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Complementary Medicine In Los Angeles

Gazing at the brush strokes of ancient Chinese manuscripts, one might first think that ageless herbal remedies have no place in modern medical practices. But one must only look to the new Center for Health and Healing at St. Vincent Medical Center to find a facility well read in the lore of ancient medicine and its practical application to today's diseases.

The Center for Health & Healing fuses ancient wisdom with new ideas to improve health, happiness, and well-being. It treats musculoskeletal problems, smoking addiction, cancer treatment side effects, infertility, and chronic pain and illness. Treatments available include, acupuncture, acupressure, relaxation techniques, massage therapy, fitness training, nutritional guidance and movement therapies such as yoga, Qi Gong and pilates.

"We have made our Center as friendly, comfortable, and inviting as possible," says David L. Boyd, Ph.D., L.Ac, the Center's executive director. "From the comfortable, padded massage tables to the relaxing colors, sounds, and aromatherapy that greet patients, we have created a space that is as restful to the mind as it is healing for the body."

Treatment You Can Trust

Dr. Boyd directs a highly trained staff of licensed and certified practitioners who provide the Center's patients with alternative and complementary medicine treatments and therapies. Unlike other such programs, which are simply affiliated with medical institutions, the Center for Health & Healing is a department of the medical center, and must meet the standards for care and quality that such status requires.

"Nearly one in four patients nationwide seeks some form of complementary medicine," Dr. Boyd says. "Frequently, the services and products these patients use come from unqualified or unlicensed practitioners and can cause adverse reactions with prescribed medicines and courses of treatment. Our Center offers patients 21st-century medicine alongside time-tested treatment and therapies."

The Merging of Two Philosophies

How can two such distinct medical philosophies so peacefully coexist? Perhaps it's a tempering of the times and an acknowledgement that there are different and equally powerful ways to heal the body while also healing the spirit. In fact, alternative medicine is becoming an accepted means of treatment throughout the country.

Well-respected institutions are getting involved in research as well. Harvard University recently received a $10 million grant to study alternative medicine. And the National institutes of Health is providing nearly $70 million annually for research into alternative medicine and therapy through its National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, established by Congress in 1998.

Another reason for the growing popularity of this approach to health care is that people are demanding it. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported in 1998 that total visits to alternative-medicine practitioners jumped nearly 50 percent from 1990 to 1997, and actually exceeded the total number of visits to U.S. primary care physicians.

Origins of the Center

In 1999, St. Vincent Medical Center first saw this demand for alternative medicine. The Complementary Medicine Program, located in SVMC's Cancer Treatment Center, was deluged with requests from both patients and physicians to treat nausea, pain, and other discomfort due to cancer and cancer treatment.

In 2002, patients who seek to heal their bodies, minds, and spirits can find community at the Center for Health and Healing, which is funded through a grant from the Daughters of Charity. Such a place exists because of the willingness of modern practitioners to form a lasting bond between modern medicine and ancient (removed Chinese, added medicine) medicine techniques.

This article was contributed by the Center for Health and Healing at St. Vincent Medical Center. For information about the Center, please call (213) 484-5528.

COPYRIGHT 2002 CBJ, L.P.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group