ACA Leadership Adopts Key Policy Statements

ACA Leadership Adopts Key Policy Statements; New Officers Take the Helm at 43rd Annual Meeting

(Arlington, Va. - Sept. 13, 2006) The ACA House of Delegates (HOD) approved a host of important resolutions and policies during its 43rd annual meeting, Sept. 6-9, in Scottsdale, Ariz. -- from a position statement on manipulation under anesthesia to a resolution earmarking up to $50,000 in a combination of financial and in-kind support for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP).

The ACA leadership also reaffirmed a resolution denouncing research programs designed for the purpose of patient solicitation and approved the formation of a committee to examine and prepare a report on quality of care issues and treatment protocols that affect access to chiropractic care. Other key business included the election of officers and progress reports from association leaders on ACA programs and initiatives over the past year.

“The past year presented many challenges to meet as well as successes to celebrate,” announced ACA President Dr. Richard Brassard in his opening address to the HOD. “Thanks to everyone’s efforts this past year, the chiropractic profession is stronger and more widely recognized and respected than at any time in the past 100 years.”

Echoing those statements, ACA Chairman of the Board Dr. Lewis Bazakos highlighted several successful initiatives and accomplishments of the past year that were made possible by the active support of ACA members across the country – such as ACA’s legal action against American Chiropractic Network (ACN), the successful campaign to defeat S.1955 and the expansion of the chiropractic benefit under the federal employee health plan, among others. “We have kept the playing field even, but to advance we need more,” commented Dr. Bazakos. “It’s membership that brings us the money that allows us to support research, public relations, political action, litigation and education. We need your help to get the resources to continue advancing our profession.”

ACA Executive Vice President Kevin Corcoran reiterated the importance of members to the organization’s success and reported to the HOD on his efforts to make ACA “more transparent” and “more approachable” to its members over the past year. Those efforts include restructuring financial reports to make them more easily reviewed and analyzed, developing an “Inside ACA” section in ACA News that showcases member benefits and information, adding direct contact information on the association’s Web site for each ACA staff person, and including information directly from each department head in the electronic EVP Report to members. “Doctors will only join an association to which they feel a personal connection, which is why we’re working to create more clear and concise communications to convey the value of ACA membership,” added Corcoran. “Associations are a numbers game, and we need size to have the influence we want with the government, insurers and policymakers.”

Election of Officers

Seasoned veterans will remain on the executive committee of ACA’s Board of Governors and in top leadership positions in the HOD, while two new district governors will join ACA’s board.

Dr. Brassard, of Pasadena, Texas, and also president of Texas Chiropractic College, was re-elected president of the ACA. Dr. Bazakos, of Valley Stream, N.Y., will continue as chairman of the board of governors and governor of District 4.

Dr. Glenn Manceaux, of Houma, La., maintained his position as the third member of ACA’s executive committee and was re-elected vice president of the ACA.

In governor elections, Dr. Dow Bates, of Des Moines, Iowa, was elected governor of District 2, succeeding Dr. Linda Zange, of Glenview, Ill., who stepped down after 6 years on the BOG and 17 years as a delegate. In addition, Dr. David Madison, of Riverside, Calif., was elected governor of District 7, succeeding Dr. Paul Smith, of Las Vegas, Nev., who stepped down after two years on the BOG.

In Council of Delegate elections, Dr. Rick McMichael, of Canton, Ohio, was re-elected president of the Council of Delegates, Dr. Keith Overland, of Norwalk, Conn., was re-elected vice president of the Council of Delegates, Dr. David Herd, of Geneva, N.Y., was re-elected secretary of the Council of Delegates and Dr. Robert Mastronardi, of Warwick, R.I., was re-elected as the Council's representative to the ACA Finance Committee. Dr. Herd was also named ACA’s representative to the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER).

Doctors not up for re-election who will continue to serve on the board include: Dr. Donald Krippendorf, of St. Petersburg, Fla., immediate past president; Dr. William Pfeifer, of Ketchikan, Alaska, governor of District 1; Dr. Mario Spoto, of Downingtown, Pa., governor of District 3; Dr. John Gentile, of Miami, Fla., governor of District 5; and Dr. Jerry Gerrard, of Mesa, Ariz., governor of District 6.

Policies Adopted

Other policies of interest approved by the HOD during the annual meeting included resolutions:

• Urging ACA members and doctors across the country to join together in support of the F4CP campaign and to contribute financially to the effort. The resolution also directs ACA to contribute approximately $20,000 to $50,000 to the F4CP campaign during 2007 through a combination of in-kind and financial support.
• Recognizing that manipulation under anesthesia has a well established clinical history within the chiropractic profession and is appropriate in selected patient populations – where permitted by state scope of practice.
• Directing the ACA to form a committee to “examine, review, compile and report to the HOD for probable publication, the findings of existing quality of care issues and treatment protocols that affect access to quality patient care, and to better assure patient access to quality care.”
• Charging the ACA’s Long Range Planning Committee to explore the formation of a coalition with other chiropractic groups to “formulate profession wide short- and long-term legislative, legal, regulatory and other strategies to protect and advance the practice of chiropractic for the benefit of the patients we serve.”
• Calling on chiropractic examining boards and other authorized governmental agencies to investigate and take proper action against doctors or groups who promote improper patient solicitation/research programs.
• Endorsing “the principles and guidelines for pay- for-performance (PFP) programs based on outcomes assessment” and declaring ACA’s support for “the development of criteria that would be applicable to chiropractic clinical practice.”

More information on ACA’s annual meeting will soon be available online at www.acatoday.org and in the November issue of ACA News.

(Note to editors: Photos available upon request.)

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