International Chiropractors Association Promotes ACA Organization in Pennsylvania Defying Representative Assembly
Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association Signed ACA Medicare Bill, Convention Features Subluxation Denier & Speaker Sponsored by Bridgeport - Signatory to Anti-Subluxation Hate Group
In a continuation of defiance against the will of the ICA membership and Representative Assembly, the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) is promoting the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association (PCA) and its upcoming convention.
The Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association is an ACA supporter and its President & Vice President are both dues paying ACA Members. Adding further insult to injury, the PCA has endorsed the ACA's Medicare Scope Expansion and Drug Bill.
While members scramble to get more information out of an ever tightening grip by ICA administration, the ICA is forging ahead with its "Big Tent" strategy championed by ICA President Stephen Welsh DC.
Part of the Board's strategy is to establish Affiliate relationships with state organizations even when those state organizations are already ACA Affiliates or even run by ACA supporters.
The latest love affair between the ICA leadership and the ACA involves the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association whose President and Vice President are both dues paying ACA Members. Making the treasonous behavior that much worse is the ICA is promoting the PCA's upcoming Convention which features Subluxation Denier Carlo Ammendolio. Ammendolio is a darling of the anti-subluxation faction of the profession. Ammendolio, who was the Ontario Chiropractic Association and the Canadian Chiropractic Association's Chiropractor of the Year has stated:
"Subluxation is old hat. Dark Ages. It was initially the dogma of chiropractic education, but that is no longer the case."
Ammendolio will be joined at the PCA Convention being promoted by the ICA by another speaker sponsored by the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic. UB is a signatory to the Anti-Subluxation hate group known as the International Chiropractic Education Collaboration (ICEC). The organization is made up of the University of Bridgeport and 12 other institutions that have renounced subluxation around the world. The ICEC has a Clinical and Professional Chiropractic Education Position Statement and this document is based upon and supports the theme of the World Federation of Chiropractic's Educational Statement formulated in November 2014.
Among other things the anti-subluxation hate group's Position Statement includes:
“The teaching of vertebral subluxation complex as a vitalistic construct that claims that it is the cause of disease is unsupported by evidence. Its inclusion in a modern chiropractic curriculum in anything other than an historical context is therefore inappropriate and unnecessary.”
They additionally assert:
“Practice styles, which may contribute to inappropriate patient dependence, compromise patient confidentiality or require repeated exposure to ionising radiation are not part of an undergraduate chiropractic curriculum. Students should be taught to recognise that such approaches are not acceptable in terms of the best interests of patients or the chiropractic profession.”
The organizations define "Practice styles" as referring
". . . to routine ‘high volume’ chiropractic care models, ‘open plan’ chiropractic care models and the delivery of unsubstantiated ‘treatment packages’ or clinical techniques."
They also fully embrace the practice of immunization and vaccination:
“The chiropractic programs below support the World Health Organization ‘WHO’s vision and mission in immunization and vaccines - 2015-2030”
CLICK HERE for more on the ICEC
While any one of these issues would ordinarily get an ICA President impeached - there's even more.
The Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association is also a signatory to the American Chiropractic Association's Medicare Scope Expansion & Drug Bill. Depending on the day of the week and who is speaking, the ICA is either supporting the ACA's Bill and encouraging states to sign on to it or the ICA is not supporting it. No one really knows since the information being put out by the ICA in regards to Medicare is a confused mess and a case study in how to screw up a major policy initiative.
The relationship between the ICA and the PCA has been forged despite the decision by the ICA's Representative Assembly to reverse a vote by the Board to bring the PCA in as an Affiliate of the ICA.
This is not the first time the Representative Assembly has had to step in to right the ICA ship.
The new leadership of the ICA wasted no time furthering their efforts to water down the ICA in a shock to the ICA membership and especially to the ICA affiliated Georgia Chiropractic Council (GCC), when the ICA Board voted to accept the Georgia Chiropractic Association (GCA) as an Affiliate.
That move was also blocked by the ICA's Representative Assembly.
Four out of the 10 GCA Board of Directors are members of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) including its current President and the GCA is a signatory to the ACA's Medicare reform plan.
CLICK HERE for more on that story
At this point it appears the only thing stopping the ICA from being absorbed by the ACA is the Representative Assembly. But that could all change rapidly. Sources tell the Chronicle that efforts are underway to revise the ICA's organizing documents to wrest voting power away from the Assembly. ICA has long had elements within its leadership that sought merger with the ACA and there appears to be a perfect storm of support to move in that direction.
The ACA has emerged over the past several years as an anti-subluxation, anti-vitalistic trade organization that forces members to sign a pledge that it will abide by its standards of care and policies. The most well known prohibition is the ACA's rejection of imaging in relation to vertebral subluxation.
In a widely circulated letter by long time ICA and Georgia Chiropractic Council (GCC) leader DD Humber, he referred to the move by ICA's leadership as an "affront" to BJ Palmer and Sid Williams.
In his letter regarding the situation in Georgia, Humber asked: "Has the ICA leadership slipped to the point where they want to draw closer to the ACA? If so, why? Is a merger considered next?"
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ICA's current President Stephen Welsh has worked behind the scenes for many years to operationalize the slow but steady slide of the ICA away from its core values and toward an embrace of the Chiropractic Cartel. This was evident by its turncoat endorsement of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) right before its 2013 Hearing before the USDE.
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Even prior to that Welsh was setting the stage for the ICA's embrace of the CCE when he signed off on so called "necessary drugs" and Primary Care during the Standards review scandal.
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According to a former ICA Board member, as an ICA representative, Welsh also voted for the World Federation of Chiropractic's (WFC) Identity Statement, which made no mention of vertebral subluxation. Welsh has racheted up a policy of appeasement toward the WFC despite its recent attacks on subluxation management. The WFC has recently removed definitions of chiropractic from its website that included subluxation and is believed to be positioning to get the World Health Organization to revise its definition of chiropractic to exclude subluxation.
Welsh has embraced the mantra of chiropractic political apologists within the subluxation faction of the profession that have succeeded in convincing the rank and file members that they were going to change the Chiropractic Cartel from within by having "a seat at the table" and "giving a little to get a little".
Even a cursory review of the past decade in chiropractic demonstrates that strategy has failed.
Just recently the ICA had to defend its ongoing financial and political support of the WFC after several members of the ICA leadership spoke on the WFC platform during its convention in Berlin.
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During the same convention WFC research leadership referred obliquely to vitalistic chiropractors as child molestors, called vertebral subluxation imaginary and its management "rubbish". All of this to ovations, clapping and cheering which forced the ICA to file a "complaint" to the WFC about two of its presenters. Nothing is expected to come of the complaint. In fact, following the event, the WFC installed a new President who has vowed to bring unity to the profession as long as "extremists" are not included.
According to a former ICA Board member, as an ICA representative, Welsh also voted for the World Federation of Chiropractic's (WFC) Identity Statement, which made no mention of vertebral subluxation. Welsh has racheted up a long time policy of appeasement toward the WFC despite its recent attacks on subluxation management. The WFC has recently removed definitions of chiropractic from its website that included subluxation and is believed to be positioning to get the World Health Organization to revise its definition of chiropractic to exclude subluxation.
Even prior to this latest fiasco, ICA members have increasingly been questioning the direction of the organization, its policies and management. At this point the situation is critical.
CLICK HERE for more on the ICA
