CLEVELAND, OH — Two area medical centers will receive federal resources to support graduate medical education. U.S. Senator Brown (D-OH) announced funds that will be used to help the University of Hospitals of Cleveland and the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospitals for Rehabilitation to maintain its resident physicians program.

“A healthy and productive adulthood begins with a healthy childhood. Although children make up about 20 percent of the U.S. population, the National Institutes of Health dedicates only about 5 percent of its annual research budget to pediatrics.  This is deeply concerning—not only for the health of our children, but because a number of serious illnesses—like diabetes and heart disease—have their roots during early infancy and childhood,” Brown said. “That’s why these new resources will help support exceptional residency training programs taking place at children’s hospitals that can lead to better doctors and healthier patients in Cuyahoga County area and across Ohio.”

The Department of Health and Human Services awarded more than $380,000 to both institutions to bolster the Children’s Graduate Medical Education Program. The award was granted through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  The Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program helps cover training, residents’ salaries for those who treat pediatric populations.

The award amounts are provided below:

University Hospitals of Cleveland                                                      $378,020

Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation                    $2,682

Brown has led the fight in Congress to expand research into pediatric illnesses and their treatments, and has worked to increase funding to train medical professionals that treat children. While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Brown authored the Children’s Hospitals Education and Research Act of 1998, which first proposed the CHGME program. In March, Brown led 19 other senators in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) urging him to preserve the funding. In May, he led 15 senators in urging Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary Wakefield to allocate ample funding for Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program in the 2011 operating budget. Ohio is home to seven institutions that depend on more than $30 million annually in CHGME funds. Brown is also the author of the Creating Hope Act, which works to spur private-sector innovation aimed at treating rare and neglected pediatric diseases.

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