As part of Palmer College’s continuing efforts to advocate for full
inclusion of chiropractic in future healthcare plans, Palmer
Interim Chancellor Bill Wilke, left, and Dr. Christine Goertz met
with Congressman Bruce Braley in August. |
A sometimes contentious debate has ensued from the
halls of Congress to town halls across the country
since President Obama set his administration’s goals
for healthcare reform and asked the U.S. Congress to develop
the best plan for improving the country’s ailing healthcare
system. Everyone agrees that the current system is failing
healthcare consumers, but no one—from elected government
officials to healthcare experts to practitioners and patients—
can agree on how to fix it.
Even before the president’s charge to Congress, Palmer officials
were involved in healthcare reform. Earlier this year, the
College created the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Health
Policy, led by Vice Chancellor for Research and Health Policy
Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D. Dr. Goertz and other Palmer
administrators have attended Chiropractic Summit meetings,
including Summit V in Washington, D.C., and College officials
have advocated for chiropractic’s inclusion in any pending
healthcare legislation through meetings with legislators.
In June, Palmer began encouraging alumni, and their patients,
as well as Palmer students and employees, to express their
views on chiropractic’s role in health care by taking part in
grass-roots congressional letter-writing campaigns organized by
www.Chiro-Voice.org and www.AdjustTheVote.org. The College
got the word out through letters, e-mails and Palmer publications.
At the student level, the letter-writing campaign has been
promoted by the Student American Chiropractic Association
(SACA) and Student International Chiropractors Association
(SICA) chapters on Palmer’s campuses. On the Davenport
Campus, SICA has sponsored a contest for the best letter submitted
to President Obama, with prizes for the top three letters.
Dr. Goertz and Executive Director of Marketing and Public
Relations Darren Garrett also set up meetings with U.S. legislators
from Iowa. Dr. Goertz, Interim Chancellor William
Wilke and Mr. Garrett met with Congressman Bruce Braley
(D-Iowa) in August, and Dr. Goertz had a conference call
with Jenelle Krishnamoorthy, Ph.D., the lead health adviser
for Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), in September. On Oct. 6,
she spoke by phone with Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).
Palmer College also supports the work of the Foundation for
Chiropractic Progress as they educate elected officials and the
American public through national media outlets about the
effectiveness, and affordability, of chiropractic care for
a number of costly, debilitating conditions.
All of these efforts, along with those of alumni across the
nation and their patients, should serve to remind our elected
officials of the importance of chiropractic in providing effective,
quality and affordable healthcare for Americans. With the
reform efforts still evolving in Congress at press time, all
eyes are on Washington, D.C., as legislators consider healthcare
reform that will affect the lives and livelihoods of every
American citizen.