La Jolla, CA, Release: December 28, 2020. For Immediate Release
The Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM), “the Academy” and the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health (ACIH), “the Collaborative” have announced today the planned merger of their business operations to advance holistic and integrative health globally.
The Collaborative, founded in 2004, represents 20 national integrative health and medicine organizations, many universities, colleges and programs and a wide variety of supporters and volunteers. ACIH core members are national academic organizations associated with the five licensed integrative health and medicine professions that have a federally recognized accrediting agency. ACIH membership also includes organizations representing Traditional World Medicines and Emerging Professions that are engaged in self-regulation and/or working towards future licensure. The Collaborative’s goal is to contribute to transforming our health care system to one that emphasizes the importance of creating health and well-being.
“The Collaborative offers an exciting opportunity for AIHM to launch a robust organizational membership and fulfill our vision of becoming a truly interprofessional organization” explains Tabatha Parker, Executive Director of AIHM. “AIHM was historically an association of holistic medical doctors. While AIHM became interprofessional in 2014, merging with ACIH will formally bring in the licensed integrative health professions of Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine, Chiropractic, Direct-Entry Midwifery, Massage Therapy, and Naturopathic Medicine. It signals that professional silos are truly coming down.”
William Meeker, DC, MPH, incoming AIHM Board Chair, shares, “The merger totally aligns with AIHM’s global plan to strategize and catalyze an integrative health movement.” Lucia Thornton, RN, current AIHM Board Chair adds, “ACIH brings to AIHM the heart of the integrative health professions and leaders that have worked for decades to advance whole-person care.”
Beth Rosenthal, MPH, MBA, PhD, Executive Director of ACIH, also commented, “The Academy partnering with the Collaborative provides a major growth opportunity for both organizations, and ultimately the integrative health community.” ACIH Board Chair, JoAnn Yanez, ND, MPH, CAE further shares, “For years, organizations have been looking to find a place to strategically address the unique challenges and opportunities the integrative health community faces, and we will be best positioned to co-create that space and support the integrative health movement on that journey.” Beth Rosenthal will join AIHM as head of the Collaborative’s division within AIHM.
The expanded organization will serve 70+ organizations and thousands of integrative health clinicians in their rapidly expanding global strategy and manage over 100 global chapters in integrative health and medicine.
AIHM is a global membership organization for the integrative health community. Since its inception, AIHM has been a leading provider of the highest quality, evidence-based education through its conferences, e-learning, webinars and world class interprofessional fellowship in integrative health and medicine.
AIHM President and co-founder, Mimi Guarneri, MD, FACC, ABOIM says, “ACIH will help us rapidly expand our educational offerings and through their research, education and clinical working groups, create the container for moving strategic projects forward.”
To be the leading global integrative health organization, AIHM has made education and member service the central element to everything it does. Expect some exciting new offerings in 2021!
More information about the partnership can be found at the website: https://aihm.org
A spokesperson for AIHM shared that they expect definitive agreements to be completed in January 2021 and the operations and staff of ACIH to be transferred to AIHM’s headquarters in La Jolla, CA by close of 2020.
Contact info:
Contact Person: Dr. Tabatha Parker
Company: Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine
Address: 6919 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: 858-240-9033
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