When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
News in Brief
Planning Process Continues at the University of Bridgeport
The University of Bridgeport was founded in 1927 as the Junior College of Connecticut and chartered in 1947 as a four year institution. The colleges and schools which currently make up the university are:
College of Arts and HumanitiesSince the decision of the University of Bridgeport Board of Trustees to proceed with the planning process to establish a college of chiropractic on the Bridgeport campus, work on the project has been ongoing.
College of Business and Public Management
College of Health and Human Services
College of Science and Engineering
School of Law
Metropolitan College
The first step toward the realization of this goal is the submission of an application for licensure to the State of Connecticut Department of Higher Education. This process, on the part of the University, has been completed. The Chiropractic College Committee, currently comprised of Arnold Cianciulli, D.C., Robert Matrisciano, D.C., and Marc Peyser, D.C., has worked with the project director, Frank Zolli, D.C. to insure the completion of this assignment.
It is anticipated the application for licensure should be acted upon by the State of Connecticut in the spring of 1990. At that time, the process of actively recruiting students and faculty for the anticipated January 1991 start of the program will begin.
The Chiropractic College Committee has decided the program will emphasize chiropractic and clinical relevance of all subjects taught in the curriculum. The student population of the college will be approximately 500. In this way, students will be offered a more personalized instruction and program quality will be maintained. The curriculum will be taught over ten trimesters, covering a forty-month time period.
American Chiropractic Association Appoints Director of State Relations
The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has appointed Helen Ferguson as its new director of state relations. Ms. Ferguson formerly served as the executive director of the Michigan State Chiropractic Association.
Ferguson's responsibilities include building and maintaining a communications network among the state associations; building a spirit of cooperation with the state associations; developing a state data base covering chiropractic events and issues; representing ACA at state association functions; planning meetings among state association officers and board members; and implementing state assistance programs.
"With our new director in place, we will be establishing protocols for the effective intercommunication between ACA and the state associations," said Vincent Lucido, D.C., ACA president. "We hope this will promote a mutual effort in furthering our respective goals and objectives."
Chiropractors Win A Victory in Texas Worker's Compensation Struggle
Recently insurance payments to chiropractors in Texas were eliminated under new version of their worker's compensation bill. According to the Dallas Morning News, Richard Hammer, legislative aide to Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos reported that within days, chiropractors were calling. And calling. And calling. "There were times when all five phone line were lit up with chiropractors, and that went on for a day and a half," said Hammer.
So the senate wrote chiropractors back into the bill. "Yup," said Mr. Hammer, "They've done the best arm twisting in the whole thing." Now that's lobbying.
Kansas Chiropractic Association
On October 20, 1989, and again on October 27, 1989, KCA staff members, and chiropractic physicians from across the state escorted a group of state representatives, senators, and Healing Arts board members to National Chiropractic College in Lombard, Illinois. This trip was part of a statewide association campaign to educate the public about chiropractic.
There are a number of issues concerning chiropractic that could surface in the 1990 legislative session, so an emphasis was placed on educating state lawmakers as well. Members of the Public Health and Welfare committee in particular were invited to go along, as well as individuals who come in contact with insurance, labor and industry, and judiciary issues.
The success of the two October trips has mandated that additional junkets will be planned for 1990, in an effort to expose as many legislators as possible to the accurate and legitimate scope of a chiropractor's education.