Chiropractic (General)

Chiropractors Storm the Capital

Review of the 139th APHA Meeting and Exposition
Rand Baird, DC, MPH, FICA, FICC

On Oct. 29, 2011, a rare early winter snowstorm struck the East Coast of the U.S., blanketing the nation's capital in white. In Washington, D.C., it was the heaviest October snowstorm in history. Leaves that had already turned orange and brown, but not yet fallen, added to the weight of the wet snow, cracking branches with accompanying sounds that reminded some of the cavitation sounds heard during a chiropractic adjustment. And that was how opening day of the 139th American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Exposition began, with 13,497 attendees arriving for the largest annual public health gathering in the world.

Many of the major leaders in government and health customarily attend the annual APHA Meeting, and 2011 was no exception. Among those present were the health commissioners of several states; the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); representatives of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and the Department of Health and Human Services; officials from the WHO, PAHO, HRSA, OSHA and NIOSH; U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin and several former surgeons general; members of various private institutes and voluntary agencies; several current and former elected state politicians and members of Congress; several college and university presidents, deans, program directors, and department heads; various international, federal, state and local health officials; and numerous other educators, authors, researchers and dignitaries. Approximately 40 leaders in chiropractic public health attended the event, including three chiropractic college presidents: Drs. Joe Brimhall (Western States), William Meeker (Palmer West) and Mark Ziegler (Northwestern).

The 2011 APHA program featured a comprehensive collection of oral presentations, round-table workshops, poster sessions, films, learning institutes, panel discussions, network opportunities, a career mart, and information and giveaways in the expo hall - all designed to enhance knowledge and exchange information about public health science, practice and policy.

Keynote speakers at the Opening General Session were former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle; Pamela Hyde, JD, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration; and Jonathan Jarvis, director of the U.S. National Park Service. This year, the APHA meeting theme was "Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds and Bodies," described as the perfect platform for an in-depth look at efforts to improve the health of the communities in which we live, work and play. Diverse topics were covered among the 4,000-plus papers presented in the more than 1,000 scientific sessions.

Scientific and Technical Paper Program

The chiropractic profession was represented on the APHA program for the 27th consecutive year, with the Chiropractic Health Care (CHC) section sponsoring five program sessions under the direction of CHC Program Chair, Dr. Michael Schneider. Sessions included:

  • Innovation in Public Health Education Within the Chiropractic Colleges
  • Public Health and Chiropractic Care
  • Research: Current Status and Updates
  • Promoting Health and Preventing Disease in Clinical Practice
  • Back Pain in the Work Place: Challenges, Prevention, Management, and Research

These five sessions, featuring 25 different papers by chiropractic experts, were well-attended and widely acclaimed, drawing a multidisciplinary audience.

New Officers Announced

Outgoing CHC Section Chair, Dr. Paul Dougherty, thanked those who had served as officers in 2011 and announced the new CHC officers for 2012:

Executive Committee

  • Chair: Lori Byrd, MS
  • Chair-Elect: John Hyland, DC, MPH
  • Past-Chair: Paul Dougherty, DC, DABCO
  • Secretary: Claire Johnson, DC, MSEd

Section Council:

  • Bart Green, DC, MSEd
  • Claire Johnson, DC, MSEd
  • Michelle Maiers, DC, MPH
  • Jason Napuli, DC, MBA
  • Lisa Killinger, DC
  • Michael Schneider, DC, PhD

Governing Council:

  • John Stites, DC, DACBR
  • Jason Bartlett, DC

Committee Chairs:

  • Awards: Bart Green, DC, MSEd
  • Communications: Claire Johnson, DC, MSEd
  • Membership: Michele Maiers, DC, MPH
  • Nominations: Alisa Fairweather, MPH
  • Program: Michael Schneider, DC, PhD
  • Resolutions: John Stites, DC, DACBR
  • Action Board Rep: Bonnie Hillsberg, DC, MHA

Award Recipients

CHC section Awards Committee Chair, Dr. Bart Green, also announced several important section award recipients for 2011. Dr. John Pammer Jr. received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while the Distinguished Service Award for 2011 went to Dr. Michael Haneline. Dr. Jason Bartlett received the Rising Star Award for 2011, and Dr. Mark Ziegler was honored with a Special Award for Advancing Public Health & Chiropractic.

2012 Annual Meeting

The 2012 Annual Meeting will be held in San Francisco Oct. 27-31, 2012, with a theme of, "Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds and Bodies." This is certainly a theme compatible with chiropractic core values. The 2012 Call for Abstracts will be announced by Drs. Michael Schneider and Claire Johnson to various chiropractic media, organizations, researchers and other sources soon.

The APHA is the oldest, largest, most influential, and most diverse public health association in the world. The APHA now expresses its membership as "over 25,000 active members" and approximately 40,000 including affiliate members representing over 70 occupations involved in various aspects of public health. The Chiropractic Health Care section has been established as a full partner in APHA since 1995.

We invite you to join the chiropractic public health community. If you are already a member of the APHA Chiropractic Health Care section, you know how important the relationship is between public health and chiropractic. If you are not currently a member, consider joining and becoming active in this exciting organization. For further information on participating in the public health effort by joining APHA, go to www.apha.org/about/membership.

January 2012
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