Emanuel Cleaver: “I rise today to express gratitude for the passage of H.R. 5574, the Children's Hospitals GME Support Reauthorization Act…”

“I rise today to express gratitude for the passage of H.R. 5574, the Children's Hospitals GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2006. This bill will extend funding through fiscal year 2011 for children's hospitals that provide approved graduate medical residency programs. Hippocrates once said, ``Healing is a matter of time, but is sometimes a matter of opportunity.'' Kansas City's Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics continue to provide numerous opportunities for the children of Missouri and Kansas to receive the best pediatric healthcare available. The services Children's Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) provides are invaluable. The $7 million received by Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area trains 125 interns and residents from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Medical School each year. The CHGME program ensures that children will continue to receive excellent healthcare and our Nation's pediatric health workforce will remain strong and competitive for years to come. Since Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City is the only children's hospital between St. Louis, Missouri and Denver, Colorado, I know it is essential to continue to provide this vital funding. These valuable funds will keep the hospitals running efficiently while training our future pediatric care providers.…”