Modern medicine is at its best in a crisis, when the body breaks down. Doctors make split-second decisions, perform advanced procedures and save lives every day in emergency departments across the country.

Before I co-founded the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, life-saving technology consumed my life. As an interventional cardiologist, I performed thousands of angioplasty and stenting procedures, opening arteries I could only hope would stay open.

Today, I help people find their own path to a lifetime of better health. At Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, we use a holistic approach to help the body heal, taking into account that each person’s emotional well-being is sometimes as revealing as the findings on a CT scan. It may take extra time to peel away the many layers that make up a human being, but the results can be inspiring.

This approach to medicine is at the core of our mission: to heal people and change lives through science and compassion. Our physicians are fluent in both Western medicine and complementary therapies. They are trained to recognize when a patient with chronic knee pain needs acupuncture or surgery, or when a person with coronary heart disease needs bypass surgery or a stent.

Mind, Body, Spirit and Expansion

When we opened the Center in 1999, we believed the world was waiting for health care that didn’t separate conventional from complementary medicine but embraced the best of both worlds. And we were right. The Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine is now the largest center of its kind in this country, and is part of the Bravewell Collaborative, a national network of renowned, integrative health care clinics.

As a result of exhilarating growth, we are embarking on a major expansion of services, space and staff. To learn more, and find out how you can be a part of our growth, see article Phase II Expansion Giving Opportunities on the back page.

In this newsletter, you will read about patients like Ken Rafle whose life changed in a split second. You will read about Christine Kennedy who found the strength, and the healing techniques, to manage her cancer treatments. And, you will read about some of our most generous and committed supporters. These are people whose lives have been changed by the Center, and whose stories might just change yours.

Blessings,

Mimi Guarneri, M.D., FACC, Medical Director, Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine