Terry A. Rondberg, DC, CEO of the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) and publisher of The Chiropractic Journal, has been invited to serve on the Department of Defense (DoD) Chiropractic Advisory Committee, which will help establish the protocol for making chiropractic services available to active duty military personnel.
In extending the invitation, Richard A. Mayo, deputy director of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense/Health Affairs, told Rondberg, "I believe you will be able to contribute advice and recommendations regarding the continued development and implementation of an effective program of chiropractic health care benefits for members of the uniformed services on active duty."
"The World Chiropractic Alliance has worked closely with Congressional and military leadership for years to make sure chiropractic is available to active duty military personnel as well as to our nation's veterans," Rondberg stated. "This will be a great opportunity for the organization to continue its effort to ensure that chiropractic is not limited to neuromusculoskeletal conditions or restricted through the use of a medical gatekeeper system."
One of the primary concerns for Rondberg is the possibility that the DoD will institute a gatekeeper procedure similar to the one recommended for the Veterans Affairs Health System, which requires a medical referral, or "consultation" in order for most veterans to receive chiropractic care. The WCA vigorously fought that recommendation but it passed when the majority of the VA Advisory Committee ‑‑ including members from the American Chiropractic Association ‑‑ voted in favor of it. It later became evident that the anti‑chiropractic attitude of many MDs in the VA would make it nearly impossible for veterans to see chiropractors. "I hope we have learned from that fiasco," Rondberg stated, "and work together as a profession to make sure members of the Armed Forces have the same right as all citizens to see a doctor of chiropractic without getting a referral from a medical provider."
The other major goal for Rondberg is to seek inclusion of chiropractic care for subluxation correction as a part of the chiropractic services offered to military personnel under the DoD program. "I think it is important that DCs be allowed to provide care for those suffering from any and all neuromusculoskeletal conditions, but it is equally important that the men and women who serve in our military be permitted to benefit from the unique chiropractic service of subluxation correction, which can have a direct impact on their general health and well being."
Rondberg's inclusion in the DoD committee is the latest in a series of top‑level appointments for WCA members, including:
Veronica Gutierrez, a member of the WCA Board of Directors, the only chiropractor to serve on the White House Special Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Christopher Kent, DC, a member of the WCA Board of Directors, chairman of the NGO (Non‑Governmental Organization) Health Committee, affiliated with the United Nations.
Kristina M. Collins, DC, a member of the WCA International Board of Governors, one of six members appointed by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to its National Advisory Council on Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Leona Fischer, DC, a member of the WCA International Board of Governors, served on the Veterans Affairs Chiropractic Advisory Committee and was one of only two members to vote against a medical gatekeeper system.
Also invited to join was Michael McLean, a member of the International Chiropractors Association's Board of Directors. The names of other committee members were not available at press time.