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"E-FACTS" REPORT FROM THE ICA PRESIDENT D.D. Humber, DC, FICA
PALMER COLLEGE FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST COUNCIL ON CHIROPRACTIC EDUCATION: Release From Palmer College, Davenport, Iowa-"Chancellor Michael E. Crawford announced today that the Palmer Chiropractic University System, including both its Iowa and California corporations, has filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin against the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), charging that the CCE deprived Palmer of appropriate representation in its recent CCE reorganization process. Palmer's claim (representing Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa and Palmer College of Chiropractic West in California) was filed Dec. 5 in Jefferson County (Wis.) Circuit Court. The claim asserts five causes of action in which Palmer alleges that the CCE-the chiropractic profession's principal educational accrediting agency-deprived Palmer of its rights of representation in the CCE corporate organization. The reorganization process that Palmer is challenging, Crawford said, includes the CCE's attempt to dissolve itself as a Wisconsin corporation and become and operate as an Arizona corporation. The Palmer lawsuit claims that these actions were taken in violation of the CCE's own bylaws and articles of incorporation.
In assessing the impact of the lawsuit on Palmer's own accreditation status with the CCE, Guy F. Riekeman, D.C., president of the Palmer colleges, said: "It's important for all to recognize that the Commission on Accreditation (COA) is a separate division within the CCE. Issues relating to educational standards stand apart from those relating to corporate structure. We do not expect that the CCE would make any effort to influence the COA with regard to the unrelated issues relative to accreditation. We are proceeding with our relationship with the COA as though this other issue were not on the table. This is about corporate structure rather than about how to apply educational standards. We trust that the professionals on all sides will remember the distinction."
"Palmer has always complied with CCE standards and held accredited status and will continue to comply with those standards to ensure accreditation for its students. This lawsuit will not affect faculty, students or prospective students," President Riekeman said. The COA recently sent site teams to visit both Palmer College and Palmer College West as well as to the extension of the Palmer program in Port Orange, Fla. The site team reports are in preparation and final recommendations to the COA are yet to be determined, Dr. Riekeman said.
Chancellor Crawford said Palmer had been "working on this for more than a year. Palmer and others have made substantial efforts to obtain CCE voluntary compliance with its own articles and bylaws, all to no avail. Palmer must step forward at this time or live with the consequences of letting chiropractic accreditation be vulnerable to arguments that are politically based rather than appropriate standards for accreditation.
"Our decision to take this step at this time is ultimately about integrity not only of the Palmer colleges and the accreditation process but of chiropractic education itself," the chancellor said. According to court documents, Palmer is asking the Wisconsin court "for judgment if necessary to restore the status quo ante, injunctions as remedies supplemental to the foregoing declaratory judgments, requiring the defendants or the successors to the Individual Defendants to (i) reverse the dissolution of CCE as a Wisconsin corporation and its subsequent domestication as an Arizona corporation, (ii) restore the CCE governance to a condition in which there are 'no members who are not directors,' (iii) require CCE to restore separate voting status on the Board to Palmer Davenport and Palmer West, and (iv) to take no further actions that are inconsistent with the Articles."
The lawsuit names both the CCE and four of its officers as defendants. Sued in their official capacities are Paul D. Walker, CCE executive vice-president; Reed B. Phillips, president of the CCE board of directors; James F. Winterstein, chairman of the corporate board; and Joseph C. Brimhall, chairman of the CCE's Commission on Accreditation (COA). The Palmer lawsuit against the CCE comes during a turbulent period for chiropractic college accreditation. Life University in Marietta, Ga., lost its CCE-accredited status this year. However, Crawford said Palmer's action was not connected to the CCE's decision regarding Life's accreditation and that Palmer had filed its suit completely independent of any group of Life supporters.
"We have been laboring with the issues relating to corporate organization since long before Life lost its accreditation and indeed ours is an entirely separate issue from educational standards and how they are applied. We are not interested at all in second-guessing how the CCE ruled with regard to Life University," Crawford said. "What we are interested in is having an accrediting agency that is representative of all chiropractic colleges and that, in so far as possible, is above chiropractic politics. In that regard, we are confident in saying that Palmer's action represents a broad range of professional interests across the chiropractic philosophical spectrum who share Palmer's objective to preserve full representation of the profession. This is hardly an issue for Palmer alone-it affects all graduates of all chiropractic colleges. Palmer has exercised its responsibility as The Fountainhead of Chiropractic Education to redress the wrong."
Crawford said that Palmer's objective in the lawsuit is to have the CCE's former corporate structure restored "and then move on from there." That would mean "bringing all the chiropractic colleges back to the table to establish by proper legal means an accrediting body that is objective, constructive and professional." Chancellor Crawford said Palmer "had no choice but to take legal action because the CCE's actions have called into question the legality of its corporate structure and hence the legitimacy of the CCE as an accrediting body. Chiropractic education must have confidence in the accreditation process and that certainly requires legal stability of its primary accrediting agency."
LIFE UNIVERSITY RETAINS KEY SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS (SACS) ACCREDITATION: Incoming Life President Dr. Ben DeSpain announced on December 10th that the prestigious regional accrediting body, SACS, had extended Life's accreditation for one year, upgrading the institution's to a first-year probation status. "It's a very positive statement," DeSpain said. "They are willing to give us the time to work through our other issues." Those issues, he said, include concerns about Life's administration, governance, curriculum and financial stability. Dr. DeSpain also reported that SACS will send a site visitation team to Life next September to review the changes and improvements made at the school and Life's probation could be lifted as soon as December 2003. Life's accreditation with SACS was placed on warning status in December 2001 as a result of a series of concerns that prompted a call for 52 changes to the school's academic, financial and professional structure. The majority of those concerns were addressed in a positive manner and only a few issues remain outstanding. This important regional accreditation action is a major step forward for Life University and represents a powerful validation of the strength and quality of the school's programs. The attitude of SACS, a massive organization charged with accrediting all institutions of higher learning in the Southern portion of the United States, stands in sharp contrast to that of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) in that SAAS has objectively looked at Life's problems and potential and has worked to assist the institution in strengthening its programs and operations. CCE, on the other hand has acted in a manner that many within chiropractic regard as arbitrary, questionable and driven by suspect motives. Congratulations from all of us at the ICA go out to Dr. DeSpain and the Life community on the great news from SACS!
NEW HIPAA GUIDANCE DOCUMENT ISSUED BY FEDERAL AGENCY: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued another "guidance" document for the new federal privacy rules that will shortly impact all health care professionals and institutions, including doctors of chiropractic regardless of whether you file electronic claims or not. This guidance explains and answers questions about key elements of the requirements of the HIPAA Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (the Privacy Rule). According to the new policy paper:
The guidance that follows is meant to communicate as clearly as possible the privacy policies contained in the Privacy Rule. For a particular segment in the Privacy Rule, the guidance will provide a brief explanation of the segment and how the Rule works, followed by "Frequently Asked Questions" about that provision. The guidance does not address all of the relevant provisions in the Rule, although we anticipate adding segments in the future as we develop guidance on more Privacy Rule standards. We will also be adding to the "Frequently Asked Questions" on an ongoing basis as new questions arise. HHS plans to work expeditiously to address these additional questions to facilitate understanding of the Rule and to encourage voluntary compliance with its requirements. However, for a full understanding of one's rights and responsibilities under the Rule, it is important to consult the Rule itself.
ICA will be sponsoring additional HIPAA seminars with, Dr. Gerard W. Clum presenting a detailed overview and compliance assistance to doctors of chiropractic across the nation. Watch ICA's website at www.chiropractic.org for seminar updates. The 123-page document issued on December 4th provides answers to "key elements" of the privacy rule that cover: incidental uses and disclosures; minimum necessary provisions; business associate agreements; marketing; research; and other topics. The guidance also contains a general overview of the HIPAA privacy rule, and the document is arranged in a "frequently asked questions" format.
The full text of this new HIPAA support document can be accessed on the Internet at: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/privacy.html.
DATES TO REMEMBER: Certification in Chiropractic Spinal Trauma (CCST) program kickoff, Jan. 18-19th, 2003, with Dr. Dan Murphy, Las Vegas, Nevada; New Era in Whiplash & Spinal Trauma Part I with Dr. Dan Murphy, January 11-12th, 2003 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, January 25-26th, Houston, Texas, and February 1-2nd in Portland, Oregon; New Era in Whiplash and Spinal Trauma, Part II featuring Dr. Richard Christie, Esq., February 1-2nd, 2003, Cromwell, Connecticut; Chiropractic Without a Doubt, with Dr. Steve Hoffman and Dr. Robert Braile, February 22-23rd, Dallas, Texas; 11th Annual ICA Symposium on Natural Fitness Featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, February 28th-March 2nd, 2003, Columbus, Ohio; Inaugural Conference on Chiropractic Philosophical Standards, Sponsored by ICA's new Council on Chiropractic Philosophy, Kansas City, Missouri, May 17-18, 2003.
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