AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., Feb. 13 applauded Reps. Phil Roe, M.D., (R-Tenn.) and new co-chair Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) for renewing the charter for the House of Representatives’ Congressional Academic Medicine Caucus (CAMC). The CAMC is a bipartisan collection of representatives who will work together to raise awareness of critical issues facing the academic medicine community and advance responsible physician workforce policy.
Dr. Kirch commended the representatives saying, “during this time of budget challenges and concerns about the state of the physician workforce, the work the caucus does to highlight the vital role the nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals play in meeting the health care needs of the nation is more important than ever.”
Committing to collaborating with the CAMC on future initiatives he added, “We look forward to working with Dr. Roe, Rep. Castor, and other members of the caucus to continue to improve the health of all Americans through support for the complex patient care, groundbreaking medical research, and world-class physician training taking place every day at medical schools and teaching hospitals across the country.”
Dr. Roe and Rep. Castor invited their colleagues to join in their efforts in a recently circulated Dear Colleague letter stating, “We take pride in the groundbreaking achievements happening in our nation’s teaching hospitals and medical schools, and recognize their unique patient care, research, education and safety net missions. Teaching hospitals maintain life-saving services that are often unavailable elsewhere in communities, all while treating the nation’s most vulnerable patient populations – regardless of their ability to pay.”
Previewing the work ahead the co-chairs added, “We recognize the critical role our nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals play in both the delivery of quality health care and the development of our future health care workforce. Therefore, the caucus will explore sound policy approaches to ensure there is an adequate supply of qualified physicians capable of meeting the health care needs of the nation.”