Maiers Talks Leadership, Person-Centered Health on Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

Michele Maiers, DC, PhD, MPH appeared on Becker’s Healthcare Podcast with host Scott Becker. Dr. Maiers discussed her role in research and as executive director of research and innovation at NWHSU; her educational experiences; and the importance of whole person health as we look towards the future of the health care industry.

When asked about her focus for the remainder of the year, she answered with optimism and from a solutions-focused lens. “We talk so much about this broken healthcare system, and then we spend all our time making these really incremental changes, mostly just to create efficiencies,” she shared. “And I feel like this year—and especially on the back end of a pandemic—people are really thinking differently about health and about healthcare.”  

She went on to explain how person-centered care is coming to the forefront, and what it means.  

“The goal isn’t just disease management, but we really have to start turning our attention towards health creation. And this is absolutely how we think at Northwestern Health Sciences University. Our students, we teach them to think and look holistically at all the factors that influence a person’s health.”  

She showed how this approach will bring more providers and healthcare workers to the table, to the benefit of the patient.  

“Inevitably when you start thinking really broadly about what health is and all the things that influence health, you have to leverage a broader healthcare workforce and incorporate a really wide range of community resources to genuinely surround a patient with what they need to maximize their health and wellbeing. I just think it’s elegantly simple, but it’s absolutely the shift in the paradigm of healthcare that we need to make.”