Who Are We?
Health By Choice Education and Research is comprised of health practitioners and other individuals with extensive knowledge and experience in complementary and alternative health treatments. As a 501(c)3 tax-exempt, non-profit organization, our mission is to promote education and research to achieve wellness through natural foods, to develop an open forum for the exchange of ideas, and to empower professionals to optimize health and wellness through a more comprehensive, integrated approach to healing.
Why Are We Non-profit/Tax Exempt?
Our mission has a charitable purpose which is educational in nature and serves the interests of the public. Our the last 40 years, the healing arts have changed from a focus on healing to that of business and insurance. As a non-profit organization, other like-minded individuals can contribute to our success by helping us to focus on healing rather than the profit-making aspect of healthcare.
Where Are We?
HBCER is located in rural New Enterprise, Pennsylvania Amish farmland in the foothills of the mountains with plenty of clean air, clean land and clean water. Our building is adjacent to Health By Choice Natural Health Center and retail store.
Board of Directors
Patrick Kirkham
Patrick Kirkham, president of Health by Choice Education & Research, Inc., is founder and president of Natural Alliance, which strives to support people in their journey of living well in today’s toxic world. Throughout the past 17 plus years, Patrick has worked with holistic and allopathic health care providers researching healthy living technologies to support the wellness goals of their clients throughout North America. As a speaker, Patrick’s passion is to inspire audiences to take personal responsibility for their wellness, to educate oneself, and then to take the actions necessary to live a healthy and fulfilled life. Patrick is a past president of the Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club and currently serves on the board of the Susquehanna Sustainable Business Network, an organization dedicated to contributing to healthier people, a protected planet, and sustainable profit.
Dr. Thomas Heath DC
Dr. Thomas Heath DC graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1985. While nutritional counseling has always been an important part of his practice, Dr. Heath has spent a significant amount of time in recent years learning and incorporating Applied Kinesiology and lab tests that correlate with Applied Kinesiology into his practice. He also hosts a radio show called “A Beacon to Wellness” and teaches post-graduate nutrition classes for continuing education credits through Texas College of Chiropractic. He is founder of the Heath Chiropractic & Wellness Center in Shippensburg, PA.
Dr. Joseph Gattuso, MD
Cardiology Associates, Altoona PA
Dr. Blanche Grube, DDS
Dr. Blanche D. Grube has been in private practice at her Scranton, PA office for three decades, providing exceptional general dentistry and surgical expertise in a friendly, home-like environment. Dr. Grube holds a second doctorate in Integrative Medicine and is certified in conscious sedation. She has had extensive training in homeopathy, nutrition, iridology, colon hydrotherapy, neural therapy and acupuncture. For the first ten years of practice Dr. Grube followed the methods of conventional dentistry. In the early 90’s a simple question from a patient changed her life’s direction. She became interested in Biological Dentistry as a result of a request from one of her patients asking if mercury in amalgam fillings could cause the health problems the woman was experiencing. Through a series of events Dr. Blanche connected with Dr. Hal Huggins in Colorado Springs and the stage was set for what would become a new direction in her dental practice and a collaboration that would be far-reaching in her professional career.
Ella McElwee ND, HmD, PhD
Ella McElwee, founder and vice-president of Health by Choice Education & Research, Inc., is also the founder and director of Health by Choice, Inc.’s Integrated Health Care Center and Natural Food Store in beautiful Morrison’s Cove area in rural western Pennsylvania and of Health by Choice East in Manheim, Pennsylvania. Nationally known as a speaker and educator in the field of nutrition and natural healing, Ella utilizes the concepts of Homeopathy and Naturopathy in her unique, individualized counseling of clients for over thirty years. Her holistic, integrated approach to health care has made her very much sought after as a consultant to companies engaged in cutting-edge research into natural remedies. Ella strives to help her clients learn how to achieve “wellness,” which she describes as “the furthermost point from disease.” She has degrees in Naturopathy and Homeopathy, along with a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences.
Karen M. Jones
Karen M. Jones, treasurer of Health by Choice Education & Research, Inc., has an extensive career in the bookkeeping and administrative management area. She has worked in public accounting and small business operations. Karen serves as Business Operations Manager for Health by Choice, Inc., which she has raised to a new level of proficiency by bringing her organizational skills to identify areas of improvement and growth, so that Health by Choice continues to be a stable presence in the community it serves.
Beth Blevins Cujé, Ph.D.
Beth Blevins Cujé, Ph.D. is licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia as both a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Marriage and Family Therapist. She is a member of the National Board of Certified Counselors and is a Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. She is also a member of the American Association of Counselors and the Christian Association for Psychological Studies. Dr. Cujé has been a practicing psychotherapist since 1977 and has been in full-time private practice since 1982. She holds a doctorate degree from George Washington University, where she was also a part-time faculty for eleven years. Dr. Cujé has provided consulting and training to a variety of organizations, including the Department of the Navy, the Department of State, and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Ellen Campbell
Ellen Campbell serves as deputy director of the Family Policy Compliance Office in the U.S. Department of Education. She has worked in the area of student and family privacy issues since 1986. Ellen has over 30 years in state and federal government, with experience in writing and administering federal regulations and guidance documents. She has been published, most recently, with a chapter on a federal privacy law appearing in the Encyclopedia of Privacy, published by Greenwood Press (2007).
Peter Bergmann
Peter Bergmann has spent his entire career developing and managing both large and small businesses, as they developed, grew and expanded. He has worked with large international businesses with revenues in excess of $200 million, as well as small, privately owned businesses with $2 – $5 million revenues, and multi unit/multi state operations. His experiences have ranged from initial business plans for startups, to National Director to Vice President, to Chief Operating Officer. Throughout his career, Pete has developed procedures for expansions, full utilization of business potential and human resources, and negotiated contracts and leases. In his retail background, he was elected to the prestigious Food Marketing Institute Board of Directors, was active in the FMI Research and Education Committee, and served as a board member at several banks, universities, and charitable organizations.
Glenn Lohrmann
Glenn Lohrmann is a CPA and a financial consultant with over 30 years of experience. After graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park with a B.S. in Accounting and an MBA, he began his career with an international public accounting firm. His experience includes senior financial roles with hospitals, physician practices, medical schools, ancillary services providers, integrated health delivery systems, health insurers, bio-technology companies and the media/entertainment industry. His management experience includes roles with non-profit, for-profit, private and publicly-traded companies.
Paula Baker Lohrmann
Paula Baker Lohrmann is an image and wellness consultant with over 30 years of experience. In 1980, Paula founded New All Over to inspire, help and inform men and women in building positive self-image, greater self-esteem and health awareness. Paula’s professional experience and training includes psychology and communications, image, color and wardrobe consulting, skin care/make-up product development, weight loss/nutrition, chemical sensitivity, environmental awareness and music. She is a professional speaker, consultant, singer and writer. Paula has appeared on many TV and radio shows and been published in newspaper and magazine. Her personal testimony greatly supports her passion and commitment to promote wellness through healthy living in body, mind and spirit.
Gerald Reisinger, NMD, DC, BSC
Gerald Reisinger, NMD, DC, BSC is a graduate of National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon, Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood education from Virginia Commonwealth University. He founded the Pennsylvania Association of Naturopathic Physicians in 1979. Dr. Reisinger is Chairman of Susquehanna River Watch, an environmental group responsible for over 300 million dollars in River Hertiage restoration. He served as a physician and coach for Olympic level rowing and Lacrosse. Dr. Reisinger is of Seneca and Bavarian descent and has dedicated his life to preserve our world for the next 7 generations, a strong Iroquoi Principle. He was recently selected to serve on the Seneca Nation Sacred Site Advisory Committee, which help preserve ancient village and burial sites. His love for studying Iroquoi herbal medicine came from his Seneca Grandmother and learned healthy nutrition from his Bavarian Chef Grandfather. He began harvesting wild herbs for Iroquoi blends from the age of 4 and today his family owns a 200 acre farm with over 100 artisian springs and many grown herbal medicines.
Holly Sheetz
Holly Sheetz is chairman of fundraising for Health by Choice by Education & Research, Inc. and is spearheading the fundraising efforts for HBCE&R’s new building project. As a wife, mother, and grandmother, Holly has a passion to raise the awareness of integrative medicine for generations to come.
Ralph Miranda, M.D.
Ralph Miranda, M.D. is a Fellow of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) and a diplomat of the American Board of Chelation Therapy. Dr. Miranda is a past president of the American Preventative Medical Associates and served on the Board of Trustees of Capitol University of Integrative Medicine. He is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert on alternative medicine and EDTA Chelation Therapy. He is president of the Wholistic Health Center in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Advisory Board
Steve Jennings, Esq.
Steve Jennings, Esq. is an attorney in private practice in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. He received his undergraduate degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and his law degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
Angela Hywood
Angela Hywood is an Australian trained Naturopath, Medicinal Herbalist and Homeopath. She specializes in the field of Fertility Management and women and children’s health care. Angela has been a speaker at a number of Medical, Naturopathic and Herbal Medicine Conferences in the USA and Australia and currently works as an Independent Educational Consultant for MediHerb Pty Ltd in Australia and the United States. She maintains practices in Sydney, Australia, Boston, Massachusetts, and will soon open a practice in London, England.
Michael Dobbins
Michael Dobbins, DC has been a chiropractor and nutritional educator for over two decades. He speaks to health-care practitioners at seminars through the country on complementary health, nutrition and herbal therapy. In 2009, he was the first recipient of the Excellence in Nutritional Education award presented by Standard Process because of his passion for nutritional education. Dr. Dobbins maintains a practice in the San Francisco Bay area.
Kerry Bone
Kerry Bone is a medical herbalist practicing in Queensland, Australia. He is the co-author of Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy: Modern Herbal Medicine. Kerry is director of research and development for MediHerb, Inc. He is also an experienced research and industrial chemist, who graduated with first class honours from Melbourne University and won the Masson Memorial Prize as Australia’s top chemistry student. He studied herbal medicine at the renowned School of Phytotherapy in the UK, and graduated with distinction in 1983. In 2004, he was appointed adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Health at the University of New England.
Allan Jamieson
Allan Jamieson strives to encourage the use of arts in healing and to be able to bring programs to the site that combine healing and the arts.