Jolita Leonas-Arzbaecher, a Chicago-area philanthropist passionate about the work of Andrew Weil, MD, made a $1 million gift to advance the work of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona (UA) Health Sciences. Weil is director of the UA Center for Integrative Medicine (UACIM) and a clinical professor of medicine at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson.
Leonas-Arzbaecher is a longtime advocate for integrative medicine and has followed the work of UACIM for many years. “Dr. Weil has been the singular driving force in integrative medicine, helping to move integrative health into everyday life. I am thrilled to know that this gift can have a profound impact on the health of people in communities around the country,” she says.
UACIM encourages the transformation of health care by training a new generation of health professionals and by empowering individuals and communities to optimize health and well-being through evidence-based, sustainable, integrative approaches. The center was founded in 1994 by Weil and has focused its efforts in three domains: education, clinical care, and research. The center was built on the premise that the best way to change a field is to educate the most gifted professionals and place them in settings where they can, in turn, teach others.
“Leadership development is critically important to the successful incorporation of integrative medicine into mainstream medicine. This gift to the center will grow our faculty development efforts, support innovation, and significantly advance the education of medical professionals,” says Victoria Maizes, MD, executive director of the center.
To learn more about UACIM, please visit www.azcim.org.