Board of Naturopathy

The mandate of the Board of Naturopathy is to protect the public's health and safety and to promote the welfare of the state by regulating the competency and quality of naturopathic physicians. The board accomplishes this through a variety of activities working with the Department of Health, Health Systems Quality Assurance.

Become a Board, Commission or Committee Member.

Board Information

Description

Board duties include:

Establishing qualifications for minimal competency to grant or deny licensure of naturopathic physicians.
Regulating the competency and quality of naturopathic physicians by establishing, monitoring and enforcing qualifications for licensure.
Establishing and monitoring compliance with continuing education requirements.
Ensuring consistent standards of practice.
Developing continuing competency mechanisms.
Assessing, investigating and making recommendations related to complaints against naturopathic physicians which may range from a Notice of Correction to a license revocation.
Serving as reviewing members on disciplinary cases and serve on disciplinary hearing panels.
Serving as members of standing committees, when appointed.
Developing rules, policies and procedures that promote the delivery of quality healthcare to state residents.

Qualifications

The board is made up of five naturopathic physicians and two public members appointed by the governor. The physician members must hold an active Washington State naturopathic physician license. Public member representatives may not:

Be a member of any other healthcare licensing board or commission;
Have a fiduciary obligation to a facility rendering healthcare services;
Have a financial interest in the rendering of health services.

Board participation expectation guidelines

The following expectation guidelines are intended to serve as a reference for current members and for prospective appointees of the board:

Attend regular board meetings, scheduled quarterly during business hours on Fridays. There is also Department of Health one-day Board, Commission and Committee conference.
Participate in telephone conferences to close cases. These take about an hour and are usually done between board meetings.
Participate in settlement conferences with respondent's attorney, staff attorney and/or board staff. Usually held at the convenience of the reviewing board member and can take several hours. The number held each year depends on the number of cases charged for that board member.
Participate on hearing panels from one day to several days two to three times per year. Hearings may be held in the respondent's practice area to accommodate witnesses. A panel of three board members is generally utilized to hear disciplinary cases. All board members are not required to participate in every hearing.
Prepare for all meetings by reading materials sent one to two weeks in advance of the scheduled meeting date. The packets take an average of two to four hours to read prior to each business meeting. In addition, between eight and 24 hours are spent reviewing complaint files prior to each meeting, depending on the number of cases for individual board members.
Assist newly appointed board members as necessary.
Additional information are in the board’s Bylaws (PDF).

Total annual time commitment

Meetings/conferences: Four to six days per year
Meeting preparation: Two to four hours per meeting (about one day per year)
Complaint file review: Four to six hours per complaint assigned (about four days per year)
Hearing panels: One to six days per year

Performance guidelines for newly appointed board members

Attend an initial orientation about the board presented by Department of Health staff. This is about one day in length. Initial orientation outlines the legal authority of the board, the roles and responsibilities of board members, ethics, confidentiality, the legal liability of board members and the Department of Health, the organizational structure of the department, roles and responsibilities of department staff, roles and responsibilities of staff attorneys and Assistant Attorneys General (AAGs), disciplinary processes, rule making and other issues.

Attends committee meetings if necessary.
Performs duties of current members.

Regular business meetings are scheduled quarterly.

Become a Board, Commission or Committee Member.

Board Members

Name and term expiration date of members

Members	Term Expires
Elias Kass, ND	August 1, 2026
Vacant	- -
Chad Aschtgen, ND, chair	August 1, 2023
Joanne Hillary, ND	August 1, 2025
Brooke Fotheringham, public member	August 1, 2025
Krystal Richardson, ND, vice-chair	August 1, 2026
Amira Ahdut, ND	August 1, 2023

Board Meetings

Date and Location	Activity	Documents
November 8, 2024 Hybrid – Virtual Town Central 2, Room 153 111 Israel Rd. SE Tumwater, WA 98501	Business meeting	Agenda and Packet (PDF)

Meeting Minutes