Canada
Chiropractic Care Is De-listed from the Ontario’s
Health Plan
The provincial government of Ontario, Canada, announced on May 18, that starting
in October the Ontario Health Insurance Plan, the province’s health care
plan, chiropractic services would be “de-listed.” Chiropractic services
have been publicly funded for over 30 years in Ontario.
Chiropractic care was not alone. The government will also be removing optometry
examinations and physiotherapy because of budgetary concerns. Ontario Finance
Minister Greg Sorbara stated, “No one in government celebrates the delisting
or the withdrawal of any public services. These are the most difficult choices
we make. Look, we are not punishing anyone. These are less critical services
in our view.”
Chiropractors criticized the government’s decision. “This is an
incredibly shortsighted budget,” said Dean Wright, president of the Ontario
Chiropractic Association, which represents more than 2,500 chiropractors in
the province. “It’s going to be devastating for over 1.2 million
Ontarians who seek chiropractic care to help them live their lives. By removing
the OHIP coverage, they create another barrier to access to care.”
Ontario Democratic Party leader Howard Hampton was unhappy with the announcement,
saying that the delisting would affect people with low incomes the most. “They
won’t be able to go to the chiropractor [and] they won’t be able
to get their eyes checked, because they won’t be able to afford it,”
Hampton remarked. “In the end, this will cost the healthcare system more
money because they (patients) will wait until they are so sick or so debilitated,
and then they will go to the doctor’s office, and the doctor’s fees
are much higher.”
In a press release following the government’s announcement, the OCA charged
that the government “held absolutely no consultation with either the chiropractic
profession or the people. The people of the province were never given the opportunity
to express their views on public funding for chiropractic.”
The OCA has also set up an “OHIP Funding” section on its website
for the latest updates and where people can sign an online petition against
the decision. The OHIP Funding section is available at www.chiropractic.on.ca/OHIPFunding.html.
South Africa
Leading Chiropractors visit NUHS
A group of chiropractic leaders from South Africa’s two chiropractic educational
programs in Johannesburg and Durbin toured the clinic system at National University
of Health Sciences to garner new ideas that they could implement in their own
university clinics in May.
The group included Dr. Bridget Bromfield, president of the Chiropractic Association
of South Africa; professor Mavis Arthur, head of the chiropractic program in
Johannesburg; Dr. Mario Milani, chair of the South African Allied Health Professions
Council (South Africa’s chiropractic governing body); Dr. Kendrah Da Silva,
director of the internship program in Johannesburg; and Dr. Charmaine Koporaal,
academic director of clinical services in Durbin.
“The major difference between American programs and ours is that our academic
program is tiered with a bachelor and master’s degree before the doctoral
degree, taking a full six years to complete,” said Dr. Milani.
Guatemala
Georgia Chiropractor Recognized for Volunteer Work
Dr. James Schantz, a 1986 graduate of the National College of Chiropractic who
practices in Roswell, Ga., received the Humanitarian of the Year award from
the Georgia Chiropractic Association and the Chiropractic Award of Excellence
for Community Service from Prevention Magazine and the Coalition for Chiropractic
Progress.
The awards were based on the work he has done providing health care and chiropractic
services to people in the Central American country of Guatemala through the
Flying Doctors of America organization.
He spend seven days in Guatemala on a mission aimed at providing primary care
for men, women and children in the El Peten region, home to the famous Mayan
ruins of Tikal. This was his second medical mission with the Flying Doctors
of America. He flew to Peru in 1997.
The team was composed of healthcare professionals from Oregon, Colorado, Utah,
California, Maine and Georgia, and included U.S. Congressman Dr. Phil Gingray
(R-GA).
Their first site was a rural hospital in Melchor, near the Melcon River, on
the western Guatemala-Belize border. Schantz worked with Mirna Quiterio, a physical
therapist who was in charge of the outpatient rehabilitation department. He
cared for a man who had been shot through the shoulder, resulting in a brachial
plexus injury; a young man who had fallen down a cliff and crushed his spine,
turning him into a paraplegic; and a young boy who had Bell’s palsy.
The following day, they moved the operations to the village of Polvara, home
to a military installation and he set up at a Catholic church. He worked with
two part-time massage therapists on the trip to help with the soft tissue work.
He saw over 50 patients, from soldiers with knee injuries from bad parachute
landings to older women with neuralgia from walking barefoot too many years.
The last day was spent in the village of Vinyas where he worked in the basement
of a small health clinic.
After three full days, the team traveled to the Tikal National Park to explore
the famous Mayan archeological site.
For more information on missions that welcome chiropractors, visit the Flying
Doctors of America website at www.fdoamerica.org.
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