Whittier, Calif. – September 17, 2026 -- Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) has appointed Russell Greenfield, MD, as Founding Executive Director of its newly created Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health, a national initiative targeting systemic reform of a healthcare model the university says suffers from rising costs, fragmented care and poor outcomes.
SCU launches institute to scale a person-centered healthcare model nationally
The Institute will focus on education, research, clinical care development, and policy advocacy to expand a healthcare approach addressing physical, emotional and social well-being beyond symptom treatment. SCU President and CEO John Scaringe, DC, EdD, said the initiative is designed to align research, training, clinical care and advocacy around a unified Whole Health framework at national scale.
Veterans Health Administration and National Academies precedent drives the initiative
The Whole Health model has already been implemented system-wide by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and identified by the National Academies as a framework for transforming U.S. healthcare delivery. SCU positions its Institute as a mechanism to accelerate that momentum from isolated pilot programs to broader adoption across the healthcare sector.
Greenfield brings VHA and health-system integrative medicine leadership to the role
Greenfield most recently served as Senior Physician Consultant within the VHA's Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation, where he worked on education, implementation and scaling of Whole Health principles across the veterans' health system. He previously founded and led integrative medicine programs at Novant Health and Atrium Health, and held clinical academic posts at the University of North Carolina and University of Arizona. He has also served as affiliate faculty in SCU's Doctor of Whole Health Leadership program.
Institute mandate covers standards, national partnerships and funding pursuit
As Founding Executive Director, Greenfield will lead development of the Institute's long-term strategy, advance research and education efforts, build national partnerships, pursue philanthropic and grant funding, and help establish formal standards and competencies for Whole Health practice. Greenfield said the model asks healthcare stakeholders to prioritize empowering patients toward full and meaningful lives rather than solely treating disease.