Lotus Medical

Lotus, The Educational Center for Integrative Healing and Wellness

850 Straits Turnpike, Suite 204 Middlebury , CT. 06762

The President's Report: 2007

Lotus, The Educational Center for Integrative Healing and Wellness, Inc. is a not-for-profit, 501 (c) (3) network of healing arts professionals who believe in combining the best of academic medicine with mind-body medicine and spiritually.

In honor of our tenth year, it seems fitting to review our history.

1997 - A small group of like-minded healers gathered in Waterbury to create a vision and mission.
1998 - We agree that all members must meet standards of practice consistent with their specialty. The Board of Directors reviews all applications to verify credentials.
1998 - We provided an 8-week course on integrative health to the greater Waterbury community. We had many sponsors, including small businesses and health care organizations. So many people came that we had to move from a regular meeting room to the largest ballroom in the hotel. Evaluations were amazingly positive. We learned that people were hungry for this information.
1998 - We became a not-for-profit, 501 (c) (3) and were incorporated.
2000 - In partnership with Waterbury Hospital , we began offering CME (Continuing Medical Education) credits
2000 - We provided a one-day conference on the relationship between mind-body interactions and heart disease. This included a cooking demonstration of a low fat, vegetarian meal, which was shared by attendees. The evaluations of this program were overwhelming positive.
2003 - The Lotus Network brochure was published. This is a separate entity from the Educational Center and serves as a resource for health care providers who wish to refer their patients to individuals qualified to practice integrative care. Only credentialed members of Lotus, The Educational Center for Integrative Healing and Wellness are included. The cost of the brochure is the responsibility of those listed and separate from the not-for-profit organization.
2004 - 2005 - Members of our Board of Directors consulted to and worked with Saint Mary's Hospital and Waterbury Hospital in their efforts to bring complementary or non-traditional care to their patients.
2004 - Lotus was registered with The United Way as a specific charity donors could choose.
2005 - The Harold Leever Cancer Center , a union of St. Mary's and Waterbury Hospitals , welcomed Lotus to use the facility for monthly meetings. We have consulted with the administration and medical staff on the benefits of complementary care for cancer patients and have provided education for staff and patients.
2005 - Two members of the Board of Directors, both faculty at Yale University School of Medicine, began lecturing to medical students in the Heart of Medicine course offered every year.
2006 - One member of the Board of Directors published a book about Buddhism and Western Psychology.
2007 - During these past10-years of learning, we've come to understand where the evidence exists for complementary treatment and where it is lacking. We have a greater understanding of when and where different complementary healers are indicated. We have confidence in our members because we have verified their credentials and we have talked with each other and developed trust. We have become colleagues in the service of care. We know that one type of treatment does not work for all patients. At times combinations of treatments are what is needed. Combining the best of allopathic and complementary healing practices offers a better chance for our global health and for maintaining satisfaction and renewal through our work as healers.

Beatriz R. Olson, MD, FACP