VA Appoints Chiropractic Advisory Committee

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi today announced the appointment of the members of the new Chiropractic Advisory Committee that will advise him on the chiropractic health programs run by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“VA is committed to using the resources available to ease the suffering of our veterans and restore them to good health,” said Principi. “With the help of this advisory committee, VA will ensure that it is providing the chiropractic services that our veterans need.”

The new committee will “provide direct assistance and advice to the Secretary in the development and implementation of the chiropractic health program,” according to Public Law 107-135, which created the panel.

Among the committee’s missions are to advise the VA secretary on:

·  Protocols governing referrals to chiropractors;

·  Protocols governing direct access to chiropractic care;

·  Protocols governing the scope of practice for chiropractic practitioners; and

·  Definitions of services to be provided.

The committee will meet up to three times annually.  The committee will expire on Dec. 31, 2004.

Membership

Chiropractic Advisory Committee

•  Reed B. Phillips, D.C., Ph.D., of Los Angeles, chairman.  President of the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic at the Southern California University of Health Sciences and member of the Department of Defense (DoD) Chiropractic Health Care Demonstration Oversight Advisory Committee.  Served in Utah National Guard.

•  Charles E. DuVall, Jr., D.C., of Akron, Ohio.  President of the National Association of Chiropractic Medicine.  Navy veteran and combat medic in Vietnam.

•  Ronald C. Evans, D.C., of Urbandale, Iowa.  Chief executive officer of ICPC, a specialty provider network.  Associate professor at Northwestern College of Chiropractic, Bloomington, Minn.  Member of DoD Chiropractic Health Care Demonstration Oversight Advisory Committee.  Navy veteran.

•  Leona Marie Fischer, D.C., of Elmhurst, Il.  Certified emergency medical technician and massage therapist.  Member, International of the Board of Governors for World Chiropractic Alliance.  Navy veteran.  

•  Warren A. Jones, M.D., of Jackson, Miss.  President of the American Academy of Family Physicians and clinical professor of family medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  Retired Navy Medical Corps captain and former special assistant to the Navy Surgeon General.  

•  Michael S. McLean, D.C., of Virginia Beach, Va.  Member of the board of directors of the International Chiropractic Association and post-graduate faculty member of Life College of Chiropractic in Marietta, Ga.  Served in the Navy Reserve.

•  Brian P. Murphy, of Salt Lake City.  Clinical manager of rehabilitation at VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System and instructor at the University of Utah.  

•  Michael K. Murphy, D.O., of Pikeville, Ky.  Executive director of the Appalachian Osteopathic Postgraduate Training Institute Consortium and professor of family medicine at Pikeville College’s School of Osteopathic Medicine.  Retired Navy captain and liaison to the DoD Chiropractic Health Care Demonstration Oversight Advisory Committee.

•  Michael J. O’Rourke, of Washington, D.C..  Assistant director of Veterans Health Policy with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.  Marine Corps veteran, served in Vietnam, later commissioned as a physician assistant.

•  Paul Gordon Shekelle, M.D., Ph.D., of Los Angeles.  Physician at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

•  Cynthia S. Vaughn, D.C., of Austin, Texas.  President of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and Texas delegate to the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners and the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards.  

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