Chiropractic Quality Assurance Commission

The mandate of the Chiropractic Quality Assurance Commission (CQAC) is to promote the delivery of quality healthcare to the residents of the state by regulating the competency and quality of professional healthcare providers under its jurisdiction. CQAC accomplishes this mandate through a variety of activities working with the Department of Health, Health Systems Quality Assurance.

Commission Information

CQAC duties include:

Establishing qualifications for minimal competency to grant or deny licensure of chiropractors.
Regulating the competency and quality of professional healthcare providers under its jurisdiction by establishing, monitoring and enforcing qualifications for licensure.
Establishing and monitoring compliance with continuing education requirements.
Ensuring consistent standards of practice.
Developing continuing competency mechanisms.
Assessing, investigating and making recommendations related to complaints.
Serving as reviewing members on disciplinary cases and serve on disciplinary hearing panels. Serving as members of standing committees, when appointed.
Developing rules, policies and procedures that promote the delivery of quality healthcare to state residents.

Qualifications

CQAC is made up of 11 chiropractors, and three public members, appointed by the governor. All members must be residents of Washington.

Chiropractic commission members must have been licensed to practice chiropractic in Washington for a period of five years before appointment.

Public member representatives may not:

Be a member of any other healthcare licensing board or commission.
Have a fiduciary obligation to a facility rendering healthcare services.
Have a material or financial interest in the rendering of health services.

Commissioner participation expectation guidelines

The following expectation guidelines are intended to serve as a reference for current members and for prospective appointees of CQAC:

Attend regular CQAC meetings, scheduled for one day during business hours on the second Thursday every other month. CQAC establishes its meeting schedule nine to twelve months in advance. The typical time commitment ranges between 10 to 15 days per year which also may include an annual CQAC workshop, and the Department of Health one-day Board, Commission, Committee conference.
CQAC members will be appointed to a committee.
Prepare for all meetings by reading materials sent one to two weeks in advance of the scheduled meeting date. The packets take an average of two to four hours to read prior to each business meeting. In addition, time is spent reviewing complaint files prior to each meeting.
Participate on disciplinary panels that may meet by telephone or in person several times per year. Sometimes panels meet with short advance notice in order to respond to emergent situations to protect the public. Hearings may also be scheduled separately from regular meetings because of the number of cases that need to be heard.
Assist newly appointed CQAC members as necessary.

Total annual time commitment

Meeting/Conferences	Eight to 12 days per year
Meeting Preparation	Two to five hours per meeting
Complaint file review/Hearing panels	Two to four days per year

Performance guidelines-newly appointed commissioners

Attend an initial orientation that outlines the legal authority of CQAC, the roles and responsibilities of CQAC members, ethics, confidentiality, the legal liability of CQAC members and the Department of Health, the organizational structure of the Department of Health, roles and responsibilities of Department of Health staff, roles and responsibilities of staff attorneys and Assistant Attorneys General (AAGs), disciplinary processes, rule making and other issues.
Attends committee meetings if necessary.
Performs duties of current members.

Regular CQAC business meetings and panels are scheduled every two months.

Most CQAC meetings and panels are held in Tumwater, Washington. At least one CQAC meeting per year is held in Kent, Washington. One meeting may be held in Eastern Washington each biennium.

Become a Board, Commission, or Committee Member.

Commission Members

Name of Members

Dana Clum, DC, chiropractor member

Jaskirat Walia, DC, chiropractor member, vice-chair

Vanessa Wise, DC, chiropractor member, chair

Susan Bogni, MPA, Executive Committee member, public member

Brian Chan, DC, chiropractor member

Stephen Chan, DC, chiropractor member

William Davis, DC, chiropractor member, vice-chair

David Folweiler, DC, chiropractor member

Susan Jensen, JD, public member

Michael Long, DC, chiropractor member

Judge Julie Spector (ret.), public member

Benjamin Zepeda, DC, chiropractor member

Commission Meetings

(subject to change)

Date and Location	Activity	Documents
November 14, 2024 Department of Health TC2 Room 153 111 Israel Rd. S.E. Tumwater, WA 98501 This meeting will be held hybrid with physical and remote access.	Business meeting	Agenda (PDF)

Commission Meeting Minutes