored to serve in this new capacity, and look forward to working with our civic and corporate leadership to transform our thinking about health care,” said Tew.

Tew, named a Great Living Cincinnatian in 2011, previously served as clinical director of the UC Neuroscience Institute, served as chairman of the UC Department of Neurosurgery for 20 years before co-founding and taking the helm of the institute in 1998. He has been a neurosurgical pioneer in the areas of microsurgery, lasers, image-guided surgery, and trigeminal neuralgia. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 1957 and the Wake Forest School of Medicine in 1961. Tew performed his neurosurgical residency at the Harvard University-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. In 1969, as the recipient of the prestigious Van Wagenen Fellowship, he trained under Gazi Yasargil, MD, the founder of micro-neurosurgery, at the University of Zurich. He is co-chairman of the Acoustic Neuroma Association’s Medical Advisory Board, a member of the Hemifacial Spasm Association’s Medical Advisory Board, and a member of the UC Brain Tumor Center’s community advisory council. He has published more than 200 papers and 75 book chapters, has co-authored four books, including the "Atlas of Operative Microneurosurgery,” has trained more than 60 neurosurgeons, and has held more than 60 visiting professorships in the United States and around the world. In March 2013 the UC Department of Neurosurgery announced the funding of the John M. Tew Jr., MD, Chair in Neurosurgical Oncology.