Review

Geriatrics Symposium Proceedings -- Quality Health Care for the Elderly

Edited by -- William Elkington, D.C. and Sharon Luhring, M.S.

Conservatve Care of Children -- Pediatric Symposium Proceedings

Edited by -- Susan Esch, D.C. and Sharon Luhring, M.S.

There are two "bookends" in the health care field -- children and the elderly. Each is a specialty in its own right.

Living and practicing near a retirement community I learned a lot about older persons, their needs, and those who prey upon them. Time and time again I would see them shuffling down the hallways of the building my office was in. You could even hear them as their pockets quite literally rattled with the bottles of pills they carried wherever they went.

There are few more important forms of therapy needed by the geriatric patient than chiropractic adjustments, nutrition, homeopathy, and physical therapy. To get this conservative message across, the public must be educated by health practitioners schooled in the special needs of the older patient.

In 1986 the Northwestern College of Chiropractic held a two-day symposium, "Quality Health Care of the Elderly." The proceedings from that seminar have recently come to print in a looseleaf bound text and in its 203 pages resides some of the most germane information on the care of the elderly patient I have ever read.

While all of the 15 papers presented were excellent, several were of particular interest: Lee Arnold, D.C., on examination procedures; Robert Serfass, Ph.D., on exercise; and Michael Clemen, D.C., on specific adjustive techniques for the geriatric patient. The synopsis of the symposium's group discussions was a valuable way to summarize the consensus of this conference on the aging patient.

This is a richly dimensional text covering the normalcy of aging and the terminally ill. The former I particularly liked for it's a subject that is seldom addressed. It's like a model of the spine -- we have to know what is considered "normal" before we can deal with the abnormal. Various imaging techniques are discussed as well as important nutritional approaches, working with the family of an elderly patient and what community resources might be available.

It's unfortunate that more couldn't have attended this event, but through the miracle of paper and ink we're privileged to share in knowledge so succinctly offered.

Again, due to the academic enterprise of Northwestern College of Chiropractic, a symposium, "Conservative Care of Children" was conducted by the college in 1985, the proceedings of which have been published and are being offered to the profession.

In the past I've purchased several manuals on the chiropractic care of children but they were essentially "how to" books -- never "when and why." In other words, they were bones without the verbal flesh needed for a constructive therapeutic rationale. This manual published by Northwestern goes a long way towards putting the pediatric muscle where it's needed.

After the introduction there's a rather detailed paper presented by Kentuckiana's Lorraine Golden. It's a ringing tribute to Dr. Golden and all the work she's done on behalf of her special children. One of her major points is the need for all the health disciplines to work together toward a common goal. The symposium couldn't have started on a more worthwhile level. The manual presents, in order, papers on defining limitations and developing the possibilities of chiropractic pediatrics, the importance of single case reports, the pros and cons of immunization, chiropractic care of respiratory conditions, child abuse, scoliosis detection and treatment, and pathological conditions created by various birthing techniques.

All of the proceeding is followed by a report on the symposium group discussions and summary remarks.

Even if you're not interested in pediatrics as a specialty, you will be treating children and consequently will find this text both interesting and of substantial value.