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background resources in PDF |
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some CAM/IM publication links |
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Ruth Westreich & the Westreich Foundation Joins Integrator Sponsors for 2015-2017 |
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Written by John Weeks
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Ruth Westreich & the Westreich Foundation Partner with the Integrator for 2015-2017
.jpg "Image") Ruth Westreich: Integrator strategic partner
Westreich has been a creative marketing and strategic planning director
in the non-for-profit and for profit sectors for over 30 years. She is co-author of the soon-to-be-published FLASH: Why Creativity Changes Everything. Her
contributions to the integrative health and medicine field have been
multiple and wide-ranging. Westreich has served at various times on the boards
or advisory bodies of the Samueli Institute, UCSD Center for Integrative Medicine, Cal State San Marcos Institute for Palliative
Care, Bravewell Collaborative, Bastyr University, UCLA Arts and Healing, Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC) and the Consciousness and Healing Institute.
In some cases, Westreich has coupled her advisory work with philanthropic investment. Her initiative-based foundation partners with organizations and causes that will
move the needle in healthcare. The mission is to create new models of care for the whole
person, preventing illness, creating well-being and resilience for people,
communities and the planet. Ruth puts her money and her skin in the game to
connect and collaborate for lasting change. Through her multiple engagements, Ruth has gained a rare, high level experience and perspective on the field and its multiple players.
.jpg "Image") Investments in key IHM initiatives
Energizing Ruth's integrative care activity is her strongly held
view that to maximize positive contributions in people's health, the integrative
health and medicine stakeholders need to get out of their silos and build a bigger tent.
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Energizing Ruth's integrative activity
is her strongly held
view that to maximize
positive contributions in people's health,
the integrative
health and medicine
stakeholders need to get out of their
silos and build a bigger tent.
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For instance, Westreich directed a recent grant
from her foundation to underpin collaboration between the mainly MD-led Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM) and ACCAHC's collaborative platform of 17 organizations and 40 institutions from the professions of chiropractic, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, naturopathic medicine, massage therapy and others. Her commitment to building a powerful
platform for action has been a strong link between the two of us. At every significant turn in recent years, I have looked to Ruth's counsel.
Westreich made public her sense of my work in her contribution last year to the Lifetime Achievement Living Tribute Award (thank you!) I received in 2014. I laughed on reading her refer to me as an "energizer bunny." She wrote, in part: "John's Integrator Blog pulls together timely information from the integrative health fields. He takes on the tough subjects, and you never have to wonder which side John prefers. He writes with 'in your face' frankness." And: "He has been the constant reminder that integrative health is a whole-person care and that no one can do it better than a team of qualified providers."
'
I recently noted with pleasure a comment made about Westreich in an award she was given at this San Diego function at the end of July. The honor came from a palliative care-focused organization, the LightBridge Hospice
Community Foundation. The chair of Lightbridge noted Ruth's passion for integrative therapies and palliative care. She said that "Ruth can be feisty and she
doesn't mind being out there ‘fighting the fight' for people and that is part
of what I love about her. She is real and genuine." I can't say it better. It's wonderful to have this investment in my work with the field via the Integrator - plus this excuse to continue collaborating even more closely.
Her engagements continue. Ruth mentioned recently that she has just become a founding member of the Nutrition Leaders Council affiliated with both the Accreditation Council for Nutrition Professional Education, the university nutrition program accreditation agency, and the American
Nutrition Association, an advocacy organization. The latter's CEO,
Michael Stroka, shared this on her involvement: "We're delighted and grateful to have Ruth's vision, intellect
and connective power on this stellar team. I'm personally gratified by her
belief in and support of our work, and I thoroughly look forward to linking
arms with Ruth and the rest of this Founding team." Ruth said she hopes to again connect
these organization with the other collaborations in which she is involved "to break down even more silos."
.jpg "Image") A thumbnail on the Westreich foundation site
In its
2006-2011 years, the Integrator was powered by multiple
sponsors. Thanks in particular to NCMIC Group, Alternative Medicine
Inc., Peter Amato, Standard Process, and Lucy Gonda. In the years since, the time and energy to produce the Integrator has been
financially sustained via an Integrator partnership with Integrative Practitioner Online that re-publishes the Integrator Round-up each month to its 20,000+ list, and through re-purposing the content for other paid columns.
Westreich's pledge is for two years of partnership at $20,000 each year. The Integrator is seeking other investors - not necessarily so generous! - to create additional time and space to make the most of the Integrator's value in the coming period. Any suggestions? Thank you, Ruth!
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