NIH News Advisory
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
 National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 19, 2002

Press Contact:
Anita Greene
(301) 496-7790

National Town Hall Meeting on Complementary
and Alternative Medicine to be Held in Portland, Oregon

  What:   The public is invited to take part in a town meeting on complementary and alternative medicine research, sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) — a component of the National Institutes of Health. The meeting will be hosted by the Oregon Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Craniofacial Disorders at Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research, and the Oregon Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Neurological Disorders at Oregon Health & Science University. The event will be moderated by Margie Boule', columnist for The Oregonian.
  When:   2 - 5 p.m. (Pacific Time), Tuesday, March 19, 2002
A media availability will be held prior to the Town Hall Meeting from 1:00 - 1:45 p.m.
  Where:   Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway and Main, Portland, Oregon
  Why:   Alternative medicine researchers from across the country will meet in Portland on March 19 to discuss research in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Three experts will speak about promising research developments in acupuncture, chiropractic/spinal manipulation, and herbal medicine. This free, three-hour event will give people from the Northwest an opportunity to hear about the latest research into complementary and alternative medicine. Speakers will include NCCAM director Stephen E. Straus, M.D., and the two directors of Oregon's complementary and alternative medicine research centers, OHSU's Barry S. Oken, M.D., and Kaiser's B. Alexander White, D.D.S., Dr.P.H.

Attendees are invited to take part during two Q & A opportunities throughout the program. This is the third town hall meeting sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

For more information and to register for the town meeting on-line, please click on the link that follows: http://nccam.nih.gov/ne/announcements.html#tm. Or, call our toll-free registration line at 1-866-843-8577. Written questions to be asked during the town hall meeting can be faxed in advance to 1-866-843-8576.

The NCCAM is one of 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) composing the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NCCAM's mission is to stimulate, develop, and support research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for the benefit of the public. NCCAM is an advocate for quality science, rigorous and relevant research, and open and objective inquiry into which CAM practices work, which do not, and why. The Center's overriding mission is to give the American public reliable information about the safety and effectiveness of CAM practices.

For more information, please visit NCCAM's Web site at www.nccam.nih.gov or contact our clearinghouse at 1-888-644-6226.