[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 47 (Thursday, April 13, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S2723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           NATIONAL D.O. DAY

 Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, today, Thursday, April 13, is 
National D.O. Day. I therefore want to take this opportunity to 
recognize the 45,000 osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) across the country 
for their contributions to the American healthcare system. For more 
than a century, D.O.s have made a difference in the lives and health of 
Americans everywhere. They have treated presidents and Olympic 
athletes. They have helped to keep children well and have contributed 
to the fight against AIDS. Today, members of the osteopathic medical 
profession serve as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health 
Affairs, the chief medical officer for the U.S. Coast Guard, and the 
Surgeon General of the U.S. Army.
  As fully licensed physicians able to prescribe medication and perform 
surgery, D.O.s are committed to serving the health needs of rural and 
underserved communities. They make up 15 percent of the total physician 
population in towns of 10,000 or less. In addition, 64 percent of D.O.s 
practice in the primary care areas of medicine, fulfilling a need for 
more primary care physicians in an era marked by the growth of managed 
care. Their contributions have been particularly important in rural 
states like Maine.
  More than 100 million patient visits are made each year to D.O.s. 
D.O.s approach their patients as ``whole people.'' They don't just 
treat a specific illness or injury. D.O.s take into account home and 
work environments, as well as lifestyle, when assessing overall health. 
This approach provides Americans with high quality healthcare--patients 
seen as people, not just an illness or injury.
  From the state-of-the-art healthcare facility in a major city to a 
clinic in a rural Maine community, D.O.s continue to practice the kind 
of medicine that Andrew Taylor Still envisioned over 100 years ago when 
he founded the profession.
  It was my pleasure to meet today with two representatives of the 
osteopathic medical profession visiting our Capitol from Maine. The 
University of New England, College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM), in 
Biddeford, is the only medical school in my home state. To the more 
than 400 osteopathic physicians in Maine, the approximately 1,100 
graduates of UNECOM, and the 45,000 D.O.s represented by the American 
Osteopathic Association--congratulations on your contributions to the 
good health of the American people. I look forward to working with you 
to further our mutual goal of improving our nation's health 
care.

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