NCNM Hosts Women’s Health Symposium March 15–17

Women in Balance Institute to Offer One Day of Free Public Lectures

PORTLAND, Ore. (March 7, 2013) —National College of Natural Medicine’s new Women in Balance Institute (WIBI) will host free public lectures March 16 by noted experts in the field of women’s hormonal health at the NCNM campus in Southwest Portland. The lectures will focus on natural hormone balance. Speakers will highlight the latest advances in women’s health, including menopause, bioidentical hormones and natural alternatives to hormone balancing. The free lectures require pre-registration to attend.

The day set aside for free public attendance is one part of the Institute’s first annual symposium held at the college, which is being offered to natural medicine and other healthcare professionals at the college from March 15-17. The symposium’s keynote speakers include nationally known women’s health experts Tori Hudson, ND, Marianne Marchese, ND, and Kimberly Windstar, ND. In addition to the live presentations, registrants can sign up for an online live webinar of the three-day event, which offers Continuing Education Units to natural medicine practitioners.

Women in Balance Institute is the first natural medicine educational institution in the nation dedicated to education and research on women’s hormone health. The Institute’s goal is to educate women and the health care community about hormone imbalance, and its impact on a woman’s health and well-being as she ages.

NCNM President David J. Schleich said that the new women’s health institute is an important addition to NCNM’s growing roster of health-based educational initiatives for the public and medical practitioners alike.

He observed, “In recent years, research on women’s health has elevated the need for more awareness about natural approaches in women’s hormonal health—something our naturopathic doctors have practiced for decades.”

WIBI executive director Elise Schroeder, ND, notes that there’s a growing body of scientific evidence indicating that natural forms of progesterone and estrogen may benefit women as they age. She adds that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to address the problem of women’s hormone health.

She says, “Every woman’s body is different, and there’s a need to address each women’s health individually. This symposium represents the growing interest by medial practitioners and women alike to find natural alternatives.”

ABOUT NCNM
Founded in Portland in 1956, NCNM is the oldest accredited naturopathic medical school in North America and an educational leader in classical Chinese medicine and CAM research. NCNM offers four-year graduate medical degree programs in naturopathic and classical Chinese medicine, and a Master of Science in Integrative Medicine Research degree. Its community clinics provide low-cost medical care throughout the Portland metropolitan area. In addition to the campus-based NCNM Clinic, NCNM practitioners attend to approximately 40,000 patient visits per year. Until July 2006, NCNM was known as the National College of Naturopathic Medicine. The name change reflects the diversity of the college’s programmatic degree offerings.