Short, Topical, and Timely
News from the Association of American Medical Colleges
== GAO announces new MedPAC members
== Tobacco settlement dollars fund biomedical research at Nebraska
institutions
== Harvard Medical School receives $10 million gift to support study of
complementary and alternative therapies
== Hot headlines
== On the move
--
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
GAO announces new MedPAC members
On May 15, the General Accounting Office (GAO) announced the appointment of
new members to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). Among the
new appointees is Ralph W. Muller, president and chief executive officer of
the University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System. Mr. Muller is the
immediate past chair of the AAMC and has served as the chair of the AAMC's
Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems. The AAMC and the American
Hospital Association both nominated Mr. Muller to serve on the commission.
Other newly appointed members are Sheila P. Burke, under secretary for
American museums and national programs at the Smithsonian Institution, and
Allen D. Feezor, assistant executive officer of health benefit services for
the California Public Employees' Retirement System.
Glenn M. Hackbarth, J.D., a health care consultant, has been appointed
chair of the commission, replacing Gail R. Wilensky, Ph.D. Robert D.
Reischauer, Ph.D., president of the Urban Institute, has been appointed
vice chair of the commission. He replaces Joseph P. Newhouse, Ph.D., the
John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy and Management at Harvard
University, who was subsequently reappointed to a three-year term as a member.
Information: Karen Fisher, AAMC Division of Health Care Affairs,
202.862.6140, kfisher@aamc.org, or Jeffrey Patyk, AAMC Division of Health
Care Affairs, 202.828.0498, jpatyk@aamc.org. For a complete listing of all
MedPAC members, go to http://www.medpac.gov, and click on "Commission Members."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tobacco settlement dollars fund biomedical research at Nebraska institutions
The Nebraska legislature and Gov. Mike Johanns signed a bill into law this
week that will provide significant biomedical research money to four major
research institutions in the state. $10 million will be allocated in each
of the next two years to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC),
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Creighton University, and Boys Town
National Research Hospital. The research institutions' allocation will be
increased to $12 million annually after two years, $14 million annually in
four years, and remain at $14 million annually thereafter. UNMC intends to
intensify efforts to discover new methods of preventing, detecting, and
treating disease, and to attract and retain new scientists.
Information: Tom O'Connor, UNMC Public Affairs Department, 402.559.4690,
toconnor@unmc.edu.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Harvard Medical School receives $10 million gift to support study of
complementary and alternative therapies
Harvard Medical School has received a $10 million gift from the Bernard
Osher Foundation of San Francisco to support its recently established
Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative
Medical Therapies. The gift will also establish the Harvard Medical
School-Osher Institute for Research and Education in Complementary and
Integrative Medical Therapies.
The missions of both the division and the new institute are to facilitate
interdisciplinary and interinstitutional faculty collaboration and to
rigorously evaluate complementary and integrative medical treatments. The
division will concentrate on assessing the safety, efficacy,
cost-effectiveness, and mechanisms of these approaches. Appropriate
educational activities and policies pertaining to the clinical delivery of
complementary medical therapies will also be developed.
The Osher gift, which is being augmented by a $2 million contribution from
Harvard Medical School, will endow several positions and programs,
including the creation of the Bernard Osher Chair in Complementary and
Integrative Medical Therapies, the hiring of basic science and clinical
research directors for the division, the establishment of pilot study
grants for Harvard faculty and fellows, and the creation of educational
programs and electronic databases.
Information: John Lacey, Harvard Medical School Office of Public Affairs,
617.432.0441, john_lacey@hms.harvard.edu.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hot headlines
A Broad Alliance Tries to Head Off Cuts in Medicare
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/14/politics/14MEDI.html?searchpv=site04,
New York Times, 5/14/01
Study: The More Nurses, The Better for Hip Patients
http://web.realcities.com/content/rc/health/pchealth/philly/1955168294.htm,
Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/14/01
Money for Prescription Benefit Not Enough, Analysts Say
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/05/16/financial1536EDT0212.DTL,
Associated Press, 5/16/01
Boston Medical Center Turns to Lawyers for a Cure
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/16/national/16CLIN.html?searchpv=site02,
New York Times, 5/16/01
Life-Saving Medicine Comes With a Price
http://www.suntimes.com/output/health/cost16.html, Chicago Sun-Times,
5/16/01
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
On the move
Michael F. Roizen, M.D., professor and chair of anesthesia and critical
care at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, has
been named dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for
biomedical sciences at the State University of New York Upstate Medical
University. The appointment is effective July 1.
Rosina M. Bierbaum, Ph.D., acting director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President, has been
recommended as the new dean of the University of Michigan School of Natural
Resources and Environment. Her appointment will be effective Oct.1, pending
approval by the University of Michigan Board of Regents. Dr. Bierbaum will
also be appointed professor of natural resources and environmental policy,
with tenure.
Timothy Goldfarb, director of the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU)
Health Care System, has been selected by Shands HealthCare, the heath
system affiliated with the University of Florida Health Science Center, to
serve as its chief executive officer. Mr. Goldfarb will leave OHSU on July
1 and assume his new responsibilities at Shands on August 13.
Robert D. Martin, Ph.D., the interim chief executive officer and chief
operating officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, has been
appointed to the chief executive officer position on a permanent basis,
effective immediately.
Thomas L. Garthwaite, M.D., has announced his intention to resign his
position as under secretary for health in the Department of Veterans
Affairs. At the request of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J.
Principi, Dr. Garthwaite has agreed to remain in his post while a search
committee begins the process of identifying a replacement.
Anthony J. Garro, Ph.D., vice dean and professor of microbiology and
molecular genetics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey - New Jersey Medical School, has been appointed provost and vice
president for academic affairs at the Lehman College campus of the City
University of New York, effective July 1.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
