The Patriot Project: Serving Those Who Served
The Patriot Project, a nonprofit organization founded by Ohio DC Timothy Novelli two years ago, is gaining steam, with more than 250 member chiropractors in 17 states participating in the grassroots movement as of January 2014. According to Dr. Novelli, the mission of The Patriot Project is to "provide chiropractic care to active military members and their families, our Nation's wounded warriors, and to the dependents of the fallen as a way of saying ‘thank you' to American soldiers for leaving their homes, jobs and families to protect our families and our freedoms."
Dr. Novelli hopes to build the participation base to at least 6,000 DCs this year to support the project's six goals:
- To provide free chiropractic care to active military, wounded warriors, and dependents of the fallen.
- To make full chiropractic benefits in TRICARE care readily available for all active-duty military, retirees and veterans.
- To have chiropractic physicians commissioned as officers in all branches of the armed services.
- To have DCs embedded in all forward operating bases of combat around the world.
- To have a chiropractic department in every VA hospital / clinic.
- To ensure that all veterans with service-related disabilities receive chiropractic benefit coverage through the VA.
Dr. Novelli, who received the Humanitarian Award from Parker College of Chiropractic and Performance Health at Parker Seminars Las Vegas in January, is planning a USO-style tour of military bases this year to provide chiropractic care to U.S. soldiers on the front lines. For additional information about the upcoming tour and The Patriot Project, click here.
CTCA Chiropractor Receives Clinical Innovation Award
Jeff Sklar, DC, the medical director of chiropractic services at Cancer Treatment Centers of America's Eastern Regional Medical Center in Philadelphia, received the Starfish Award for Clinical Innovation at the CTCA holiday party in late 2013. According to Dr. Sklar, he received the award in front of the entire oncology medical staff and other CTCA stakeholders, emphasizing how chiropractic care has been accepted as a crucial element of multidisciplinary cancer care:
"This is not meant to toot my own horn, but to share how chiropractic care is being viewed from an egalitarian perspective when it comes to improving the lives of people with the chronic disease of cancer," said Dr. Sklar. "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would have a room filled with oncology specialists standing and applauding my work as a chiropractor."
The Starfish Award for Clinical Innovation is named after a well-known poem by Irv Furman called "The Old Man and the Starfish":
One day an old man was walking down the beach just before dawn. In the distance he saw a young man picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea.
As the old man approached the young man, he asked, "Why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time?" The young man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.
The old man exclaimed, "But there must be thousands of starfish. How can your efforts make any difference?"
The young man looked down at the starfish in his hand and as he threw it to safety in the sea, he said," It makes a difference to this one!"
To learn more about CTCA's multidisciplinary approach to cancer care, click here.
