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IMA News, Events & Announcements
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IMA Names Harvey
Zarren President
The IMA is pleased to
announce that the Board of Directors has elected Board member Harvey
Zarren to act as IMA President until the end of 2004. As President,
Zarren will provide stewardship to the Board of Directors and lead
strategic projects. Karl Berger, former president will continue to
participate on the board and function as the IMA Coordinator.
Since founding the IMA in 1999, Berger had been working both as
Coordinator and President for the organization. “I'm delighted that
Harvey has agreed to take on this important role in the IMA, and that
now I can focus more on day to day activities to help realize the
vision of the IMA; it marks an important next step in the evolution of
the organization.”
Zarren is a physician trained in allopathic Cardiology, with a
practice since 1975. In 2001 he left practice to focus on the
nutrition of school children as a way to prevent cardiovascular
disease. He also works as a consultant to improve medical care
itself, particularly focusing on the wellness of caregivers. Dr.
Zarren also does individual wellness consults, spending time with
people struggling within the current care system. Zarren includes a
focus on nutrition as a cornerstone of cardiac wellness and has
emphasized hope, personal responsibility fostered by education, and
the value of human relationships in the prevention and treatment of
heart disease. He is the Founder and Physician Director of The
Healing Connection, a hospital based program at the Union Hospital,
North Shore Medical Center, in Lynn, Massachusetts. The Healing
Connection is a working practice that places people and the value of
human interaction back into the center of the healing process. Since
1982, Zarren has been an Assistant Clinical Professor in Medicine at
Tufts University School of Medicine. He is a graduate of Columbia
College and the Tufts University School of Medicine, and is a Fellow
of the American College of Cardiology and speaks and presents
workshops around the United States and internationally.
For more information,
please don't hesitate to contact Karl Berger (ima_karl@yahoo.com)
or Harvey (hzarren@cove.com).
SAVE THE
DATE
"When The Pain
Won't Quit, Healthcare Must Not Either!"
Thursday, December 2, 2004, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
145 Harrison Avenue
Sackler
Building, Tufts University School of Medicine
Boston, MA
A panel presentation sponsored jointly by the Master of Science in
Pain Research, Education and Policy Tufts University School of
Medicine and the Integrative Medicine Alliance. Networking and
social hour to follow. More information to come on our website:
www.integrativemedalliance.org
IMA WORKSHOP REPORT
ENVISIONING A PEOPLE-CENTERED HEALTHCARE
SYSTEM THAT BRINGS TOGETHER THE WORLD’S HEALING TRADITIONS
On July 24, 2004, the IMA hosted a workshop to help
articulate a vision for a more people-centered, collaborative, and
sustainable healthcare system for Boston, the region and the world.
The workshop, held at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, was
part of a Boston Social Forum ("BSF"), a weekend of workshops, panels
and other events on a variety of social, political, and environmental
issues sponsored by a coalition of Boston area, progressive community
organizations, non-profits, and unions. Twenty five participants from
a variety of backgrounds in healthcare and social activism attended
the visioning exercise.
As part of this event, the IMA asked: What would
our healthcare system look like if it were focused on people and
communities and less on insurance and pharmaceutical companies? What
if it embraced all the world's great healing traditions instead of
relying so heavily on expensive drugs and surgical therapies? What if
it was financially, socially and ecologically sustainable instead of
in its present crisis?”
The following is a summary of the workshop’s
vision. The workshop was facilitated by Karl Berger, IMA coordinator,
and the vision statement was summarized by Mary Quilty, IMA
volunteer. You can read the piece in its entirety at
http://www.integrativemedalliance.org/integrativemedicine_resourceguide.asp
VISION 2034
A POSITIVE FUTURE for HEALTH and WELLNESS
Thirty years ago, in
2004, people in the United States did not necessarily view themselves
as healthy and well. Many acknowledged that although several harmful,
contagious diseases had been eradicated over the last hundred years
(measles, pneumonia, tuberculosis), new diseases had taken their place
(cancer, AIDS, heart disease). People felt conflicted about the
definition of “healthy” because there was a general feeling of being
“unwell,” even though they did not have a known disease or critical
medical condition.
Many people had low
grade and/or chronic conditions that required prescriptions, many of
which were taken for decades and often led to other low-grade
conditions, resulting in a damaging cycle. People also wondered about
the chemicals in the air, in their water, and in the foods they were
eating. In addition to physical concerns, many people experienced
severe emotional issues, such as constant stress, anxiety, and
depression in relation to economic troubles and the experience of
prejudice. It seemed to many that although their predicted life spans
were increasing, their quality of life was declining.
People began to question what was causing these
feelings. Why weren’t they well? Why were they experiencing so much
stress? How could they shake free from the constant, nagging health
issues that were dismissed by doctors with a “one size drug fits all”
prescription? People began talking to one another and noticed that
they had similar experiences and feelings. Although many people felt
unclear as to the exact reason they felt unhealthy, others began
establishing strong opinions.
There was a level of consensus that people didn’t
own their own power in health choices and that pharmaceutical
companies and doctors had a level of authority and monopolization over
healthcare and what treatment meant; that there was a manipulation of
“truth” by scientific establishments in the form of contradictory,
weak, and confusing statistics and an onslaught of advertising images.
One day, society was told to take an aspirin a day to prevent heart
attacks, the next, that aspirin would damage a body if taken daily.
Health had become too confusing, so people chose to disengage and let
others decide for them; resulting in a dependency on quick fixes or
patch ups that were often provided and rarely effective long-term.
Some people felt they were being medicated in hopes of their ignoring
the oppression they were experiencing, and began to see this as
predatory behavior in which pharmaceutical company profits were valued
above the public’s health and wellbeing. Even children were being
medicated at an alarming rate for things such as “hyperactivity” and
trouble concentrating. Tragically, the focus appeared to be not on the
root causes of their distress, but on ways to placate them.
Despite this, there were people who felt it was
important to highlight and support the attributes of the medical
system that were helping society attain health and wellness.
For one, Western
medicine had developed life-saving surgical techniques as well as
medicines, such as antibiotics and certain heart drugs that had saved
countless lives. There was also a growing supplement industry that
developed as people gained better access to information access to
information and people learned how to use the supplements rationally
and safely and Western doctors became trained in complementary
therapies, even if it was only how they interacted with standard
treatments. Another positive was the increase in lifespan. As people
started living longer, more thought was being put into health and
preventative care. Concerns continued that valuable resources were
being focused on end -of -life situations rather than earlier years,
but more care was given to healing, comfortable experiences at
end-of-life. Finally, people began recognizing that the deterioration
in healthcare and the environment was reaching a point of urgency. The
growing level of concern surrounding these problems created a strong
reaction which resulted in an increased awareness of and a greater
utilization of complementary and alternative therapies and approaches
to health.
As time went by, a movement gained momentum to
redefine health and wellness, with the social mission of Public Health
advocates at the forefront. People were questioning medical authority,
and grassroots initiatives in the community, along with a more open
dialogue on alternative health, contributed greatly to change. People
began realizing that politics equals health and more and more
collaboration and synergy between gender, economic, and labor issues
with health issues occurred. The use of gender specific medications
began increasing. Medical treatment became more personalized including
such things as complete life history documentation, allergy testing
and the use of appropriate preventative tests such as MRI s. The
Internet was also functioning as a major contributor to the sharing of
knowledge, allowing for the cultural exchange of ideas, especially
between the U.S. and East Asia. There was also a growing awareness of
life energy and energetic health and medicine. As people learned more
and began thinking more about how all life is interconnected, they
began imagining what a healthy and well world would look like from a
local, national, and even global perspective.
People worked hard to make
changes, and by 2034 the U.S. is a very different place. By the year
2034, the movement towards health has reached a high point and the
issues and concerns of 2004 have ceased to exist.
In 2034, no one is without
healthcare, and people have adopted a system of universal healthcare.
Prevention has become the primary task for healthcare, and a stringent
but balanced system for the global regulation of medications has led
to the elimination of harmful addictive substances.
In 2034, the public has
embraced a different definition of what it means to be healthy and to
experience wellness within the United States. Unlike the past, when
health meant the absence of disease and freedom from unnecessary pain,
there is now a much broader, holistic definition. To be healthy and
well means being psychologically, physically, emotionally,
spiritually, and economically strong and functioning at one’s best
personal level, with the energy to do what one wants when one wants.
People have a certain power, spirit, balance, self-awareness, positive
disposition, and resilience – an ability to work with the rhythm and
cycles of life and to adapt to changes. It is the ability to see
oneself as a unique being and to not only know one’s limits, but to
accept those limits with the realization that they are fluid and
change with time and life experiences. Health and wellness has also
come to mean the vitality of the environment as well as that of the
individual.
Because “being healthy is
knowing how to be healthy” became the motto during the healthcare
movement of the past three decades, in 2034 there is a stronger focus
on health related education overall, and most specifically, among
children and medical school students.
By 2034 there is a clear
mission of efficacy. Previously, society and its leaders had
recognized that the U.S. healthcare system was broken and needed a new
approach. For years, there had been a growing movement for the
integration of alternative, complementary, and traditional medicines,
and it was generally accepted that these treatments had tangible
benefits, but Western trained doctors as well as most citizens, were
skeptical of the efficacy of these treatments. In order to incorporate
these treatments, private and government funding increased
significantly to validate key treatments and restructure health policy
on the national and local levels accordingly. Although a generally
biomedical approach was taken (clinical trials, test processes),
“cultural consultants”---caregivers and laypeople that represented
particular alternative therapies—played an equally important role,
speaking to the mind-body aspects and other elements that standard
science struggled to capture and quantify.
Now, in 2034, health and
wellness is a very public matter, openly seen and discussed, and
illness and disability are nothing to hide away. People perform Tai
Chi and yoga in public parks, and there are regular “laughing parties”
hosted in public venues free of charge. Wellness has become a way of
life. Everyone has access to locally grown organic food and local food
providers offer affordable, healthful options throughout every city or
town.
As harmful chemicals and
toxins were removed from the food chain and people valued their
environment more than ever, more people began to explore herbology,
and in place of giant pharmaceutical corporations there is now a
locally-produced, “microbrew”-style of drug production, that draws
heavily on natural remedies from around the world. This ability to
produce one’s own supplies has led to an increase in the number and
utilization of alternative health practitioners. There is also a
universal understanding of nutritional health, and medicinal herb
gardens are commonplace in towns and cities.
Another major event of that
past thirty years has been the nationwide movement to teach nutrition
and exercise. As part of this movement, people’s nutritional needs are
now addressed, free of charge, and advice is dispensed at an
individual level as to how nutrition and supplements can work to make
and keep one well. The production of sugar and harmful food products
has been greatly reduced, and advertising for these products is
prohibited. Public school cafeterias also have stopped serving
fast-food style meals kept ready with high quantities of
preservatives, and Yoga became an important component of schools’
athletic requirements.
To make this vision a
reality, our group asked ourselves the critical question:
“What can we all do
right now to head toward this vision?”
Here are some ideas about
things each one of us can do, many of which do not cost money and
require little time:
o The
first is to model good health, and to teach children about health and
wellness from a holistic perspective that includes meditation,
nutrition, and physical exercise.
o Help
put an end to prejudice in all of its forms. Educate yourself about
cross-cultural differences and then teach children how people are
alike and different, and how this diversity is special.
o Take
charge of your health and look into how to care for yourself using all
available resources. In other words, “walk the walk’ yourself, as
best you can.
o Help
break down barriers between “alternative” and mainstream
healthcare.
o Communicate
to others however you can: books, websites, or on a personal level
o Become
an informed consumer for our own health needs
o Introduce
your doctor or nurse to alternative therapies
If each of us participates
in whatever way we can, we can make our vision for 2034, a reality!
You can read the full
transcript of our visioning session at the 2004 Boston Social Forum at
http://www.integrativemedalliance.org/integrativemedicine_resourceguide.asp
Karl Berger,
who facilitated this workshop, coordinates the IMA and has an
extensive background in group facilitation and community organizing.
Mary Quilty, who summarized the group’s vision based on
extensive notes, volunteers for the IMA and has recently worked as
Project Manager at the Brain Science Foundation in Medfield, MA.
BOSTON HERBAL TOURS - BOTÁNICAS
CULTURAL USES OF HERBS IN LATINO AND HAITIAN COMMUNITIES
Saturday, October 23, 2004, 8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
88 East Newton Street
Boston Medical Center
Boston, MA
CME Credit-approved in partnership with BU School of Medicine
The Integrative
Medicine Alliance is proud to cosponsor Boston Herbal Tours:-
Botánicas, an initiative the Boston Healing Landscape Project at
Boston Medical Center. This unique educational tour will run on
Saturday, October 23rd, 2004 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Traditional
healing practices originating in Cuba, Haiti, and other parts of the
Caribbean flourish in Boston, where local botánicas sell herbs,
roots, and other remedies. This experience will take you through a
morning of lectures on such herbal medicines by faculty from MGH and
the Mass. College of Pharmacy, and on a presentation of cross-cultural
medicine practices by faculty from the BU School of Medicine, followed
by an afternoon tour of Boston’s Cuban and Haitian botánicas,
with a talk by Cuban santero Steve Quintana, and
Vodou priest Erol Josué.
Cost of the tour is $170 including lunch ($145 for IMA members
and full-time students!).
For more information and to register: Contact Dr. Linda Barnes
at Linda.Barnes@bmc.org
or at 617-414-4534.
http://www.bu.edu/cme/seminars/VODOU0410/index.html
IMA
Volunteer of the Month: Mary Quilty
The IMA is pleased to name Mary Quilty as our Volunteer of the Month.
Last summer, Mary
single-handedly converted pages and pages of notes from our July 24th
healthcare visioning exercise at the Boston Social Forum (see above
article) into a graceful and flowing narrative--no small feat!
With a BA in cultural/medical anthropology, Mary has researched
Ayurvedic healthcare, has spent time in Cuba learning about the
beliefs of Santeria and the use of herbs for healing, and is currently
working on further CAM research with noted sleep researcher Dr. Sat
Bir Khalsa at Harvard Medical School. Mary is hoping to further work
on the validation and adoption of CAM within allopathic healthcare
systems, and can be reached at
mtquilty@yahoo.com
SOME
SIMPLE WAYS TO HELP THE IMA
Become a member of
the IMA.
One of the most important things you can do to help. For as
little as $25 a year ($20 for students/unemployed) you can help the IMA bring together
caregivers of all healing traditions and provide a voice for the New
England’s integrative healthcare community. Visit
http://www.integrativemedalliance.org/helping_becomeamember.asp
and become a member today!
Would you like to
volunteer your professional caregiving skills?
If you’re a complementary/alternative caregiver, sign up to volunteer
for our Mobile Clinics by e-mailing
admin@integrativemedalliance.org.
Would you like to be
our “eyes and ears”?
If you know of a worthwhile upcoming integrative medical event in New
England, (large or small!) send date, time and place info to our
Calendar of Events Coordinator Theresa Ochenkoski at
IMA_Calendar@yahoo.com
Do you like to write?
Send in your news story ideas, commentary, and other writings to our
IMA Newsletter Editor
Catherine Saar, at
catsaar@aol.com
Do you like parties?
If you’d like to host a social or networking gathering of caregivers
from many healing traditions at your home or at a public location,
we’d be happy to sponsor it and advertise it on our calendar, but
please give us 2 month’s advance notice. E-mail the details to IMA
Coordinator Karl Berger at
IMA_Karl@yahoo.com.
Would you like to
spread the word about us?
We’d want to
invite all concerned citizens and caregivers to get our free IMA
newsletter. Send their e-mail addresses (or postal addresses if they
have no e-mail) to us at
IMA_Maillist@yahoo.com and we’ll invite them to subscribe. If
you’d like to distribute our brochures, we’ll send you some!
If you’d like to make
a bigger volunteer commitment:
We’re looking for assistance in administration, event planning,
fundraising, grant writing, outreach, project management, and public
relations. For more information, visit our Website at
www.IntegrativeMedAlliance.org, and under “Helping” click on
“Volunteer”.
If you
offer
free or discounted services and wish to list them on our
website, or if you would like us to update you’re a current listing,
please email the IMA's Administrator Julia Smith at
Admin@integrativemedalliance.org
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