Life West Dean Elected to CCE Board
Next month, Joseph Ferguson III, MS, DC, CCSP, dean of Life Chiropractic College West, begins his tenure as a member of the Council of Chiropractic Education (CCE) Board of Directors. Dr. Ferguson is a 1990 graduate of Life West who became the college's chief academic officer in 2006 after serving as a faculty member in various roles, including chair of the department of associated clinical sciences. "I feel privileged at the opportunity to work with the CCE," said Dr. Ferguson following the announcement. "This agency has established and maintained the highest standard for chiropractic education, and I am honored to be a part of that process."
Life West Adds to Research Faculty
Charles Woodfield, DC, R.Ph, has joined Life West as a full-time member of the research faculty. Among his responsibilities, Dr. Woodfield will propose new research, help approach new funding sources, and strengthen the college's relationship with the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA) community.
Future research projects will involve collaboration with George Bakris, MD, of the University of Chicago. Drs. Woodfield and Bakris participated in the 2007 pilot study that suggested correction of a misaligned atlas by way of an upper-cervical adjustment reduced blood pressure in hypertensive patients suffering from misaligned C-1 vertebrae. Woodfield developed the study protocol and contributed substantially to publication of the results in the Journal of Human Hypertension.
"Life West is honored to have such an accomplished colleague join our staff," said Dr. Dale Johnson, director of research at Life West. "He has a proven track record of producing and managing research projects which have brought new insights leading to breakthrough discoveries. His ability to write grant-winning proposals and his passion for the advancement of upper cervical chiropractic will certainly provide the guidance and enthusiasm critical to the development of a world-class research department."
Northwestern Providing Integrated Services to Elderly
The Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies at Northwestern Health Sciences University is poised to launch a demonstration project in conjunction with Volunteers of America to offer health care services to the elderly. According to Roni Evans, MS, DC, dean of research at Northwestern, the primary goal of the project is "to determine the feasibility of developing a sustainable and replicable model for providing integrated chiropractic, acupuncture and massage services for Volunteers of America's elderly residents."
Founded in 1896, Volunteers of America provides housing, health care and other services to an estimated 2 million people in 44 states. Services specific to the elderly population include professional long-term care, assisted living, senior centers, meal programs, and health and nursing home care. The organization donated $150,000 to the Wolfe-Harris Center to help fund the pilot project, which is scheduled to launch by the end of January and run until December 2010.
"I'm inspired by finding ways to meet the needs of patients," said Dr. Evans. "If we can establish viable integrated models of care, and then evaluate their effectiveness, I think we will come closer to having our professions meet their full potential in serving society's needs."
New Position for Dr. Donald Murphy
Donald Murphy, DC, DACAN, has been appointed to the International Scientific Advisory Panel of MedRisk, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based company that provides managed care services and claims workflow management tools to the workers' compensation industry.
A graduate of New York Chiropractic College, Dr. Murphy is clinical director of the Rhode Island Spine Center in Pawtucket, R.I., and a clinical faculty member at Alpert Medical School, Brown University,and a postgraduate faculty member of four chiropractic schools. He is also the author of Conservative Management of Cervical Spine Syndromes and lectures worldwide.
Making the appointment is Expert Clinical Benchmarks, the academic and research arm of MedRisk. Expert Clinical Benchmarks' advisory panel meets annually to review treatment outcomes and update the company's evidence-based practice guidelines related to physical medicine and chiropractic care.
"Dr. Murphy brings a wealth of clinical expertise to [our] International Scientific Advisory Panel," said Roger Nelson, PT, PhD, FAPTA, vice president of ECB. "His background in neurology and chiropractic care makes him a valuable asset to the group."
Many relevant diagnostic signs are not performed deliberately by the examiner or by the patient at the examiner’s direction. They are observed as the patient reacts to their condition. Fortin’s finger sign, Minor’s sign, and Vanzetti’s sign are three examples of this principle.
Spearheaded by burgeoning scientific and clinical research literature, psychedelics have reached a level of media coverage and popular interest that has not been seen for over half a century. By “psychedelics,” we are referring to the unique class of substances that includes psilocybin (the active compound found in so-called “magic mushrooms”), LSD, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ayahuasca, 5-MeO-DMT, and mescaline – each of which occurs in the natural world (except for LSD, which is a semi-synthetic compound).
While working at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, N.M., one of the primary care physicians stated that imaging every patient prior to receiving chiropractic was not medically necessary. It was at that point I reconsidered the need for the imaging of every patient to avoid malpractice.
