The first aim of the
Well Community Project: Moving Beyond Health is to review and summarize national policy efforts in community wellness and resilience to the existing public health initiatives and infrastructures designed to serve the same communities; those programs are funded, managed and overseen by federal agencies who are members of the U.S. National Prevention Council (NPC).
The Institute is working to link the development of a Whole Community Wellness and Resilience Framework to national policy efforts, by liaising with the U.S. Surgeon General, the membership of the NPC and its Advisory Group, and other government and non-government groups.
The Institute was instrumental in formulating the concept of the NPC for Administration policy makers when the ACA was being prepared. This initiative is organized around the Institute’s special experience in integrative medicine and its objectives for embedding sustainable wellness and resilience precedent in Federal policy. From this framework, legislators and government officials will be able to recognize where gaps and opportunities lie in current legislation.
We are developing a white paper that identifies opportunities to impact national decision-making by highlighting the potential role for health promotion and prevention approaches to positively impact health and wellness of individuals and communities. This document will be circulated to representatives of the NPC as well as the Advisory Group, with the intent that portions will be included in future NPC Strategies and Action Plans.