With national unity the talk of the chiropractic profession, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has issued a formal statement regarding the "Resolution on National Unity" passed on March 10, 2007 by the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA).
On the heels of the COCSA resolution, the Ohio State Chiropractic Association unanimously passed a similar resolution which not only demands the ACA and ICA merge, but also urges its members to withhold their financial support of the two organizations until the merger is completed.
With these events as backdrop, the ACA board of governors released the following statement on May 1, responding to the merger demand and inviting the ICA to begin discussions:
The ACA applauds the efforts of the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations to unite the ACA and ICA and strongly believes that unified action is critical to the future success of the chiropractic profession and the patients it serves. Unity efforts on a state level have been noteworthy and beneficial-and national unity is the next logical step in the right direction.
ACA has always been an inclusive organization, representing the broad mainstream of chiropractic. We see unity of action and the support of one focused chiropractic voice as critical to the effective and efficient achievement of the profession's goals and vision. For this reason, ACA has an established, standing committee on professional unity and has reached out to ICA on many occasions in the past urging collective action on issues of national concern to the chiropractic profession. There have been efforts to unite ACA and ICA, but those efforts have fallen short of merger. COCSA's recent resolution on unity provides a strong impetus for new merger discussions.
ACA regularly works with and is supportive of COCSA, ACC, FCLB, NBCE, FCER, CCE and others to pursue and achieve consensus goals for the profession and our patients. We will continue to support the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations now and in the future with efforts that will move us toward professional unity and unified action on the issues we face, the consensus goals we pursue, and the positive vision we seek for our profession and our patients.
In this regard, ACA continues to stand ready and willing to begin merger discussions with ICA leaders. We invite our colleagues at ICA to meet with us to begin the discussions that will hopefully lead to a stronger and more powerful chiropractic profession.
On May 2, the day after the ACA board of governors issued its statement, ACA President Richard Brassard, DC, wrote a letter to ICA President John Maltby, DC, recommending that a merger discussion begin. In his letter, Dr. Brassard writes:
COCSA's resolution on unity challenges both ACA and ICA to work together to pursue a new future for the chiropractic profession and the doctors and patients that our organizations serve. Accepting that challenge is difficult, because it requires both associations to set aside past differences to find common ground on which to build a relationship.
I believe that the differences between ACA and ICA have been exaggerated over the years, while the similarities have been understated. We share a common profession, a common perspective and a common desire to advance the interests of chiropractic in America. With these factors in our favor, I believe that we can build the foundation of sincere and earnest discussion about ways to address the threats and opportunities facing our profession.
I believe that the first step in this process is establishing a clear understanding of each other's mission, vision and goals. To this end, I have enclosed ACA's mission and vision statements and a summarized version of our Long Range Plan goals. I would ask that you send to me ICA's equivalent documents; this will allow both of us to better understand each other's organization and its goals."
In his letter, Dr. Brassard "proposes a telephone call during the week of May 21, on a date and time convenient to you." He concludes by saying, "I look forward to working with you for the good of our profession."
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