Governor Herbert signs medical legislation
Paola Vaughan, Staff Writer, @paovaughan2010
On June 14, three pieces of new medical legislation were signed at a ceremony hosted by the University of Utah. At the event, Governor Gary R. Herbert held a roundtable discussion from pre-med students up to medical school alumni.
The programs which were signed into effect included the Medical Admissions Funding, Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Facility Concurrent Resolution, and the Cytomegalovirus Public Health Initiative. The committee that ceremonially signed the new legislation—which was led by Governor Herbert—included Senator John Valentine and Representatives Brad Lee and Ronda Menlove. Other community and business leaders and students were in attendance, as well as doctors and administrator from the University of Utah.
The bills were signed to keep promoting high quality health programs in Utah and—most important—reasonable prices in the healthcare market.
The Medical School Admissions Funding Program, in particular, is also planning to help increase the number of future medical professionals in Utah and keep costs down to improve the growth of the career within the state.
The Medical Admissions Funding Program—which was promoted by John Valentine and takes effect on July 1, 2013—will help raise the quantity of students admitted to the University of Utah School of Medicine. The numbers will grow from 40 to a total of 122 students annually. The program will also receive $10 million from the Education Fund to help support the growth.
The program will also offer 40 extra admissions to those students that can prove a strong connection to Utah. The Medicine Admission Committee will determine the criteria on how to choose these extra admissions to make their decision.
By these changes, Governor Herbert, recognized the significance of keeping the costs down for medical school but at the same time, offer a high quality education for the students.
The Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Facility, which was also signed off by the governor, is meant to help adults and children in their fights against cancer. This organization has become an important part of the economic and technological development of the state, making their expansion an important part of the state’s growth. With 2000 employees, every year they handle a budget of $70 million in annual cancer research, according to the resolution given to the government.
The third bill signed at the event was the Cytomegalovirus Public health initiative, which will amend the Utah Health Code. The initiative, which is geared mainly towards women, will create an education program that will aid in understanding the dangers of the virus and how it can be prevented.