[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5568-5569]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                  APRIL 26, 2001, IS NATIONAL D.O. DAY

 Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, April 26 is National D.O. Day, 
a day when we recognize the more than 47,000 osteopathic physicians 
(D.O.s) across the country for their contributions to the American 
healthcare system. On National D.O. Day, more than 500 members of the 
osteopathic medical profession, including osteopathic physicians and 
medical students, will descend upon Capitol Hill to share their views 
with Congress.
  I am pleased that nearly 40 osteopathic representatives will be 
visiting our Capitol from Illinois. These representatives are 
practicing osteopathic physicians, staff from the American Osteopathic 
Association's headquarters in Chicago, and osteopathic medical students 
from the Midwestern University-Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine.
  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 contributed to the fight against AIDS and 
the fight for civil rights. And D.O.s have been represented at the 
highest levels of the medical profession. Recently, the 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 were all 
osteopathic physicians.
  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. That is why D.O.s 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

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care physicians in an era marked by the growth of managed care. 
Overall, more than 100 million patient visits are made each year to 
D.O.s.
  In recognition of National D.O. Day, I would like to congratulate the 
over 1,900 osteopathic physicians in Illinois, the approximately 630 
students at Midwestern University-Chicago College of Osteopathic 
Medicine, and the 47,000 D.O.s represented by the American Osteopathic 
Association for their contributions to the good health of the American 
people.

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