New President at Northwestern
Northwestern Health Sciences University has announced the selection of Jeff Nelson as the university's sixth president. Nelson, who has also been appointed chief executive officer at Northwestern, has 30 years of experience leading health systems, health plans and technology companies, according to the university, including CEO of Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, CEO of Empire Health Services in Washington, and executive director for the hospital-payer contracting unit of HealthEast Care System.
"I am excited and honored to have been selected to lead this impressive university," said Nelson in a university press release announcing his selection as president. "I look forward to helping Northwestern grow beyond expectations, and to provide our students, patients, alumni and staff with world-class experiences."
Late last year, Northwestern revealed it had recruited an independent executive search firm to work with a university board-appointed search committee to select a new president following the abrupt departure of Mark Ziegler, DC, who took over as Northwestern's fifth president in 2007. Dr. Ziegler has since been appointed vice president of education for Foot Levelers, Inc.
Study: Chiropractic Helps Military With Back Pain
According to results of a study published recently in Spine, "Patients with acute low back pain receiving a combination of chiropractic manipulative therapy and standard medical care experienced a statistically and clinically significant reduction in their back pain and improved physical functioning when compared to those receiving standard medical care alone."
"While a number of studies have shown spinal manipulation to be effective in treating low back pain in research settings, the appropriate role of chiropractic care in treating low back pain within the health care delivery system, including the military, has not been clearly established," commented Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, vice chancellor for research and health policy for Palmer College of Chiropractic and lead investigator of the study. "We know very little about the impact of chiropractic manipulative therapy on diverse populations in real-world settings. This study is the first step in filling that gap in our knowledge."
Other Palmer researchers involved in the study included Cynthia Long, PhD; Maria Hondras, DC, PhD; Dana Lawrence, DC, M.Med.Ed, MA; and William Meeker, DC, MPH.
The study, conducted at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, was funded by a grant from the Samueli Institute and involved 91 active-duty military personnel. Results showed, among other findings, that 73 percent of participants in the standard medical care / chiropractic manipulative therapy group rated their global improvement in pain completely gone, much better or moderately better, compared to only 17 percent in the group receiving standard medical care only. In addition, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire scores and Mean Numerical Pain Rating Scale scores were significantly better in the group receiving chiropractic manipulative therapy compared to standard medical care alone at both weeks two and four.
According to Dr. Goertz, "while these findings are exciting, they need to be confirmed with additional research that replicates this study on a larger scale," noting that "Palmer College, the RAND Corporation and Samueli Institute received a $7.4 million, four-year grant from the Department of Defense last year to conduct a similar multi-site clinical trial, this time with a sample size of 750 active-duty military personnel."
NBCE Seats New Board
At its annual meeting, held in late April in San Francisco, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners re-elected Dr. Norman Ouzts Jr. as board president, with Drs. Donna Craft and Paul Morin also re-elected as vice president and treasurer, respectively. Joining them on the four-member executive committee is Dr. Steven Conway, who also continues his service as an at-large director.
The 11-member board now includes Dr. Daniel Côte(district I director); Dr. Craft (district II director); Dr. Morin (district III director); Dr. Ronald Tripp Jr. (district IV director); Dr. Ouzts Jr. (district V director); and Drs. Salvatore LaRusso, Lawrence O'Connor, Daniel Saint-Germain and Conway as at-large directors. Rounding out the board are the two Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Board-appointed positions: FCLB President Dr. LeRoy Otto and FCLB Vice President Dr. Farrel Grossman.
Also at the NBCE meeting, the board honored Drs. Richard Vincent and Titus Plomaritis with the Paul M. Tullio Award for Distinguished Service. Both former NBCE directors, Dr. Vincent served a two-year term as an FCLB-appointed director beginning in 1973 and subsequently was elected a district III director, serving from 1976-1982. He served as president for the last three years of his term. Dr. Plomaritis served on the board from 1982-2000, first as a district III director and then as an at-large director. He served as NBCE president from 1986-1992.
"Truly these gentlemen are legendary leaders in chiropractic and in the history of the NBCE, and we are proud to honor them today," said Dr. Norman Ouzts Jr. in presenting the awards.
Get Ready for "Undoctored"
Jeff Hays, executive producer of the ground-breaking documentary "Doctored" The Movie," has announced that a sequel to "Doctored" is in the works: "Undoctored: What Your Doctor Didn't Learn in Medical School – and Why." Here's a little of what Hays says about "Undoctored" in an online promotional page for the movie:
"If 'Doctored' was what's wrong with the system, 'Undoctored' is what to do about it. We say that 'Undoctored' picks up where Doctored left off ... We had trouble stopping filming for 'Doctored.' We kept running into more and more stories, one led to another, each one more mind-blowing than the last. Finally we had to draw the line, we had to stop and let these new, bigger stories wait. That list of topics and stories is 'Undoctored.'"
As of press time, a funding campaign was underway for "Undoctored," with an initial goal of raising $100,000 to cover production of the film. Visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/undoctored-movie to learn more about the campaign and the film.
Noted Herbalist Joins NYCC Nutrition Faculty
Kerry Bone, Dipl. Phyto., was recently named a guest lecturer, curriculum consultant and presenter for New York Chiropractic College's online master's degree program in nutrition. Bone has taught at colleges / universities in his native Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States; and developed curriculum and course material for the Australian College of Phytotherapy's Master of Health Science (herbal medicine) program.
Bone, the author of Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy, among other works, is the co-founder, former chair and current director of research and development of MediHerb. He is also a longtime contributor to this publication's "Nutritional Wellness" quarterly special section, writing on the clinical efficacy of herbs for various health conditions. To read previous articles, visit www.nutritionalwellness.com or DC.com and search "Kerry Bone."
