History

Dr. Caryl J. Guth, an alumna of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, endowed the Chair for Complementary and Integrative Medicine through a generous and visionary gift in 2002. After a national search, Dr. William Applegate, former Dean of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, named Kathi Kemper, MD, MPH, as the first Caryl J. Guth, MD Chair for Holistic and Integrative Medicine in 2003. That same year, holistic and integrative medicine was named an official theme in the Medical School curriculum and Dr. Kemper prepared the first Annual Report to the Dean on CAM at WFBH.

The 2011 WFUSM Report on Integrative Medicine has been completed and shows tremendous increases in research and publications. In 2004, WFUSM was accepted into the elite Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine (CAHCIM). In 2005, Dr. Applegate and Dr. Richard Dean, then President and CEO of Wake Forest University Health Sciences, approved of the new Program’s official title, the Program for Holistic and Integrative Medicine (PHIM). In 2008, the Program made another milestone when it grew to include senior leadership of the North Carolina Baptist Hospital as well as WFU Health Sciences.

In recognition of its achievements and contributions to the academic medical center, in 2009, the Program was promoted to become the Center for Integrative Medicine.

The Center now facilitates and supports activities throughout Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center such as clinical services in addition to academic research and teaching.