ICA’s  “FIRST’S”

ICA has a long and distinguished history . Established  in 1926 by Dr. B. J. Palmer, ICA’s primary service in those early years was defending and protecting  chiropractors who were being prosecuted and jailed for “practicing medicine without a license.  The extraordinarily successful record of ICA’s legal team not only kept thousands of chiropractors out of the courts and jails, but helped them to grow and flourish and thus establish chiropractic on a firm footing.  From the role of “protector” ICA  moved on to the role of  “leader.” It is a matter of record that ICA was the:

• ¨First to lobby for chiropractic care inclusion in Veterans Affairs (1941)

• ¨First to fight for inclusion of chiropractic care in Federal Employees Compensation Act (1946)

• ¨First to gather and publish statistical data on chiropractic care and industrial  injuries (1949)

• ¨First to make a TV movie to tell the chiropractic story (1961)

• ¨First to fight for chiropractic coverage under Medicare (1968)

• ¨First to hold an inter-disciplinary Scientific Conference on the Spine (1979)

• ¨First to support the anti-suit against the AMA. (1976) 

• ¨First to lobby for and obtain a federal grant  for chiropractic research. (1974)

• ¨First to to conduct a demographic study about chiropractic in the U.S. at the request of  the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare to fulfill the legislative mandate of the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act (1979)

• ¨First to publish demographics of chiropractic world-wide and to update that information at regular intervals  (FACTS Bulletin 1982)

• ¨First to hold an international scientific chiropractic symposium (1982)

• ¨First to push for staff privileges in hospitals, assist DCs in applying for these privileges with practical seminars and publish a text to educate hospital administrators about chiropractic (1987)

• ¨First to issue a policy statement against mandatory childhood immunization and vaccination programs and to advocate the patient’s right to freedom of choice. (1990)

• ¨First to hold a conference on pediatrics  (1991)

• ¨First to oppose the Mercy Guidelines and propose one based on open participation by all segments of the profession (1992)