Future Visions Foundation

Our History

Future Visions Foundation, Inc. was incorporated by our founder, Alice R. Laule, M.D., in 1994. She tells the story as follows, "I had been feeling for some time that healthcare in America was kind of 'sick.' Solutions for how we could change the situation were not readily forthcoming, however. I could see that there were tools, such as mind-body medicine, nutritional science advances, acupuncture, and just the principles of wellness in general that were not being used to help people on a regular basis. Yet, the doctors were burdened by increasing patient loads, and the public seemed to be getting sicker and sicker. Diabetes and obesity were rising, many of the chronic degenerative diseases seemed to be eating up more and more of the healthcare budget, Medicare was panicking and tightening up regulations to the point of a strangle hold. I was disturbed in my own practice, and had just talked to a family practitioner friend of mine who had seen 60 people in one day, and was absolutely worn out and depressed. He had a hopeless feeling about his practice.

"My mind was mulling over all these facts, and had been for awhile. When the idea for Future Visions Foundation came to me, it was like a bolt out of the blue. I was driving down the street, and I can tell you every detail of that moment, right where I was, what time of year it was, all crisp and clear. The idea was this - I had a vision of a medicine-person type of a healer, seeing only 7-8 people a day whose health challenges had gotten beyond their ability to handle them. The rest of the time that healer was teaching other people how to teach the public to stay healthy. The public knew how to eat right, what toxins to avoid so they could stay well, and what nutrients or natural substances to take when they got ill in spite of their efforts. Most of the public stayed healthy. The healer then could take time with those who got ill to explore not only what kind of disease the person had, but also what kind of person had the disease. Mind, body and spirit elements could all be addressed.

"It struck me that the thing missing the most in this picture was the education. At that point the vision of this ideal future of medicine turned into the seed idea for Future Visions Foundation. We are dedicated to education not just of the public but also of medical students and of other physicians in the principles of integrative medicine, wellness, proper nutrition, exercise, stress reduction - all the things that go into living well on this earth in a healthy way. We also have a small clinic now, in which we see people one-on-one to help with their health challenges, and we deal with those in a holistic way, striving to see the big picture, body, mind, emotional and spiritual aspects. It is an integrative practice, because we do not ignore the possibilities of drugs and surgery being helpful for some problems, as well as the wide range of alternatives. The focus is on education, even in the one-on-one visits. We also hold workshops on certain topics for a larger audience, and occasional day long or half-day courses for the public on self-health, and a yearly course for medical professionals.

"Our goal is to make a difference in the lives of every day people, and ultimately in the understanding of health and wellness in our state, and in the entire country."

Future Visions Foundation started small, being limited pretty well to an 1 ½ hour course for the public on Friday evenings, which was faithfully attended by 6-8 people, sometimes more. Dr. Laule then became to busy with her practice to continue that weekly course, and in fact, as the practice grew, she elected to donate all her equipment and furnishings to Future Visions Foundation, and now practices under the auspices of the non-profit. The name of the medical practice is Harrison Optimal Health.

Several years ago, she began networking with the North Arkansas Partnership for Health Education, and teaches courses for the public and for professionals under their sponsorship. These courses have been a great way to get out the message about which she is so passionate.

The ultimate goal is to turn Future Visions Foundation into a healing center of major proportion, which can serve as an education center for medical students, for the public, and for other professionals, as well as a treatment center for those who desire this type of approach to health and disease. This Center would be a leader in changing our current disease centered approach to medicine into a health centered approach for the future.

You can E-mail Dr. Laule with questions or comments. Some of the questions will be answered on this web site, but your name will be kept private in that case. She will answer e-mails as time allows. Sometimes she stretches herself pretty thin, with all these projects, but you, the people, are the ones who are the driving power behind changing healthcare in America, and she knows that. You are important to her, and to all of us at Future Visions Foundation, Inc.