Back to News

Chiropractors Were Critical For Hurricane Relief

Chiropractic played a critical role in keeping emergency medical services operating at the Dallas Convention Center in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and will almost certainly be an official part of the medical team in future emergencies, the Dallas emergency operations chief told Chiropractic Economics.

According to Ray Fowler, MD, deputy EMS medical director for the Dallas area, “The work of Rebecca Burton, DC, [a Dallas-area practitioner] and her team was a critical part of the infrastructure to make the operation run. We would not have operated as efficiently and volunteers would not have had as much support as they needed without the chiropractors and the rehab clinic. This was a blessing.”

Burton’s team largely came about because of the involvement of Zonsite LLC, the marketing technology company that championed getting donations from chiropractic suppliers and rallied volunteer support among chiropractors around the state.

When Fowler asked Burton to head up the emergency rehab unit, she called Daniel Gonzalez, DC, her partner in OneHealth Chiropractic Clinic and Zonsite’s president and chief scientist, for help in gathering chiropractic resources.

The Dallas Convention Center Medical Unit provided care to more than 3,000 urgent cases, 3,300 routine cases, 711 pediatric cases, 138 obstetrics/gynecology cases, and 461 mental health cases. On average, the medical staff saw 615 patients each day, according to Fowler. The unit operated for three weeks following Katrina.

The rehab unit Burton set up was manned by about 100 chiropractors who worked in 14-16 hour shifts.

Although an emergency medical plan was in effect for Dallas, chiropractic was not officially a part of the plan, said Fowler. He wants to rectify that, and so do the principals at Zonsite. Chris Russell, CEO of Zonsite, said, “We have an opportunity to proliferate chiropractic within Homeland Security … to have a disaster-relief team attached to government.”

Russell is hoping to get the chiropractic community involved in a formal emergency-relief program. He wants to meet with interested personnel at the Parker Seminars in Las Vegas in January. He emphasized that it takes considerable organization to be ready to respond when needed.

He said, “In a disaster zone, it is hours, not days, that count.” Russell expressed gratitude for the help that came from suppliers and chiropractors.

A start toward including chiropractic in EMS will be made in the Dallas area. Fowler said, “As we craft our after-action reports for this episode [Hurricanes Katrina and Rita], we will focus on the important part of setting up a rehab area. Chiropractic should be involved in long-term planning for emergency response. They [chiropractors] proved how valuable chiropractic could be.”

Fowler, who works full-time as an associate professor of emergency medicine and surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine, said that emergency responders from all over will be comparing notes and recommendations, so he expects to see chiropractic incorporated into other EMS plans.

In addition to Zonsite, who had three staffers at the emergency rehab clinic helping coordinate resources, Russell credited other chiropractic suppliers, which included Anabolic Labs, BioGenesis, BioResource, BioFreeze, DaVinci Labs, Lloyd Table Co., King Bio, Hill Country Manufacturing, HCMI, Vita Minerals, and Wren Chiropractic.

Sources: Ray Fowler, MD, deputy EMS medical director for the Dallas Area BioTel System; Chris Russell, CEO, Zonsite LLC