Eleventh-quarter Palmer West student Javier Muñoz Laguna is all in. A member of countless clubs and extracurricular work, he loves to empower himself and others via collaborations within chiropractic and outside of the profession. He sees the benefit of participating in health care systems around the world!
Javier’s inspiration for chiropractic care came about because his dad was able to avoid having back surgery back when Javier was young. “The pain from his herniated discs was extreme but he wouldn’t take any of his doctors up on surgery, or any other invasive therapies for that matter,” Javier recalled. He’s now enjoying a healthy, pain-free retirement thanks to his chiropractic care and ability to self-manage!
His dad was also a large part of what led Javier to Palmer. His dad’s good friend of more than 30 years was very familiar with Palmer West and lived nearby. When he offered his home to Javier to visit Palmer (and then later to stay while attending classes), he couldn’t refuse. The curriculum, approach and faculty all appealed to Javier and his decision was made!
Hailing from Seville, Spain, Javier came to the U.S. on a tennis scholarship to study biology in New York at St. Thomas Aquinas College with intention of going into the health-care field. He considered becoming a physical therapist or a medical doctor but is happy to have landed on becoming a doctor of chiropractic. He loves academia and research and has dreams of working in statistics or public health within his chosen field one day.
On the topic of cultural diversity and making the best care available to all, Javier believes in one simple concept: access. Access to chiropractic care — and all health care — worldwide. In light of Hispanic Heritage Month, it disheartens him to know that Hispanics have the highest uninsured rates of any other ethnic group in the U.S.*
Earlier this year, Javier traveled to Washington, D.C., along with several other members of the American Chiropractic Association, in support of the H.R.3654 bill (Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2019). The bill would potentially increase access to chiropractic services, especially in Medicare patients.
Javier is an advocate for all and believes we need to do a better job at creating community health-care centers in underserved communities. It’s a big goal and he realizes it comes with a lot of effort from outside professions, but Javier believes that “If we open our heads, hearts and hands and work toward collaboration with a really strong interdisciplinary effort to provide the best care for as many people as possible, then we will be successful!”
*Source: Hispanic/Latino Americans profile by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health
