By
Jose Ceja
Arizona Daily Wildcat
$2 million loan keeps center afloat
With a $2 million university loan secured three months ago, the UA Integrative Medicine Clinic - founded by Dr. Andrew Weil - reopened last week and will once again see patients interested in Weil's brand of medicine.
Founded three years ago as one of the first clinics of its kind, the facility often has a waiting list of hundreds of patients. Even with the apparent need for the center, waning private donations caused the clinic to close this summer.
The clinic, located at 1237 N. Mountain Ave., treats patients using an "integrative" approach which combines techniques of Western medicine with alternative approaches and has made Weil one of the most recognizable doctors in the country.
Despite the increasing popularity of the technique, the Program in Integrative Medicine, which does not receive any University of Arizona funds, was more than $1 million in debt, said Weil.
Weil - who personally treats patients at the clinic - said he hopes the clinic will expand to be able to treat more patients.
The Program in Integrative Medicine also trains doctors, with 10 in the residential fellowship program and more than 45 in a distance learning program.
"It's still the only one training doctors in the country," Weil said.
George Humphrey, director of public affairs for the Arizona Health Sciences Center, said Weil has been highly influential in changing the public's perception of integrative medicine.
"It's almost been an explosion of interest in that area," Humphrey said. "We are lucky to be one of the pioneers in that area."
Humphrey said that securing funding for the program has always been a concern, and Weil will now seek legislative support.
While lobbying for grants is a source of great stress for many scientists, Weil said he is not too concerned.
"I meditate, I do breathing exercises, I exercise - I think life is stressful enough anyway," he said.
"We are trying to create a new generation of doctors who practice medicine differently, and we hope that that model will be picked up by other schools in the country," he added.
