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September/October 2002 Featured Stories
Integrative Medicine
at the Pearl Clinic & Pharmacy

by Miriam Knight

A bright light in healthcare has dawned in the Pearl. Rich Silverman, a pharmacist, student of naturopathy and self-confessed maverick, had a vision of healthcare in which the patient is no longer a set of symptoms, but a whole human being with complex needs. In modern medicine’s shift to technological solutions, things like really listening to the patient and trying gentler, natural treatments have been shoved aside and the human touch has been fading.

How appropriate that the Pearl Clinic and Pharmacy should be located in the EcoTrust building at NW 9^th and Irving in Portland’s Pearl district. This beautifully conserved warehouse embodies the values of holism and respect for the earth and her inhabitants that resonate so strongly with Silverman.

Silverman took his inspiration from the Chinese model of holistic healthcare where the doctor gets paid only when the patient is healthy. He sees his mission to educate as much as to treat. "The challenge is to get even the guys drinking beer and eating potato chips into our clinic and educate them as to what their options are."

With this vision in mind, Rich Silverman put his heart and soul behind the newly opened Pearl Clinic and Pearl Pharmacy. This new model of Integrative Medicine has drawn on the best in conventional allopathic, naturopathic, Chinese and Chiropractic medicine. It pulls in a wide range of supporting therapies like acupuncture, Massage Therapy, Psychological Counseling, Clinical Skin Care and Medical and Professional Makeup Consulting.

In Integrative Medicine, practitioners work together as a team to create a unique approach for optimal care of the individual. Bringing together the expertise of a multidisciplinary team, there is no longer the limited focus on only one treatment path, but rather a range of options can be explored in the best interests of the patient. It is all about developing patient-practitioner relationships in which every individual will feel respected. The treatment plan agreed upon can then be supported by the Pearl Pharmacy, which has traditional and non-traditional medications, including pharmaceuticals, herbal medicine, homeopathic remedies and nutritional supplements.

Another aspect of the "medicine" the clinic provides is community outreach and education. Classes and workshops will be taught by the Pearl’s clinicians, as well as well-known invited speakers. The emphasis will be placed on current healthcare topics and personal and spiritual development. A schedule of upcoming classes and events will be available on their website.

This wide scope of services and education is all focused on empowering individuals to make their own health care decisions from an informed position. Ultimately the goal is to inculcate the awareness in people that they can and must be responsible for their own health.

"Pragmatic Idealism" is how Silverman describes his approach to the Clinic. His emphasis has been on translating talk and intent into action and "making it happen" in the real world environment. He has gathered around him a group of extraordinary practitioners who are investing all their passion and creativity into creating a place of optimal healing and health. They are happy to work together in teams for the good of their patients, sharing the advantage of multiple perspectives. They are convinced that the model will prove to be cost-effective because it will eliminate duplication of effort, saving time and money for both practitioner and patient.

An experienced businessman with two other pharmacies in Oregon, Silverman realized that to be successful the Clinic has to work within the capitalist system. He noted that the Clinic is covered by almost all insurance companies. Even the non-traditional therapies are being covered by the "Green Riders" being offered by many insurance plans due to public demand. He plans to network with other integrative clinics around the country, to pool data about the effectiveness of the Integrative approach, in the hope that this will eventually become the new standard of best practice.

The seeds of the Pearl Clinic and Pearl Pharmacy were planted around 20 years ago when Rich Silverman was working as a hospital Pharmacist. He observed that a patient’s needs were sometimes more complicated than any one discipline could cover, and that the patient was often not listened to, much less understood. Always a seeker, Rich studied cultural philosophies and two years ago he went back to Naturopathic Medical School. He realized, however, that his path lay not in being a doctor, but in being a facilitator for others with the same vision for a new Medical Model.

After completing one year at N.C.N.M. he left to build his dream. He turned various coffee shops around town into his temporary offices, and within months the clinic began to take shape. Speaking with the passion of an evangelist, Silverman pulled together a team of practitioners to join this Cultural Revolution. Ellen Michaelson M.D. and Max Tenscher F.N.P. joined as Co-Medical Directors, and a talented group of holistic practitioners were drawn like filings to a magnet.

Silverman was not surprised. He "knows" it is all being taken care of by his "angels"; all he needed to do was let go of the fear and surrender. In his ambitions for the Clinic, he merely wants "to break even and create a revolutionary model. It is not about the money. The true currency is the spirit."

What an interesting blend of pragmatism and idealism…right on, Rich!

The websites for The Pearl Clinic and Pharmacy are: www.pearlclinic.com and www.thepearlpharmacy.com. Their phone is 503- 525-0090.