The Chicago College of Oriental Medicine was founded by Dr. Yong Gao Wang. This college was his response to the limited exposure in the Midwest to the centuries old practice of Oriental Medicine and its contemporary applications. Both the East and West coasts have experienced a greater consciousness raising regarding this alternative approach to support good health & promote healing. Both areas of the country have responded with the growth of several Eastern Medicine colleges while Chicago has only two. Having experienced the positive effect of Eastern Medicine, first hand, as a student and physician in China; and as a practicing acupuncturist in Chicago, Dr. Wang felt compelled to expand eastern medicine as an alternative practice option to support wellness as a compliment to western health care delivery. Dr. Wang decided that a school was the vehicle he needed to train practitioners. In 2004, he and friends incorporated the Chicago College of Oriental Medicine (CCOM). Since that time Dr. Wang has been about the business of constructing a solid educational organization that will promote wellness through the practice of clinical diagnosis, acupuncture and other forms of alternative therapy.