Senate Passes Bill to Ensure Children Continue to Benefit from Pediatricians Trained at St. Jude and Other Children’s Hospitals

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“Our children and grandchildren in Tennessee and across the country will continue to benefit from pediatricians trained at children’s hospitals like St. Jude.” – Lamar Alexander

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 – The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate health committee today praised Senate passage of a bill to continue the successful children’s hospital graduate medical education (CHGME) program that supports the training of pediatricians at children’s hospitals in Tennessee and across the nation. The bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Tuesday evening.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said: “This bill continues a successful program that supports children’s access to pediatricians when they need them. Our children and grandchildren in Tennessee and across the country will continue to benefit from pediatricians trained at children’s hospitals like St. Jude. I urge the House to pass this bill and send it to the president’s desk.”

Alexander is a co-sponsor of the Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act, which passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Oct. 30. This legislation reauthorizes support for a program that trains doctors at freestanding children’s hospitals, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. According to the Children’s Hospital Association, the program supports the training of more than 6,000 pediatricians every year and nearly half of all pediatric residency training in the country.

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