University Partners
Northwestern Health Sciences University has built relationships and affiliations with a wide variety of healthcare organizations, social service agencies, specialty care providers, academic institutions, and international and corporate partners. We continue to forge strategic relationships to advance and promote integrative healthcare. This is achieved through education, research, clinical services, and community engagement.
NWHSU’s work is supported by financial and in-kind contributions. This enabled us to expand our facilities, strengthen the quality of our academic and research programs, and provide unique clinical experiences for our students.
Clinical Partners
We have enhanced the clinical experiences we provide our students and the integrated care provided to patients through our partnerships in health care and higher education.
Beginning in 2000, NWHSU established affiliations with a variety of hospitals, social service agencies, specialty care providers, and academic institutions.
Hospitals
Penny George Institute for Health and Healing
The Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital provides complementary therapies and integrative medicine. In addition to testing new models of care, the institute has been providing hospital-based clinical experiences for students in NWHSU’s College of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine and School of Massage Therapy since 2005.
Regions Hospital
Regions Hospital is a Level 1 trauma center and 454-bed nonprofit hospital in St. Paul where NWHSU students provide massage therapy to inpatients and to outpatients receiving infusion therapy.
University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview
At the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, NWHSU students and faculty provide massage therapy to patients in the transitional care unit.
Social Service Agencies
Minneapolis Harbor Light Center
In addition to providing emergency housing, substance abuse treatment programs and free daily meals to hundreds of homeless clients, the Salvation Army Harbor Light Center in Minneapolis provides space for one of the University’s clinics – the Salvation Army Harbor Light. Our student interns and faculty from the College of Chiropractic and College of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine provide quality care. This is for men and women who would otherwise be unable to receive this type of care. Students gain valuable experience treating patients with a wide range of clinical issues and who face multiple socioeconomic challenges, including homelessness, poverty and chemically dependency.
Pathways Health Crisis Resource Center
The Pathways Health Crisis Resource Center is a non-profit organization in Uptown Minneapolis that offers complementary healing services designed specifically for people affected by life-threatening illnesses. Pathways participants seek healing for their body, mind and spirit by exploring therapies that complement conventional Western medical treatments. Students from NWHSU’s College of Acupuncture and NWHSU Medicine gain experience providing care to adults facing serious health conditions.
Pathways services are available for registered, approved participants only. For information on how to register, visit Becoming a Participant.
Integrative Clinic of Minnesota
The new location is at 2742 15th Avenue South, Minneapolis and provides more clinical space and parking along with an opportunity to collaborate with the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic which operates out of the same facility. This collaboration will continue to advance our Integrative Care model. Integrative Clinic of Minnesota.
The Aliveness Project
Faculty and students from NWHSU’s College of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine provide care to patients at the Aliveness Project. Along with a small staff and volunteers, this non-profit agency has been providing support and direct services to the HIV/AIDS community since 1985. The Aliveness Project assists patients in focusing on self-empowerment while facing their daily struggle with this life-threatening illness. Our students use acupuncture and Chinese herbs to treat AIDS complications such as fatigue. insomnia, skin infections, peripheral neuropathy, urogenital conditions and gastrointestinal problems.
Specialty Care Providers
Courage-Kenny Rehabilitation Institute
Courage-Kenny Rehabilitation Institute is a nationally-recognized, non-profit rehabilitation center serving patients recovering from brain and spinal cord injuries, stroke, and other conditions causing acute and chronic disability. Through a long-standing partnership with Courage-Kenny, acupuncture and Chinese medicine students from NWHSU provide care to patients in the inpatient rehabilitation program.
In this integrative healthcare setting, our students work alongside medical doctors, nurses and rehabilitation professionals. Students assist patients in restoring function by providing hands-on acupuncture treatments for paralytic disorders.
Minnesota Oncology
Since 2007, NWHSU’s partnership with Minnesota Oncology has provided opportunities for massage therapy students to provide care to patients undergoing cancer treatment at the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute located on the campus of Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
Volunteers of America – Edina Care and Rehabilitation Center
A research project with Volunteers of America-Minnesota initiated in 2008 established a partnership which has provided clinical internship opportunities for students of NWHSU’s College of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. Our students provide acupuncture treatments to geriatric patients, focusing on musculoskeletal problems, insomnia, anxiety and depression.
Academic Partners
University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing
The Center for Spirituality and Healing is a partner with the University in a number of endeavors. Each year, the center coordinates opportunities for first and second year medical school students to visit NWHSU to learn about chiropractic, Chinese medicine and massage therapy. The center also collaborates on a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine funded research education project with NWHSU’s Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies.
International Partners
Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China operates one of the largest traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in the world. NWHSU established a relationship with Tianjin University in 2003. This provides acupuncture and Chinese medicine students the opportunity to practice clinical observation in the East. In 2011, the relationship expanded to include chiropractic students, who can observe firsthand.
Business Partners
Contributions from the following business partners provide exceptional, sustaining support to the University.
Rayus Radiology
In 2008, Raysu funded the construction of a technology-enhanced instructional lab on NWHSU’s campus that has become an invaluable academic resource for both students and faculty.
Since it was founded in 1981 by Kenneth Heithoff, MD, Rayus has grown to become a national network of 50 imaging centers nationwide. There are 17 locations in Minnesota, including 2 that offer Open Upright™ MRI to the patients of chiropractic doctors and other healthcare providers through a business partnership with the University.
The radiologists of Rayus respect and work closely with the chiropractic profession. They are nationally recognized for their expertise in spine, neurological, musculoskeletal, body, and cardiac imaging.
Erchonia Corporation
Erchonia Corporation is a world leader in medical laser and cosmetic laser products. They offer the best Low Level Laser Therapy (3LT™) equipment available. As well as information regarding this emerging field of medical technology.
Since its start in 1996, Erchonia Corporation has been working to advance the field of laser therapy. They act as an independent researcher and product developer and obtain official validation from the scientific and medical community. Erchonia’s low-level laser was the first to be granted market clearance by the Food and Drug Administration in 2022.
Foot Levelers, Inc.
In addition to becoming the leading provider of custom-made Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers and related healthcare products, Foot Levelers has a remarkable history of support to many chiropractic academic institutions. The philanthropic legacy of the company’s founder, Monte H. Greenawalt, DC, DABCO, continues today under the leadership of his son, Kent Greenawalt.
The Greenawalt’s have been supporting Northwestern since the early 1980s. Their gift in 2006 funded construction of a new library for the University.
Nutrition Dynamics, Inc.
For over 30 years, Nutrition Dynamics has provided healthcare professionals with high-quality nutritional formulas and support to use the formulas therapeutically.
In order to ensure proper use of our high-quality nutritional supplements, Nutri-Dyn only sells to licensed healthcare practitioners. They are committed to supporting the educational needs of different types of practitioners. Nutri-Dyn accomplishes this in various ways. For instance, they bring in nationally and internationally recognized leaders to share their clinical experiences. These leaders also teach their colleagues the technical tools they need to implement nutrition in their practice.
Nutrition Dynamics is among the top sellers of nutritional supplements at NWHSU’s Bookstore and a generous supporter of the University.
Standard Process Inc.
Since 1929, Standard Process has been producing high-quality whole foods supplements, originating from organic farming methods and animal tissue extracts, that have helped millions of patients. The company has earned wide respect within the chiropractic profession and throughout the nutritional supplement industry.
The company’s President, Charles DuBois, started his career at Standard Process in 1983. This is where he first became interested in the nutritional supplement industry while hand-weeding beet fields on the company farm.
In 2007, NWHSU was embarking on a major building expansion. Mr. DuBois provided funding for the construction of the Standard Process Healing Garden on campus