Cushman VTDigger Commentary Explains the Value of UVM Medical Education and Research Programs
In a VTDigger commentary, Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., responds to the Act 167 Wyman report that questions the value of the University of Vermont Medical Center’s medical education and research programs.
Cushman cites her own history as a physician scientist at UVMMC and asserts that her personal story—she began her career as a medical student at the College of Medicine in the 1980s and is now a University Distinguished Professor of medicine and pathology & laboratory medicine, vice chair of medicine and co-director of the Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain Health at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, and director of the thrombosis and hemostasis program at the UVM Medical Center—illustrates the many benefits of research at UVMMC.
Cushman noted that she has overseen a thriving research program that has garnered tens of millions of dollars of research funding from the National Institutes of Health, and included research studies that specifically address the health needs of rural populations. These research dollars directly contribute to advancing science, and training the next generation of researchers, but also in helping our local economy and providing stable jobs.
On the clinical side, Cushman states, based on successful research and building a program of care for venous thrombosis and bleeding disorders, UVMMC’s thrombosis and hemostasis program provides holistic care to some 1,500 new patients from our region every year to improve their vascular health and apply the most recent research-based knowledge to their care, including from our own research.
Cushman’s commentary concludes, “While we all agree that we must address issues of access to and the rising costs of health care, we should not undertake short-term solutions that have long-term detrimental effects for the health care and health of Vermonters.”