Dr. Claire Welsh was born and raised in New York, attended the Academy of Mt. St. Ursula and graduated from the College of White Plains, Pace University with a Bachelor of Science degree. Her background is well-rounded and includes work as a bacteriologist at a medical hospital.
She completed her undergraduate research and wrote her thesis on the effects of vitamin C on bacterial growth. Then, utilizing a minor in education and numerous childhood development courses, she taught special education at the high school level while living in the Midwest, and then preschool classes in Plano, Texas.
After moving to the Atlanta area, she decided to pursue her goal of becoming a doctor of chiropractic. While attending Life Chiropractic College, she was elected as clinic representative and served as liaison between the faculty and her class. Throughout her academic career at Life, Dr. Welsh received numerous merit awards and honors, and consistently appeared on the National Dean’s List.
In December 1988, she received a Doctor of Chiropractic degree (magna cum laude). Upon graduation, she was inducted into the prestigious Pi Tau Delta International Chiropractic Honor Society and was listed in Who’s Who of American Universities.
Dr. Welsh’s many professional affiliations, awards and accomplishments include the following:
Author’s Closing Observations
I have been extremely fortunate to have personally met and/or worked with every Charter Inductee except Dr. Anna Foy. I first met Dr. Welsh in 2005 when she represented the ICA at the World Federation of Chiropractic meeting in Sydney, Australia; and then again in 2007 when she represented the ICA at the WFC Portugal meeting. Even though I was an ACA leader at the time, she greatly impressed me on both occasions and has continued to impress me ever since.
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As discussed in part 1 of this six-part series, I am a longtime student of chiropractic history. In that regard, I have very much admired the out- standing work performed by women doctors of chiropractic. In 2021, I began an extensive effort to research and recognize the "best of the best" female DCs in the following six important categories: |
That was especially true for the six years I served as the ICA Texas representative assemblyman. During that time and as a member of the ICA Board of Directors, Dr. Welsh’s passion and dedication to detail regarding membership recruitment were truly remarkable. For lack of an appropriate term, she “rode herd” on her representative assemblymen and assemblywomen to fulfill their recruitment responsibilities. While some may have had their “feathers ruffled” a bit, I stood and applauded her steadfast efforts to hold all of us accountable for the fulfillment of our duties and responsibilities.
During my tenure as ACA chairman, a member of the Kansas Board of Healing Arts and serving several years as a state delegate to the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards, I traveled a great deal and met many hundreds of DCs. In that regard, I can honestly say that I never met a single doctor of chiropractic who had more fervor, dedication and commitment to the chiropractic profession than Dr. Claire Welsh.
That’s All Folks!
As promised, now that all six charter inductees have been presented, I give you the Hall of Honor website address: www.WomenChiropracticDoctors.com. I hope you will visit and share the link with your colleagues.
Now that this entity exists, my immediate goal is to turn everything over to an organization (i.e., national membership association, chiropractic college, longtime vendor) to carry on this work because there are so many more heroines who should be discovered and saluted.
Until I am able to “exit stage left,” please continue to send me nominations and bios of any female DC you believe has earned this honor, and I will make sure my successor receives them.
Author’s Note: Send questions, comments or suggested future inductees via email at Doctor@JamesEdwards.com.
Recent laws in New Jersey and California represent a disturbing trend that will negatively impact a practice’s ability to collect monies from patients, as well as expose them to significant penalties if the practice does not follow the mandatory guidelines to a T. Please be aware that a similar law may be coming to your state. The time to act is before the law is passed.
With estimates showing over 30 million Americans affected by peripheral neuropathy – and a significant portion underdiagnosed – it’s increasingly likely that chiropractors are already treating these patients. What’s missing is structured recognition, comprehensive management and targeted tools to slow progression, improve function and support systemic health.
Each year, ICD-10-CM is updated on Oct. 1. For 2026, there are 74,179 total codes, with 487 additions, 28 deletions and 38 revisions. Code changes are based on date of service, not the claim submission date. Services performed on/after Oct. 1 must use the new codes. While no changes affect the common spinal or extraspinal codes most frequently used by DCs, several updates may still affect your claims – particularly for comorbidities, referred pain, or trauma cases.
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