Traditional Chinese medicine advocates look to expand reach

A Vancouver-based non-profit is looking to increase the reach of local Chinese traditional medicine practices after announcing plans to take over a local school this month.

Buddhist philanthropy group Tzu Chi Canada will officially move into the International College of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Vancouver on May 5, the school having been donated by one of its founders. The college is among the oldest such schools in B.C., with a 28-year history and current enrolment of around 150.

Tzu Chi Canada founder and CEO Gary Ho said the school will be central to the group’s efforts to advocate for traditional Chinese medicine in B.C., which has seen success in the past year by offering clinics in First Nations communities, notably at Abbotsford’s Sumas First Nation and the Aboriginal Mother Centre in Vancouver.

“We would like the people of Vancouver to have a choice of a complementary, alternative forms of medical care, especially since traditional Chinese medicine has been proven to be very effective in preventive and physical rehabilitation,” Ho said. “We want to train good doctors who have built-in field experience at the moment they graduate, allowing them to help people right away.”

Ho added that Tzu Chi will announce scholarships at the May 5 opening. Although details are still being finalized, he said one idea is to offer scholarships specifically to First Nations students.

College principal Dr. Laina Ho said the decision to hand the school over to Tzu Chi was so that “traditional Chinese medicine education can be sustainable with a higher quality of learning and teaching in Canada.”

Traditional medicine is a widely practised in Chinese communities around the world, but mainstream interest has grown in recent years with the popularity of acupuncture, acupressure and herbal remedies. The college says more than 70 per cent of its graduates are from non-Chinese backgrounds.

Tzu Chi has been a major donor to local hospitals since its founding in 1992, and Ho said that relationship has helped health authorities keep an open mind about traditional practices. The group now offers a clinic at Burnaby Hospital, and there are discussions about similar programs elsewhere.

“We are not looking to make money,” Ho said. “We are a nonprofit, after all. We just hope more hospitals will let (traditional medicine) doctors have a chance at serving the community, because they convey a real benefit in the longterm well-being of patients. The key is to gain the acceptance of western doctors.”

Land for a hospital dedicated to traditional Chinese medicine has been purchased in the South Cambie neighbourhood, although Tzu Chi said it will wait until rezoning along the Cambie corridor is finalized before going forward with an application for construction. Completion is likely at least two years away, Ho said.

In addition, the non-profit group continues to petition the province to be certified as a health-care provider in B.C.’s First Nations communities.

“This practice has the potential to reduce the burden on the overall health-care system,” Ho said. “For a patient, the right therapy can mean a joint-replacement or not. And that has huge implications on their quality of life, as well as the cost for their care.”