U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Bob Casey, D-Pa., announced that both the Senate and House have passed bipartisan legislation they worked on to ensure that children’s hospitals have the support they need to provide adequate medical education for training of pediatricians and other residents. The legislation, which passed the Senate yesterday, now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
 
Specifically, this bipartisan legislation, H.R.5385, would reauthorize funding to the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program. Isakson and Casey introduced the Senate companion legislation.
 
“Investment in our pediatric workforce and healthcare facilities is a necessity,” said Isakson. “I will continue to support this vital program to help ensure our youngest patients are able to receive the quality care they need.”
 
“Congress has taken a step forward in passing this common sense bipartisan legislation,” said Casey. “Reauthorization of the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education program will ensure that we can help grow the specialized workforce needed to adequately care for our nation’s children. I urge President Trump to swiftly pass and sign this measure into law.”
 
Specifically, the legislation extends a successful grant program for freestanding children’s hospitals, including Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, and St. Christopher’s in Pennsylvania, so that their residency programs will continue to receive funding.
 
More on the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program:

For over a decade, the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program has provided children’s teaching hospitals with federal support for their pediatric residency programs. The program was first enacted by Congress in 1999 with bipartisan support, and has been reauthorized three times since then, each time with broad bipartisan support. The program provides funding to over 50 freestanding children’s hospitals around the country to support the training of pediatricians and other residents.
 
Before the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program was created, the number of residents who trained in freestanding children’s hospitals declined by more than 13 percent. The Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program has reversed that trend and today these hospitals train approximately half of all pediatricians.