On Jan. 24 1978, the New Zealand governor-general referred to a Commission of Inquiry an investigation to determine the desirability of providing for reimbursement of chiropractic benefits under the New Zealand Social Security Act and the New Zealand Accident Compensation Act. The commision's findings would impact chiropractic worldwide for decades to come.
News in Brief
The British courts have refused Simon Singh's request to appeal the May court decision that found him guilty of libel for comments made about the British Chiropractic Association and chiropractic care in a 2008 article in the Guardian newspaper. As reported in DC (June 17 issue, News in Brief), the BCA initiated libel proceedings against Singh after he refused to retract his comments, which included the following:
"The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments."
At a May 2009 hearing, Justice David Eady ruled that Singh's comments constituted serious defamatory allegations of fact against the BCA and ordered him to pay the association's costs of the hearing.
Life West's Mission Trip: America
Interns and several faculty members from Life Chiropractic College West recently provided chiropractic care to workers at the La Raza Centro Legal Day Labor Program in San Francisco, giving 54 workers the opportunity to experience chiropractic care. The half-day mission is part of a Life West program to provide free chiropractic care to local communities, the brainchild of interns Joe Ibe and Brian Morris, assisted by Lori Pino, academic counselor at the college. The interns proposed "Mission Trip: America" (MTA), to Life West administration for guidance and approval, which they received. With help from Pino (who is now program director of Mission Trip: America), they began providing chiropractic care in early spring.
"Serving from a sense of abundance is a concept that we encourage all of our students to internalize as chiropractors," said Life West President Dr. Gerard Clum. "Mission Trip: America is a fine example of what Life West students can accomplish with love, commitment and support."
For the July 18 trip to La Raza Centro, interns were accompanied by Pino and supervising doctor of chiropractic Wayne Coleman. Future trips to La Raza and other Bay Area sites are being discussed. In addition to Ibe and Morris, other Life West interns currently involved in the MTA program include Mathew Kittleson, David Main, Gina Illia, Kristen Hazleton, Myriam Arias-Elguezabal and Justin Goslin.
New York Chiropractic College was recently named a "great college to work for" by The Chronicle of Higher Education, which recognizes colleges for practices and policies that create an ideal working environment, including tenure clarity, work/life balance and compensation/benefits. Results were based on an online survey completed by almost 41,000 administrators, faculty and staff.