Political Quotes

“Why hold off for tomorrow what we can do today? The current healthcare crisis in our Nation did not happen overnight. It has been accumulating as a result of a lack of serious attention to the most pressing healthcare issues, including healthcare workforce shortages. As a husband and a parent, I pray every day that my wife and children will have access to the quality healthcare they deserve when they need it. As a public official, I believe that it is my responsibility to help make that care available for not only my own family, but also for the families in the State of Illinois and across the Nation. The growing shortage of critical care physicians undermines the quality and availability of health care services in the United States. This shortage can be expected to disproportionately impact rural and other areas of the United States that already often suffer from a sub-optimal level of critical care services. When a loved one needs a critical care doctor, would we not want one to be available? If research tells us that their recovery may be better and their recovery time faster, would we not want our loved one to have access to a critical care doctor? The Leap Frog Group has clearly documented that significant improvement in outcomes--in both quality and cost--result when a critically ill or injured patient is seen by an intensivist. With a greater use of intensivists, an estimated 54,000 deaths that currently occur in ICUs could be avoided.”