August 2006

WCA announces 2006 awards

The World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) has announced the recipients of its annual Chiropractic Awards, given to honor individuals who have advanced the cause of chiropractic around the country and the world.

Chiropractor of the Year: Don Harte, DC

To provide the best service to your patients, you need to be skilled and compassionate -- traits that Don Harte, DC, of Corte Madera, Calif, has in abundance. To provide the best service to your profession, you need one more characteristic: courage. It is that attribute that earned Dr. Harte the World Chiropractic Alliance's “Chiropractor of the Year” award.

Like many other DCs, Harte has become acutely aware of the mounting opposition to subluxation-centered chiropractic. He's read the reports about increased Medicare audits, federal anti-fraud campaigns targeting chiropractors, insurance company denials for services for children. He's also been the target of what he felt was a deliberate attempt to harass and punish him for teaching patients and the public that chiropractic is far more than a medical therapy for low back pain.

Unlike many other DCs, he fought back, refusing to allow the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners to bully him into keeping silent about the devastating effects of vertebral subluxation. The story of his two-year battle with the Board was published in the January 2006 issue of The Chiropractic Journal and initiated an investigation into possible wrongdoing by the Board's consultant, Maggie Craw, DC.

Spurred on by Harte's example, numerous other California doctors stepped forward with accounts of their own experiences with Dr. Craw and the Board. Several told the WCA that they had been too afraid of retribution to battle back as Harte had.

"I heard from a number of doctors who had been targeted because they were subluxation-based and they all told me that they felt helpless and outgunned," stated Terry A. Rondberg, DC, president of the WCA. "The board holds their reputations, their livelihoods, in its hands. They have the power to destroy a doctor for political or personal reasons. Dr. Harte is helping to put an end to that situation."

Those who know Harte say his courageous stand was typical of the outspoken and eloquent advocate of chiropractic. A member of the WCA International Board of Governors, Harte ran for the California State Senate in 1996 as the "Candidate with Backbone." A frequent contributor to the mainstream press, his articles in defense of chiropractic have appeared in Omni magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and other publications. In 2004, his editorial on chiropractic as a safe and effective alternative to the flu shot appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and earned him widespread praise from the chiropractic community.

Those who judge Harte by his writings may get the impression that he's chiropractic's angry Avenging Angel, but nothing could be further from the truth, say his friends and colleagues. "He has an incredible sense of humor," says Linda Bevel, WCA executive assistant. "He appreciates the ridiculous in life and never fails to make people smile. He may be persistent in defense of chiropractic, but he knows how to win friends as well as to fight enemies. He's one in a million."

Harte, who, in Aug. 2003, was chosen as the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance's "Doctor of the Month" also publishes a weekly, philosophy‑to‑action e‑mail newsletter, "The Harte of Chiropractic."

Humanitarian of the Year: Thom Gelardi, DC

Few people have made an impact on so many others as Thom Gelardi, DC. "For more than a third of a century, Dr. Gelardi has held the line for conservative, subluxation-centered chiropractic care and done more to preserve the chiropractic principles than anyone since BJ Palmer," said Dr. Rondberg in announcing the 2006 WCA “Humanitarian of the Year” award.

Gelardi founded Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic in 1973, and served as its president until he retired in 1997. The retirement proved to be temporary and, in 2005, he returned as the college's interim president after the retirement of his successor, Jerry L. Hardee, EdD.

He led the school through its most difficult periods, battling opponents like the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) when it threatened to close Sherman down. He fought in courtrooms, classrooms and Congressional offices for the right of doctors to be "straight" chiropractors and focus solely on the detection and correction of the vertebral subluxation. He also consistently took his message of chiropractic to doctors throughout the world in the chiropractic press.

While several other "subluxation-based" schools collapsed under pressure from CCE attacks, Gelardi persevered, first working to establish an alternative accrediting agency and eventually earning his college full CCE accreditation. Through it all, he never compromised his principles, winning the respect of even those who opposed his vision of chiropractic.

"I don't think I have ever known ‑‑ or even met ‑‑ anyone with Dr. Gelardi's raw courage and determination. Most of us would have buckled under and just given up. We would have offered excuses or rationalized our lack of steadfastness. Thom endured real adversity with dignity and grace," Rondberg noted.

Counting the students who graduated from Sherman as well as so many others who were influenced by Gelardi, there are thousands of doctors practicing today who bring subluxation-correction care to patients.  That means hundreds of thousands -- possibly millions -- of people who are living healthier lives through chiropractic thanks to him.

If the definition of "humanitarian" is someone who is "devoted to the promotion of human welfare," then Gelardi truly is a humanitarian of the first order!

Researcher of the Year: Kirk Eriksen, DC

Lately, no topic has been "hotter" than research. True chiropractic research -- or the lack thereof -- is widely considered the greatest hurdle the profession must overcome if it is to continue as a major health care approach. While many chiropractic researchers continue to focus on chiropractic as a quasi-medical treatment for back pain, a handful of others are working hard to come up with the hard scientific evidence of how chiropractic impacts all function.

Among the most highly qualified and respected is Kirk Eriksen, DC, president of the Society of Chiropractic Orthospinology and member of the editorial review board for the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, and the Chiropractic Research Journal.

"Dr. Eriksen's contributions to scholarly research in chiropractic are profound," said Christopher Kent, DC, a member of the WCA Board of Directors and winner of the "Chiropractic Researcher of the Year" award in 1991 by the ICA and in 1994 by the WCA.  "His textbooks set a new standard in the chiropractic literature."

Matthew McCoy, DC, editor of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research added: "Dr. Eriksen serves as an excellent example of the chiropractor 'practitioner-scientist' through his clinical research, post graduate lecturing, research publications and his textbooks. He is also an example of the power of one person to change the status quo through tireless and oftentimes thankless effort." 

In 1997, Eriksen was named "Chiropractor of the Year" by the Alabama Chiropractic Council and is the president of the Society of Chiropractic Orthospinology, which teaches and certifies doctors in the Grostic Procedure of precision spinal care.

Dr. Eriksen is on the postgraduate faculty of Life University and the faculty of Northwestern Health Sciences University where he teaches the Orthospinology procedure on a part time basis.

In 2003, his landmark text, "Upper Cervical Subluxation Complex, A Review of the Chiropractic and Medical Literature," was published and is considered the most comprehensive book ever published on the vertebral subluxation complex.

The book required years of research and review of chiropractic and medical literature on the topic of the cervical spine, the occipito‑atlanto‑axial subluxation, and upper cervical chiropractic care. In it, Eriksen reviews the anatomy and kinematics of the upper cervical spine and explains how impaired biomechanics causes neurological dysfunction and physiological concomitants.

"Eriksen's book is one of the most significant contributions to the chiropractic literature in decades," said Dr. Kent. "The information it cites helps validate subluxation‑centered chiropractic. For this reason alone, as well as his ongoing involvement in chiropractic research, the WCA is proud to present him with the 'Researcher of the Year' award."

Outstanding Service: Matthew Hubbard, DC

When wildfires swept through Southern California a couple of years ago, a group of chiropractors set up portable tables to provide much-needed help to firefighters and others who battled the blaze. It was no surprise to anyone that Matthew Hubbard, DC, of San Diego, was one of the organizers of the effort. He could be seen for hours at a time giving adjustments to the weary emergency workers, most of whom had never been adjusted before. "Their first chiropractic experience will not soon be forgotten," he said at the time.

That's an important thing for Dr. Hubbard, whose professional life is dedicated to bringing chiropractic to as many people as possible, and making sure that experience is a positive, memorable one.  

In addition to his private practice, Hubbard serves as a member of the WCA International Board of Governors and on the District Relations Committee for the California Chiropractic Association. His energy is matched only by his enthusiasm, say those who have had the pleasure of working with him. "He's always there for any special project," Dr. Rondberg noted. "He has all the qualities of a true leader, a real motivator. He thinks big and has had a huge impact on subluxation-based chiropractic."

An event that has him particularly excited at the moment is the upcoming WCA International Summit in Washington, DC, which will be preceded by the Chiropractic Coalition Legislative Day. Hubbard's already gathered nearly two dozen fellow Californians for the trip to Washington and he's prepared to speak with key legislators about the importance of chiropractic in the federal health care system.

Recently, Hubbard has taken on a new role, that of chiropractic researcher. As a founding member of RCS (Research & Clinical Science), Hubbard is involved in data collection for a global chiropractic research project and hopes to contribute much-needed information about the effect of chiropractic on the population.

"In recognition of his unselfish and tireless work in support of the World Chiropractic Alliance and subluxation-based chiropractic, we are pleased to honor Dr. Hubbard with this year's ‘Outstanding Service’ award," stated Rondberg. "He's a real example for DCs everywhere and proof that one person can make a significant contribution to the profession."