Engage 2021 Conference Daily: Thursday, Feb. 4

Upcoming Events on Friday, Feb. 5

Schedule at a Glance:

Advocacy Update (10 a.m. ET)
Moderated Discussion Panel – 2021 Coding Updates and Medicare Billing (11 a.m. ET)
Happy Hour (5:30 p.m. ET)
SACA Social Event (8 p.m. ET)
President’s and Board of Governors’ Social (9 p.m. ET)

Thursday, Feb. 4 News in Brief

A Message from the President

The past year has thrown challenges at us that no one could have predicted. Personally, and professionally, the pandemic has changed the way we approach our everyday lives. In spite of crippling financial pressure around the country, most ACA members stayed with us even during the hardest periods of lockdown. And all year, we continued to sign up new members. It is obvious that the work we do is valuable and of critical importance to chiropractors.

Our No. 1 priority remains advancing professional parity. The Medicare bill that will change our profession attracted more cosponsors than any other chiropractic bill in history, and that momentum is key to our work in the new Congress. The bill will be reintroduced this year. It will have a new number, but the text and the purpose remain the same: to provide patients with coverage for everything within the state scope of chiropractors across the country.

ACA has led the way all year, and I’m especially proud of how ACA has done so through a safe, responsible response to the pandemic. For example, ACA led the way in securing essential provider status for chiropractors and it continues to lead as the source for reliable information. Readership of ACA content skyrocketed during the pandemic as we provided reliable and credible information on key issues, such as analysis of relief legislation, resources for the public, and the key role of chiropractic.

We are reaching more people. More doctors, more patients, and more policy makers.

Our voice grows every day, and it will continue to grow because we are on the right path.

We are healthy. We are making progress. We will continue that progress by focusing on our mission, as well as recruiting and nurturing a healthy, vibrant, diverse and active membership for the future.

It has been my pleasure to serve as ACA president. I appreciate all your help and support. To chiropractors and patients across the country, thank you.

Robert C. Jones, DC

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Annual Report Video

ACA’s 2020 annual report video was presented during the Engage 2021 Kickoff. Watch it here!

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ACA Annual Awards Presented

Each year, ACA honors a select few in recognition for their exceptional leadership and accomplishments on behalf of the chiropractic profession.

ACA’s highest honor, the Chiropractor of the Year Award, was presented to Karen Konarski-Hart, DC, of Little Rock, Ark. In addition to her role as a member of the ACA Board of Governors, Dr. Konarski-Hart has been a member of the ACA House of Delegates for more than 20 years and sits on many key committees. She has helped advance the profession in the area of disaster relief and readiness on both the state and national levels by lecturing and training chiropractic physicians for emergency response. She also developed the policy and protocol for ACA’s own Disaster Response document.

The Carr Family of Beadle County, S.D., collectively received ACA’s Humanitarian of the Year Award for stepping up as leaders in their community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three members of the family were appointed as medical directors to the Beadle County COVID-19 Task Force early in the pandemic, leading to the family’s key contributions in not only disseminating accurate information about the coronavirus through a call center and frequent press conferences, but also to the establishment of a drive-through testing site for their community. The Carr family practice includes Drs. Joe, Wayne, John, Josh and Taylor Carr, and associate Dr. Scott Hartung.

ACA Award recipients also include:

Daniel Haun, DC, of Chesterfield, Mo., received the Academician of the Year Award, which recognizes individuals for their efforts to advance the profession through academic or educational excellence. Dr. Haun is director of resident and fellow education, an assistant professor, and faculty of the Department of Radiology at Logan University College of Chiropractic.

Kenneth A. Weber, II, DC, PhD, of Palo Alto, Calif., received the George B. McClelland Researcher of the Year Award, recognizing an individual for developing, refining and/or expanding the body of knowledge in chiropractic. Dr. Weber is a postdoctoral researcher and instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. He also teaches in the Department of Neuroscience and Clinical Neuroscience at Parker University.

Additional Awards and Honors Presented

ACA President Robert C. Jones, DC, presented President’s Awards to two individuals who have helped him better understand the array of member perspectives during his leadership tenure: William “Beau” Foshee, DC, of Dallas, Texas, chair of both the NextGenACA and the ACA Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Herbert Beatty, DC, of Albuquerque, N.M., an ACA member of over 50 years who has led through service to his patients and profession.

Dr. Karen Konarski-Hart inducted Dean Millard, ACA vice president of technology and administration, as a Fellow of the Interational Council of Chiropractors (FICC) in honor of his work in support of ACA over the past 20 years.

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Reception

After an afternoon of stimulating chats and discussion panels, many Engage participants took the opportunity to connect with their colleagues and friends in a virtual happy hour. The group not only discussed their day at Engage and praised presentations, but they also had some good fun comparing pets and sharing how the pandemic has affected their lives. It was a great session to cap off everyone’s day!

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Special Thanks to Engage 2021 Sponsors:

Aerus
NCMIC