ACLM’s Health Equity Achieved through Lifestyle Medicine (HEAL) Initiative, led by Drs. Terri Stone and Marsha-Gail Davis exists to promote health equity using lifestyle medicine.
Our mission is to “HEAL” our communities by delivering health equity through lifestyle medicine strategies.
- Community Conversations: Fostering and modeling relationships and exchange of ideas across sectors to create health equity solutions.
- FQHC/CHC Outreach: Equipping FQHC/CHC providers with free lifestyle medicine education to help treat historically medically underserved patients who are disproportionately impacted by chronic disease.
- HBCU Project: Integrating lifestyle medicine into the health equity mission and strategies of HBCUs including medical, undergraduate and graduate schools.
- Practice Materials & Resources: Integrating a health equity approach within ACLM practice materials and member resources.
HEAL Scholarship Program:
The HEAL Initiative launched the HEAL Scholarship Program as part of its mission to address health disparities through lifestyle medicine (LM). Supporting a diverse health care workforce and delivering particular support to those providing care to marginalized people is the mission of this scholarship program. In recognition that achieving a diverse LM workforce is essential to that mission, this scholarship awards underrepresented in medicine (URM) clinicians with need-based scholarships to assist applicants with the costs associated with attaining education and certification in lifestyle medicine. This opportunity is open to applicants practicing in the United States.
HEAL leaders are gearing up to support ACLM in its efforts to offer lifestyle medicine education, especially to those who are serving historically medically underserved patients. Incoming HEAL co-chairs are: David Bowman, MD, DipABLM and Qadira Ali Huff, MD, MPH, FAAP, DipABLM; and incoming HEAL secretary Daphne Bascom, MD, PhD. Dr. Bowman, an ACLM Board of Directors member, is a board-certified lifestyle medicine physician and pediatrician currently on faculty at Howard University College of Medicine’s Pediatric and Child Health Department. Dr. Huff is a board-certified pediatrician, certified lifestyle medicine physician, and clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She practices at Children’s National Hospital. Dr. Bascom is a certified health coach and a principal health practice and systems engineer consultant with the VA Health, Innovation & Central Office. Each leader has laudable experience and has demonstrated their passion for health equity and lifestyle medicine.
Most physicians and health professionals receive little to no education on nutrition, physical activity, sleep, social connectivity, and the avoidance of risky substance use, which are the six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine.
Certification in Lifestyle Medicine indicates that the individual has mastered the science of preventing, treating, and reversing chronic disease in an evidence-based manner with official acknowledgment from the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (for physicians and specialists) or the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (for professionals and practitioners).
Not a member? Join our network of lifestyle medicine clinicians.
Annual Lifestyle Medicine Conference
Every Fall, ACLM hosts the premier continuing education event focused on lifestyle medicine – the therapeutic dose of proper nutrition, regular physical activity, social connection, restorative sleep, stress management, and avoidance of risky substances.