[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 109 (Tuesday, September 3, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S8081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

 Mr. CLELAND. Madam President, 27 years ago the National 
Medical Association and other prominent organizations endorsed the 
development of the Medical School at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. 
This came in light of studies that revealed, first, a severe shortage 
of African-American and other minority physicians in the United States, 
particularly in Georgia, and, second, that African-Americans suffered 
disproportionately from major diseases. Since its inception, Morehouse 
School of Medicine has worked to help solve our Nation's healthcare 
crisis by graduating top-quality physicians who dedicate themselves to 
serving the more than 32 million people in this country who live in 
medically neglected communities. Seventy percent of Morehouse School of 
Medicine graduates practice in underserved communities.
  The entering M.D. class has grown from 24 students in 1978 to its 
current 44. Each year, more than 20,000 Georgians who are disadvantaged 
are served by approximately 30 community health promotion projects 
sponsored by Morehouse School of Medicine. These projects include 
prevention initiatives associated with substance abuse, teen pregnancy, 
geriatric services, cancer, lead poisoning, and violence prevention. In 
addition, Morehouse School of Medicine faculty provides about 75,000 
patient encounters per year in community clinics throughout 
metropolitan Atlanta. The student body of Morehouse School of Medicine 
continues to excel. For the past few years, 100 percent of the school's 
family medicine residents have passed their board exams in their first 
sitting.
  These accomplishments grow out of strong leadership, beginning with 
the vision of Dr. Hugh M. Gloster of Morehouse College and Morehouse 
School of Medicine's founding dean and first president, Dr. Louis W. 
Sullivan, and continuing with Dr. James R. Gavin, the current 
president. Since its inception in 1975, Morehouse School of Medicine 
has established a four-year medical education program, a master of 
public health program, a Ph.D. program in the biomedical sciences, 
seven residency programs, and several centers of excellence. These 
centers include the Neuroscience Institute, the Cardiovascular Research 
Institute, and the NASA/Space Medicine and Life Science Research 
Center, the first of its kind at a minority medical institution.
  Today we celebrate the new home of one of those centers of 
excellence, the National Center for Primary Care. This state-of-the-art 
facility will house an exceptional team of administrators, educators, 
and researchers devoted to eliminating health disparities in this 
country.
  Georgia should, indeed, be grateful for this new jewel in our crown. 
Under the guidance of former Surgeon General David Satcher, Director of 
the National Center for Primary Care, this healthcare think tank is 
poised to educate and illuminate for decades to come.

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