As chiropractors have long contributed to the health of their communities, the Alliance and Prevention have sought to give special recognition to six chiropractors, one from each of six U.S. geographical regions, who have demonstrated outstanding health service to their communities.
Nominations poured in from around the country to Prevention headquarters in New York. An 11-member panel of judges (eight of whom are DCs) reviewed the nominees and narrowed down the field to 36 semifinalists. On April 1, the six winners were notified.
On May 29, Prevention magazine and the Alliance will host the Community Health Service Awards dinner in Washington, D.C. Both Prevention and the Alliance will use their contacts with the national news media to publicize the event.
The six community health service recipients will also be recognized in the pages of Prevention, a publication with the 12th largest circulation of U.S. magazines. Each DC will be featured in separate vignettes in different editions, the first appearing in Prevention's July 1998 issue.
The Community Health Service Award Winners
Harold Chalker, DC, DABCI.Dr. Chalker, a magna cum laude graduate of Cleveland Chiropractic College of Kansas City (1984) and diplomate of the American Board of Chiropractic Internists, has been in private practice in Meade, Kansas since 1984.
In November 1996, Dr. Chalker received calls from a number of patients requesting chiropractic care while admitted to Meade District Hospital. Dr. Chalker was granted temporary hospital privileges, and three months later was given staff privileges, including outpatient diagnostic services, inpatient examination, and co-admission privileges. Dr. Chalker was the first DC in Kansas to have such hospital privileges.
Dr. Chalker has provided care for patients from across the country and a number of foreign countries. He can be found making house calls to patients that have trouble getting to him, and giving evaluations and emergency care at the local athletic events. Association (KCA) and the ACA. He was named "Young Doctor of the Year" by the KCA in 1992. He is also involved in community activities, including the chamber of commerce and the Catholic church.
Victor Dolan, DC, ACBSP.
Dr. Victor Dolan, a cum laude Palmer College graduate (1983) and diplomat of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians, has been in practice in Grasmere, Staten Island since 1983. He made headlines when he was appointed chief of the chiropractic division at Doctors' Hospital of Staten Island (see DC, 9-8-97). Doctors' Hospital of Staten Island, an affiliate of the Beth Israel Medical Center, was the first hospital in New York City to include chiropractors as members of its medical/dental staff.
A spokesman for Doctors' Hospital explained at the time of Dr. Dolan's appointment why the chiropractic department was added: "We are responding to the needs of the community, and the studies that show chiropractic to be safe, effective, and cost-effective, which is a priority in the managed care environment."
Dr. Dolan hosts a weekly community television program, "Good Health Naturally." He is active in the community as a member of the chamber of commerce, a team chiropractor for the high-school football team and the Staten Island Rodeo, and has done fundraising for the volunteer heart-resuscitation-unit ambulance corps.
Lorraine Golden, DC.
Dr. Lorraine Golden, a native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, graduated from Palmer College (1942) and was in private practice in Louisville from 1942 to 1957. In 1957 she became the founder and director of the Kentuckiana Center for Education, Health, and Research in Louisville. Better known as Kentuckiana Children's Center, or simply Kentuckiana, the center is a nonprofit, charitable organization that provides educational and rehabilitation services (including chiropractic care) free of charge to children with special needs.
In 1961, Kentuckiana expanded its facilities when the U.S. Health, Education and Welfare Department deeded over 11 acres of land and six building to the center. It was the federal government's first grant to an organization that provided chiropractic services.
About 350 children each year receive care at the center, including chiropractic, counseling, optometry, dietary analysis and special education classes.
Today, Lorraine Golden, 80, is the executive administrator of Kentuckiana. She has given 41 years of service to the kids of Kentuckiana.
Dr. Golden was awarded "Kentucky Chiropractor of the Year" in 1954, and was commissioned a Kentucky colonel in 1958 for her humanitarian contributions. Ever since, she has been the recipient of awards too numerous to list here. Her most recent honor came this past February when she received the "Lee-Homewood Chiropractic Heritage" award from Life Chiropractic College West for her interdisciplinary work. Among her notable honors are "Outstanding Kentuckian," presented by Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins in 1984; the "Golden" award (1993), presented by James Parker, DC, for 50 years of service to chiropractic; the "Heart of Gold" award presented by the ICA in 1989; and the "Dr. Mable Heath" award in 1988, given to the female chiropractor of the year.
James Schantz, DC.
Dr. James Schantz, a National College of Chiropractic alumnus, took a fateful step when he joined the Atlanta-based Flying Doctors of America on a mission to treat the Indian population high in the Andes of Peru (see "Chiropractic at 11,000 Feet -- The Flying Doctors of America," DC, Jan. 1, 1997.)
Dr. Schantz was so touched by this experience that felt compelled to use his chiropractic skills to help the people of Atlanta who couldn't afford chiropractic care. He approached the medical director of Mercy Mobile Health Care, a group of health care professionals that treats the indigent of Atlanta at a number of clinics. He volunteered his time and was welcomed to join the Mercy team.
Dr. Schantz began seeing patients in the basement of a downtown Atlanta church. With the support of the medical staff and nurses, he began receiving referrals. "My patients were very much in need of my services," Dr. Schantz explained, "because a dose of ibuprofen was usually the most that could be done for most back, joint, and nerve disorders up until then."
After a year of volunteering, Dr. Schantz now gets help from two other chiropractors. He also stays involved with the community, donating his time and services to the public schools, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Georgia Special Olympics, and the Food Bank, among others.
Michele Krohn, DC.
Dr. Michele Krohn, 27, a National College graduate (1995), has a private practice in Dublin, Ohio. After her office hours, Michele brings chiropractic and nutritional support to the homeless of the Faith Mission in downtown Columbus. She also collects articles of clothing and personal hygiene items for the mission from her friends and patients.
Dr. Krohn's dedication to her patients is noteworthy. In August of 1997, she had a patient who had lost his leg in an auto accident and was experiencing severe pain at the point of amputation. The patient was deeply depressed. He was an African citizen here on a work visa, but had lost his job and home after the accident.
Dr. Krohn suggested a prosthesis, and took the patient to a specialist. Learning that such a prosthesis would cost $20,000, and knowing the patient had no insurance or other means to obtain a prosthesis, Dr. Krohn began efforts to raise the money, speaking to groups, sending letters to chiropractors, and finally finding a firm that would make the prosthesis at cost. Dr. Krohn provided the patient's transportation for all the fittings, and in November of 1997, the patient took his first steps with the new leg.
Dr. Krohn's mother perhaps best sums up her daughter's character: "She provides more than chiropractic care. Her words of encouragement and beautiful smile are always offered."
Dr. Krohn also finds the time to be active in Dublin's chamber of commerce, and serves on the governmental affairs committee.
Gloria Niles, DC, DACAN.
Dr. Gloria Niles, a magna cum laude graduate of Life Chiropractic College West (1990), has been an assistant professor at the college since 1992, and is president of the faculty senate. She has been honored as "Teacher of the Quarter" several times by the student council.
Dr. Niles is the president of the American Black Chiropractic Association (see DC, "News in Brief" Oct. 6, 1997), the first woman to hold that office since 1926. As the president of the ABCA, Dr. Niles has been an active spokesperson. This past March she presented a paper at the conference of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges pertaining to the cultural diversity in the chiropractic curriculum.
Dr. Niles was appointed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to serve on the community advisory commission of the Alameda County Medical Center from 1990 to 1994. Through that work, she began working with children in the foster care system, and when she adopted a prenatally drug-exposed child, she became involved with a number of agencies associated with adoption. She often provides complimentary chiropractic services to foster care children, and has occasion to treat children who have been prenatally exposed to drugs. hours each month to teaching in the science class at the elementary school her children attend, and edits the school's monthly parent newsletter. She is the health care coordinator for her youngest son's day care center, and recently submitted a proposal to the National Institute of Black Child Development to present a workshop on chiropractic care for children.
Dr. Niles is also actively involved in the church, and is training to be a deacon.
So Many Deserving Chiropractors
While Prevention and the Alliance are presenting awards to only six chiropractors for making a difference in their communities, the judges know from the testimonials that many more chiropractors are deserving of recognition for their outstanding efforts. It's rather like awarding medals to only the top three finishers in Olympic events: The gold medalists get all the attention, but the other competitors are also world-class athletes and deserving of recognition.
It's a heartwarming experience to read the testimonials of patients about their doctors of chiropractic. Patients value their chiropractic care, but also see their doctors of chiropractic as an important extension of the community. You're appreciated, and your patients are letting us know.
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