CONTACT:
Marilynn Considine
503.552.1504
mconsidine@ncnm.edu

PORTLAND, Ore. (October 1, 2008)—National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM) announced today that it completed negotiations with Andrew and Deborah Davis of Portland for the purchase of three office buildings on 1.5 acres of land adjacent to the NCNM campus and a quarter-acre lot across from the property. NCNM is located near the South Waterfront in an urban renewal area that the Portland Development Commission refers to as “the Educational Triangle,” between OHSU and Portland State University. The new buildings will consolidate NCNM’s two primary teaching clinics now located some distance from the campus. Property renovation and groundbreaking are anticipated to begin at the end of October following the due diligence period, with a completion date of December 2009.

“This acquisition changes the direction, the momentum and the vision of NCNM,” said NCNM Board Chair Nancy Wastcoat Garbett. “It propels us into a future where the need to meet health care demand will grow increasingly critical. NCNM is poised to grow exponentially right in the heart of Portland—and as the center of natural health care in this country.”

Dr. David J. Schleich, NCNM president, said that the Corbett Street property purchase is the first part of a multi-phased growth plan for the school. “Current and future growth projections support the need to expand the medical school to accommodate space requirements for ever-increasing numbers of students, faculty and administrative staff. NCNM has seen a robust period of growth and expansion since 1996, when we began to establish our footprint in this area with the move of our main campus and with last year’s purchase of our administration and research building on Naito Parkway,” Schleich said. “We’re delighted to contribute to an urban renewal area—an area that’s rapidly becoming the hub of higher education and medical research in the Northwest.”

Andrew and Deborah Davis said they are pleased to play a role in campus expansion. Andrew Davis said, “We view our involvement with NCNM as a partnership. We believe the clinic consolidation will greatly benefit the school, the students and the city. We’re excited to be an integral part of NCNM’s future.”

The Corbett Street properties will house an integrated clinic of naturopathic and classical Chinese medicine, a nature cure healing spa, seminar space for community use and an herbal garden. Noting the improvements the new space will bring to the clinic experience, Dr. Schleich said, “The proposed new state-of-the-art clinic will provide easier access and convenience for faculty and students who now commute to our two teaching clinics, which are the core of the NCNM educational experience. Our patients will enjoy a much more spacious and comfortable environment with ample parking and easy access to mass transit.”

Dr. Schleich noted that as a private, nonprofit educational institution, NCNM is in the midst of a vigorous fundraising campaign to help raise money for the necessary expansion. “We continue to be extremely grateful to our supportive program partners and donors, without whose help none of this would be possible. Natural medicine will play a larger and more significant role in meeting the challenges posed by a dearth of professional health care workers in the U.S. in the coming years.”

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 teaching clinics offer free and low-cost medical care throughout the Portland metropolitan area and treat more than 40,000 patients per year. NCNM’s Helfgott Research Institute is a nonprofit research institute that conducts rigorous independent research to advance the science of natural medicine in order to improve clinical practice. Until July 2006, NCNM was known as the National College of Naturopathic Medicine.