The following well-known and respected medical facilities are among many that have incorporated Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) into their facilities and programs. Some estimates put the number of hospitals at well over 100; hundreds more may be experimenting informally.¹  

	California Pacific Medical Center, a highly regarded acute-care hospital in San Francisco, has been at the forefront of integrative medicine for more than a decade. In 1994, it formally launched a "multidimensional program" incorporating the "invisible aspects of healing" to give patients a full range of treatment options, according to Dr. Stewart, medical director of the hospital's complementary-care unit called the Institute for Health and Healing. The Institute, staffed by a team of board-certified physicians who have additional training in complementary modalities, helps patients devise a course of treatment using both conventional and alternative therapies. Care includes herbal and nutritional treatments, acupuncture, biofeedback, therapeutic touch, meditation and reiki (laying on of hands).
	Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, California, started a complementary health program in 1989 by providing free services, such as therapeutic massage and guided imagery, to patients and caregivers. Their emphasis on physician education includes quarterly presentations on acupuncture and other modalities. The effort is paying off, says Leslie Davenport, a specialist in guided imagery and director of the Institute for Health and Healing Humanities Program. "Two-thirds of our physicians are at least open to alternative therapies, with one-third now actively championing it." While the program receives some funding from Marin General's operating budget, it also relies on outside grants and private donations.
	Shands Hospital, at the University of Florida in Gainesville, created the Arts In Medicine (AIM) program in 1991 - offering regular workshops in patient units, such as piano playing, arts and crafts, comedy improvisation and ethnic dancing. Artists and trained volunteers also make daily and staff-requested visits to patients, engaging them and their families in all forms of artistic expression.
	Mid-Columbia Medical Center in Dalles, Oregon, is a 49-bed facility featured on Bill Moyers' 1993 "Healing and the Mind" PBS TV series. The hospital is one of 19 U.S. affiliates of Planetree, a San Francisco-based nonprofit consulting group whose mission is to humanize hospitals and make care more nurturing. Patients are also encouraged to become partners with their doctors and receive packets of information about their illness, including alternative treatment options. In addition, Mid-Columbia offers an arts program, music program, pet therapy program and a new Center for Mind-Body Medicine - begun three years ago, the center allows patients to receive complementary therapies as an adjunct to regular medical treatment.

Notes
1.  Sidney Stevens, Contrib. Ed. “Hospitals Exploring Alternative Therapies: From Guided Imagery And Acupuncture To Massage And Art Therapy.” Physicians Financial News, 17(14):1, 1999.