SCU Now - Episode 9

SCU Now: Value-Based Whole Health, Conscious Care, and Stress Recovery

Host Anthony Sarinana shares updates from Southern California University of Health Sciences on healthcare trends and recent SCU articles. The episode explains the shift from fee-for-service to value-based care and why it aligns with integrative and whole person medicine, emphasizing patient goals, prevention, and care coordination. It highlights Melissa Nagare's perspective on whole health and SCU’s preparation of graduates to deliver patient-centered outcomes. Dr. Douglene Jackson, SCU’s Doctor of Occupational Therapy doctoral capstone coordinator, discusses workforce wellbeing and her Conscious Care Framework after delivering the Dr. Lela Llorens  Lecture at AOTA Inspire 2026, addressing burnout and values-aligned practice. The episode also summarizes SCU articles on stress biology with Dr. Russell Greenfield and on “doing nothing” with Dr. Anupama "Dr. Anu" Kizhakkeveettil, outlining simple practices like movement, breathing, sleep routines, and intentional stillness.

00:00 Welcome to SCU Now
00:21 Value-Based Whole Health
02:27 Conscious Care and Burnout
04:31 Why Stress Feels Worse
06:28 The Power of Doing Nothing
08:45 Wrap Up and Closing

Transcript

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Hi everyone, and welcome to SCU Now, your quick update on what's happening at Southern California University of Health Sciences and where healthcare is headed next. I'm your host, Anthony Serwinana. Let's get started. The U.S. healthcare system continues to shift toward value-based care, and a recent SCU article explores what that shift means for integrative and whole person medicine. For decades, much of healthcare has operated under a fee-for-service model. In that system, providers are generally paid each time they deliver a service, such as an office visit, lab test, imaging scan, procedure, or hospital stay. Value-based care asks a different question. Instead of focusing only on what service was provided, it asks whether the care improved a patient's health, function, experience, and long-term well-being in a meaningful and cost-effective way.

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Melissa Nagari, Vice President for SCU Health and Chief Clinical and Whole Health Officer, says the shift is especially relevant to integrative medicine and whole health. That is because whole health looks beyond symptoms alone. It considers a person's goals, daily life, behavior, relationships, environment, and what they want their health for. In that model, care is not simply about adding more services. It's about identifying the right care at the right time, in the right combination, based on what will help the patient achieve the best possible outcome. For SCU, the rise of value-based care reinforces what the university has believed for years. Better health care begins with seeing the whole person. Through its integrative whole health approach, SCU prepares graduates to deliver the kind of patient-centered care that value-based models are designed to support. By emphasizing prevention, care coordination, and patients' individual goals, students learn to ask not only what is the matter with the patient, but also what matters to the patient? As healthcare continues to evolve, those skills will only become more important. SCU's Dr. Douglen Jackson shared how workforce well-being connects to occupational therapy, whole health, and sustainable care. Dr. Jackson serves as doctoral capstone coordinator for SCU's Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program in Phoenix. At the AOTA-inspired 2026 Annual Conference and Expo in Anaheim, she delivered the Dr. Leela Lorenz Lecture after receiving the 2025 Dr. Leela A. Lorenz Award of Excellence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from the American Occupational Therapy Association. Her presentation introduced the Conscious Care Framework, a values-based approach centered on compassion, awareness, reflection, and embodiment. Dr. Jackson developed the framework from more than 25 years of experience in occupational therapy practice, education, leadership, advocacy, and workforce development. The message is especially relevant at a time when many healthcare providers are experiencing burnout, moral distress, and increasing pressure within the systems where they work. Dr. Jackson says providers often care for others without taking enough time to protect their own well-being. But when practitioners are exhausted or disconnected from their own well-being, it can affect both the individual provider and the care they deliver. The conscious care framework encourages practitioners to pause, reflect, examine how they show up in practice, and take values-aligned action. For SCU, the framework connects closely with whole health by emphasizing the mind, body, spirit, environment, community, and systems that shape well-being. It also reinforces an important message for future healthcare professionals. Caring for yourself is not separate from caring for others. It is part of sustaining meaningful, ethical, and human-centered practice. Another recent SCU article examined why stress can feel worse than ever and what it does to the body. Life today is faster, more connected, and often more fragmented. Phones, messages, news alerts, social media, work demands, and social pressures can make it difficult for the mind and body to fully reset. Dr. Russell Greenfield, a faculty member in SCU's Doctor of Whole Health Leadership Program, says stress is not only something people feel emotionally, it also triggers measurable biological changes throughout the body. When the brain perceives pressure or threat, it activates the body's fight or flight response. The nervous system signals the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, increasing heart rate and blood pressure so the body can respond quickly. That short-term response can be helpful in moments of danger or challenge, but when stress remains activated for long periods, it can affect sleep, digestion, energy, immune function, mood, and long-term health. Dr. Greenfield notes that when people feel overwhelmed, they may also cut back on the very habits that help regulate stress, such as movement, sleep, nutritious foods, social connection, and time away from screens. The article points to simple ways to support the body's recovery response, including regular movement, slow breathing, time outdoors, stronger sleeping routines, and small moments of calm throughout the day. For SEU, the message reflects a core part of whole health. Stress management is not just about feeling better in the moment, it's about creating the conditions for better overall health, greater resilience, and improved quality of life. And finally, SCU explored what may be one of the simplest and most overlooked whole health practices. Doing nothing. In a recent article, Dr. Anupama Kizake Vital, known as Dr. Anu, says doing nothing is often misunderstood. It does not mean being lazy or unproductive. It means allowing the body and mind space to rest, relax, and recover. For many people, that can feel surprisingly difficult. Modern life keeps the mind surrounded by constant input. Even a few quiet seconds can become a chance to check email, scroll social media, answer a message, or think about the next task. Dr. Anu says many people are used to the constant stimulation, which can make it difficult to sit quietly and listen to their own breathing. But stillness can give people a chance to notice what they may be carrying, including tension, fatigue, emotions, or racing thoughts. Research on mindfulness, quiet rest, and recovery breaks suggest that intentional pauses can reduce stress, improve attention, support emotional regulation, and even strengthen the brain's ability to learn and process information. From Dr. Anu's perspective, stillness can also help the body move toward its natural rest and digest state, where recovery, healing, and restoration can occur. The good news is that practicing stillness does not require a perfect setting or a long period of time. It can begin with a few minutes in a quiet or comfortable place. For some people, that may be sitting outside without a phone. For others, it may be taking a few slow breaths before opening the next email, or sitting quietly before walking into work or class. In whole health, small habits can make a big impact. A few minutes of stillness can become a moment of self-awareness, recovery, and reconnection with what matters. Sometimes, one of the healthiest things we can do is nothing at all. That wraps up this edition of SCU Now. Thanks so much for listening. To read more about these stories, visit the SCU blog at suhs.edu. And be sure to follow SCU on social media to stay connected with the students, faculty, and alumni helping shape the future of whole health. Until next time, take care and keep moving healthcare forward.