This spring, DCs everywhere had to quickly figure out how to continue caring for patients while the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded.
A Chiropractor on the Frontlines of COVID-19 in New York
Ahmad Abdella, DC (’18) has called New York home for the majority of his life. Now working at New York Injury Experts, a multidisciplinary practice, he’s been treating patients on the frontlines of COVID-19 for the past few months. When the COVID-19 outbreak hit New York, Dr. Abdella’s office quickly made the transition to telemedicine. They checked in with patients via video conferencing apps like Skype, Zoom and Facetime and gave them exercises to perform at home.
Before long, however, they realized that telemedicine, while helpful for many patients, wouldn’t cut it for those in need of hands-on treatment. First, they opened the office for emergency patients, eventually expanding it to appointment-only patients, with vigilant and thorough cleaning and sanitizing precautions.
“The past few months have been such a rollercoaster,” said Dr. Abdella. “It has been a learning experience for everyone across the globe. We learned what our patients need to be successful in their treatment, and we value their safety and health above all else.”
Dr. Abdella’s road to chiropractic was anything but straightforward. He was born and raised in Brooklyn but moved to Egypt—where his parents are originally from—when he was in high school. Dr. Abdella’s father wanted him to attend dental school in Egypt, which he did. But more than a year into the program, he realized he wasn’t happy. Dentistry simply wasn’t his passion, so instead he returned to New York for medical school. While working as a paramedic to put himself through medical school, his back was severely injured when a patient fell down some stairs and landed on top of him. He saw dozens of doctors who only prescribed him painkillers. Dr. Abdella eventually had to stop working and going to school because the pain was so intense, and the painkillers left him in a constant mental fog.
“After about a year of living this way, I decided to take back control of my life,” said Dr. Abdella. “I quit taking the pain medication and returned to school.”
Shortly thereafter, Dr. Abdella met a chiropractor who changed the way he viewed medicine. For the first time in his life, he felt like he had crossed paths with someone who was truly “fighting the good fight” against doctors solely prescribing painkillers to patients with chronic pain. This inspired him to change career paths once again.
“Once I decided I wanted to attend chiropractic school, my choice of where to get my education was one of the easiest decisions I’ve made,” Dr. Abdella said. “Logan University’s campus was by far the most beautiful, and I was extremely impressed with the VA Preceptorship.”
Dr. Abdella completed two preceptorships during his time at Logan, both of which were at integrated clinics that saw high complexity cases.
“My first preceptorship was at the VA, and my second was with Affinia Healthcare,” said Dr. Abdella. “At the VA I learned from Dr. Pamela Wakefield (’90) and Dr. Glenn Bub (’79), and at Affinia I was mentored by Dr. Patrick Battaglia (’12). Both of these were incredible learning experiences that really helped shape who I am as a person and a chiropractic physician today.”
Caring for America’s Heroes
At Veterans Administration (VA) Finger Lakes Healthcare System in New York, Alyssa Troutner, DC, MS (’18) is part coach, part doctor and an all-around great listener. She considers her job as a chiropractic resident serving America’s war heroes the ultimate honor and position for postgraduate training.
“The thing we do best at the VA is spend time with our patients,” Dr. Troutner said. “I never have to worry about rushing, and that means I get to spend a lot of time with each patient. That allows me to really get to know these veterans, provide comprehensive care and help them live their healthiest lives. You wouldn’t believe how many inspiring stories I hear each day. I recently treated a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. We got chills hearing him tell us about his life.”
Life at the VA has been a challenge lately because of COVID-19 lockdowns. Most of Dr. Troutner’s patients are older adults with multiple medical conditions, and she hasn’t been able to see them in person. Her strategy is to stay connected through phone calls and telehealth visits, where she teaches them how to relieve pain and stay healthy during their extended time at home.
“There’s this big myth out there about chiropractors,” Dr. Troutner said. “Most people think we are one-trick ponies who just do spinal adjustments. The reality is chiropractors are skilled at diagnosing and educating our patients about their painful conditions and coaching them in things like stretching, healthy movement and other therapeutic interventions.”
Dr. Troutner’s path to becoming a Doctor of Chiropractic was formed at a young age. Injuries were part of her life as a competitive volleyball player, but chiropractic care played an important role in her treatment plan. When Dr. Troutner went away to college, she realized chiropractors weren’t as valued in mainstream healthcare as they were in her family. That’s when she knew her next move.
“I was determined to change all those minds. I set my sights on studying to become a DC to continue that rich tradition. I also aspire to be an ambassador for the profession, by demonstrating the value that conservative care can have in integrated settings and giving patients more options for pain management,” she said.
Logan University was the one and only place she applied. In addition to a DC, she also earned a Master of Science in Sports Science and Rehabilitation. During her time at Logan, she simultaneously completed a clerkship at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System – Jefferson Barracks Division and Affinia Healthcare. These experiences solidified her early career goals and lead her to apply for the competitive residency position she has now.
“Logan gives you a broad range of career choices and solid foundational skills,” Dr. Troutner said. “They allowed me to go out and experience different types of clinical settings where chiropractors are given parity to other health care professionals and can practice at the top of their education.”
Working Through a Crisis
During the rapid response to the COVID-19 crisis, medical professionals learned quickly the importance of integrated care. Many patients still needed their treatments, but in a safe, coordinated way. For Josh Majerus, DC (‘19) the integrated training instilled at Logan University became a key skill this spring when new safety precautions went into place at HealthLinc and Indiana Health Center, two Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in Indiana.
“We are only an hour away from Chicago, and we knew as a FQHC, we would be treating many patients who were at high risk, with complicated and sometimes overlapping health conditions,” Dr. Majerus said. “The integrated health team rallied and quickly got a plan in place to see low-risk patients in the morning and high-risk patients in the afternoon.” In between, crews performed deep cleanings of the exam rooms.
When patients with less urgent needs were transitioned to telehealth visits, something interesting happened: Patients started to shift to a proactive mindset.
“Ideally, we don’t want patients to solely rely on adjustments and manual care in our office. We want them to take an active role in their care. That is exactly what happened when they were at home and being coached on techniques to improve their range of motion and relieve pain,” Dr. Majerus said.
It is stories like these that make Dr. Majerus so thankful for finding a career in chiropractic. His journey to get there wasn’t typical. A serious back injury left him in excruciating pain, and neither muscle relaxants nor physical therapy seemed to make much difference. After one too many days in pain, he started researching options.
“Chiropractic care kept coming up as this incredible drug-free pain management tool. Once I experienced the relief it brought, it really changed my life,” Dr. Majerus said.
By chance, he passed by Logan University every day on his way to work. Soon he was enrolled and thrilled to put his life-long interest in anatomy to good use. Some of his best days came under the mentoring of Patrick Battaglia, DC (’12), DACBR, assistant professor of radiology.
“It was alongside Dr. Battaglia that I was exposed to the FQHC setting and saw the change multidisciplinary care could bring to patient’s lives,” Dr. Majerus said. “I’m glad I got to explore many career options at Logan. It helped me find the right place for me.”
Back at the Indiana FQHCs, he knows the rest of 2020 will present many unanticipated challenges. He plans to keep on learning and adapting, and of course, relying on his Logan training.