On Aug. 26, 2008, Life University finalized a $71.5 million deal in bonds offered up by investors. The funds will be used for the university's "20/20 Vision" strategic plan, scheduled for completion by the year 2020. Present at the signing were Dr. Guy F. Riekeman, university president; William Jarr, vice president of operations and finance; and Provost Dr. Brian McAulay, along with bond, underwriting and legal counsel.
In June, Life received approval from the Development Authority of Marietta, Ga., to begin seeking investors for the bonds. The investors toured the campus facilities on Aug. 12 and made an offer of more than $150 million in bond funds. The university chose to accept $71.5 million of the offered amount.
Life plans to use the funds to make various improvements, renovate and equip existing facilities, and acquire and construct new buildings. According to Jarr, a portion of the new bonds will be used to pay off previous bonds from approximately 20 years ago.
From left: Life Provost Brian McAulay; President Dr. Guy F. Riekeman; Cecil Phillips, CEO of Place Properties (the development company); and Life VP of Operations and Finance, William Jarr.
Dr. Riekeman said the school has embarked on its 20/20 plan "to make Life a world-class center for health care education and research, and a think tank for health topics and other critical 21st-century issues." He added, "Life University is not only about teaching technical knowledge and skills for health-oriented careers. More importantly, Life is about instilling the world-citizenship skills that will equip its graduates to be leaders in their respective fields. Those skills are best taught face-to-face in classrooms, the library, the laboratories, the athletic facilities and the social gathering spots on campus."
The chiropractic profession is under a sophisticated and relentless assault from corporate medicine, so strategically executed that most don’t even recognize it happening. The campaign is powerful, calculated, and well-funded, demonstrated by its covert tactics and the millions being invested to carry it out. Corporate medicine's endgame wants only two things from chiropractic: all our patients and all our money – and it is getting it.
Over the past two decades, more than 18 million spinal surgeries have been performed in the United States, and cervical disc replacements represent a fair share of those. Device recalls due to design flaws can place patients in difficult clinical situations, especially those who are symptomatic and reluctant to undergo revision surgery. This case highlights the role of chiropractors in managing complex postsurgical patients, particularly those with recalled spinal implants.
UnitedHealth Group, parent company of UnitedHealthcare, has announced sweeping changes to its prior-authorization (PA) requirements that will eliminate the requirement for chiropractic care and numerous other healthcare services by the end of 2026. Doctors of chiropractic, other providers and patients have long lamented prior authorization requirements because they can delay needed treatment, limit access and even cause some patients not to pursue care.
