Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association Attempts to Shut Down Chiropractors Contrary to Governor's Orders - Says Licensing Board Will be Making Examples of People

In a move that has shocked Pennsylvania chiropractors the President of the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association (PCA) sent an email to Pennsylvania Chiropractors essentially threatening them that they should shut down stating that the PCA has concluded that chiropractors are at high risk for transmitting COVID-19.

According to the PCA President Alison M. Benedetto, DC (who is also a member of the American Chiropractic Association - ACA):

"The PCA has concluded that individual chiropractors should exercise sound professional judgment and carefully consider the risks and weigh those risks against any possible benefit to the patient, the practice's staffs, the community at large, and the chiropractor(s). Critically important is the availability of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize any risk of transmission during emergency and urgent care. Due to the close proximity of individuals during chiropractic treatments, DCs, staff and patients are at high risk of transmission of the COVID-19."

Benedetto then falsely claimed her recommendations and that of the PCA were in keeping with the CDC recommendations even though the CDC does not recommend masks except when dealing with active COVID or suspected COVID cases. These patients are already being be pre-screened out by the triage procedures chiropractors have implemented across the United States.

"PCA's communications to members and non-members alike is in keeping with the recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation to perform only emergency or urgent patient care."

Benedetto doesn't leave it there either, she then claims that she and the PCA better understand local challenges despite state and national mandates stating:

“The PCA recognizes that existing and future local, state and federal government mandates supersede PCA's comments and suggestions. In addition, state associations like the PCA (and our local regions) may best understand local challenges being faced by providers and make suggestions appropriate to members in their areas.”

Benedetto was joined by PCA Vice President Keith Miller DC who is also a dues paying member of the American Chiropractic Association who made threatening comments on Facebook that the PCA had talked to the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Licensing Board and the Board's attorney who told him they would be "making examples of people because of this crisis."

In one post Miller stated:

"I'm the VP of the PCA and we have had talked with the Licensing board and the Bureau of Licensing Atty. Yes they will be making examples of people because this is a crisis"

In another post Miller threatened chiropractors again stating:

"We were told quite clearly by the state board they will be doing license enforcement actions. So its your license doc, you get to do what ever you want but so do they."

Miller also told chiropractors how he was ". . . up all night coordinating this with the licensing board and other agencies" and to be prepared "for all care to end except for life or death care"

Meanwhile the Governor's actual ORDERS consider chiropractors as "Essential critical infrastructure workers" through the US Department of Homeland Security. According to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's website:

Businesses can determine whether they are considered a life-sustaining business, and are therefore allowed to continue in-person, physical operations, by first referring to the Governor’s Order and the list of life-sustaining business which is available here. This list has been updated to conform with guidance on Essential Critical Infrastructure issued by the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency advisory.

Further the Governors actual ORDERS related to chiropractors says only that "Elective Procedures are Prohibited"

At a time when chiropractors have been deemed essential critical infrastructure workers by the US Department of Homeland Security amidst a national health emergency and global pandemic, the statements by the PCA and their ACA leaders are harmful to the state, the profession and the patients needing chiropractic services in Pennsylvania. Chiropractic care is a necessary procedure for millions of patients who lose function and stability or suffer in pain should care be denied addressing acute and urgent spinal, neuro, musculoskeletal and other conditions. In particular, chiropractors care for patients with conditions the person would otherwise manage with dangerous, addictive opioid drugs.

As portal of entry healthcare providers, doctors of chiropractic are educated and licensed to diagnose and care for patients and work in private practices, multidisciplinary clinics and hospitals. They are trained to refer patients to other health care providers when necessary. Further, in regard to the current Covid-19 outbreak, chiropractors have been a valuable resource in caring for a segment of the population who may otherwise revert to the emergency rooms.

The scare tactics from the PCA follows other statements from the ACA, WFC and other ACA affiliated chiropractic organizations that have threatened chiropractors for making any claims related to chiropractics' role in supporting immune defense. The active nature of chiropractic care confers health benefits, improves quality of life and optimizes physiology. This is never more important than when your immune system needs to defend you. Everyone knows that in such a time of stress, the more we can do to take care of ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually the better off we will be no matter the health challenge.

The PCA actions are viewed as one more effort by anti-chiropractic factions within the profession to shut down chiropractors during this time of need.

Several prominent Subluxation Deniers in the United States and Canada have been using the statements from ACA affiliated organizations to encourage chiropractors and the public to file complaints against chiropractors that remain open during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Robert Maybee DC who practices in Portland, Oregon and runs an anti-chiropractic group called Forward Thinking Chiropractic Alliance thanked the World Federation of Chiropractic, Parker University and the American Chiropractic Association for their help telling his fellow Deniers that:

"You are now properly armed with FACTS thanks to the WFC and Parker and ACA"

He was instructing his army of trolls to copy other chiropractors websites and Facebook pages and use those screen shots to report them to the regulatory boards.

Another leader of Deniers in Canada - Marc Bronson DC from Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College - put out a call for volunteers across Canada to find and submit complaints to regulatory boards throughout Canada against chiropractor. Bronson created a template for his trolls to use in filing the complaints.

According to reports, those complaints have hit the boards and letters have started going out to chiropractors who have been singled out.