Life West's tradition of serving the local community through chiropractic care continued during the summer 2024 quarter - 361 adjustments were provided by 46 interns at 3 sites!
First Presbyterian Church provides shelter to the unhoused at two of their local parishes. Throughout the summer quarter on Monday evenings, Dr. Steve Edwards, Health Center faculty mentor, oversaw chiropractic care provided by Life West interns to shelter dwellers at the South Hayward Parish. At the Castro Valley parish, Dr. David Currie, a technique faculty member, oversaw similar care on Thursday evenings. Each doctor was assisted by a Life West work study student to help with documentation, coordination and flow, and 3-4 interns who provided the care.
Second Chance is an addiction recovery program, helping those in various stages of drug and alcohol addiction. Dr. Herby Bell, also a Health Center faculty mentor, oversaw intern-led chiropractic care on Thursday mornings throughout the summer quarter.
Interns apply to participate in local service, and are assigned dates of service based on their reported availability. The overseeing DCs complete initial intakes for patients with a cursory exam to ensure that it's safe and appropriate to provide chiropractic care, and then turn the patients over to interns who provide the adjustments. All care is documented appropriately, and interns receive outpatient adjusting credit for the care that they provide. People that need chiropractic care but wouldn't otherwise have access to it are provided the opportunity to receive interns' loving care, and interns get to experience what *actual* service and practice look and feel like.
Local service resurfaced post-covid as the new iteration of the previous Service Trip America endeavor. Since the summer of 2022, 2,351 chiropractic adjustments have been provided through local service to community members in need.
Going into the fall quarter, the Health Center will continue providing care at First Presbyterian Church's two sites, this time on Monday and Wednesday evenings, as well as at Second Chance on Thursdays - huge thanks to the faculty DCs that make this possible!! Interns can be on the lookout for applications to be posted soon to the HCInterns page on Brightspace for fall dates of service.