East, West and In-Between: Acupuncture Approaches to Common Problems – A Moderated Panel Discussion

Mitch Elkiss, DO, FAAMA
Dr. Elkiss is an Associate Professor of Neurology Michigan State University. He has been in private practice of Integrative Neurology for 38 years. He is an Associates in Neurology in Farmington Hills, MI and a Senior preceptor/Lecturer Medical Acupuncture for Physicians, HMI/ACUS.

Freda Dreher, MD, FAAMA
Dr. Freda Dreher has been enjoying Medical Acupuncture for 22 years, initially using the tool to address pain problems in her Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation practice. The tool quickly evolved into an entire philosophy of care and expanded into a holistic approach for all of her patients for just about any problem. Over the years she has rounded out that acupuncture approach with formal training in Motivational Interviewing, Clinical Hypnosis, and Positive Coaching. Starting out as an HMI grad, she has also trained in Qi Gong, taken courses at Five Branches University in San Jose, CA, and completed the Harvard acupuncture training program in 2016. She has taught with HMI and Acus since 2005 and served the AAMA on various committees, on the board of directors, and is currently the Immediate Past President of the AAMA. Combining all of these approaches in her private practice in Lebanon, New Hampshire, her primary focus now is disability evaluation and management. Freda has a keen interest in physician well-being, and is an advocate for fitness, self-care, and resilience.

C. Leslie Smith, MD, LAc, FAAMA
Dr. Leslie Smith is the Director of Culinary Medicine and Integrative Medicine and an Assistant Professor at SIU School of Medicine in Illinois. She is an MD/LAc, has three Master’s degrees in Physiology/Biophysics, Medical Education, and Traditional Asian Medicine, earned her medical acupuncture certification through Harvard’s Structural Acupuncture Course for Physicians, and has completed a Fellowship in Surgical Education. She is a diplomat to the ABMA and the NCCAOM. Dr. Smith serves on the IHPC board and as their Communications Committee chair. Her research interests include hospital-based integrative medicine, utility of acupuncture and Asian medical techniques in a biomedical paradigm, and medical education around failure and success.

Jared West, LAc
Jared West graduated summa cum laude from the American Institute of Alternative Medicine in 2008.  He is the past president of the Ohio Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and a lifetime member. He has testified to Ohio Medicaid and committees in the Ohio House and Senate.  He also serves on the Ohio Medical Board’s Oriental Medicine Advisory Committee. He began studying Chinese Medicine in 1991 through an apprenticeship to a Taoist priest. Jared is also a second-generation acupuncturist; his mother, Karen Young, is the past president of the Idaho Acupuncture Association.
Jared teaches classes on legislative advocacy, insurance billing, acupressure, traditional diagnosis and specialized forms of acupuncture including Korean Hand Therapy and Classical Acupuncture.