April 2006

Infrastructure built for DC emergency response team

Chiropractic has moved a step closer to being recognized as an official part of the Department of Homeland Security emergency response program.

The infrastructure for the newly founded Chiropractic Emergency Response Volunteer (CERV) team is in its final stages of development, according to Chris Russell, CERV board member and CEO of Zonsite, Inc., the chiropractic marketing technology company that was instrumental in forming the volunteer group in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Russell told Chiropractic Economics that a task force is working on identifying the appropriate chiropractic protocols — from clothing to technique — for first-line response. It will also develop a training curriculum for both basic and advanced responders. The training will start to become available in 30-60 days.

Russell also said that a number of individuals have accepted appointment to the CERV board of directors, including José Cabrera, senior vice president from IBM Corp.; Terry Traveland, attorney, Traveland & Associates; Rick Fredrick, CEO of NBS Financial Solutions; Rebecca Burton, DC, CEO of One Health Chiropractic, PC; and Gene Veno, president of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress and executive director of the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association.

Traveland, who has experience in building nonprofit 501©3 organizations, will serve as executive director, said Russell, noting that CERV qualifies to gain nonprofit status from the IRS on a fast-track basis, within 60-90 days.

FUNDING THROUGH PROCEEDS

Unlike nonprofit organizations that rely entirely on donations to exist, CERV will be modeled after the Paul Newman Foundation, said Russell. Its funding will come from proceeds from the sale of products, including Zonsite’s Healthy Lifestyles weight-loss program and a cell-phone network.

Funding will also come from individual sponsorships that will pay $100 annually to reap full benefits of the organization, as well as corporate sponsorships.

More information and registration to participate in CERV can be found at its Web site, www.Ihelpcerv.org, which will be up by the end of April.

CERV fills a void in emergency response, explained Russell. In the past, chiropractors have volunteered as individuals, but chiropractic has not had an official part of the emergency medical team. This was brought to home during Hurricane Katrina when, Burton, a Dallas-area chiropractor, volunteered at a makeshift hospital at the Dallas Convention Center, set up for evacuees from New Orleans.

Burton was put in charge of rehabilitation, because the head of the emergency response team did not know any other way to use her skills. Burton involved Zonsite to mobilize volunteers through her clinic’s partner Daniel Gonzalez, DC, who is also president of Zonsite.

In January, Zonsite surveyed chiropractors at the Parker Seminars in Las Vegas to ascertain interest in participating in a formal emergency response team. Of the 153 DCs who responded, 96 percent said they would be willing to volunteer on a formal team, with 23 percent preferring to volunteer locally, 8 percent regionally, and 10 percent nationally. Almost 30 percent said they would be willing to participate on any level.

The top three barriers the survey identified were financial, political, and licensing issues.

CERV has received the endorsement of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) as well as the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA).

Source: Chris Russell, CEO, Zonsite, Inc., www.zonsite.com.

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