Happy summer from WEAMA!

The American Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Congress will be held in Seattle August 3rd – 5th, 2018!

Who should attend? Anyone who is engaged in Traditional Chinese Medicine, including working in education, research, clinical applications, health and lifestyle, medical equipment providers, Chinese herbal medicine suppliers, other professional experts and scholars, and current students who enrolled in qualified TCM acupuncture programs are welcomed.

DATE: 08/04/2018 (All day) to 08/05/2018 (All day)
Location: Hyatt Regency Bellevue on Seattle’s Eastside
900 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004, USA
Detailed Schedule & Registration
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Not yet a member of WEAMA?  More information here
Want to get involved? Email Shelley:  info@weama.info

About
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 33 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors currently consists of 7 democratically elected professionals in the field.

Greetings from WEAMA!
WEAMA appreciates your continued support! Thank you!
A big legislative year lies ahead as we navigate physical therapists and nurse practitioners lobbying to add acupuncture to their scope of practice. WEAMA is also working to update our professional scope of practice to more correctly reflect our high standards of education and training. It is imperative to work as a professional unified collective to ensure our profession is protected and preserved.

How can you help? Call to action!

Our association needs membership numbers to be 50% plus 1 of our profession to have the greatest impact. As it stands, only 10% of Washington LAc's are members of WEAMA. For as little as $15 dollars a month you help pay for our profession to have a consistent presence in the legislation process through our dedicated and successful lobbyist, Leslie Emerick. She acts on every opportunity to help our profession succeed. Most recently Leslie added our profession at the last moment, via WEAMA for all Washington acupuncturists, to the prior authorization bill and because of that acupuncturists patients can receive 6 visits before prior auth! Without our lobbyist our profession would not be where it is today. Please take time to renew your membership if it has lapsed, join our membership, or donate to our PAC fund (legislative fund) to make your dollar and voice heard! Join or renew here: https://weama.info/support/join

Proof is in the pudding...

WEAMA asked our amazing lobbyist Leslie Emerick​ to create a document to share with all Washington licensed acupuncturists to keep you abreast and show what your WEAMA membership dollars are paying for. Leslie graciously created a "10 year retrospective" of WEAMA's legislative and public policy accomplishments. It is packed full of vital information!

Here is to a successful legislative session!

WEAMA board of directors

Our lobbyist is often aware of bills that are being considered for the next legislative session months in advance. For those entities that are considering legislation for next year, stakeholder work begins early! Here are a few bills that are being proposed for next year, including our own:
Read more...WEAMA Potential Legislative Agenda for 2019 (1).pdf

East Asian Medicine Advisory Committee meeting scheduled for Friday, June 22, 2018, Vancouver WA.  See below for agenda.
Agenda

A new meta-analysis published in the Journal of Pain has found that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain, which may have implications for the way family physicians treat patients with this condition.

Read article here: www.aafp.org

Attendees at the WEAMA Spring Meeting on Sunday May 20, at Bastyr University received a wealth of information, from insurance to herbal resources; the UW library, new research and with every engaged person we strengthen and advance East Asian Medicine in Washington State. The practice of acupuncture is becoming more accepted, and with this comes challenges as well. Your WEAMA leadership with the help of lobbyist Leslie Emerick is at the forefront in navigating this progress. Our closing session was a lively and at times emotional open discussion and listening exercise, describing the state of acupuncture in Washington State and important decisions facing our leadership in representing the profession. Consensus is to continue to engage the PT’s in conversation so that WEAMA stays at the table and doesn’t miss an opportunity to educate and define acupuncture when policy and rule-making opportunities arise, “If you are not at the table, you might be on the menu”. We will continue to keep members informed through our blog postings, new monthly public policy phone calls, and of course at the Fall WEAMA membership meeting.

If you are not yet engaged, we invite you to become part of WEAMAs efforts to protect and advance our profession! Preserving our profession is WEAMA's mission statement and passion. Please email info@weama.info if you want to be involved, even in the littlest capacity. “Many hands make light work.”

Thank you the more than 80 EAMP’s students and exhibitors for participating in the WEAMA Spring membership meeting. We will offer a Fall Membership Meeting in October. Look for more information soon.

View WEAMA Legislative Presentation

About WEAMA
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 33 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors currently consists of 7 democratically elected professionals in the field.

Join more than 65 already registered fellow EAMPs in participating in the WEAMA Spring Membership Meeting. Its not to late! Register now!
May 20th, 2018, at Bastyr University, 14500 Juanita Drive, Kenmore WA 98028-4966. Hope to see you there!
Meet the WEAMA leadership who are providing information and resources for the nearly 1,500 licensed acupuncture practitioners in Washington state. We invite you to participate to learn what's trending in acupuncture locally and nationally and discover opportunities to engage with the association. Joining a committee is the fastest way to realize return on investment for membership dues! Expanding your network of contacts within the practice is the number one strategy for advancing your career. And, this is the place to reconnect with friends and colleagues! Hope to see you there!
Register here
Registration Includes: CEUs, Organic Lunch Buffet, Free Parking, Vendor Tables!

View detailed schedule

About WEAMA
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 25 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors currently consists of 7 democratically elected professionals in the field.

Join more than 50 already registered fellow EAMPs in participating in the Spring WEAMA Membership Meeting. We have in-person and new this year the option to join us by live remote feed, available for the same low registration rate of just $50. Early Bird special pricing ends today. Save $40!

You will learn important policy and legislation impacting acupuncture locally and nationally from experts and WEAMA leaders, and opportunities to connect with other EAMPS and engage with the association. Join us on May 20th, 2018, at Bastyr University, 14500 Juanita Drive, Kenmore WA 98028-4966. Hope to see you there!
Register here

REGISTRATION INCLUDES:
CEUs (pending)
ORGANIC LUNCH BUFFET
FREE PARKING
VENDOR TABLES

May Membership Meeting Schedule

End 3:30 pm

Contact: Shelley Dahle at info@weama.info with questions or inquiries for sponsorship or vendor opportunities. Sponsorships range from $250 - $775



About WEAMA
The Washington East Asian Medicine Association first began as the Acupuncture Association of Washington over 25 years ago. The organization helped to provide a unified legislative voice for our profession. In fact, our founders were integral in helping establish the legal practice of East Asian Medicine in Washington state. Our all-volunteer Board of Directors currently consists of 7 democratically elected professionals in the field.

New to the program! Classical Herbal Formulas and How to Apply Them to Digestive Disorders, Daniel Altschuler, L.Ac., Ph.D. will be a featured speaker presenting an overview of some of his favorite digestive disorder formulas and how best to learn and apply classic formulas. He will offer a practical clinical perspective to help orient and focus our clinical thinking around the prescription of Chinese herbal medicines. Daniel began studying the art of Chinese Medicine in 1992 in Taiwan under the master physician, Dr. Lee Chen-Yr. while researching classic medical texts in their original Chinese language.

Three great reasons to attend: 1) Meet the WEAMA rockstars representing the nearly 1,500 licensed acupuncture practitioners in Washington state. 2) Learn what’s trending in acupuncture locally and nationally and, 3) Discover opportunities to engage with the association.

“I think it is essential to attend Membership Meetings. It keeps you up to date on what is happening in our profession. It introduces you to other members of our profession, so we may collaborate.” Barbara Paul-Mayer, WEAMA member.

Joining a committee is the fastest way to realize return on investment for membership dues!  Expanding your network of contacts within the practice is the number one strategy for advancing your career.  And, this is the place to reconnect with friends and colleagues! 
Registration Includes: CEUs, Organic Lunch Buffet, Free Parking, Vendor Tables! 
Early bird registration is now open for WEAMA members. Regular member rate is $90: Save $40 until May 1st! 
REGISTER today! 

WEAMA SPRING 2018 MEMBERSHIP MEETING
May 20, 2018
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Bastyr University, 14500 Juanita Drive, Kenmore WA 98028-4966

Legislative Overview
The legislative session was officially over on March 8, 2018, but the Governor continued to sign bills for weeks after the session was over. For the first time in five years there was not a Special Session to finalize a budget. We are still waiting to see if the WA Supreme Court will accept the latest funding for the McCleary Decision that requires fully funding education under the state constitution. I believe it is likely they will approve of the legislatures last budget since they added nearly a billion dollars into the budget for education. Luckily the state’s revenues came in with an additional $1.4 billion to help finish the job this year!

4.17WEAMA April 2018 Legislative Report.pdf