OCOM Receives $130,000 Capacity Building Grant from Meyer Memorial Trust
A $130,000 capacity building grant awarded to Oregon College of Oriental Medicine by Meyer Memorial Trust on March 1 will fund a new Director of Annual Giving position over the next three years. This new full-time staff position and expansion of OCOM's annual fund will increase the ability to build long-term, sustainable funding for the college.
Since relocating our campus to Portland's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood in 2012, we have initiated a successful annual fundraising event and built a more visible community presence in the new neighborhood. While these successes mark important milestones for the college, an increased need to expand development efforts became clear after OCOM's February 2014 six-year strategic planning session.
The planning group identified the need to create a more diverse funding base to support our mission by expanding efforts to move away from tuition dependence. Like many universities and colleges across the United States, a downturn in enrollment in 2012 and 2013, which, coupled with campus relocation operational costs, led OCOM to prioritize an expansion of our Institutional Advancement department in 2015. The new director position will support growth of OCOM's annual fund, deepened collaborative partnerships, and expanded capacity for community giving.
This event is designed to introduce acupuncturists and allied health professionals to cultural competency training to improve health care delivery for diverse populations, motivational interviewing techniques and community-based approaches to health. Breakout sessions throughout the day will include:
Better Together: Motivational Interviewing Strategies for Partnering with Patients
Place Matters: Screening and facilitated discussion of unnatural causes documentary, with a focus on OCOM's campus in the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood
On March 20, OCOM's former campus and clinic buildings were sold to Adult Learning Systems of Oregon (ALSO), which supports adults with developmental and intellectual challenges by providing vocational and residential services. To sustain their growth across the greater Portland area, OCOM's property provides a more centrally located base of operations.
"It is truly a gift to know our former home is occupied by providers working to care for those with developmental challenges," said OCOM President Michael Gaeta. "The college wishes Adult Learning Systems of Oregon nothing but the greatest of successes as they get settled in their new home and continue to administer their healing work."
The outer southeast Portland location was expanded in 1999 to include the addition of a clinic facility and doctoral classrooms with the assistance of a $100,000 grant from Meyer Memorial Trust. Construction of the two-story building and parking lot were completed in 1997 with broad community and political support, notably from the late Gretchen Kafoury. As enrollment continued to grow in both the master's and doctoral programs, with growth within the staff and students services team as well, additional space was leased, including a second location for clinic facilities in the Hollywood district.
Under the leadership of President Michael J. Gaeta, EdD, who joined the college in 2005, the college adopted its first six-year strategic and operational plan. OCOM's relocation to Old Town Chinatown was a signature outcome of that planning process. The "Cherry Blossom" property sale improves OCOM's balance sheet and marks the completion of a significant period of change and growth for the institution, setting the foundation for operations under the new 2015 six-year strategic plan.
OCOM's current campus and clinic facility features upgrades in sustainability, including LEED Gold certification and enhanced access to public transportation. Located at 75 NW Couch Street in the historic Old Town Chinatown district of downtown Portland, the ground floor includes an herbal medicinary and bookstore with natural products and acupuncture supplies for practitioners. Public wellness offerings such as the Lan Su Chinese Garden lecture series and qigong classes can be found at the college's website: ocom.edu/events.
Taking the Oath of Professionalism:
OCOM's 2015 White Coat Ceremony
It was a full house at the University of Oregon White Stag Block for OCOM's annual White Coat Ceremony. With support from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the 2015 ceremony gathered the OCOM community for a ritual that marks a student's transition from the preclinical to the clinical stage of learning.
Officiated by Chair of Biomedicine, Joe Coletto, ND, LAc and featuring Meg Hayes, MD from OHSU as keynote speaker. Addressing themes of interprofessionalism, intellectual curiosity and respect, Dr. Hayes told her own story of collaboration and discovery as a physician practicing acupuncture and working with Chinese medicine practitioners. Following her address, the cohort of incoming clinical observers reaffirmed the professionalism oath written and sworn by the 2014 incoming class:
We commit to the constant and mindful stewardship of ourselves, the health of our profession and our community through continuing education, compassionate practice, and heartfelt respect.
Join us in welcoming the next generation of compassionate acupuncture professionals to the field of medicine.
Winner of $3K Board of Trustees Scholarship Announced
Congratulations to incoming Fall 2015 student, Melanie A. Trelles-Pardo, winner of the $3,000 Board of Trustees New Student Scholarship!
Melanie's winning essay answered the question:
How will you transform health care as a highly skilled and compassionate practitioner?
"I will transform health care as a highly skilled and compassionate practitioner by combining my acquired tools with my individual aptitudes and passions. I strongly believe in honoring the innate intelligence of the body. By factoring each individual person's ability and desire to heal with a skillful and knowledgeable treatment plan catered for the person, a lot of magic can happen. Education and experience can provide a map to show us the patterns, but it is important to be curious as to what makes each patient an individual and move from there to find creative solutions.
"I have a strong desire and determination for all of us to reclaim our power in our health. Cancer is a highly stigmatized condition that hit home when my mom tested positive for cancer cells in June. I have seen the power that diet, exercise, herbs and acupuncture has had on my mother. I do not ever wish for any of us to feel helpless. I understand that there are circumstances that are out of our reach, but I do not think lack of options should be one of them. I have immense faith in Chinese medicine and would dedicate a lot of myself to research in order to make it more accessible for everyone. I believe any real practice grows from the inside out. The process of becoming an exceptional practitioner and changing healthcare around me would come from becoming an exceptional person and be a living testament of the medicine. The people I see living their truth are the most compelling leaders."
Announcing the 2015 Theme: Night Market
夜市
VIP rooftop reception
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Gala event
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Celebrate Michael J. Gaeta's tenure as college president in a festival atmosphere spread throughout OCOM's campus: silent auction, free treatments, wine pull wall, lucky draws, photobooth, food carts, live music and more!
OCOM Clinic Data Program Poster Traveling to National Conference
Effectiveness of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in the Management of Pain ---- A Prospective Cohort Studyhas been accepted as a poster presentation at the Promis Health Organization (PHO) Inaugural Meeting to be held May 15 in Philadelphia. Ben Marx of OCOM's Research Department will represent use of the PROMIS forms in an acupuncture college's clinic outcomes data collection program at the inaugural PHO event.
This conference of conventional research presentations and posters highlighting different uses of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) will examine conceptual, methodological, clinical and research aspects of assessing and using patient-reported outcomes (PROs). The presence of an acupuncture college at this scientific meeting will bring a Chinese medicine perspective together with academic researchers, government scientists, clinicians, clinical researchers, industry representatives, and experts in outcomes measurement to discuss applications of PROMIS in health care and outcomes research and practice.
OCOM Joins AmazonSmile:
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