1.    Why is National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM) purchasing property?
NCNM has been in a period of expansion. The new acquisitions will provide space for current and future growth. The new buildings will consolidate NCNM’s two primary teaching clinics now located some distance from the campus.

2.    What property is NCNM purchasing?
NCNM has completed negotiations to purchase three office buildings owned by Andrew and Deborah Davis of Portland, located on 1.5 acres of land adjacent to the NCNM campus and a quarter-acre lot across from the property.

3.    What are the terms of the purchase?
The details of the purchase have not been released.

4.    How will NCNM pay for the purchase?
NCNM will vigorously fundraise to help raise money for the necessary expansion of the nonprofit institution. In addition, the sale of our Natural Health Center property will support renovation costs during this period.

5.    What are NCNM’s plans for the properties?
The new buildings will consolidate NCNM’s two primary teaching clinics now located some distance from the campus. They will house an integrated clinic of naturopathic and classical Chinese medicine, a nature cure healing spa, a proposed community clinic facility, seminar space for community health education, professional offices for our staff and partner agencies, a healing garden featuring Western and Eastern medical plants, and, potentially, an expanded Helfgott Research facility.

6.    When is groundbreaking for the properties?
NCNM is in a period of due diligence, which will conclude at the end of October. Property renovation and groundbreaking are anticipated to begin in November. The Pettygrove Clinic will be relocated to the new facility by July 1, 2009; the Natural Health Center will follow shortly after its reassignment or sale. Our goal is to minimize disruption to students and patients during this transition phase.

7.    Where is NCNM located and how long has it been in that location?
NCNM is located off Naito Parkway, near South Waterfront. It is in the area that the Portland Development Commission calls “the Educational Triangle,” situated between OHSU and Portland State University. NCNM’s main campus has been operating in this location since 1996.

8.    What kind of school is NCNM?
NCNM, founded in 1956, is the oldest accredited naturopathic medical college in North America. We educate and train physicians and practitioners in the art and science of natural medicine. Our exceptional graduate programs in naturopathic medicine and classical Chinese medicine blend ancient healing wisdom with modern science in challenging curricula. The path we offer to our future physicians and practitioners is characterized by excellence in classroom education, clinical education and research.

9.    How many students go to the school?
NCNM has 500 students registered in its full-time programs for the 2008-2009 school year.

10.    How many students have graduated from NCNM?
The total number of graduates from both schools of medicine since 1956 is 1,839

11.    What kind of degree programs does NCNM offer its students?
There are two accredited four-year postgraduate programs with rigorous admissions requirements: The naturopathic degree (ND) program and the Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) program.
•    Naturopathic medicine is a patient-centered primary care approach that uses natural means to restore and optimize health. The ND program prepares candidates for state board licensing examinations and clinical practice. The program emphasizes a distinctive approach to health and healing that considers the whole person when treating specific conditions and seeks to diagnose and treat the root causes of illness whenever possible.
•    The School of Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) at NCNM was created to honor and restore the deep wisdom and holistic spirit of the classical teachings of Chinese medicine. Its most pure intention is to foster universal harmony. Lineage-based teaching methods promote the understanding that all of life is sacred, interconnected and reflected in the microcosm of the human being. Above all, the Master of Science of Oriental Medicine (MSOM) and Master of Acupuncture (MAc) programs are designed to impart the holistic spirit of Oriental medicine.

12.    What is natural medicine?
A term used to describe the philosophy of the particular alternative systems that emphasize the healing power of nature. Unlike conventional medicine, rather than treating the symptoms or the disease, the therapeutic emphasis is on supporting or stimulating the organism’s self-healing processes through a variety of healing modalities.