KPLU Local News
(2010-08-24)
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The main entrance to Bastyr University
Photo courtesy Bastyr University
A medical college on the shores of Lake Washington , in Kenmore, is preparing to make a huge leap -- by opening a branch campus in California. Bastyr University offers degrees in naturopathic and other forms of alternative medicine. It's the oldest and largest medical school in the country for alternative therapies.
Now, the naturopathic doctors from California have "approached the college, and said, there should be a school of naturopathic medicine in California, and it should be Bastyr,'" says Dan Church, Bastyr's president. He's searching for a location for the new branch campus, which most likely will end up in the Los Angeles area.
Naturopaths are typically family medicine doctors, who look for ways the body can heal itself, often using herbal remedies. They only gained the right to practice in California about five years ago, and that huge state has just 400 or so naturopaths -- fewer than half the number as Washington. Having so few doctors has made them nearly invisible in that state, and politically vulnerable, says Dr. Simon Barker, who practices in Pasadena and serves as president of the California Naturopathic Doctors Association.
Church says the demand for naturopaths seems to be increasing, partially because they emphasize diet and foods, and that makes them interesting to people with allergies, or concerns about toxins. And some people are attracted to naturopaths because they tend to spend a long time with each patient, digging deep into questions of lifestyle and nutrition.
"We are feeling very, very good about the statement this makes about importance of the medicine and the importance of Bastyr as a pivotal player in that arena," he says.
The new Bastyr campus in California is scheduled to open in 2012 with about 30 students. It takes four or five years to earn a naturopath degree.
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