[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3498-S3499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE FIRST CLASS OF GRADUATES FROM THE KIRK KERKORIAN SCHOOL 
                              OF MEDICINE

 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Madam President, I rise to recognize the 
graduating class from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the 
University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This is an incredible milestone in the 
school and university's history, as well as for Southern Nevada. Fifty 
students who began their studies 4 years ago as the charter class of 
medical students had their degree of medical doctor MD, conferred 
earlier this month on May 7, 2021.
  For Southern Nevada, this is a pinnacle achievement because until 
now, Las Vegas was the largest metropolitan area in the Nation without 
an MD-

[[Page S3499]]

granting medical school. Nevada has grown exponentially over the past 
few decades, and the number of physicians has not kept pace in our 
communities. Nevada ranks 45th in the Nation for the number of active 
physicians per 100,000 residents and comes in 48th for primary care 
physicians and 50th for general surgeons. Making this graduating class 
all the more exceptional, 18 of the 50 newly minted physicians plan on 
staying in the Silver State for their residency.
  Many of these graduates no doubt had some assumptions of what the 
beginning of their lifelong medical journey might look like when they 
began, and few could have anticipated what these past 4 years have 
brought. From the COVID-19 pandemic and before that, the Route 91 
Harvest festival mass shooting in 2017, these graduates have mourned 
with their community, risen to the challenges, and proven just what it 
means to be battle-born. This is an incredible moment for Nevada, the 
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, our communities, and these dedicated 
graduates and their families.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating this 
achievement.

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