Originally published February 26 2006
Alaskan wants to bring integrative medicine to her home state
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Anchorage News covers the story of Dr. Leonie DeRamus, an expert in emergency medicine who is seeking to bring integrative medicine, which combines Western and non-Western practices, to Alaska.
Dr. Leonie DeRamus exemplifies many of the things alternative medicine is not.
For years she treated patients with modern drugs and high-tech screenings as staffing head of the emergency room at Bassett Army Community Hospital on Fort Wainwright.
And now she co-owns and runs the Urgent Care Center on Airport Way, which hardly specializes in energy healing and Chinese herbs.
But the belief that Western medicine, wonderful at many things, isn't particularly good at fighting chronic illnesses inspired DeRamus to expand her toolkit of medical skills.
For the last two years, DeRamus has studied with the bearded health guru Dr. Andrew Weil, whose books on personal health are best sellers and whose fame landed him on the cover of Time magazine in October.
Weil's Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona trains medical practitioners to combine the powers of Western and non-Western medicine.
Rather, Weil -- and now DeRamus -- hope to change medical care as practiced by all physicians.
Western medicine, she said, often fails to help people with serious, non-acute diseases such as chronic pain, depression, and obesity.
If a person with chronic pain walks into a doctor's office today, he will probably be asked for medical history, then get a physical exam, lab tests, and X-rays.
Finally she saw an energy healer, someone who believed that pain and disease were caused by blockages in the flow of energy through the body.
Alternative medicine can work wonders for some patients, but as a whole is little understood by Western doctors, she said.
The fellowship program involved about 1,000 hours of training done via the Internet, compact disc and phone conferences, and through three one-week trips to Arizona.
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