Las Vegas Hosts 2003 COCSA Meeting

New board members, new corporate partners and a resolution regarding the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Board's PACE (Providers of Approved Continuing Education) program were among the highlights of this year's annual meeting of the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA), held Nov. 6-8 in Las Vegas, Nev. During the meeting, COCSA leaders also reviewed the successes of the past year, and announced a plethora of projects for 2004, including sponsorship of the Third Annual National Backpack Safety Month and the launch of a new online office products affinity program for state associations and members.

Members elected the following state association leaders to serve on the COCSA Board of Directors in 2004:

• President - Kevin Donovan, DC, Chiropractic Society of Rhode Island
• 1st Vice President - Stephen Simonetti, DC, New York Chiropractic Council
• 2nd Vice President - Jerry DeGrado, DC, Kansas Chiropractic Association
• Secretary - Jeff Fedorko, DC, Ohio State Chiropractic Association
• Treasurer - Walt Engle, DC, Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association
• Past President - Tom Klapp, DC, Michigan Chiropractic Association
• District 1 Director - Matthew Coburn, DC, New York Chiropractic Council
• District 2 Director - John Galbreath, DC, Illinois Chiropractic Society
• District 3 Director - Tim Chittom, DC, Chiropractic Association of Louisiana
• District 4 Director - John DeGrado, DC, Kansas Chiropractic Association
• District 5 Director - Sharon Muggli, DC, Arizona Association of Chiropractic

COCSA members received a report on the current effort to develop "Best Practices" for chiropractic from Dr. Gene Lewis, chair of the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practices Parameters (CCGPP), which also met over the Nov. 6-8 weekend. Several districts elected representatives to serve on the council in 2004:

 

• District 1 - Robert Quigley, DC, Chiropractic Society of Rhode Island
• District 2 - Ron Farabaugh, DC, Ohio State Chiropractic Association
• District 3 - Jonathan Griffiths, DC, Alabama State Chiropractic Association
• District 4 - Allen Unruh, DC, South Dakota Chiropractors Association
• District 5 - Wayne Bennett, DC, Arizona Association of Chiropractic
• At Large - Len Suiter, DC, Missouri State Chiropractors Association

Doris Christman of the Florida Chiropractic Society was also approved as an honorary member. Ms. Christman, who has been an active member for years, has served numerous terms on the COCSA board, is the first executive director (and the first woman) to receive this honor.

The viability of the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Board's proposed PACE program was a hot topic at this year's meeting. State association leaders had received an introductory report on the program at last year's COCSA meeting in Charlotte, N.C., and met with FCLB officials in Orlando in March to discuss their concerns. At COCSA 2003, after receiving an update from Dr. Laurel Cowie, chair of the federation's PACE committee, state association leaders unanimously approved the following resolution:

Whereas, the concept of a centralized continuing education approval process has merit and potential for solving certain problems of continuing education certification, the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) has concerns about the impact such a system could have on our member associations including but not limited to:

• Financial impacts on programs and conventions
• Loss of or reduced control over what is taught in state chiropractic association continuing education programs and conventions
• Potential philosophical differences between PACE-approved courses and state associations and their programs and conventions

In addition to these concerns, the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations has concerns about:

 

• The individual state boards of examiners ceding their authority to approve continuing education credits to PACE, especially in the states who have combined medical/chiropractic boards
• The individual state boards of examiners having the choice to approve non-PACE approved continuing education credits

Be it resolved that the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations advises a rigorous review of the potential impact on our member state associations of implementation and acceptance of the FCLB PACE program of continuing education approval.

Be it further resolved that we recommend that the FCLB not proceed any further with the implementation of PACE until all of the concerns of COCSA and its member associations are positively resolved.

COCSA officials hope that in voicing members' concerns, FCLB and its member state licensing boards will review the PACE program as it is currently proposed.

The 2004 COCSA meeting will be held in New Orleans, La., Nov. 11-13. For more information on the meeting or on a specific COCSA program, visit www.cocsa.org or contact Executive Director Janet Jordan at (803) 356-6809 or cocsa@sc.rr.com.