The Chiropractic Health Care Section of APHA celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2005. Though the Section began in 1995, the story of its beginning goes back even further. In 1987, Herbert Vear, DC, documented the early years of chiropractic within APHA with the paper “The anatomy of a policy reversal: The A.P.H.A and chiropractic, 1969 to 1983,” which was published in Chiropractic History. Now, the story of the CHC Section since that time has been completed.

            Jonathon Egan, DC, MPH, Rand Baird, DC, MPH, and Lisa Killinger, DC, all CHC members, have just completed the article “Chiropractic and the American Public Health Association, 1984-2005: Pariah, to participant, to parity.” The article was written to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the CHC Section. Egan will present the article at the Association for Chiropractic History conference in Chicago on June 24, 2006. The article has also been accepted for publication in Chiropractic History. There it will complete the story told by Vear in the same journal two decades ago.

            The article is significant for a few reasons. First, it is suspected that few sections have really attempted to chronicle and publish their own history. Second, it details how engagement with other health care professionals in a consistent and professional manner leads to acceptance and collaboration. Among highlights of the article are behind the scenes looks at the meeting where  Section status was granted in 1995, some of the people involved with World Health Organization acceptance of World Federation of Chiropractic in 1996, CHC Section leadership over the years, and the growth, struggles, and successes of the Section.

CHC members who want to know more about the fascinating history of the Section are referred to the next issue of Chiropractic History. It was a 16-year struggle to become an official section within APHA. It’s been over a decade since then. Here’s to another successful 10 years!