St. John's Integrative Health Care program integrates with and complements traditional medicine.

All integrative therapies offered at St. John's are consistent with the health system's philosophy and are approved by the National Institutes of Health.

Some people use integrative therapies to relieve symptoms or side effects while undergoing traditional treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiation for cancer. St. John's Integrative Health Care program recommends patients consult their physician  before beginning any new therapy regimen. St. John's offers:

• Aromatherapy: The use of essential oils for physical, emotional and esthetical well-being.
   
• Electromedicine: Microcurrent stimulation administered as a safe, therapeutic stimulus to the mind/body. A simple, anxiety-reducing treatment you can do at home with an electromedicine device. Most patients may feel more relaxed after a treatment and think more clearly and creatively.
   
• Auriculotherapy: Stimulates the outer ear using highly specialized instruments. Various parts of the outer ear correspond to specific parts of the body. Stimulating these points can help restore balance. Auriculotherapy does not involve the use of needles, relying instead on a probe with a micro current stimulus.
   
• Therapeutic massage: A complement to traditional medical treatment for illness, injury, stress and pain.
   
• Healthy lifestyle education .
• Nutritional counseling
• Energy management
• Personal health coaching
• Tobacco cessation counseling
• Herbal, vitamin and nutritional supplement education
• Yoga
• Guided imagery.

For more information about St. John's Integrative Health Care program, please call 417-820-5359.

One Patient's Story

Mary Clapper says she's the "poster child" for St. John's integrative health care services.

A retired St. John's Newborn Intensive Care Unit nurse, 64-year-old Clapper didn't put much stock into non-traditional approaches to health care, she says.

"I was the biggest skeptic around when it came to integrative therapies," Clapper says. "But I had tried about everything in the book for my rheumatoid arthritis. What finally worked the best for me was combining Remicade, a traditional treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, with integrative therapies such as massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, auriculotherapy, biofeedback, electromedicine and hot oil compresses on my painful areas."

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