Username: Password: Forgot your login or password? ACOFP About The ACOFP Mission Constitution & Bylaws Policy Manual History News Room Contact ACOFP What is a D.O.? Find a D.O.? Osteopathic Oath Osteopathic Pledge of Commitment What is an osteopathic family physician? Disclaimer Advocacy ACOFP Advocacy DO Advocacy Action Center Every Patient Counts Washington Updates Advocacy Headlines Education Certification Annual Conventions CME CME Quizzes Education & Research Foundation Exhibitors Intensive Review Intensive Review CD Online CME Program Directors Osteopathic Residency Assistance Program State Events Leadership ACOFP Board of Governors Awards Committees Fellows Distinguished Fellows Become a Member Join ACOFP Benefits Member Resources Auxiliary Benefits E-Newsletters Ethics Practice Management Leadership Opportunities Online Member Directory OMT Resources Media Resource Center Preventive Medicine Additional Resources State Societies Young Physicians & Residents Resident Paperwork Resources Students Student Benefits Financial Benefits Osteopathic Schools Search for a Preceptor Preceptorship Program Evaluation Personal and Professional Growth Opportunities Residency Program Directory Publications OFPNews Current Issue CME Quizzes Article Archives Article Submissions Advertising Public Search Find a DO

Dr. Ethan Allen Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
From the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL – Ethan R. Allen, DO, FACOFP of Norwalk, California was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award on March 17 by the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians during the 2007 ACOFP annual Convention in Kissimmee, Florida.

In addition to 54 years of osteopathic family practice, Dr. Ethan Allen is credited with establishing legal precedent for licensure of osteopathic family physicians in California and nationwide.

“Dr. Allen was a key player in defending the osteopathic profession and in keeping the profession alive when threatened in the early 1960s,” stated ACOFP President Thomas N. Told, DO, FACOFP dist., ACOFP President.

During the so-called “California Merger” in 1962, about 2,000 osteopathic physicians paid $65 to have their DO degrees switched to MD degrees and California was closed to new osteopathic physicians seeking a state license.  Also, the College of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons – Dr. Allen’s own school – was converted to an allopathic school, and the California Osteopathic Association’s assets were seized, as well.

While the merger was devastating, it was not fatal, as Dr. Allen and those loyal to the osteopathic profession took action.

They started the Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of California, for which Dr. Allen served as President three times.  They started what is now known as Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, for which Dr. Allen served as Founding Chairman.

And in 1974 they prevailed in a class-action lawsuit that reactivated licensure for osteopathic physicians in California – a case that set favorable legal precedent for similar challenges in other states over the past 20 years.
# # #

Founded in 1950, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians is the national organization of more than 25,000 practicing osteopathic family physicians and physicians-in-training. The ACOFP’s mission is to promote excellence in osteopathic family medicine through quality education, visionary leadership and responsible advocacy.