>California finally recognizes alternative medicine
>
>Forwarded message from fidyl@yahoo.com
>
>[ Subject: California finally recognizes alternative medicine
>[ From: fidyl@yahoo.com
>[ Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004
>
>California finally recognizes alternative medicine
>
>By Bob Condor
>Special to the Post-Intelligencer
>October 25, 2004
>
>http://www.healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=10101
>
>SAN RAFAEL, CALIF. -- In 2000, Sally LaMont had a decision to make.
>She was a licensed San Francisco acupuncturist with a thriving
>business, vice president of the California Association of
>Naturopathic Physicians and, no small thing, mother of a 1-year-old.
>Something had to give in her busy schedule.
>
>LaMont took an unconventional path. She quit her acupuncture practice
>to become the first and only full-time employee of the naturopathic
>physicians association.
>
>"I realized that somebody needed to do it," said LaMont, who
>moderated a couple of "ecological medicine" panels at the 15th annual
>Bioneers conference in this northern California town earlier this
>month. The Bioneers gathering, 3,500 strong, focuses on how nature
>can solve the world's ills, global and personal.
>
>Trained as a naturopathic physician, LaMont could not legally perform
>a Pap smear, prescribe the occasional antibiotic or carry out other
>medical doctor's duties. That's why she turned to acupuncture,
>completing the necessary courses and practice time to become
>licensed.
>
>Here in Washington, naturopathic doctors (or N.D.s) are licensed to
>practice and carry out medical duties. N.D.s, on the whole, offer the
>unique quality of knowing more about plant medicine for patients than
>any set of health practitioners. Oregon has a similar N.D. law, but
>California has been a notable West Coast exception.
>
>Passing the bill in California, which became law this year, doubles
>the number of Americans with access to naturopathic physicians.
>Fourteen states now license N.D.s, while another 14 have some
>legislative activity in process.
>
>An important point here: Naturopathic physicians are distinguished
>from "naturopaths" in these state laws. Naturopath is shorthand among
>patients for N.D.s, but naturopathic physicians themselves are quick
>to define the difference.
>
>"In California, we had to leave the term 'naturopath' in the public
>domain," explained LaMont, who has stepped down as executive director
>and is contemplating her next full-time professional move. "There are
>people who call themselves naturopaths but haven't attended the
>(five) accredited naturopathic medicine schools.
>
>"For example, after one of my talks (at Bioneers), a man approached
>me about getting his N.D. license, but it turned out he had a
>divinity degree. He didn't have the years of training required for
>the license."
>
>Bastyr is one of four accredited U.S. schools for naturopathic
>medicine; another one is in Canada.
>
>The California N.D. license also requires passing a written exam. The
>license allows practitioners to call themselves N.D.s, doctors of
>naturopathy, doctors of naturopathic medicine and licensed
>naturopathic doctors. Any practitioner not licensed using these
>titles will be breaking the law.
>
>Some 150 naturopathic physicians in California are grateful for
>LaMont's decision to forgo her acupuncture practice and immerse
>herself in opposition to Big Medicine lobbyists. She played an
>integral role in the successful enactment of the bill, which was
>signed into law by former Gov. Gray Davis. His replacement, Arnold
>Schwarzenegger, recently named the first five members to a
>nine-person state advisory council, including Carl Hangee-Bauer, N.D.
>and Bastyr University alum. The law was several years in the making.
>
>"I felt confident when the bill made it through the first committee
>in the state assembly," said LaMont. "I knew then we would make it
>law. The bill was eventually passed with 90 percent votes for it on
>the general floor."
>
>LaMont credited Kenmore-based Bastyr officials with supporting the
>cause, including the hosting of a visit from members of the
>California Medical Association representing medical doctors or M.D.s.
>By all accounts, the visit was a success.
>
>"One of the huge challenges for naturopathic physicians is that the
>typical M.D. opinion of us is about 50 years out of date," said Joe
>Pizzorno, N.D., and Bastyr president emeritus. "The members of the
>California Medical Association that visited us arrived with polite
>skepticism -- and they were polite -- but they came away impressed
>with the quality of our facilities and faculty. They were equally
>impressed with the depth of our subject matter and academic rigor."
>
>While those M.D.s were hesitant to completely flip on the licensure
>issue, Pizzorno said "they went from hard opposition to soft
>opposition."
>
>"It is actually pretty rare for someone in the conventional medicine
>field to visit us at Bastyr and not be impressed," said Pizzorno, who
>was closely involved in lobbying efforts on behalf of naturopathic
>physicians in California.
>
>What's more, Bastyr offered the expertise and man-hours of its senior
>counsel, Sandi Cutler, a longtime Bastyr official who previously
>managed political campaigns (about 80) in northern California. Both
>Cutler and David Matteson, Bastyr director of governmental relations,
>received 2003 President's Awards from the American Association of
>Naturopathic Physicians for their efforts.
>
>Plus, the Seattle natural medical school contributed some funds to
>the cause. "It is a huge sacrifice for N.D.s to take time away from
>their practices," said Pizzorno. "We wanted to support that."
>
>For its part, Bastyr is exploring partnership in integrative medicine
>clinics in both northern and southern California. Pizzorno said the
>idea is to build a patient flow before the subsequent step of
>starting a naturopathic medicine school or campus in California.
>Bastyr is in talks with several mainstream big-name medical schools
>to partner on the academic front. The academic concept is to provide
>N.D. degrees and continuing professional education for health
>practitioners.
>
>"I would definitely attend classes if Bastyr has a campus in northern
>California," said Prashanti de Jager, a San Anselmo-based
>practitioner of ayurvedic medicine and founder of an organic,
>socially responsible medicinal herb company in India that has allowed
>hundreds of farmers to stop using chemicals on their lands. In kind
>with its fascinating and cutting-edge subject matter, it is not
>surprising that de Jager was another presenter at the Bioneers
>conference (check out www.bioneers.org).
>
>"There are lots of people in California excited about licensing for
>N.D.s," said LaMont, who will teach a course in naturopathic medicine
>at San Francisco State's Institute for Holistic Studies in the
>spring. "It certainly drew big cheers at my two sessions."
>
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