News / Profession

To Draw or Not to Draw Blood

Editorial Staff

The Marietta Daily Journal reports the president of the Georgia Board of Chiropractic Examiners, Mark Cotney,DC, has sought the support of legislators to allow chiropractic students at Life University to draw blood. Dr. Cotney made the request to help satisfy some of the complaints of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), which has placed the university on probation for a variety of deficiencies, including inadequate clinical training of chiropractic students, and financial problems.

"This is not a radical request," Dr. Cotney told the Daily Journal. Life students do currently test blood, but they don't draw it.

Dr. Cotney told the Georgia legislators that Life has had a 40-percent decline in enrollment of first-year chiropractic students since 1997. "It's tied back to this flack with CCE, and people are afraid to go there now because if they graduate from there without accreditation, they can't get a license," he told the Daily Journal.

Representative Sharon Cooper, an RN, told the Daily Journal, "There is a place for chiropractic care, but in my estimation, that is manipulation of your joints and your back."

 



Foot Levelers Pledges $25,000 to ACA Legal Fund

Foot Levelers has pledged $25,000 toward the "Save Our Subluxation," the theme of a campaign waged by the American Chiropractic Association to help support its legal battles against Medicare and the practices of Trigon/Blue Shield.

Foot Levelers announced it will donate half of all proceeds from its 2002 50th anniversary celebration seminars to the National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund. The remaining half of the funds will be donated to the chiropractic colleges that the registrants choose.

 



Maryland Governor Cuts Chiropractic Budget

Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, seeking to cut the state budget, slashed into the modest coffers of three practice groups: the Board of Chiropractic Examiners ($15,014); the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners ($21,224); and the Board of Examiners for Audiologists, Hearing Aid Dispensers and Speech-Language Pathologists ($26,175).

One critic of the fiscal belt-tightening was Senator Patrick Hogan (D-Montgomery). "While it may solve short-term problems, it doesn't solve the budget's structural problems and may make them worse," he contended.

 



Former CCA Executive Director Moves to Landmark Healthcare

SACRAMENTO, CA - Rebecca Downing, Esq., the former executive director of the California Chiropractic Association, is the new in-house general counsel for Landmark Healthcare, Inc. She will oversee the company's legal matters and government relations under CEO Joe Klinger.

"She will be a tremendous asset to Landmark," said Mr. Klinger. "Her perspective in all matters involving our participating practitioners will be valued."

 



Four Recognized with Golden Awards

LAS VEGAS, NV - With Parker Seminars and Foot Levelers, Inc., both celebrating 50th anniversaries, Foot Levelers presented four prestigious awards during the Parker Seminars Celebration.

"The recipients of these awards have dedicated years of service to chiropractic," said Kent Greenawalt, president and CEO of Foot Levelers. The awards went to:

  • James Sigafoose,DC - Golden Achievement Award for Philosophy

  • George Goodheart,DC - Golden Achievement Award for Clinical Excellence

  • Donald Petersen, Jr. - Golden Achievement Award for the Advancement of Chiropractic through Publishing Excellence

  • Mark Charrette,DC - Dr. Monte Greenawalt Chiropractic Excellence Award

All of the 24-karat-gold-plated trophies were crafted by R.S. Owens of Chicago, Illinois, the company that creates the Oscar and Emmy awards, among others.

 



Olivia Pyne Memorial Scholarship Established

Warren Pyne Jr., DC, of South Easton, Massachusetts, remembers how his daughter, Olivia (aka Lulu) told him she wanted to be a chiropractor like her Dad. Memories of Olivia abound in the wake of her tragic accidental death on July 14, 2001.

"There is an additional sense of loss for me when I think, had she followed that path, how proud I would have been to have Olivia join me in my practice," Dr. Payne said.

Through Dr. Pyne's friend and colleague, Dr. Ed Casper, Palmer College of Chiropractic has established a scholarship in her name, with the funding directed to help women who seek a career in chiropractic.

"My wife and I want this to be an endowed fund that will continue on paying out funds through the interest, not the principal. The fund is currently at $3,000, but needs to reach $10,000 to become endowed."

Dr. Pyne and his wife, Gretchan, have twin boys.

To support the memorial scholarship, please contact Karla Johnson at the Palmer College Development Office; 800-722-2586, extension 3.

 



TCC's James Giordano,PhD, Sets Aviation Speed Record

On December 20, 2001, Texas Chiropractic College faculty member James Giordano,PhD, and co-pilot Steve Rayburn set an aviation world airspeed from Gulfport, Mississippi to Beaumont, Texas in the piston engine category C1-C aircraft (less than 300 horse power, and weighing less that 3,800 pounds).

The record flight, sanctioned by the National Aeronautic Association and the F³d³ration A³ronautique Internationale, was made in a 1948 Navion L-17 in 122 minutes, averaging 130 knots, and reaching a top speed of 140 knots (161 mph) over a 268 nautical mile course.

Dr. Giordano is an associate professor of pathology and physical medicine, and acting director of research at TCC.

The record will be recognized at an April 4, 2002 banquet ceremony at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.

 



Dr. Weeks Re-Elected to COA

Laura Chadwick Weeks,DC, vice president for academic affairs for Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic, was re-elected as vice-chair of the Accreditation of the Council on Chiropractic Education (COA/CCE). She has been a member of the commission for two years, and was elected secretary to the executive committee in January 2001. Dr. Weeks is a 1990 graduate of Sherman and holds a bachelor's degree from Winthrop University.

The COA/CCE monitors chiropractic colleges to verify that they meet educational standards, and coordinates accreditation site visit teams.

 



Michigan Chiropractic Association: Same Vision, New Name

In November 2001, the Michigan Chiropractic Council - the state's oldest chiropractic organization - voted unanimously to change its name to the Michigan Chiropractic Association. The group's vision, philosophy and mission are the same, but, according to the MCA, the new name reflects an image of a "doctor/patient trade group."

March 2002
print pdf