Late 2010’s
Start of Lifestyle is Medicine
Two Seventh-day Adventist young people (in their early 30’s) start an organization called Lifestyle is Medicine in order to propagate the principles of lifestyle medicine to the general public through various community events like Dinner with the Doctor.
When the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic started, Lifestyle is Medicine continued its educational work through online webinars.
Late summer 2021
First lifestyle immersion program
The founders of Lifestyle is Medicine have a vision to start lifestyle centres (formerly known as sanitariums) across Canada. To begin implementing this vision, they decide to start running pilot projects to experiment best practices and methods. Through Lifestyle is Medicine, they launch their first pilot program: a 5-day health retreat called: Restore Life out of an AirBnB in Caledon, Ontario, Canada.
Nov 2021
One Week in Paradise
Energized by the initial success of the Restore Life program, an 8-day health retreat called One Week in Paradise is organized through Paradise Fields in late Oct/early Nov 2021 at Camp Frenda, Canada. Twenty-one guests attended the retreat and the number of staff was over 30.
During One Week in Paradise, the medical doctor and 3 naturopathic doctors were overworked as they tried to balance doing hydrotherapy and also managing overall patient care at the same time. Other staff members with little previous clinical experience had to be recruited to help with hydrotherapy. It soon became apparent that more skilled hydrotherapists would be needed to continue running programs like One Week in Paradise.
Jan 2021
Start of Hydrotherapy Internship
Lifestyle is Medicine Institute (LIMI) is started as a branch of Lifestyle is Medicine. LIMI’s purpose was to train Adventist laypeople to be skilled medical missionaries in order to provide staff for programs like One Week in Paradise.
The first program launched is the Hydrotherapy Internship. In January 2021, 4 students enrolled as the first hydrotherapy interns. In March 2021, they completed their internship at One Week in Paradise as the first graduates of the school.
Since 2021, the Hydrotherapy Internship program has graduated over 30 hydrotherapy interns.
2023
Launch of Clinical Nutrition Internship and Massage internship
By 2022, the leaders of One Week in Paradise were sensing a greater need for other clinicians, including nutritionists and people trained to perform massage.
LIMI started a Clinical Internship to enhance the clinical skills and experience of nutritionists. Two nutritionists became the first graduates of the inaugural clinical nutrition internship program.
That same year, the Massage Internship program was started as well. Working with Adventist registered massage therapists, a short massage internship was started to supply extra clinicians to support the massage therapy team at OWIP.
2024
Merge with Paradise Health Clinic
In 2024, LIMI was brought under Paradise Health Clinic, a new lifestyle medicine clinic in Newmarket Ontario.
Paradise Health Clinic is part of the Paradise Group/Network, a group of projects started to implement the health ministry blueprint found in the writings of Ellen G White. When LIMI was brought under Paradise Health Clinic, it officially became a part of the Paradise Group.
2025
Birth of John Burden College
The vision of Paradise Health and the Paradise Network is to establish clinics and Lifestyle Centers (like One Week In Paradise) across Canada. This would require a school to supply qualified clinicians to staff these institutions.
The Board of Paradise Health Clinic and the Paradise Leadership board agree to start a new school called John Burden College to replace the Lifestyle is Medicine Institute. John Burden College would be tasked with continuing its work while broadening its scope to include the training of clinicians from the full range of professions within the field of health: registered massage therapists, licensed naturopathic doctors, exercise professionals, physiotherapists, chiropractors etc.
In June 2025, John Burden College of Health Science was officially incorporated in the province of Ontario.