Integrating alternative and complementary care practitioners in Oregon's state disaster volunteer program

Oregon's Public Health Division has massively increased the number of alternative and complementary health care practitioners in its official State Emergency Registry of Volunteers in Oregon (SERV-OR). Like all states, Oregon has been mandated and funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services to manage a statewide Emergency System for the advanced Registration of Healthcare Professionals (ESAR-VHP), and like most states it has focused on key professions such as nurses and physicians. However, in 2011 the state program officers initiated a challenging program expansion through the integration of alternative and complementary care practitioners, including licensed acupuncturists, naturopathic physicians and chiropractors. The expansion encountered challenges such as varied personal experience with, knowledge of, and biases about such fields of alternative and complementary practice. The personnel pursued the integration of such professionals based on three assumptions: (1) Such professionals were licensed by the state to provide care, regardless of any opinions; (2) there is demand for their services in non-emergencies, so there would be demand for their services in the wake of public health emergencies; (3) any such practitioners interested in volunteering for disaster response would bring skills, commitment, and social capital to the volunteer program and the broader network of stakeholders involved. Over the two years, a process of outreach and engagement through meetings, focus groups, and more, increased the number of such practitioners from two acupuncturists and one naturopathic physician to 54 licensed acupuncturists, 38 naturopathic physicians and 40 chiropractors, among the highest proportion of participation per capita of licensees among all licensed health care professionals in Oregon.