Rudolph W. Giuliani, the Mayor of New York at the time of the 9-11 tragedy also sent a letter that was read at the event. In his letter he said, "As you gather today to celebrate the contributions of the countless chiropractors who volunteered their time and hard work to the rescue effort at Ground Zero, I would like to offer my congratulations and sincere thanks. Last year's coordinated efforts at the World Trade Center site not only helped the rescue and clean up crews, but boosted the morale of New York City .The outpouring of volunteers and supporters proved that New York was far from beaten. In fact, the tragedy brought us closer together and made us stronger. Thank you for your determination and tireless devotion."

The event was hosted by the New York Chiropractic Council and kicked off their 13th Annual Convention. The Council paid tribute to the rescue workers and the hundreds of doctors of chiropractic who came from across the nation to serve at three respite sites set up by the Red Cross. Within minutes after the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001, Doctors of Chiropractic were on the scene to provide sorely needed chiropractic care to relief workers and volunteers who worked 12 (or more) hour shifts for weeks and months on end. Chiropractic care was present at both the Red Cross respite sites and St. Paul's Chapel 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the end of May 2002.

November 11, 2002 Reuters Health, reports on a study published in the November 11th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine that shows that running and other aerobic exercise seem to help older people stave off disability and live longer.  Dr. Benjamin W. E. Wang, from the University of Tennessee in Memphis and author of the study states, "In elderly people, the development of disability can be delayed, or pushed back, with aerobic exercise, including running." He goes on to say, "In addition, those who exercised regularly lived longer and had lower rates of fatal cancers, heart disease and other conditions."

The study was performed on 370 members of a running club and 249 people who did not belong to a running club. All of the subjects were at least 50 years of age.  Each year the subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire that assessed the presence and severity of disability in several activities of daily living.  The research showed that running club members were significantly less likely to develop a disability than those who were not running club members. Additionally, when running club members did develop a disability, the onset was usually delayed. On average, disabilities developed in running club members nearly 9 years later than in non-members.

The news was even more impacting when researchers looked at the death rates. In addition to postponing disability, running and physical exercise showed a higher survival rate, according to the report. Running club members were less likely to die during the study period than people who participated in other aerobic activities. The study showed that non-club members were 3.3 times more likely to die during the study period, not just from diseases clearly linked to lifestyle, such as heart disease, but from all types of illnesses. According to Dr. Wang, the benefits of running and other aerobic exercise "appeared even in those who began exercising in mid-life."

Breaking news reported on the December 11, 2002 ABC Evening News reported that President George Bush stated, "The need for this government to provide the opportunity for people to protect themselves, should there be a smallpox attack," President Bush told Barbara Walters in an interview that will air on 20/20. "In other words, I don't think people ought to be compelled to make the decision which they think is best for their family." 

First Lady Laura Bush also interviewed added, "If, the vaccine were available, which I think it will be, I would feel like that was certainly safe for them to do. All of us [older Americans] were [vaccinated]," the first lady told Walters. "I know there's a slight risk. You know, that's what people will weigh when they make the decision whether or not to have their children vaccinated."

This statement puts at ease the ever-growing legions of people who were concerned that their personal right of choice may be taken away by the US government in the vaccination issue.  Groups such as the National Vaccine Information Center, www.909shot.com, have lobbied continually to protect the right of choice on these issues.  Chiropractors themselves, who have been traditionally opposed to mandatory vaccinations have also been voicing their concern over new policies adopted since September 11, 2002.

It is estimated that by sometime in 2004, there will be enough newly produced smallpox vaccine for everyone in the US.  The new presidential policy, however, will leave the choice of whether or not to give the smallpox vaccination, up to the individual and their family.

A scathing article appeared in the December 9, 2002 issue of the Washington Post, that compared the mismanagement and meltdown of Enron, to the medical profession's inability in reducing the rate of medical errors in hospitals.  These errors, according to an Institute of Medicine study three years ago, kill between 44,000 and 98,000 patients annually while injuring perhaps 1 million more.

The article states that reforms are "scandalously slow" and that asking the medical profession to regulate themselves has been ineffective. The article states that the sources of errors are various including, mixing up patients' X-rays, or looking at them upside-down; as a result, they operate on the wrong patient or the wrong body part.  Additionally, cleanliness was an issue as doctors and health workers fail to follow basic hygiene procedures such as washing hands or changing gloves therefore causing infections that account for thousands of deaths a year.

Wrong prescriptions are also one of the biggest problems leading to injury or death.  Yet nationally only about 3 percent of hospitals have instituted computerized prescription systems, which would greatly reduce these types of errors. The article noted that there is a national system for reporting medical errors, but it is voluntary, so few errors ever get reported.  A few states have mandatory systems, but most still do not. 

The one place that the article did say had embraced changes and reduced risk significantly was the government run Veterans hospitals.  The article concluded with comments and recommendations that included some degree of accountability and government oversight.  They stated, "So long as patients have no way of finding out which hospitals are unreliable, bad hospitals will face minimal incentives to invest in the solutions that could drive error rates down.  State or federal regulators should require the reporting of errors and should make some of this information public. Otherwise thousands will continue to die needlessly and with no one held to account."