2018/19 season of health and wellness talks launches with expanded partnership
Inspired by popular TED Talks, Northumberland PACE series aims to share info and spark conversation on health topics top of mind with local audiences
Championed by Northumberland Hills Hospital Chief of Staff Mukesh Bhargava, a group of area health-care providers and patients have come together to offer PACE 2018/19.
An acronym for Personalized Assessment and Change Education, PACE was launched three years ago by Dr. Bhargava, when he realized that a growing number of patients in his IMCare internal medicine practice were approaching him for more information on integrative medicine (the integrated use of healing practices from both conventional, or ‘Western’ medicine, and other complementary healing practices) and health-related changes they could make to get or stay healthy. The questions were typically around topics not covered in treatment, such as inquiries about the benefits of yoga or mindfulness.
“My patients knew what they needed to do,” said Dr. Bhargava, “like lose weight, eat better or get more exercise, but they often didn’t know where to go to get the specific information they needed on how to move in the right direction, and the supports or local services available to assist.”
Websites and handouts only worked for some, he realized. Face-to-face conversations were much more effective change agents, and so the PACE speakers’ series was born.
Free, public education sessions on hot topics, the Northumberland PACE talks have been promoted by Bhargava to a growing circle of past attendees. Topic ideas were simply “crowdsourced” by patients and others who approached him for information on health and wellness subjects.