Summer SCHIP Victories

Health advocates from Brown Med have sure been busy this summer! On Thursday, July 19, Sharon David, MD 2010, joined more than 100 other chapter leaders of the American Medical School Association (AMSA) to lobby Congress for expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Just a few days ago, it became clear that their voices were heard in Capitol Hill as the Senate voted 68-31 to pass the SCHIP bill.

It is worth hoping that one small step for SCHIP will translate to more success for state programs such as RIte Care--the state health insurance program that Brown Med students have lobbied for throught the 2006-2007 academic year.

Here's a news link to the SCHIP story, in case people missed it.

http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/20070803_Senate_passes_bill_to_expand_SCHIP_care.html

For more info on the American Medical Student Association, please see:

http://www.amsa.org

What Motivates Us to Get Involved in Advocacy?

Read about Dr. Scott Allen's inspiring personal story in this article released by the Providence Journal on August 6, 2007.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/SCOTT_ALLEN_TORTURE_REPORT_08-06-07_6A6KAHA.2b8e80b.html

Comments? What are some of the personal stories behind the health advocacy issues that we're passionate about?

Brown Med Health Advocates in the News

More exciting activity on the Brown Med health advocacy front! Check out this article in the 8/3/07 edition of the Providence Journal. The article features the efforts of Dr. Scott Allen, clinical assistant professor at Brown and a member of Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), who was lead medical author in an incriminating report about the effects of the CIA's "enhanced" interrogation techniques.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/TORTURE_REPORT_08-03-07_TM6JRP2.38b7410.html

The article also mentions that 6 medical students helped out with the report. Though their names were not mentioned in the article, they are listed here for sake of completeness:

Peter Chai, MD 2010
Margret Chang, MD 2010
Amy Hsu, MD 2010
Sareh Rajaee, MD 2010
Jack Rusley, MD 2009
Robert Velasco, MD 2010

Congratulations to Dr. Allen and his team of students!