Recognized as Oregon’s Longest Continuously Practicing Naturopath

PORTLAND, Ore. (Dec. 9, 2010) — Kenneth D. Peterson, DC, ND, of Hermiston received the inaugural Living Legend award from the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM) and the Oregon Association of Naturopathic Medicine (OANP) at a banquet held in Portland on Dec. 4. Dr. Peterson was recognized for 57 years of dedicated service and advancing the profession of natural medicine. In practice since 1953, Dr. Peterson holds the distinction of being the longest continuously practicing naturopathic physician in Oregon.

NCNM and the OANP selected the Living Legend award recipients for their demonstrated leadership, commitment to excellence and selfless contributions in the advancement of natural medicine. Dr. Peterson and Betty Jo Radelet, DC, ND, of Beaverton both were honored with the prestigious awards.

NCNM’s president, David J. Schleich, PhD, expressed his gratitude to Dr. Peterson and Dr. Radelet for a lifetime of service to the profession of naturopathic medicine. “All of us are indebted to the doctors who built the tradition of natural medicine in the Northwest with quiet determination, continuously helping patients improve and maintain good health. Their dedication to their patients and to the practice of natural medicine is the bedrock of the profession and serves as  a shining example for the thousands of NCNM graduates who have followed in their footsteps.”

A native of Montana, Dr. Peterson graduated from Western States Chiropractic College (now University of Western States) in 1951 with dual degrees in chiropractic and naturopathic medicine. He established his practice in Hermiston after seeing the influx of construction workers for the McNary Dam. Dr. Peterson and his wife, JoAnne, settled in Hermiston where they raised their six children and continue to reside.

Dr. Peterson’s reputation as a gifted physician is evidenced by the great distances that people travel in order to see him. Patients as far away as Alaska come to Hermiston for treatment from Dr. Peterson. At 85 years old, he continues to practice at the Peterson Clinic, where his son, Dr. Kristopher B. Peterson, joined him in 1980.

NCNM also conferred the status of Honorary Alumnus upon Dr. Peterson at the banquet in recognition of his efforts to advance naturopathic medicine’s reputation, prestige, and pursuit of excellence. He is the second person to receive such a title throughout the college’s long history.

The Living Legends dinner also celebrated the accomplishments of Leo Scott, ND, who was posthumously inducted as an Honorary Alumnus of NCNM. The care he provided his patients led one of them, Violet Beebe, to bequeath $100,000 to NCNM in Dr. Scott’s honor. Two of her survivors, Jennifer Calvert and Judy Armes, presented the check to Susan Hunter, NCNM vice president of Advancement, at the ceremony.

Three generations of the Peterson family were present to honor Dr. Peterson. He credited the support of his family, especially his wife, JoAnne, and his clinical staff, as factors in his success.

ABOUT NCNM: Founded in 1956, NCNM is the oldest accredited naturopathic medical school in North America. A nonprofit college of natural medicine, NCNM offers four-year graduate medical degree programs in Naturopathic Medicine and Classical Chinese Medicine. Its community clinics offer low-cost medical care throughout the Portland metropolitan area, and along with the campus-based NCNM Clinic, practitioners attend to approximately 40,000 patient visits per year. NCNM’s Helfgott Research Institute conducts rigorous evidence-based research to advance the science of natural medicine and improve clinical practice. Until July 2006, NCNM was known as the National College of Naturopathic Medicine.