 Shortly after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill funding the Veterans Administration (VA), including a substantial expansion of chiropractic services for veterans at all major VA facilities, students at Cleveland Chiropractic College–Kansas City mobilized to send messages their senators, whose votes will determine whether this expansion becomes the law of the land. VA funding is considered a “must pass” bill and President Obama’s signature is not in doubt. Therefore, success for chiropractors and their patients hinges on whether the Senate joins the House in adopting the chiropractic expansion provision.
Student Veteran Organizes Classmates
Todd Steinbrecher (Tri II), the newly elected president of Cleveland’s Student Kansas Chiropractic Association (SKCA) chapter, acted quickly when he heard the news. “I received an email from the ACA and another from John Keifhaber, the executive director of the KCA. Both were basically informative emails urging all members to “click here” and email their senators about including chiropractic in the VA bill. I know that in this day and age, many of us feel so busy that we sometimes resist even taking a minute to do something we think is a good idea. But I felt that if I organized something, my classmates would pull through and get the job done. This supports veterans, spreads the chiropractic message, and it also will open up more jobs for chiropractors. Some of us here today may be those chiropractors.”
This issue carries strong personal resonance for Steinbrecher, a combat veteran who served for nine years, including service in Iraq. “I suffered some injuries when I was active duty military. Luckily, the Kansas City Veterans Administration Hospital is one of the facilities that already has a chiropractor. I receive chiropractic care and acupuncture there. I have seen first hand what chiropractic has done for me and I still have many brothers and sisters in the Armed Forces still protecting all of us everyday that wish they had these services available to them. I will never stop helping this profession and I will never stop serving my fellow vets and active duty military.”
Rising to the Call
Hearing this message from one of their own, the Cleveland community rose to the call. The College administration was fully supportive, and the Information Technology Department set up computers in the Dining Hall. When Steinbrecher asked for volunteers to help at the computers during the lunch hour, “I was overwhelmed with about 20 volunteers. I also think that everyone in my Tri emailed their senators. Of course, ideally, we wanted 450 emails to go out, but we knew we could consider it a success if we could get 250 emails sent. Before the third day of this grassroots movement was over, we already had 258 emails sent. The majority went to the senators from Kansas and Missouri, but messages were also sent to senators from Montana, Iowa, Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Arizona, and more. And now, students at our Los Angeles campus have launched a campaign of their own!”
Broad Support
Aside from the Student KCA, other campus organizations supporting the effort included SACA, SICA, and Student Council (STUCO). At the request of STUCO president Sarah Pothoff, Jalonna Bowie, Director of Student Services, sent an email urging all students to participate. Marjorie Bradshaw, Assistant to the President, sent a similar email to all faculty and staff, leading to an overwhelming response from them as well.
The Senate is expected to consider an amendment from Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) for expansion of chiropractic services in the Veterans Administration healthcare system before the end of the summer. |
