Membership in the Radiological Health section of APHA had dropped to 197, well below the 250 needed to maintain the section and its two Governing Council seats. A last chance deadline of September 1st loomed. Would chiropractic respond to keep a representative presence in the oldest, largest, and most influential public health association in the United States and the world?
Dr. Rand Baird, chairman of APHA's chiropractic membership, spoke out in a number of articles in "DC" about the impending deadline for maintaining the Radiological Health Section in the APHA. "DC" donated advertising space to the APHA, to spread the word about the membership crisis. Drs. Jim and Karl Parker, along with Dr. Gene Tannery of Parker College of Chiropractic and the Parker Seminars, provided free booth exhibit space and endorsed APHA membership at their July seminar in Anaheim, California. LACC students volunteered to assist Dr. Baird in staffing the booth. Representatives from other chiropractic colleges, and individuals within the profession -- too many to list here, but all deserving of much appreciation -- also pitched in to help recruit new members. ACA and the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) sent out mailings that garnered a high response, and the ICA responded as well.
The first evidence of a response materialized when 33 students at LACC joined the APHA, and then a few weeks later, 17 more students from CCCKC were added to APHA's membership roster.
As the deadline arrived, the combined efforts of chiropractic organizations and individuals had produced an all-time high membership of 614 in the Radiological Health section, more than tripling the size of the section. Five out of six members in the section are from the chiropractic profession. APHA staff members in Washington, D.C., confirmed that APHA had its best new member total in years during the month of August, and a very large part of that was the chiropractic sector.
There are still more members to be counted who joined after September 1st (the start of the APHA fiscal year). The other chiropractic group within the APHA (the Chiropractic Forum Special Interest group) also increased its membership to 352. This section hasn't been over 300 in the past few years.
The response by the profession is a source of pride. The next goal is to continue participating in mainstream public health activities, while maintaining chiropractic's new numerical strength and continuing to grow.
This year's APHA convention, the largest public health gathering in the world, will be held in San Francisco, October 24-28. The attendance is expected to be between 10,000 and 12,000 health professionals and government health leaders. There will be four full educational sessions featuring chiropractic topics, and chiropractic exhibit booths. Palmer West has applied for California relicensing credits for the sessions sponsored by the Chiropractic Forum -- another first.
The field doctors, educators, and students deserve congratulations. Once again, chiropractic has won its laurels: let's not rest on them.
For more information on APHA, contact Dr. Rand Baird at (310) 373-2225.
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