Every State Organization Needs a Dr. Saboe
Dear Editor:
Dr. Vern Saboe serves as lobbyist for the Oregon Chiropractic Association. He is a longtime practitioner who has taken it upon himself to become intimately acquainted with our issues (no small feat!), and equally familiar with the Oregon legislature and its processes.
The OCA pays Dr. Saboe a salary to compensate for his time out of the office. He works 2-3 days a week seeing patients and the rest of each week representing our profession.
How is it working? Beautifully. Dr. Saboe says legislators appreciate his intimate knowledge of our issues. As a result, he has been asked to contribute to the work product of some powerful committees that shape legislation. This is the first time a licensed chiropractor has had such direct input in Oregon.
Dr. Saboe also has authored a number of superb articles in Dynamic Chiropractic dealing with political involvement. They point out the unique benefits of practicing chiropractors becoming more personally active in addressing our issues in every state.
Dr. Saboe's submission to the Jan. 1, 2015 issue of DC set forth the advantages of having a licensed chiropractor serving as a paid lobbyist in his state. He discussed the grassroots work our profession needs to do in order to accomplish our legislative goals, and shared his Oregon experiences.
It's easy to pass up Dr. Saboe's suggestion to consider hiring a DC as a lobbyist as being unworkable in your state because "We already have a paid lobbyist," "We could never replace our lobbyist because he has done this or that" or "We like our lobbyist and don't want to get rid of him." Those are all commonly held reasons for keeping a particular lobbyist – the choice is yours to make. If you have a lobbyist who is producing, that's fine. However, even then, nothing prevents an experienced, interested and licensed DC from doing some lobbying as well. What's wrong with taking advantage of the talent that exists in our own chiropractic ranks?
Once again, this is by no means an appeal to fire your current lobbyist. We need lobbyists. However, if your state has had no movement on important legislation, it may be time to put an additional lobbyist to work, one with a DC degree. Why not try it on a part-time basis to begin? If it helps, figure out a way to keep him working alongside the regular lobbying consultant(s).
By the way, in Oregon (as well as in our Congress in Washington, D.C.), there is a full-time chiropractor available to treat legislators. (Dr. Bill Morgan has been treating Washington, D.C., congresspeople for years).
Clearly, it takes a special kind of person to do this job. Most practicing DCs just don't have enough time to pay attention to political things – or they just aren't "into" it. But to some chiropractors, the politics are naturally more compelling. They appreciate, understand and enjoy the political process more than most. Many take it upon themselves – without being asked or paid – to dig into the issues in their state, learning all they can about them. They find it easy, even exciting to interact with various legislators, explaining and seeking their support for our initiatives. Their work is clearly "over and above" the average political involvement of most practicing DCs.
In more than a few cases, certain chiropractors have stepped forth to lead various initiatives that have been of serious help to the profession. We need more of that. Dr. Saboe tells us how. You can learn a lot by reviewing several of Dr. Saboe's excellent articles in the DC archives. Visit his online columnist page on the DC site. You'll see his most current article and a link to other articles. In this chiropractor's humble view, each of those articles is required reading.
DCs lobbying on behalf of chiropractic pretty much began with B.J. Palmer in the early 1900s. Every state needed licensure and he appeared frequently in most of them. It was a tough slog, taking years. He faced fierce cross-examination, disrespect and at times, defeat. He never quit. Almost every state owes B.J. a debt of gratitude.
I recall a very instructive story told about B.J. when he visited New York chiropractors in 1913. The occasion was the introduction of the first chiropractic licensing act in N.Y. state (where I practiced for 45 years). He told the assembled DCs in the room, "Doctor, your greatest opposition will not come from the MD community – it will come from Chiropractors!" How true. Turned out that in N.Y., it took some 50 years of wrangling between chiropractic groups to accomplish licensure, and then we wound up (in 1963) with the lousiest bill in the country – one that, among other things, prevented taking X-rays below the first lumbar!
At any rate, year after year we pay lobbyists in every state, hoping for legislative progress. In some states, it works well; in others, in spite of our lobbyists' best efforts, nothing of note happens. I have come to understand that we think about our lobbyists about the same as we do our congresspeople. We can all agree on how ineffective the Congress is – but it's never our legislators' fault. We love them. The best way to explain this phenomenon is to grasp the fact that both members of Congress and lobbyists are expert politicians. They know how to keep us sold, come hell or high water. They are excellent salespeople and great negotiators.
I recall a N.Y. senator who routinely voted "for" every bill and voted "against" its funding. That way, he was a hero to every group he spoke to. Believe me, to say that lobbyists (and members of Congress) are "accomplished" is an understatement. Again, doctor, what you do in your state is your choice alone. This issue requires skillful leadership. Bottom line, given Dr. Saboe's experience, it is clear that considering a chiropractor as a paid lobbyist is a unique and potentially effective idea.
John Gantner, DC
Cape Coral, Fla.
We Need to Modernize
Dear Editor:
It my opinion we, as a profession need to modernize. The days of practicing "philosophically based" treatment are antiquated and in my opinion, can be borderline unethical. I personally witnessed, just a couple of days ago, a fellow chiropractor give what seemed to be a health care talk to our local Rotary Club. He proceeded to say that 90 percent of all kids are subluxated at birth. He also showed a full-spine X-ray of a 7-year-old he had adjusted 80 times in the past year for "nosebleeds."
I was embarrassed and angry. This is happening in my town and is probably happening in yours as well. This is why we are not the "go-to" providers for spinal conditions. We provide unnecessary care to conditions that are not spinal related.
We need to take a hard look at what we are doing and why we are even here. If it is to rip people off and scare people into lifelong care, then this profession is going nowhere. Accept the science that is being done, make a diagnosis, treat it and monitor the progress. This is modern chiropractic. Quit making things up.
Steven G. Ausere, DC
Moses Lake, Wash.