Our Story

The Wholeness Institute has been established to represent the long history of whole person care at Loma Linda University Health. LLUH has been a leader in health and wellness for over 100 years, dedicated to wholeness through our many clinical services, academic programs, and community outreach efforts. Established as a sanitarium in 1905, LLUH has a long history of providing mission services specifically in the area of health, prevention, and whole person care. 

Former LLUH president Dr. Lyn Behrens suggested the creation of a Lifestyle Medicine Institute to celebrate the organization's lifestyle-related roots. Through the leadership of her successor, Dr. Richard Hart, the concept of a Lifestyle Medicine Institute evolved into the development of a Wholeness Institute to encompass Dr. Behrens’ dream and broaden the institute’s focus areas.

With this history, we would like to continue our ministry by establishing a Wholeness Institute to represent our founding lifestyle principles.

The Wholeness Institute is dedicated to:

  • Preserving the foundation of LLUH’s faith-based health message
  • Applying evidence-based practices to all interventions and programs
  • Honoring every individual’s personal wholeness journey

Wholeness Institute Officers

Olivia Moses, DrPH

Olivia Moses, DrPH

Director
April Wilson, MD, MPH

April Wilson, MD, MPH

Director of Clinical Practice
Jeffrey Kim, MD

Jeffrey Kim, MD

DIRECTOR OF CLINICAL TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
Brenda Rea, MD, DrPH, PT, RD

Brenda Rea, MD, DrPH, PT, RD

Core Teaching Faculty
DP Harris, PhD

DP Harris, PhD

Coordinator for Information Systems
Todd Martell, MD

Todd Martell, MD

Managed Care Liaison

Vision

To be a world leader that enriches people’s lives through LLUH’s wholeness principles.

Principles

  • Whole person care is founded on our faith-based health message
  • Spirituality is the indispensable unifying principle of whole person care
  • All Wholeness Institute interventions and programs are to be evidence-based    
  • Promotion of integrative care, lifestyle interventions, and prevention are essential to clinical practice
  • Every person has an individual story with different whole person needs
  • Diversity of people, ideas, and approaches are a key to success 
  • Consistent evaluation is necessary for success  

Objectives

Education

To support and ensure educational excellence in the areas of whole person health, prevention, and lifestyle medicine.

Research

To expand and contribute to the body of research in the areas of whole person health, prevention, and lifestyle medicine focusing on translational science.

Clinical Practice

To benefit patients by creating innovative, evidence-based resources, developing strategies, and utilizing best practices in the clinical setting.

Advocacy

To promote the institute’s evidence-based work within professional, academic, and community organizations and within its corporate entities.

How We Define Wholeness

Wholeness is the ability to actively engage in pursuits that bring fulfillment and joy. It integrates the physical, relational, intellectual, spiritual, and mental components in all aspects of life.

The dimensions of wholeness are represented by the concept of PRISM:

  • Physical health is optimized by recognizing what a thriving body feels like in one’s own circumstance and is best achieved through actively engaging in healthy nutrition, physical activity, and rest.
  • Relational health enables a person to form and maintain positive, supportive, and empowering relationships at the significant partner, family, and community levels.
  • Intellectual health is the ability to think, question, explore, and ponder new ideas and thoughts along with being open to new ideas, learning new skills, and creating new knowledge.
  • Spiritual health is the ongoing experience of God’s unconditional love and acceptance which enriches and transforms all dimensions of life.
  • Mental health is demonstrated by resilience that helps an individual cope effectively with life’s stressors, while maintaining healthy behaviors.

Student Internships