Northwestern has supported the provision of integrative medicine care since 1998, when it established the Center for Integrative Medicine as Northwestern Memorial Hospital's official integrative medicine program. In 2007 when Melinda R. Ring, MD, FACP, ABOIM, became director of the center, the vision expanded beyond clinical care to encompass the pillars of medical education and research pillars in accord with its role in an academic medicine center. Since then our clinical program has grown to see thousands of patients every month, our research team investigates the benefits and mechanisms of how integrative medicine works and we are the trusted "go‐to" resource on integrative medicine for the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern Medicine and the Chicago‐area community.

In April 2014, our program was named the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine in recognition of a generous gift from Bernard Osher. With this gift, our center joined a family of integrative medicine centers affiliated with esteemed teaching hospitals and universities. In addition to our center at Northwestern, the Osher Centers include: University of California at San Francisco; Harvard Medical School & Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Vanderbilt University; The Karolinska Institute; University of Miami; and University of Washington. Osher-NU collaborates with faculty from across this international network to amplify the collective impact of the seven Osher Centers on health and well-being for all. 

In January 2022, we changed our name to the Osher Center for Integrative Health. By focusing on health rather than medicine – we can advance health equity, that is, the attainment of the highest level of health for all people. Recently, we joined the Institute for Public Health and Medicine, in the pursuit of the best possible health for all people.