Rep. Tom Cole Visits Serious Communicable Diseases Unit

On August 30th, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) visited Emory University Hospital (EUH) and the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit (SCDU). Chairman Cole is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services for the House Appropriations Committee. Within his jurisdiction is funding for the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Education, and Department of Labor. The OGCA team worked closely with the CDC to advance this visit showcasing how funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program has helped Emory, and Georgia, become more equipped to handle a disaster. The SCDU team provided Chairman Cole with a hands-on demonstration of the newest virtual reality training equipment being used to train healthcare workers on how to safely treat highly infectious patients. Thank you to the administration at EUH and the SCDU team for meeting with the Chairman.

FY2019 Appropriations

In August, the Senate passed a significant funding measure, combining two bills of great importance to both political parties. The Defense and Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill encompasses $850 billion out of the $1.2 trillion of federal discretionary funding. The Senate version of the Labor-HHS-Education bill contains $2 billion more than the House mark. Yesterday, House appropriators indicated an interest in agreeing to the fiscal levels set by the Senate. This would be a significant increase to an appropriations bill important to the research and higher education communities. With only 10 legislative days until the government runs out of funding, all eyes are now on President Trump to see whether the lack of border wall funding will elicit a veto.

Congressional Healthcare Tour

On August 29th,15 Congressional staffers from across Georgia and DC learned more about Emory’s healthcare work. The highlights included tours of Emory University Hospital Midtown’s inpatient services, retail pharmacy, and neonatal intensive care unit, as well as Emory University Hospital’s Serious Communicable Diseases Unit. The group learned about Emory’s response to the opioid epidemic, the importance of the 340B drug discount program to our patients, and how Emory is taking lessons learned during the Ebola outbreak to address infections across the broader healthcare setting. The OGCA team appreciates everyone who contributed to this successful visit. In November, higher education staffers will be visiting campus to learn more about Emory and our exciting academic work.

Emory-DeKalb Medical Partnership

The Georgia Attorney General’s Office recently approved the strategic partnership and integration of DeKalb Medical and Emory Healthcare. On September 1st, DeKalb Medical officially became a part of the Emory Healthcare system. Read more about the partnership here. The OGCA team organized a series of community meetings for Emory Healthcare’s leadership team to disseminate information pertaining to the partnership and answer questions from our local elected officials, Chambers of Commerce, and Rotary Club members.

Hillandale Briefing

On August 29th, Dr. Bryce Gartland, Hospital Group President of Emory Healthcare (pictured above, far left), along with Mr. Bob Wilson, former CEO of DeKalb Medical (pictured above, 3rd from the right) presented to members of the DeKalb Delegation and community leaders at the Hillandale location.

Decatur Rotary Club

On August 24th, Ms. Jen Schuck, VP of EUH Operations and Mr. Bob Wilson, former CEO of DeKalb Medical presented to a group at the Decatur Rotary Club. Pictured above from left to right is Jen Schuck, Bob Wilson, Cheryl Iverson, VP of Communications and Marketing; Kendra Price, Government Affairs Manager; and Betty Willis, Sr. Associate VP of Communications and Marketing.