Performance Health Names New Director of Education
Dr. Dana Mackison has joined Performance Health, Inc., as director of education. Dr. Mackison will provide support, product and practice-building information for all chiropractors. He will also oversee the Biofreeze Scholarship Program currently in place at chiropractic colleges throughout the nation. The program is structured to provide aid to future doctors.
A Logan College graduate, Dr. Mackison ran a successful private practice in Texas for 24 years prior to joining Performance Health. Previously, he was also director of Parker Seminars and postgraduate director for Parker College, overseeing the Parker Seminars programs and the annual Parker Las Vegas convention.
"Dr. Mackison will be instrumental in helping to continue and expand our support [of the profession]," commented Perry Isenberg, vice president of marketing for Performance Health.
Foot Levelers Continues Support of Chiropractic State Associations
At its annual convention in November 2004, the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) received an $11,250 donation from the Foot Levelers State Association Grant Program.
"We are honored to support the good work of COCSA and its member associations," said Foot Levelers President and CEO Kent Greenawalt. "The Foot Levelers Grant Program was designed to enhance and strengthen the profession. We are committed to chiropractic."
The grant program provides assistance to associations for their annual conventions and fundraising events. The three-year agreement offers the following:
- all-expenses-paid speaker for the association's annual convention(s);
- marketing and PR services associated with the convention(s);
- complimentary on-site seminar assistance by Foot Levelers staff.;
- $1,500 annual donation to the association for the duration of the agreement; and
- $500 annual donation in the association's name to COCSA for the duration of the agreement.
"The Foot Levelers Grant Program is an incredible resource for our state association members," commented COCSA President Janet Jordan. "The benefit to the Congress and to state associations is immeasurable."
WHO Launches Initiative to Reduce Medical Errors
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced an initiative to a create a "culture of safety" in health care after citing statistics that one in 10 hospital patients is the victim of a medical mistake.
The initiative, called the "World Alliance for Patient Safety," aims to bring governments, civil society organizations, scientists and researchers together in order to develop and share strategies for reducing medical mistakes. The United States, Britain and Australia are the major partners in the alliance.
"Improved health care is perhaps humanity's greatest achievement of the last 100 years," said Dr. Lee Jong-wook, WHO director-general. "Improving patient safety in clinics and hospitals is in many cases the best way there is to protect the advances we have made in health care."
A 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine estimated that 44,000-98,000 hospital deaths each year are caused by medical mistakes, accounting for more lost lives than car accidents, breast cancer or AIDS. A July 2004 survey nearly doubled that total, estimating that up to 195,000 Americans die each year as the result of potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors.1
Reference
- Medical errors make the headlines again. Dynamic Chiropractic, Sept. 27, 2004: www.chiroweb.com/archives/22/20/07.html.
Chiropractic Goes to Hollywood
A remake of the football film "The Longest Yard" is scheduled to open Memorial Day, 2005, and the biggest star may have stayed off-camera for most of the filming. Nelson Vetanze, DC, of Aurora, Colo., was brought in to provide chiropractic care to Adam Sandler, Burt Reynolds, and other stars of the film.
Dr. Vetanze has treated NFL players since the 1970s, and even received a Super Bowl ring for his work with the Denver Broncos in 1999. One of his longtime patients, former Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski, was cast in the film and recommended that Dr. Vetanze treat the players during filming in Santa Fe, N.M. According to Dr. Vetanze, the scenes in the film are very realistic and just as violent as any football game, and many of the injuries sustained during filming caused delays in the shooting schedule.
"Burt Reynolds is great," said Dr. Vetanze. "I was on the field sitting by my table and here comes Burt. He was barely walking and he laid down. He jumped off the table and he was running. He gave me a big hug and said, 'I love ya, doc.' He made me feel young again. He is a great guy and I love him. He is down to earth."1
Dr. Vetanze actually has a brief onscreen appearance in the film - during a scene in which the players get off the team bus outside the stadium. Dr. Vetanze is in the crowd out front, yelling and giving high-fives to the players.
Reference
- Wells G. Ferry chiropractor heals football film's hardest hitters. The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register, Oct. 31, 2004.
