Dr. Dennis Jones (R-Seminole) has been named the majority leader of the Florida Senate. The 61-year-old Jones, who graduated from Lincoln College of Chiropractic in 1963, was chosen majority leader by Senate President Jim King to help develop policy and promote the Republican Party's agenda. Dr. Jones is believed to be the first doctor of chiropractic to hold this high a position in the Florida political system.
"Throughout the years, Dennis has become my best friend and strongest political ally," King said. "I have the utmost confidence in his political leadership, his ability to get things done, and his unwavering loyalty."
Before winning a Senate seat in 2002, Dr. Jones served in the Florida House of Representatives for more than two decades, and received many awards from a variety of professional organizations. Among his accolades, he received the D.I. Rainey Legislative Award from the Florida Chiropractic Association three times, and was named the Florida Chiropractic Society "Legislator of the Year" in 1996. In addition to his duties as a legislator, he maintains a practice in St. Petersburg with his son, Rod.
Mary Xenia Fagan, a second-year chiropractic student at Western States Chiropractic College in Portland, Oregon, recently became the first winner of the $15,000 American Specialty Health (ASH) scholarship with her essay "Integrative Medicine: The Healthcare of the Future." San Diego-based ASH is the nation's largest complementary health services organization, offering specialty benefit plans, affinity discount programs and educational programs.
Students pursuing a variety of complementary health professions - including chiropractic, massage and acupuncture - are eligible for the organization's scholarships, up to $15,000 each and totaling $45,000; up to five are awarded annually. Criteria for consideration include grade point average (GPA), financial need, a written essay and participation in activities related to health care.
For information on the scholarship program or to print out an application, go to www.ashproviders.com.
ST. LOUIS - Logan College of Chiropractic associate professor Donna Mannello, DC, was recently nominated to the Missouri State Board of Health by Gov. Bob Holden. In the last legislative session, Missouri lawmakers mandated that at least one member of the health board must be a doctor of chiropractic.
The State Board of Health approves payment of hospital subsidy funding, and advises on the rules and regulations endorsed by the Department of Health and Human Services while providing comments to the DHHS director.
Dr. Mannello, of St. Louis, was awarded the Emerson Teaching Award in Excellence in 2001. She has a bachelor's degree from Westfield State College in Massachusetts and a doctorate degree from Logan College, located in Chesterfield, Mo.
The American Public Health Association's (APHA) Chiropractic Health Care Section has launched the "Immunization Information Resource" Web site at www.ChiroWeb.com/vaccinfo. The Internet-based resource provides a compilation of annotated bibliographies of citations and peer-reviewed studies from immunization literature to present an objective, evidence-based and user-friendly resource for health care professionals.
"The creation of this Web site is an attempt to dispel confusion and dissemination of misinformation about immunization policy and vaccination by providing easy access to accurate, evidence-based information," an APHA press release.
The site contains links to online scientific literature sorted by category: epidemiology of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs); normal sequela of VPDs; adverse effects of vaccines; and sociology and ethics of vaccination. The Web site also covers patient counseling considerations regarding immunization. The APHA's chiropractic section is accepting comments on the site at vaccinfo@dcmedia.com. A discussion on the site will be presented at the Association of Chiropractic Colleges annual meeting, March 12-15 in New Orleans.
Dr. J. Richard Burns has received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Illinois Prairie State Chiropractic Association. Dr. Burns received the award at IPSCA's Fall 2002 convention.
Dr. Burns graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1973 and joined the school's faculty that same year. He served as chair of Palmer's technique department from 1977 to 1999, and currently serves as a special assistant to the president. He is also on the board of directors of IPSCA and the International Chiropractors Association.
SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA - Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic has added two doctors of chiropractic to its clinical sciences department.
Kevin Power, DC, graduated from Sherman in 1981, and operated private practices in both Australia and the United States before joining the college's faculty. In addition to his role in the clinical sciences department, he will serve as an assistant instructor in chiropractic technique classes and will be a member of the college's Chiropractic Health Center.
Jon Schwartzbauer, DC, has joined the college as an instructor of clinical sciences and will also work in the Chiropractic Health Center. A 1997 Sherman graduate, Dr. Schwartzbauer and his wife, Mitzi (also a Sherman alum) served as team chiropractors for the St. Paul Saints, a minor league baseball team in Minnesota. He previously ran a private practice in Mahtomedi, Minnesota.
The December 2002 issue of Pediatrics reports that breastfeeding rates were at their highest levels ever in 2001. The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates breastfeeding newborns for health reasons, including increased growth and development and reduced risk for chronic diseases.
In the Ross Laboratories Mothers Survey, a national sample of over 2 million questionnaires revealed that the number of mothers who breastfed (both immediately after delivery and when the infant reached six months) rose an average of 2% each year between 1996 and 2001. Nearly 70% of mothers included at least some breast milk in their baby's diet; 46% exclusively breastfed their infant while in the hospital.
The researchers note that the goal of 75% of all mothers breastfeeding newborns by 2010 seems attainable, but that another goal of half of all mothers breastfeeding until their infant is five-to-six months old by 2010 may not be (only one-third of mothers did so in 2001). In an interview with Reuters Health, lead researcher Dr. Alan S. Ryan commented, "The bottom line is that a lot more work has to be done to increase breastfeeding among all mothers."
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.
