[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14443-14444]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            BICENTENNIAL OF THE RHODE ISLAND MEDICAL SOCIETY

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, on February 25, 1812, by an act of the Rhode 
Island General Assembly, the Rhode Island Medical Society was 
chartered. In short order, physicians in the State adopted bylaws and 
elected officers, becoming the eighth State medical society in the 
Nation. Over the past 200 years, the Rhode Island Medical Society has 
worked to fulfill its founding principle to consistently improve 
patient care. That principle is reflected in its many accomplishments 
in the field of public health.
  By 1852, just 40 years later, Rhode Island became the fourth State to 
collect, analyze, and publish birth, marriage, and death statistics on 
an annual basis. Soon after, it began distributing clinical papers of 
peers regarding public health trends and treatments. These early 
actions reflect a keen understanding of disease prevention and health 
promotion, as well as the collaborative nature of medicine.
  Since these early years, the Rhode Island Medical Society has 
advanced public health efforts that run the gamut from sanitation to 
vaccination. It was the second in the country to admit a female doctor. 
It also has played a role in the development of national health care 
policy, such as mental health parity, an effort to achieve fairness in 
the treatment of mental illness, which was fully realized in 2008 when 
the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act was signed into law.
  For all these reasons, and many more, I am pleased to add my voice to 
those commemorating the Bicentennial of the Rhode Island Medical 
Society and congratulate its members, Rhode Island physicians, 
physician assistants, and future physicians for their important work to 
improve the health and lives of Rhode Islanders.

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