East Meets West at California Hospital
From Natural Healthline by Peter Barry Chowka |
According to a news release, "This internship program is the first of its kind in the U.S. and will provide patients at Daniel Freeman with the benefits of both Western and Eastern techniques and treatments." The program uses acupuncture to support treatment for pain management, post-operative recovery, and stress reduction. According to Nancy Carlson, the hospital's COO, it is "the culmination of a two-year search for the right partner [for Daniel Freeman Hospital]. The outstanding credentials of Emperor's College combined with our common mission of holistic care and healing make us ideal partners to implement such a program."
"The internship program is a historic step in the acceptance of acupuncture as part of mainstream health care," commented David Solin Lee, CEO of Emperor's College. "The opportunity for our students to serve alongside Western doctors will create a synergy between Eastern and Western practices and provide Western physicians with an appreciation for benefits that can be brought to their patients through the use of acupuncture."
Emperor's College students are required to complete 1,725 hours of classroom work and 800 hours of clinical training. Graduates from the College have undergone a comprehensive four-year course of studies in both Western principles of medicine, biology, and chemistry as well as Eastern practices of acupuncture and herbal treatments.
"Acupuncture has a 3,000-year tradition in China where it has been used to successfully stimulate the immune system and manage pain, nausea, and many other symptoms. Today, it also is used to combat the side effects of cancer or cancer treatments such as chemotherapy," Lee said. Carlson, the hospital's COO, commented, "Introducing complementary medicine techniques such as acupuncture in a traditional [conventional] Western medicine acute care hospital affords tremendous cross-educational opportunities. It also supports the use of 'non-traditional' types of therapy as an adjunct to Western medicine instead of an 'alternate' -- [the latter] a view we do not support." Steven Krems, MD, the physician advisor of the hospital's new program, noted that acupuncture is an adjunct to and not a replacement for traditional medical treatment, medications, or therapies at Daniel Freeman. Further, both the acupuncturist intern and supervising practitioner work only with the consent of the patient and of the patient's physician at the hospital.
In 1995, Daniel Freeman conducted four focus groups to determine community interest in Eastern medical treatments. The staff found that most of the study participants from the hospital's primary service area, the progressive Westside of Los Angeles, had used some form of complementary-alternative medicine. Homeopathy, massage, and acupuncture were the therapies most frequently mentioned.
Los Angeles leads the nation in the number of licensed acupuncture practitioners -- 1,494. Further, of the country's thirty Oriental medicine colleges, eleven are in California with the majority of those located in Southern California.
Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine, founded in 1983, is one of the oldest colleges of Oriental medicine in California and is state and federally accredited. Emperor's College offers programs leading to a master's degree in Oriental medicine and prepares students to take their diplomats and state license exams in acupuncture. Students receive extensive education in both Western and Oriental medicine principles as well as clinical training, plus many participate in a unique internship in China.
Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital, a Roman Catholic institution sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, is a 179-bed facility that has been providing health care since 1980. Medical, surgical, and orthopedic services; and skilled nursing and emergency care are among the services it offers.
For more information,
Tracy Olmstead Williams of Casey & Sayre, Inc.
310-458-1224
Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine
http://www.emperors.edu
Acupuncture.com |