On February 17, Bastyr University kicked off a new Center for Health Policy and Research. The center will be led by Gregory Goode, chief of staff to Bastyr president Daniel Church, PhD. The vision for the new center has 3 elements:
• Encourage active participation in public affairs through thoughtful citizenship and public service. • Provide a forum for nonpartisan, critical discussion of all topics relating to health. • Serve to build community and integrate the disciplines of natural medicine through education, discussion and connection. The ceremony coincided with an on-site meeting of the board of directors of the Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC) for which the multi-disciplinary Bastyr, alone among the institutions with a naturopathic medical program, is a Partner in Health. William Reddy, LAc, helped kick off the Bastyr Center with a talk on the role of health reform on the acupuncture and Oriental medicine field. Bastyr has engaged considerably in integrative care policy action historically. The university’s founding president, Joseph Pizzorno, ND served on the White House Commission on CAM Policy and its former policy leader Pamela Snider, ND played key roles in both the language in the NCCAM mandate and the development of the National Policy Dialogue to Advance Integrated Health Care.
