Maryland Acupuncture Society News from 2001

Stories are listed in reverse chronological order.

October 30, 2001 -  An open letter from the Acupuncture Alliance was posted on the MAS web Site. Click Here to read the letter.

The State Board of Acupuncture has announced that it will not submit a bill to make the NCCAOM examination in Acupuncture a requirement for licensure during the 2002 legislative session.  The Board will use calendar year 2002 to educate the Legislature as to the necessity of the exam to improve public safety. The Board plans to submit its bill for the 2003 legislative session, which begins in January, 2003.

MAS will use this time to educate the legislature as to why the NCCAOM examination is biased and unfair to non-TCM practitioners of acupuncture.   We will also work with the State Board of Acupuncture to create a fair and agreeable solution to the rift that now exists.

Susie Petrella was elected to serve as acting Vice President of Public Affairs on the MAS board at the board meeting on December 7, 2001. She is currently a student at TAI, expected to graduate in 2003 and recently moved from Pittsburgh. She has been a member of MAS since March 2001. She will be eligible for formal election at the MAS annual meeting in April 2002.

Della Aubrey Miller was elected by the MAS board to serve as acting treasurer at the board meeting on October 19, 2001. She will be eligible for formal election at the MAS annual meeting in April 2002. She is a June 2001 Graduate of TAI and has experience in public accounting. Della has been a member of MAS since June of 1998. She replaces Sherry Smith, who has served as treasurer since 1996. Sherry will be taking a position as clinic director at TAI.

The MAS seminar featuring Giovanni Maciocia was held on October 6 through 7, 2001 at the turf valley conference center southwest of Baltimore. The seminar dealt with the diagnosis and treatment of major pathogenic factors and fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue post-viral syndrome. The seminar was very popular - between 7.5 and 15 CEU hours were granted to 148 attendees. For more information about Giovanni Maciocia, see his web site at www.giovannimaciocia.com

In the 1st week of May 2001, MAS members received a mailing as part of MAS’s action against changing the Maryland State Law to make the NCCAOM exam the only route to licensure. Members received petitions to be signed by patients and instructions on how to email the Maryland State Board of Acupuncture Board Members. As of July 7th, 2001, 981 signatures in opposition had been received by MAS and were presented at the State Board Meeting on July 10, 2001.

To see the petition, click the following:  Page 1 Page 2

On April 9, 2001, The Maryland Senate passed the Auricular Detox Bill (see more stories below) by a vote of 43 to 4. MAS members were asked by email to call their senators to support the bill, and Steve Buckingham, the MAS lobbyist, believes this had a positive effect on the outcome. Thanks to all who helped in this effort!

Steve Buckingham, MAS’s lobbyist in the Maryland legislature, reported at the MAS annual meeting, that the Auricular Detox Bill has passed the house and has gone to the senate. HB1270 would permit up to 5 licensed or certified alcohol & drug counselors, nurses, psychologists or clinical social workers with additional training to provide auricular detoxification under direct supervision by a licensed acupuncturist as part of a substance abuse program . It would help introduce acupuncture into more alcohol/drug treatment programs and make auricular detoxification (and acupuncture in general) available to many more substance abusers. The MAS board and membership are on record as having voted in favor of this bill.

The MAS Annual Meeting was held on Saturday, March 31, 2001. At the meeting, a clear majority of the 70 members present voted in favor of a resolution that MAS take action in opposition to the State Acupuncture Board’s motion to have passage of the NCCAOM exam be mandatory for obtaining a Maryland Acupuncture License.

The MAS Alex Tiberi Workshop, March 31 and April 1, 2001 was well attended by over 130 acupuncturists from Maryland and surrounding states. Alex spoke on Gynecology on Saturday and Pregnancy on Sunday.

On March 6, 2001, the Maryland State Board of Acupuncture proposed and passed a motion by a 4 to 1 margin, to have the Board recommend a change in the State statute to make the NCCAOM exam a mandatory requirement for licensure in Maryland.

This photo is from the statehouse in Annapolis, where testimony for the auricular acupuncture bill hearing was given. Left to right is Al Du-ha, tai ch'i instructor at the Penn-north neighborhood center, Rhonda Sapp-Armero, community health initiative (chi) supervisor at the women's detention center, balto. city jail, and Tyme Gigliotti, chi supervisor and part-time crusader (no cape today) and MAS secretary. Photo taken by Stephen Buckingham, MAS lobbyist extraordinaire. (March 11, 2001)

The MAS Board in December 2000. Left to right: Barbra Esher-VP for Internal Affairs, Kimberly Kelly-Rigsbee-VP for External Affairs, William May-Member-at-Large, David Blaiwas-President, Tyme Michael Gigliotti-Secretary, Sherry Smith-Treasurer .

December 2000: MAS board members Barbra Esher, William May, and Sherry Smith present committee member Merryone Brown (left) with a gong recognizing her hard work for MAS. She moved to Maine.

on January 30, 2001, an advertisement was placed by MAS in the Washington Post Health Section .To see the Ad in adobe acrobat, click Here.

That's as far back as the society news goes! To return to Society News from 2002, click here.  Click here to return to Current Society News.