Open Source Wellness is a Community and a "Behavioral Pharmacy" where four basic practices underlying physical and psychological health are facilitated.
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OUR STORY Dr. Elizabeth Markle, Co-founder and Executive Director As a primary care health psychologist, for years it was my job to help physicians be more effective in helping their patients. I spoke with thousands of doctors and patients about how to translate diagnoses and health information into actionable, effective steps towards health and well-being. After doing this work for a number of years, I had a realization: Doctors are constantly making the same set of “behavioral prescriptions,” like “Exercise more,” or “Eat healthier,” or “Reduce your stress.” Unfortunately, they give these instructions, and then say something like, “Well, good luck with that. I’ll see you in 6 months!” Imagine a doctor saying, “You’re going to need antibiotics (or insulin). Good luck finding that! I’ll see you in 6 months!” It would be absurd to give a prescription but have no pharmacy, no delivery system. Yet this is exactly what our patients needing to make health behavior changes (like exercise, nutrition, or stress) face: a prescription that no pharmacy anywhere can fill. Yes, there is a boutique health and wellness system, and those with privilege can shop at Whole Foods, hire health coaches, and join gyms. But for those individuals and families who need it most, who struggle with poverty, unsafe environments, and upstream drivers of chronic disease, - there is no affordable, accessible, and culturally relevant delivery system for the behavioral medicine that they need, and as an entire society we pay the price. Ben and I designed Open Source Wellness to fill the gaping hole between a doctor’s “behavioral prescription” and the actual experiential fulfillment of that prescription. We are happy when we see people moving their bodies together, eating well together, leaning together, managing stress together, - and developing the skill, power, and agency within their communities to collectively generate health and well-being. Thanks for being a part of our work, and please don’t hesitate to reach out. I love connecting with patients, providers, and others in the clinical and public health fields, and believe that together we can create a system that works for everyone. |
MODELS OF DELIVERY
CLINICALLY INTEGRATEDLocated on site at healthcare campuses or clinics, fully integrated into clinical workflow and electronic health record, funded/contracted by healthcare provider and/or insurer organizations.
Operating in conjunction with Native American Health Center, Lifelong Medical Care, Alameda Health System, and ALL-IN Alameda County
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COMMUNITY BASEDAccepts referrals/prescriptions from a variety of primary care, specialty care, and behavioral health providers along with self-referred individuals, receives payment from individuals and organizations on a sliding scale.
Open to the public at 221 Oak St in partnership with Prevention Institute
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HOUSING COMMUNITIESEmbedded within low-income housing communities, utilizing co-design and co-production strategies to generate physical, mental, and social health and well-being with minimal barriers and no cost to residents.
Operating in partnership with Satellite Affordable Housing Authority (SAHA)
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OUR TEAM
Professor and Chair,
California Institute of Integral Studies Speaker, Consultant Ferocious pursuer of dreams. |
Researcher, Speaker, Advocate.
Takes dreams. Makes them real. |
Julie Alvarez
Clinical Program Manager Julie@OpenSourceWellness.org Guide. Advocate. Creator to do goodness. |
Rachel Barach
HR & Training Manager Rachel@OpenSourceWellness.org Certified Nutrition Consultant Certified Mind Body Nutrition Coach Trained Chef Food Enthusiast. Lover of Dance. |
Teresa Ellis
Movement Lead teresa@opensourcewellness.org Certified Pilates Instructor and Personal Trainer Sharing how amazing our bodies are is my happy place! |
Ana Lopez, MSW, MEd
Site Lead ana@opensourcewellness.org Proud Latina and ambitious busy-body. Working to dismantle exclusive healthcare in communities of color. |
Nicole Rosselle, MS-IFN
Site Lead, Health Coach nicole@opensourcewellness.org Love to learn and connect through kindness and listening. |
Rohita Bhatia
Health Coach Rohita@OpenSourceWellness.org Certified Nutrition Consultant Cultural food practices advocate Content creator & digital marketer |
Christina Taylor, Future Ph.D.
NBC-HWC Health Coach Christina@OpenSourceWellness.org Consistent. Thoughtful. Committed. |
Jacky Carillo
Health Coach Jacky@OpenSourceWellness.org Highly motivated through the power of connection, kindness, and understanding. |
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Alli Jorgensen
Grant Manager Health Coach allison@opensourcewellness.org Certified Health & Wellness Coach In pursuit of connection, compassion, curiosity & good food. |
Amber Richter
Health Coach amberrichter@opensourcewellness.org Passionate about helping others to heal and grow |
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Sofia Valderrama, M.D.
Intern Sofiavalderrama@opensourcewellness.org Loving, peaceful and skillful. When you help others to heal, it will also help you to heal |
Kayla Cooke
Intern kayla@opensourcewellness.org Positive. Punny. Placid. Precise. |
Maritza De La Torre Ayar
Intern maritza@opensourcewellness.org Attentive, Warmhearted, & Creative. |
Accepting Applications!
Currently hiring for our June 2022 cohort of interns beginning June 14, 2022! Internship commitments are typically 12 months with exceptions made on a case by case basis.Those who speak Spanish or Mandarin strongly encouraged to apply.
Also hiring both English and Spanish speaking coaches! Hiring for virtual and in-person (East Bay) positions. Find out about our: Health Coach Position Spanish Speaking Health Coach Internships Director of Strategic Partnerships |
LATEST NEWS & MEDIA
PRIME HEALTH INNOVATION AWARD PITCH See our award-winning model, presented in Colorado
CBHL PRESENTATION See our presentation to the College for Behavioral Health Leadership
EVOLUTION OF MEDICINE PODCAST Hear about our work in this interview with James Maskell
THE RESEARCH BEHIND OUR WORK Read an in-depth assessment of this work
VIDEO: COME TAKE A LOOK INSIDE OPEN SOURCE WELLNESS! Who are we? Learn here!
OPEN SOURCE WELLNESS ONE PAGE OVERVIEW Get the whole story on one page!
JUST HOW EFFECTIVE ARE WE? Look at our outcomes data from each site.
QUALITATIVE OUTCOMES What do our participants, providers, and coaches say about OSW?
ALAMEDA HEALTH SYSTEMS PARTNERS WITH OSW Clinical implementation of our model
ARTICLE: COMMUNITY SUPPORTED HEALTH OSW featured on Medium by Jennifer Schmidt
VIDEO: OSW IN 90 SECONDS Come and see who we are, what we do, and how we are transforming the face of healthcare!
ARTICLE: CIIS PROFESSOR CREATES OPEN-SOURCE APPROACH TO WELLNESS By Toki Burke, on California Institute of Integral Studies News
PAPER: RECLAIMING AMERICA'S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING By Elizabeth Markle, Ph.D., and Tyler Norris, M.Div.
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