Natural Awakenings of Bucks and Montgomery County, in partnership with the Institute of Functional Medicine and the Evolution of Medicine, is hosting “The Functional Forum of the Greater Delaware Valley”from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., on January 20, at Giant Supermarket in Willow Grove. This local monthly meetup is open to all health professionals that are interested in growing the functional medicine movement. The event is sponsored by Metagenics, which provides safe, effective and reliable nutrigenomic medical foods and nutraceuticals, and is committed to extensive research and education.

“The Forum” is the world’s largest integrative medicine conference, bringing together current health news, functional medicine research, practice development and health technology. The program features the industry’s leading innovators, such as Jeff Bland, Mark Hyman and Dean Ornish, presenting in a mixed-media format that combines interviews and TED-style talks, videos, music and a YouTube channel. There are currently Functional Forum Meetups in eight countries and 100 cities around the world, including over 60 groups meeting monthly in the U.S.

The purpose of the group is to stimulate discussion and develop a community of like-minded, local providers to build referral networks and contribute to the evolution of the movement at large.

The meetup is open to area health professionals, including MDs, DOs, NDs, PAs, DCs, RNs, NPs, LAcs, CHTs, CCNs, DDSs, midwives, pharmacists, veterinarians, colon hydrotherapists and health coaches, as well as digital health innovators and medical stakeholders with an interest in functional, preventative, holistic and integrative medicine.

“The relationship between allopathic and complementary medicine is evolving rapidly,” explains Karen G. Meshkov, publisher and director of advertising partnerships for Natural Awakenings of Bucks and Montgomery County. “We want to help primary care doctors and major medical centers grow and develop relationships with the organizations and practitioners that can provide complementary and lifestyle support for their patients. Together, we are ‘Making the Awakening’ to better health and living for our communities.”

There is no cost to attend the program. For more information or to RSVP, email [email protected], call 267-544-9585 or visit Meetup.FunctionalForum.com/delaware-valley-chapter.

January 2017