Chiropractic on Capitol Hill: NCLC 2012, ACA HOD Meeting
More than 20 leaders of government joined leaders of the chiropractic profession in discussing health care and the chiropractic opportunity with attendees of the 2012 National Chiropractic Legislative Conference (NCLC), held Feb. 15-18 in Washington, D.C. Keynoting the event were Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee and a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and Howard Wasdin, DC, author of Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal Sniper.
"Everybody coming back from over there [active duty overseas] needs the services provided by doctors of chiropractic," said Dr. Wasdin. "Carrying a 100 pound rucksack and a helmet for a year is a repetitive stress injury."
Other key speakers at NCLC 2012 included Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), a member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Veterans' Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity; Rima Cohen, counselor to the Secretary for Health Policy, Department of Health and Human Services; Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.); and Ret. Brig. Gen. Becky Halstead, spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress. Also in attendance were Dick Gephardt, former House Majority Leader; and former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), both of whom addressed attendees the evening before NCLC at the annual congressional reception.
The American Chiropractic Association, which co-hosted NCLC with the Chiropractic Summit, held its House of Delegates Meeting following the legislative conference. Among highlights of the HOD meeting was the approval of policies in support of the association's efforts to position DCs as "conservative primary care doctors who can help fill the looming primary-care work force gap." One such policy approved during the meeting states the following:
"Public Health Concerns Due to Failure to Differentially Diagnose: ACA condemns as a threat to public health the failure by doctors of chiropractic / chiropractic physicians to adequately differentially diagnose and/or to sell treatment packages in the absence of a differential diagnosis. Such practices are contrary to the doctorate level of education inferred by our degree. Furthermore, they are contrary to the universally accepted standards of care and do not represent the customary practices of a member doctor of this organization." The meeting also featured panel discussions on topics ranging from the DC as primary care provider, to the state of chiropractic research, to the need to improve the profession's cultural authority.
2012 ACA Award Winners
The ACA's HOD meeting also featured presentation of the association's 2012 awards, headlined by its highest honor, the Chiropractor of the Year Award. This year's recipient is Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, vice chancellor for research and health policy at Palmer College of Chiropractic. Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Goertz is the only DC on the board of governors of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a multidisciplinary panel established "to conduct research to provide information about the best available evidence to help patients and their health care providers make more informed decisions."
Other 2012 award winners include Dennis Marchiori, DC, PhD, chancellor of Palmer College, who received the Academic of the Year Award; Donald Murphy, DC, named the George B. McClelland, DC, Researcher of the Year; Daniel Staight, DC, honored with the Delegate of the Year Award; Michael Kane, DC, named Alternate Delegate of the Year; and Lawrence Davis, DC, recipient of the Flynn-Lynch Award honoring an HOD member with less than five years of board service.
Look for "Life in Your City" coming to a city near you courtesy of Life University, which recently announced the nationwide, nine-city tour designed, according to Life University President, Dr. Guy Riekeman, to grow the chiropractor base and expand patient education.
"We need more chiropractors and we need better patient education," said Dr. Riekeman. "LIFE in Your City is designed to accomplish both these [goals], as well as providing an incentive to engage chiropractors with continuing education." Miami, Fla., is the first stop on the tour (April 19-21); other scheduled stops include Philadelphia, San Diego, Orlando, Milwaukee, Columbus (Ohio), Los Angeles, Tampa and Denver. For more information, visit www.life.edu.
The 2012 Logan College of Chiropractic Homecoming and Midwest Conference is scheduled for June 21-24, 2012, with up to 28 hours of continuing education available (approved for CEU credit in 13 states as of press time). The event also features a golf tournament and related seminar, "The Biomechanics of Golf," by Dr. Donald Murphy. To learn more, visit www.loganalumni.org or call the alumni office at 636-207-2401.
Erratum
In Dr. George Le Beau's recent two-part article on chiropractic in Malaysia (March 12, 26 issues), Dr. Anna Maria S. Jorgensen was erroneously listed as an associate professor at International Medical University; she is in fact a senior lecturer.
Dynamic Chiropractic editorial staff members research, investigate and write articles for the publication on an ongoing basis. To contact the Editorial Department or submit an article of your own for consideration, email
.