AHHA’s Creation
and Evolution

AHHA’s Creation and Evolution
by Suzan V. Walter, MBA

This article was created for the 2019 eBook, Honoring the Past and Empowering the Future, used as a thank you gift for donations honoring that AHHA reached the 30 year milestone.

 

For those who are not familiar with the American Holistic Health Association, AHHA is a trusted online resource dedicated to empowering individuals to enhance their health and quality of life. Addressing the prevalence of lifestyle-related disease and the pervasiveness of misinformation, AHHA serves as a free, impartial clearinghouse for locating resources and articles that deliver options to support active self-care and healthy lifestyle change. Easily accessible 24/7, nationally and globally, AHHA encourages the powerful, whole-person approach to health care that integrates physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

The idea for AHHA was born in September 1989 at a joint board meeting of the American Holistic Medical Association and American Holistic Medical Foundation. A discussion focused on unmet needs revealed that there was no organization devoted to educating the general public about the holistic approach to wellness. The board leaders turned to Suzan Walter, then president of AHMF, and challenged her: “Why don’t you do that, Suzan?”

Suzan immediately gathered her AHMF board for a brainstorming session. When someone pulled out a flip chart that already had “American Holistic Medical Foundation,” the first suggestion was to change “medical” to “health.” Next came a suggestion to change “foundation” to “association” for better balance. When the AHMF board saw “American Holistic Health Association (AHHA),” they were stunned. The new name was perfect.

From that point on, the project was no longer affiliated with AHMF. However, one of the AHMF board members, Michael Morton, PhD, was between career positions, so he stepped forward and helped Suzan outline AHHA’s mission, goals, and organizational structure; set up a line of credit (backed by Suzan’s personal assets); and establish the first Board of Directors composed of educators and healthcare professionals. On November 27, 1989, AHHA was officially incorporated in the State of California. Before Michael Morton left the organization in 1993, he also assisted Suzan with the extensive paperwork required for applying for and receiving the all-important federal designation as a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization.

AHHA’s first educational newsletter was published in the spring of 1990. This newsletter, AhHa!, focused on self-help and holistic concepts. In 1992, a later issue won top honors in the prestigious Newsletter Clearinghouse national competition.

The first AHHA Board of Directors consisted of Michael Morton, PhD (president); Suzan V. Walter, MBA (secretary/treasurer); Janet Quinn, PhD, RN; Molly Vass, EdD, MA; and James Gordon, MD. Their first decision was to make all AHHA materials available at no charge, thus ensuring that there were no economic barriers to what we offered. This ambitious plan was based on running the organization with a volunteer staff (from AHHA’s inception, Suzan has managed operations as a volunteer), donated office space (in Suzan’s home), and small contributions from people across the U.S. It worked! In 1995, the Omega Pointe Institute honored AHHA with the Power Point Award for “worthy nonprofits that get the most leverage with their funds.”

Through the years, AHHA has developed materials in direct response to the needs of those who have contacted the organization. Researching and compiling databases of resources became a top priority. These databases were formatted and distributed initially as printed lists and, when the Internet became available, added to a website created for AHHA.

Remembering its promise to educate the public on the holistic approach, AHHA also developed a booklet, Wellness From Within: The First Step, which not only explains the holistic approach, but also introduces the powerful point that we can improve our health through everyday lifestyle choices. AHHA has also developed materials that define holistic health for numerous publications and worked indirectly by guiding reporters from various media to valuable sources for health-related stories.

The early leaders of AHHA chose not to have a promotional budget. If what AHHA offered was of great value, they reasoned, then other organizations would want to help spread the word. And they did! One of the early key promotions was the PBS series Healing and the Mind, 1993, hosted by Bill Moyers, which acknowledged AHHA in their Viewers and Teachers Guides as a “valuable resource organization.” Through the years, books, magazines, newsletters, and television and radio have all in promoted AHHA, which also benefited from referrals made by local and national companies, institutions, and organizations. AHHA received wide exposure through a promotional page in the book, The American Holistic Health Association Complete Guide to Alternative Medicine (Warner Books, 1995) by William Collinge, PhD.

In 1996, HealthWorld Online generously created AHHA’s first website. Suzan Walter, now AHHA’s president, learned html and assumed the initial webmaster responsibilities. As it has been prudent to periodically revamp the site at www.ahha.org to keep up with the latest technologies, she now works with professional programmers.

Let’s Talk Health! a monthly self-help lecture series in Orange County, California, began in 1992, and by 1999 it was possible to serve a broader audience by converting lectures to the “Featured Article of the Week” on the AHHA website. By 2011, AHHA was participating in the social media movement with a blog plus Facebook and Twitter pages.

As AHHA reaches its thirtieth anniversary, it is proud to have earned an impeccable national reputation. Thanks to small donations from individuals and organizations, AHHA continues to be a free and impartial resource to help people to help themselves. Linking people is a subtle but powerful service. With nothing to sell, honoring all healing traditions, and having no affiliation with any product or service, AHHA has the unique opportunity to be a neutral clearinghouse that helps individuals locate the resources they need to enhance their health and well-being.

The demand for the free AHHA resource lists keeps growing as more and more people are waking up to the importance of self-responsibility for the quality of their health. The AHHA website now averages about 4,000 users each week. AHHA is constantly expanding and enhancing the lists and articles available.

AHHA’s vision is people choosing healthy lifestyles that create vibrant wellness and an enhanced quality of life. Until this vision is universally realized, AHHA will continue to provide a wide variety of wellness resources that empower individuals to more confidently and effectively make their personal healthcare decisions.

 

Author bio: Suzan V. Walter, MBA, is co-founder and current president of the American Holistic Health Association. She served as president of the American Holistic Medical Foundation from 1988 to 1990. In addition to volunteering 20 hours a week for AHHA, she has a private consulting practice and serves on the Education Committee for the Integrative Health Policy Consortium.