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Prompted
by robust student interest, Bastyr University California recently completed a
million-dollar expansion project, making room for additional academic,
clinical, and laboratory spaces. The one-year-old San Diego campus is a branch
of Bastyr University, a leading institution for natural health education based
in Kenmore, Washington. Just months into Bastyr California’s second academic
year, students now have access to additional resources such as a hydrotherapy and
physical medicine room, an intravenous infusion room, and a state-of-the-art
botanical medicine lab.1
“While a botanical
medicine space was intended to be part of the campus from the beginning, it was
the strong enrollment of first- and second-year students that prompted the
campus expansion to happen ahead of schedule,” explained Martha Lynn, Bastyr
University’s director of marketing and media (email, October 25, 2013). “It
became clear that building a brand new, expanded space for our teaching clinic
and additional laboratories was in the best interest of our growing student
body.”
In its
first two years, Bastyr University California exceeded enrollment goals for its
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) program. The student body now comprises 57
first-year students as well as 47 returning second-year students. Naturopathic
medicine “emphasizes prevention
and the self-healing process through the use of natural therapies,”2
and Bastyr provides a broad science-based education covering topics such as
nutrition, pharmacology, and herbal medicine.
As
part of the new expansion, the University built a botanical medicine lab for
students taking courses in herbal sciences. The new facility is “designed to teach students to formulate and prepare
herbal medicines [including] herbal teas, tinctures, salves, poultices, and
other traditional medicines,” said Sunshine Weeks, ND, an adjunct professor of
botanical medicine at Bastyr University California.
The lab includes a
kitchen area for medicine making, herbal storage, and bright, modern
workspaces. “Students studying in the lab will have the
opportunity to hone their herbal medicine skills in order to treat their own
patients in the future,” continued Dr. Weeks. “With a facility like this they
will be equipped with one of the most advanced herbal medicine educations
in the world.”
Bastyr
students are immersed in a patient-centered education program during which they
are able to apply what they have learned at an on-campus teaching clinic. Open
to the public, Bastyr University Clinic combines naturopathic and integrative
medical approaches and provides services in botanical medicine and nutrition
therapy, among others.3 During the recent expansion, a new entrance
and reception room was added to the clinic, as well as 11 new examination
rooms, allowing increased student and patient access.
Bastyr
University’s campus in San Diego is the first accredited school of its kind in
the state, and its reception by the community has been overwhelming positive. “The greater San Diego community has welcomed Bastyr
University California with open arms,” said Dr. Weeks. “Since opening in
September 2012, the University has made an impact on the local community, not
only as the first accredited naturopathic school in the state, but also through
its teaching clinic.”
Just a few weeks into their
fall semester, students have begun to take advantage of the University’s new
facilities, including the expanded teaching clinic and botanical medicine lab.
“The students have been very excited about the new facility,” said Dr. Weeks. “[Bastyr
California] is setting the tone for the future of naturopathic health care in
California and will become an influential player in the field of complementary
and alternative medicine.”
—Tyler Smith
References
1. California campus
expands into new building [press release]. Kenmore, WA: Bastyr University;
April 29, 2013. Available here.
Accessed October 28, 2013.
2. “Naturopathic medicine.” Bastyr University California press kit. Available here.
Accessed October 28, 2013.
3. Bastyr University clinic: health care services. Bastyr University California
website. Available here.
Accessed October 28, 2013.
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