2013 has been a very special year forCMAAC and our Nova Scotia chapter. CMAAC celebrated its 30-yearanniversary this past year! And the Nova Scotia and Maritime Chaptersare proud to say that they have now been a part of CMAAC for 24years. For the past 24 years, we have received wonderful support fromthe CMAAC Head Office and we would like to thank Prof. Cedric K. T.Cheung, former president of CMAAC; Prof. Wei Ling Qui, President ofCMAAC, Dr. Judy Ling, Director General of CMAAC and Dr. Jane Cheung,Vice President of CMAAC for their outstanding efforts. Theseindividuals have put a lot of time, energy and guidance into the NovaScotia Chapter of CMAAC and we would like to sincerely thank them fortheir ongoing support.
This year, the people and media of NovaScotia have been more receptive to learning about acupuncture andTraditional Chinese Medicine than ever before, and the community isembracing alternative medicine; many are beginning to incorporate itinto their overall approach to health and wellness.
On June 20th, GlobalTelevision 6pm News aired an interview with Dr. Diana Tong Li,President of CMAAC Nova Scotia Chapter and Dr. Franklyn Chen,President of Acupuncture & Naturopath Association of Nova Scotia,about the infertility treatment programs at L-C/S-T Acupuncture &Natural Medicine Clinics! Two of the patients brought their babieswho had been conceived as a result of the Dr. Li-Chen Fertilityprograms. They were baby number 265 and 266 for the clinic: one boyand one girl. This program sparked a lot of interest in acupunctureand TCM and was an eye-opener for a lot of people in the province whonow want to know more about the potential health benefits ofacupuncture and TCM. We have received a lot of great feedback andinquiries as a result of this interview.
After the television interview, a localradio station contacted Dr. Diana Tong Li to do a radio interview onthe Rick Howe show, News 95.7. In this very lengthy interview, RickHowe asked a lot of excellent questions about acupuncture and TCM andthe potential benefits as well as the specific conditions thatacupuncture can treat.
This interview has gone a long way inpromoting acupuncture, TCM, and CMAAC in our region and creating moreinterest in these types of alternative medicine.
Dr. Diana Tong Li, President of CMAACNova Scotia Chapter, after 24 years of hard work in the Maritimes andespecially in Nova Scotia, has been elected to the World Federationof Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies(WFAS) 8th Executive Committee! Her dedication and integrity is well respectedby her peers and patients and has led to this internationalrecognition. This is a great honour for Nova Scotia, a small provincethat will now have a voice at an international level.
From November 1st to 5th,our chapter president, Dr. Diana Tong Li attended the 8thannual WFAS World Conference on Acupuncture in Sydney, Australia andpresented two clinical research papers; one was about acupuncture totreat infertility and the other was on a special five elementsacupuncture treatment for whiplash. Both papers intrigued doctors andspecialists all over the world who began asking more about this research.
From October 15th- 18th,CMAAC Nova Scotia Chapter, in association with the Canadian Collegeof Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine(CCATCM), and theConfucius Institute at Saint Mary’s University held an educationalsummit exploring wellbeing with acupuncture and Traditional ChineseMedicine in Nova Scotia. Two renowned doctors from the TCM Departmentof Xiamen University in China and Dr. Franklyn Chen was guest lecturers.The summit was a great success and another way in which the localcommunity in Nova Scotia has had an opportunity to share and learnabout acupuncture and TCM this past year. Many other members of theCMAAC Nova Scotia Chapter have greatly impacted the community throughtheir passion and love for acupuncture treatment.
At the end of 2013, Nova Scotia saw achange in government as the Liberals took power in the region. We arepleased to say that these new officials are very open minded aboutthe benefits of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. One ofthe Ministers has visited the Canadian College of Acupuncture andTraditional Chinese Medicine several times in the past to speak tostudents and show her support for acupuncture and Traditional ChineseMedicine. We think that with the government’s support the next fouryears will be a great time for acupuncture and TCM in Nova Scotia.
The CMAAC Nova Scotia Chapter has setup a board. These dedicated board members will work collectively as ateam to support one of CMAAC’s main priorities, preparing for the2015 World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion SocietyInternational Conference in Toronto!
We look forward to the continuingsupport and guidance from CMAAC Head Office as we look to the brightfuture of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in NovaScotia.
We wish everyone the best in the yearof 2014, The board of CMAAC Nova Scotia Chapter