AAMC Thanks Members of Congress for Relaunch of Bipartisan Caucus
Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Florida, has relaunched the bipartisan Congressional Academic Medicine Caucus with new co-chair Rep. David McKinley, R-West Virginia, who replaced Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee. Roe retired in January. According to an undated letter posted April 13 by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the two have invited all members of Congress to join the caucus to “promote and recognize the important role that medical schools, teaching hospitals and faculty physicians play to improve the health of people everywhere.” In addition to pioneering medical treatments, academic medical centers serve as “vital economic engines at the local, state and national levels. They generate jobs, pay wages and support business and community development opportunities for our neighbors,” Castor and McKinley wrote.
AAMC President and CEO David Skorton and Karen Fisher, chief public policy officer, thanked Castor and McKinley for the relaunch, noting the caucus “provides a forum for congressional members and staff to engage in a constructive and educational dialogue about the opportunities and challenges surrounding key issues that impact the academic medicine community and the patients they serve—including the health care workforce, medical research, health care delivery, health equity, education, and more.” AAMC officials and members “look forward to working with Reps. Castor and McKinley, and all members of the caucus, to continue to improve the health of all through support for the patient care, physician training, groundbreaking research, and community collaborations happening every day at medical schools and teaching hospitals across the country,” they said.