KEVIN MCNAMEE, D.C., L.Ac.
Kevin McNamee began
his healthcare career at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
where he majored biomedical engineering. This program allowed him to explore
various health fields, and it provided a broad look at healthcare delivery
in the United States. During his third year at UCLA, Kevin conducted DNA
research at the Biological Chemistry Department in the Medical School.
After two years of research, he and his fellow researchers published their
findings in the Journal of Bacteriology. Eager to explore other health
fields, Kevin volunteered one summer as an immunization screener for the
Los Angeles County Immunization Program which provides services to the
undeserved areas of the city and county. There, he met a segment of the
population who relied on Federal assistance to meet their healthcare needs,
and he developed an appreciation for public health, an appreciation that
remains with him to this day.
While at UCLA,
Kevin also worked as a non-invasive cardiology technician at Santa Monica
Hospital and St. John's Hospital. He continued working there during school
breaks while attending chiropractic and Oriental medicine programs. It
provided an excellent clinical opportunity and a steady source of income
through the learning and lean years.
Upon completion of
his Bachelor's program, Kevin was accepted to the Los Angeles College
of Chiropractic in Whittier, California. There he described the academic
demand of the chiropractic program as many times more demanding than the
engineering program at UCLA. Taking 32 units per semester, class and laboratory
work taking 40 hours per week, not including study time on the outside
forced him to minimize relaxation time and maximize study time. Dinner,
lunches and laundry for the week were done in a four-hour block on the
weekend.
In the second term
of chiropractic school, Kevin attended a presentation by an acupuncturist
who selected two of Kevin's classmates for a demonstration. One had sprained
his ankle on the athletic field and was limping; the other had knee surgery
one month prior and was still on crutches. The acupuncturist used only
his fingers to stimulate the acupuncture points. This treatment, known
as acupressure, greatly helped these students to walk, decreased swelling,
and increased joint motion.
This demonstration
intrigued Kevin who realized the combination of chiropractic, acupuncture
and oriental medicine could benefit his future patients. Each, he surmised,
had something to offer. Where one treatment option may fall short of the
therapeutic goal, the other would fill the void and allow the treatment
goal to be realized.
At that point, Kevin
and 20 other chiropractic students entered Emperor's College of Oriental
Medicine in Santa Monica. The college designed weekend classes for them
so they could continue attending the chiropractic program Monday through
Friday. For the next five academic years, Kevin and his chiropractic colleagues
attended both Oriental medicine college and chiropractic college six and
seven days per week. By the time internships began, the original twenty
students were reduced to only five. Kevin completed two internships simultaneously
with over 70 hours per week devoted to patient care.
While in his clinical
program, Kevin took advantage of a family practice rotation at a Navajo
reservation hospital in Ganado, Arizona. Under the government's Indian
Health Services (IHS), the clinical staff at Sage Memorial Hospital provided
care to the surrounding Navajo Indians. Kevin began to appreciate the
history of this proud people and the changes that an expanding United
States had on their culture and way of life. No longer was it a just story
in the history books, but a reality in which Kevin experienced the people
whose grandparents were there when history was made. He learned that the
Navajo temperament and stoic ways needed to be addressed in the course
of medical treatment and that the medicine men and women were, at times,
part of the healing process in the hospital, despite the disappointment
and reluctance of the medical doctors. These cases enriched Kevin's clinical
exposure and furthered his appreciation of treating the whole person,
rather than simply the disease.
Upon completing the
combined chiropractic, acupuncture, and Oriental medicine college programs,
Kevin traveled to the Peoples' Republic of China to study at the Dalian
Medical College. This clinical postgraduate program was made possible
by an instructor at Emperor's College who was the former president of
this well-known Chinese medical school. Kevin and several of his classmates
attended the 8-week postgraduate program which included the integration
of Oriental medicine with allopathic medicine (M.D.). Rotations included
orthopedics, neurology, radiology, internal medicine, tai Qi, Qi gong,
dermatology, plus many others.
Kevin returned to
the United States and began practice in a medical legal office in Beverly
Hills, California. After a year in practice, the research director at
the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic asked him to return to the college
and help complete a research project on low back pain. During the next
three years, Kevin coordinated the clinical trial, guest lectured, taught
the interns in the clinic and wrote various research papers. Once the
project was completed, Kevin returned to private practice in Woodland
Hills, California where he is the founder and director of the California
Health Institute.
In addition to a full
time practice, Kevin consults as an expert witness in litigated cases,
consults with many insurance companies, conducts research, teaches at
several colleges, and is frequently sought after for interviews and lectures.
Kevin reached his practice goal of combining chiropractic care with acupuncture
and Oriental medicine to the benefit of his patients.
| EDUCATION |
|
Bachelors
of Science, Engineering
University of California at Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California |
Bachelors
of Science, Human Biology
Los Angeles College of Chiropractic
Whittier, California |
| |
|
Diploma
of Oriental Medicine
Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine
Santa Monica, California |
Doctor
of Chiropractic
Los Angeles College of Chiropractic
Whittier, California |
| |
|
Certificate
of Oriental Medicine
Dalian Medical College
Dalian, Peoples' Republic of China |
|
| CURRENT & PAST APPOINTMENTS |
|
Panel
Member
National Institutes of Health
Office of Alternative Medicine
Bethesda, Maryland |
Board
Member
Center for Oriental Medical Research and Education
Los Angeles, California |
| CURRENT & PAST INSURANCE CONSULTING |
Blue
Cross of California
Woodland Hills, California |
TransAmerica
for Medicare of Southern California
Los Angeles, California |
| |
|
California
Unicare
Irvine, California |
California
AcuNet
Encino, California |
| |
|
Institute
for Healthcare Quality (IHQ)
Minneapolis, Minnesota |
Landmark
Health Care
Sacramento, California |
| |
|
ETI
Technologies
Thousand Oaks, California |
|
