The World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) Council on Women's Health (CWH) drew nearly 30 attendees at its inaugural meeting March 3, 2001, during the WCA 1st International Summit in Washington, D.C.

As vice-chair, I co-anchored the meeting with Council Chair Veronica Gutierrez, D.C. The Council's "Mission Statement" and "Goals" were introduced and Leslie Bedell, D.C. was appointed Secretary/Treasurer.

Dr. Bedell, a 1984 Summa Cum Laude graduate of Palmer, runs a family practice in North Bend, Washington State. She brings a background of passion and experience to the Council, including working with support groups for women and teenage girls as part of a domestic violence prevention and recovery program. She heads up a monthly Women's Health Forum and is designated keynote speaker for the Chiropractic Association of South Africa's upcoming annual Congress.

Active projects since the recent formation of the Council were introduced and include:

1) Support of The Chiropractic Journal to establish a column for the CWH to promote women's health and chiropractic

2) Creation of a website for the Council, as part of the WCA community

3) Publication of a commentary in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research (JVSR), entitled, "The Role and Relationship of Chiropractic and Women's Health Issues -- A Call for Research"

4) A history-making presentation at the United Nations on 3/6/01, "Perspectives on Chiropractic Care in Women's Health and Quality of Life," with a panel consisting of Drs. Gutierrez and Behrendt, along with Theresa Warner, D.C., and Christopher Kent, D.C.

5) Relationships within and outside the chiropractic community established by Dr. Gutierrez for the purposes of fund raising and networking.

And we're just getting started!

Everyone present was invited to participate in discussions about future activities and associated interests and skills. Many of these ideas are now in development and will be announced in an upcoming column.

Prior to closing, participants expressed the desire to offer an inclusive membership that extends to non-D.C. spouses, staff, non-chiropractic professionals, and chiropractic students. Everyone who would like to become a member, can do so easily by calling the WCA at 800/347-1011 for details or by logging on to the WCA website.

All in all, the CWH had a very successful initial meeting. There's good reason to be excited about the Council's community of awesome members, and we all look forward to working with each other and to our combined accomplishments!